Back on the R.ColnBrook

 

 It's been a while since I've been able to manufacture any time on this wonderful river, plenty of hours spent walking it but haven't seen an awful lot, plenty of Chub and some really big ones, however I feel maybe there isn't as many Barbel in it as I'd hoped, or is it just me? 

 I had the gear in the van as I quite often do and got a bait out in the first likely looking spot, a nice deep gully on the far bank under a willow, just the spot for a Barbel. Forty five minutes later I was moving, as is so often case, spots that look like they should produce fish, simply aren't and along with the endless rubbish on the bottom like metal and plastic the leaves were causing me grief, millions of the things coming through.

 Because of the added issue with leaves I found myself fishing under the rod tip and keeping as much line out the water as possible. My second spot looked just as good, with a large elderberry bush on the inside it created a nice upstream crease that diverted most of the leaves away from the gravel run I was fishing, ten minutes after settling in I had a deft little tap on the quivertip and hovered over the rod, just hoping it would go. And it did! A savage pull on the tip and line peeling off the spool I thought I had finally made contact with a ColnBrook Barbel, very quickly (15 seconds or so) it was established that a Chub had indeed taken a liking to my hookbait.   

 Down in the water column I couldn't quite make out how big it was, once in the net and hoisted up on to the mat I finally got a good look at it, yes it wasn't a Barbel but I could not be disappointed with such a wonderful looking Chevin. 6lb 6oz on the scales and my first Chub off the river is a "Six", not bad at all considering I haven't had more than the odd liner and that most of the Chub I've seen have been 3-4lb.

Big Squid munching barrel of a Chub.

 A couple of photos taken for the album I slipped her back downstream and tried my luck for another half an hour into darkness, but nothing else happened. One last peg was tried a hundred yards downstream but again, the quivertip remained motionless. A quick / traffic free drive around the M25 was as welcome as the Chub! Happy Days indeed, but where....have.....the......Barbel gone???