Chub-Tastic.

 

 The R.Blackwater has been rubbish all season barring a 1 Chub, 1 Bream, 1 Barbel and 1 Carp...it really has been that tough. So imagine my delight when I was finally getting some bites!

 First of the last three trips I had one Chub, 4lb 14oz.

 Second of the three trips I managed three bites and three Chub!, where were these Chub hiding? One of them was a lump too and not far off 6lb! They have been there all season, just not catching them and all of a sudden they switch on. But this wasn't the best trip either and yes, these were actually trips in search of Barbel but they remain totally absent, but the Chub numbers were pretty epic!

 

Beautiful piece of water but very tough!

 My third trip was even better! I opted to feed a few Dynamite Baits " Hot Crab & Krill " boilees in each swim like I have done for months, only half a dozen as I just want to give fish a taster, in the colder temps they don't feed anywhere near as much, so overfeeding them is something I'd want to avoid.

 Forty Five minutes in each peg and with no sign of fish I'd move on, but amazingly in the first spot I got a couple of early indications that fish were present so I stuck it out and was rewarded with a pristine 5lb 14oz chevin, thought it was alot bigger, really thick across the back, a proper crayfish muncher!

 

5lb 14oz

 That peach was followed up pretty quickly by a 4lb 11oz and 4lb 14oz ( not the same fish as the previous trip ), and it wasn't an hour later that the tip started to tap away again in another peg 100m downstream which took some patience before striking the tiniest of pulls, that battle resulted in a fantastic Chub of 5lb 8oz as the light began to fade and about two hours after dark much further downstream I had one last fish which I needed two attempts at, I struck the first bite and only managed fresh air, I got the bait straight back down and within five minutes it was back and this time I sat on my hands and waited for the fish to get cocky, I won! 

Bliss, but chilly. Chub didn't seem to mind!

 When I see the Chub come up in the torchlight it looked huge! so wide across the back once again and honestly thought it was going to cruise past my early season best of 6lb 1oz by some distance, alas she did not! 5lb 12oz was still very pleasing and a super afternoon / evening of fishing, 2x upper 4's and 4x 5lb plus Chub, that will do very nicely. 

5lb 12oz

Leisure Sessions with Dad!

 

 Always nice to get out fishing with my Dad, 73 this May and still keen as mustard to get a bend in the rod, this desire to get out I'm sure is fuelled by their impending move down to Gillingham in Dorset, some cracking fishing down that way available but would be nearly 3hrs each way from me so these types of sessions will be no more which is a shame.

 We opted to rove around on the small river as we usually do, a few trots or rolls in each run and move, very quickly we were both off the mark with fighting fight torpedos in the fast flow which snared free-lined or bounced bread flake into likely areas but its not just Barbel that are present, Carp and Chub also call this river home and came across both on the two recent visits we have had, both coming away with fish on the two outings is always a massive plus.

 All in all great fun!

I'm Back!

 

 I can't believe it's been almost two months since I was last on here! Truth be told I have been out a fair bit so I will hopefully get through it all over the next day or so.

 Since my trip to the Hants Avon we have had biblical amounts of rain and has rendered certain parts of the country totally un-fishable so naturally where I could fish I chose Barbel, primarily the Bristol Avon and Blackwater, neither of which for numerous visits ( 4x Bristol Avon and 5x Blackwater ) gave up any gems which would see me move on to 31 completed rivers on my challenge, alas that by the point of early March had not been achieved.

 I really was struggling, the Bristol Avon was in flood for about 4 months solid and every time it looked to start dropping the south west would be buffeted once again by monsoon rains! 

 During this time I did have some Chub to 4lb 11oz and a few Bream to around 6lbs but of course not my target, catching up on sleep in the car for a few hours before getting back on it was scantly rewarded, seems to be a theme this season. The Blackwater gave me nothing, not even bites.

Fishing at the top of the flood bank..

Slim Pickings, Happy New Year All!

 

 I've barely fished since my last blog post, work and family reign supreme, that said I have been out twice, both in search of Roach, where I am currently targeting real big ones are possible, an outside chance of a three-pound specimen which would certainly be a truly momentus catch should I manage to find and land one!

 On my first trip I struggled for the first half day as a solid high air pressure and freezing cold night and biting wind made it very uncomfortable and the fish clearly weren't too bothered in feeding, thankfully I had a very productive final 3hrs where I managed over 20 Dace, most of a good size with half a dozen around 10-11ozs, 12 Grayling also came to the net along with four Roach with best weighing 1lb 11oz which was lovely to see after such a long hiatus from the H.Avon, for me dusk came and went too fast and it was off time, I could not wait to get back.

 A week later I did manage to get back and conditions were very similar with cold brisk winds blowing upstream just to make things harder, one thing I know very well with Roach is presentation is king and if its off even a tiny bit the fish will not touch it and felt all day I fished well but just could not make it happen and came away with a couple of small Grayling and slim Sea Trout.