My previous trip to the Trout Stream was a disaster. Weed growth and overgrown banks, along with very low water and negligible flow, presaged a challenging session. And so it turned out. I caught nothing.

The decision to try again was prompted by some long awaited rain in our region, my hope being that even if the weeds and bank side vegetation hadn't declined that much, at least there would be some flow and a bit more depth. And this is what I found, causing me to have at least a hope of a chub, or maybe a couple.

As always I started at my favourite spot about half way along the stretch. Although there was decent flow, unfortunately dying reeds along the nearside margin meant that I had to make my way further along the bank. This meant getting closer to any fish, risking spooking them, and adopting an uncomfortable fishing stance. At one point I dropped on my haunches only to topple over backwards when reacting to a tentative bite. All in all not ideal.

I started with spam with no joy. Changing to cheese paste I thought I had some interest, but nothing positive. I was ready to move on when striking at a very tentative pull I was into a fish. At first I thought it was a good chub but I had been fooled by the flow, as it turned out to be quite a small fish. Not a tiddler by any means but something a bit bigger would have been nice. I decided to move on as getting one fish out of the swim had proved difficult so I was sure that another would be very unlikely.

I next moved to a wide open glide where somebody had cleared a path through the reeds, allowing me to sit on a small projection that offered a clear cast down into the glide. I had caught there previously but on this occasion despite exploring different areas of the swim there was nothing doing. So it was time to move on again.

I briefly tried a swim where I had caught my personal best chub for this stream a year ago almost to the day. It was a challenging swim back then and I had one hell of a job getting that chub in over a bed of dying reeds. These reeds were again there and the situation was no less difficult. I checked that the landing net would reach and had a couple of casts, but with no takers. I was in a way glad since I'm sure getting a decent fish in would have been a real challenge.

I didn't make my way further downstream as I've never done any good in the fishable spots down there. I decided instead to make my way back upstream, dropping in the first spot again just on the off chance of another fish. In fact I lost my end tackle in the overhanging tree branches, which certainly put the dampers on another chub.

I then dipped in a spot where I caught at the end of last season. Very shallow water deepened a little way downstream, which offered possibilities, but once again there was no interest.

Finally I ended up at the top of the stretch in the swim that I usually fish last as it shortens the walk back to the car, and I have caught there previously. Faster water that is channeled through reed banks upstream opens out into a wider glide, making it a potentially good swim, a fact that has been confirmed in the past. But on this occasion I once again drew a blank.

So that one small chub meant that I avoided the blank. But as always I enjoyed dipping in potential chub haunts along the stream as one never knows what will take the bait, even if nothing does much of the time!