Diary of an average angler

Arrival time: 09.45
Weather: Sunny with clear sky, clouding after midday. Becoming very warm.
Tackle: 11'6" John Wilson Avon with 1.5oz quiver, Shimano 5000 RE reel, 6lb line direct to 6/8 hook.
Baits: Bread flake & cheese paste.
Fish: One lost chub & one chublet

I thought I would have another crack at the mill stream having not done too well on a previous visit. A number of large chub were spotted under the road bridge and after not being able to cast to them from my first spot, I found a difficult but much closer location. I later moved along the stream, which seems more overgrown and weedy than ever. A truly challenging venue.

Having established myself in the new spot I started making what were basically blind casts downstream towards the bridge. An early missed bite was encouraging, as was the fact that a couple of chaps on the bridge confirmed that my bait was 'right on'em'. They also said that the fish had moved to the far side of the stream. Soon after those chaps left I managed a cast that dropped just by the far side reeds and sure enough I was almost immediately rewarded with a bold pull on the quiver tip and was into a good fish. Unfortunately the odds were with the fish, there being reeds on both sides of the stream and it wasn't long before it embedded itself into those on the far side. The line went slack almost immediately. Curses!

I stayed for a short while longer but concluded that the fish were probably spooked and decided to make my way along the stream.

I went straight to the head of the stream as I had got very warm in the full sun, and I knew that the swim there was in the shade. It's a really great looking spot and I had caught chub there on previous occasions. But more recently I have only got taps from smaller fish and this was again to be the case on this occasion.

I tried a fish attractant from a company called Unfair Baits, the chap from there having sent me some samples a few weeks previously. I wondered whether using the attractant would result in something other than the smaller fish that were clearly nibbling at the bread flake. But nothing came of it.

Having cooled down and feeling more refreshed I started to make my way back downstream. The first spot I tried involved a cast downstream, allowing the bait to drift under the overhanging tree branches. The idea was good but nothing came of it. A bit further downstream I again dropped the bait under overhanging branches, but this was a much more restricted swim. I got a good pull and hooked into a fish, only for it to become snagged in the nearside vegetation. In trying to hand-line my terminal tackle back I was surprised to see a small chublet still on the hook, suspended in the bankside vegetation. With some difficulty I managed to retrieve the fish in my landing net before the more difficult task of getting the line untangled from the mass of vegetation.

I decided to move again and once more only got taps from smaller fish although this time I did lose my terminal tackle in some bullrushes.

So it was back to the bridge swim for another attempt at those chub. Not much had changed. I was still getting taps from smaller fish with a couple of firmer pulls that I didn't connect with. After a while I reluctantly accepted that I wasn't probably going to entice one of the larger fish. Then things came to an unexpected conclusion when I tripped over the stems of some flattened nettles, causing me to fall sideways into a mix of nettles and reeds. Unfortunately the reeds were in about six inches of water, which is where I ended up! So with one side of me soaking wet I decided to call it a day.

So not that successful but I felt that I got close to bagging a decent chub. The stream remains a challenge however.