End of Season Roundup 2017

A warrior!

Since the arrival of March, I have felt a sense of urgency to get as much fishing on the river done as possible. I set my stalls to rove a couple of small waterways, some of these trips on my own and a couple with good friends. On one particular session, I met up with good friend Duncan Charman, and we agreed to fish a new stretch of water, using roving tactics. Duncan soon got off the mark with a pristine little chub which absolutely slammed his rodtip over on his cheesepaste bait. It was great to get off the mark early on, and it was certainly encouraging to see that at least one chub was obliging! After this though, bites dried up, so we decided to move to another section.

A pretty, young chub for Duncan

On the next section, we were greeted by some absolutely stunning glides which looked perfect for a chub or two. After covering a few spots, I found myself in a lovely looking area to flick my breadflake helping. As soon as it settled the line tweaked slightly before I received a smack on the tip. It was not long until a decisive take was to follow and on connecting with this fish, I knew by the way it dug for the cover that this was a good one. Sure enough, a rather plump and pretty solid chub graced the net. I knew from the frame of this fish that it was certainly a 5 pound plus fish, and at 5lbs 4oz I was very happy indeed, especially from a new area! Duncan kindly did the honours with a nice photograph before we moved on.

A stunning 5lb 4oz late season chub!

On the next swim, Duncan had an absolutely stonking take and another nice chub around the similar stamp he had had earlier in the day graced his net. We knew after this fish, time was short, so the both of us chose our final swims. I opted to fish a near margin, whilst Duncan found a nice looking swim with some nice cover. After casting around a few areas, I flicked the bait a little way more down the swim. A few minutes passed and I noticed the quivertip had nudged twice out of sync from the current. Before I knew it, the quivertip pulled over steadily and I was connected with another feisty chub. As there were some nasty snags, I ran a little way downstream and used the through action of the rod to deter it from its sanctuary. A few final surges for cover were to follow before another nice chevin came to the surface. It was nice to have managed another decent chub before the end of the session and even though I was happy with this to finish the day, I was still keen to get out once more before the season closed.

4lbs 7oz, definitely could go bigger!

First fish on the last day (4-7)

It wasn't until the last day of the season that I could get back out. I met up with my friend Mark Lindsay to wander a few new areas as room for thought for next season. Before Mark arrived, I fished a few areas that I have had previous success and managed my first fish of the day. It was great to have started the day off with another nice chub up for a feed.

I then met Mark, and we were both excited to see what the area could produce. In the first swims, we were soon getting our baits wittled down by many very jaggedy bites which we assumed to be the silver fish that inhabit this river. Mark had parked himself in a spot for a while, and after a few mysterious bites, he managed to connect with a good fish that went straight for the snags. Just as I was making my way to his swim with the net, the hook had pulled. We were both rather disappointed as it was a new swim, although it was certainly pinpointed for a future visit. After roving along this section for a fair while, we decided to make our way to a more familiar area to see if we could manage another bite. We covered a fair bit of the section with no response, so I made my way into a new swim which looked absolutely spot on. After a few minutes, the quivertip sprung into life and on connecting with this fish, I knew it was another good one!

5lbs 8oz

As I thought when we landed her, it was an old friend. It was actually a great shame to see since I caught her last time, that she had a mark from predation and was looking considerably emptier than before. On the contrary though, it was nice to see such a magnificent creature grace my net again and we took a quick photo before releasing her back to her watery home. By this time, Mark had run out of time and I was still left with a final hour. I spent this time rotating a few likely looking swims and managed a couple more modest chub to finish the day.

It was a great way to end the season with a few nice fish caught and some good company.

Tight Lines,

Tom

Last chub of the season!