I smashed my chub PB at the weekend…….just before the rainscame. I must be one of the few anglers around who has difficultycatching chub.
Up until Friday my previous best had been a specimen of 2lb 2oz!Mind you, I have never targeted them in particular, being a pleasurefisherman who is lucky if he manages 3 or 4 hours a week on theriverbank.
Anyway, the stretch of the Bristol Frome I fish had been runninggin clear for almost a week and fishing had been very difficult. ButI had seen some huge chub patrolling up and down the river on my lastfew sessions so decided on a plan of attack. I prebaited four swimswith groundbait and then set off downstream with my eye on a lovelyRainbow that I had seen holed up a couple of days ago.
Typically the Rainbow was not there, so I had to make do withpicking off a few small roach before daring to go in pursuit of thechub. Two hours had past, it was now about 7:30 am and, if nothingelse, it was warm and a pleasure to be out. I checked each swim inturn and was annoyed to see all the bait still in place, which I putdown to the river being so clear and the fish being spooked by it. Idropped a bait into each swim in turn just in case. But nothing, noteven a sight of the big chub.
I packed up my gear, apart from the landing net and rod, and setoff for home. And it was just then I saw them basking in some rays ofsunshine that were bursting through the tree cover.
Not huge in comparison to some I had seen in the river, but wellworth a cast. I decided on a freelined lobworm. This gave me justenough weight to flick out to the far side of the river withoutspooking the fish. The water was only about a foot and a half deep,if that, with very little flow at that point. So on went the worm andI gently flicked the bait out behind the fish and watched it bouncealong the river bed.
And then the fish saw it. Half a dozen chub from all angles made afrantic attack on it. The line tightened and I gently lifted into thefish. It was on! It made a few bold bids to escape but didn’t put upa great fight. After one last-gasp run when it saw the net it wassoon safely on the riverbank. I was gobsmacked. It was massive incomparison to any chub I’d had before. It weighed a hefty 5lb 3oz,and I just wish I’d had my camera with me. I returned it to the riverand tried a few more casts but nothing else happened.
Needless to say I went home very, very happy. And if that was oneof the fish I saw before casting there are definitely bigger fish inthe river.
Looks like I shall have to become a stalker!
