A couple of days after my last outing I decided on another visit to Beat 2 for an early morning session after chub. I arrived before the sun rose and made my way down the stretch, taking my time to access each swim before deciding where to bait. I settled on four spots ready for the return journey back to the car. The first swim had produced a small chub on my last visit, so I was hoping for a repeat. Although I received a bite, I missed it! An hour or so had passed since I’d baited the other swims, despite giving each a good 30 minutes, with neither producing a touch. With one other baited area still to try, I wasn’t too fussed as made my way back to the car. Along this particular part of the fishery there are some great looking swims. Although they are popular I tend not to bait them, but instead drop in when they are free. On this occasion each one was occupied! Luckily my last baited spot was free and after a handful of bait was thrown in, I made my short cast. I could just about see the shapes of a few chub milling around over the bait. The bites in this swim are super cagey and today was no different, as I struck too soon. I made no mistakes on the second attempt by fishing a slightly slack line, waiting for it to tighten and soon I had a chub on the mat. After returning that fish I tried my luck again, however they were even more spooky and I missed my next chance. With more anglers arriving I decided to call it a day and headed home for lunch.
Blank saver 4lber October 2017
A piker’s dawn October 2017
Two days later I decided to give the pike rod an outing on a local stretch. I arrived on the fishery at daybreak and headed to an area just before a sharp bend, which holds a deep, long slack under the near bank. I gently lobbed my float-fished sardine into the slack and sat back to admire a beautiful sunrise, as the mist lifted around me. After an hour the float hadn’t moved, so I decided to recast over to the far bank snags where the river shallows up steeply. Within 15 minutes the float started to show signs of life when something picked up the dead bait. On this occasion, the strike was met with nothing because the culprit had dropped the bait. I spent another few hours dropping in the other ‘pikey’ spots to no avail.
That afternoon I had another short session this time with the chub rod. On arrival, I was surprised to find another angler on the beat and I spent more time talking than fishing. Another blank was added to the ever-growing tally!
A few days later I had a very short session after work on the same stretch, all went to plan as my first swim produced a chub on the first cast. The next two spots, despite being baited three times that week, didn’t produce a touch and it wasn’t until dark that my final spot threw up chub.
Two peas in a pod October 2017
The following week the river had a much-needed flush through when we sustained a few low-pressure systems and storm Brian on the south coast. I still ventured out for two very short stints after work. The first produced just one bite which turned out to be a chub all of 12 oz! The second was an attempt to see if I could catch while the river was high and coloured. The short answer was no! Although I wasn’t too bothered because I had 10 days off to look forward to and I was hoping this time might yield a few fish to my rod.
Fish Tales From The Riverbank 