I had a trip to the famous Royalty midweek after five outings on the Stour; this time hoping to spot some chub or barbel to target. The banks were busy, as it was early in the season and to add to the challenge weed cutting was being carried out upriver in one of the famous pools. This made fishing difficult! With only bream knocking about in the swim, I was glad when the rafts of weed floating downstream became less of a hindrance. When the tip finally registered a bite I was grateful to catch one. With another two anglers setting up opposite me I called it a day at lunchtime.
My first Avon bream saves a blank – June 2018
The next evening I headed to the new stretch of the Stour. The sun was out and I had a good scout about. It was busy and the swims I wanted to fish were taken, but I gave a couple of others a go without any luck up to dark.
After that blank, I had a refreshing two days away from river before heading out again to the same stretch. This time for an evening session after watching England win their second World Cup group match. I arrived to an empty fishery, but before settling I had a good look at the bottom end of the stretch before baiting a few swims close together ready for the rove back to the car. As I was settling into my first swim I heard another angler approaching! After a chat he settled two swims above me and with that I decided to sit it out in the one peg fishing sweetcorn for a change. After a couple of small chublets and with the sun now dropping behind the trees on my bank, I decided to spend my last couple of hours in another swim slightly further up from the other angler. I had baited this swim on my way up the stretch after chub proper.
This swim holds a whole host of features to target. The upstream end is shallow and weedy with small gravel patches exposed, as the flow runs past the start of the peg it then drops down into a deeper hole around 10 yards from the nearest fishing point. The current sweeps across the river near a big tree downstream that protrudes half way across the swim and the current is then funneled through a narrower gap past an overhanging willow on the far bank. With the river low and clear I’d ditched the light lead choosing to fish a light link ledger of just 4 AA’s. This was enough to make the cast to a gap in the far bank cover above the deeper hole, which would then swing the hook bait under the trailing willow branches. I made the cast as the sun set and waited. Apart from the odd knock and an otter going through the swim, I’d not had anything worth hitting. Just before it got dark I decided to have one last cast. I was going to give it another 20 minutes, I didn’t have to wait that long before an indication on the tip turned into a hit-able bite and soon I was playing a chub under the head torch. It put up a good scrape as it tried to bury itself among the lush weed beds above the swim before being safely netted.
The last cast of the evening produced this 5 lb 1 oz chub – June 2018
After weighing and a quick mat photo I returned the fish to fight another day before packing in and heading home to bed.
The next evening I was back on the same stretch, although this time I started in a different swim again with the corn. While I was waiting for the shadows to lengthen, I caught some dace and chublets before moving to the same swim I’d caught from the night before. I went through the same routine, although this time the bite came half an hour sooner but it was a smaller chub this time. I stuck it out for another 45 minutes without another touch before calling it a night.
Short and stocky Stour chub – June 2018
My next two sessions were both on the same stretch, one at dusk and one the following dawn. On arrival the sun was still strong, so I decided to walk the whole stretch baiting as I went. With one other angler on the beat, along with some canoeists, I was in no rush to start fishing. The sun had set before I settled into my first swim and with the other angler now gone I was looking forward to roving the stretch. The swim I chose to start in is a run of shallow water over clean gravel below a deep pool, before the river meanders to the the right. I had indications straight away, but I missed the first proper pull! On the second cast after striking into thin air, I came back without a hook link as a pike took a liking to my boillie. It was third time lucky, as I finally connected and it turned out to be a 2 lber. With a bright moon and no sign of life in my second spot I decided to grab a few hours sleep and be back on the bank for daybreak.
A misty summer dawn – June 2018
The alarm sounded at 03:30 am and by 04:00 am I was back beside the river on the mist shrouded banks. It was a beautiful dawn and I was glad I made the effort to be out so early with so little sleep! I was fishing by 04:15 am in a favourite swim at the bottom of the stretch. I’d baited it several times over the last few weeks and although it hadn’t produced on opening day I was confident if there were chub about I’d catch. The stretch had a good track record for producing at dawn. I made the now routine cast down and across letting the link ledger settle mid-river on the gravel. I had indications straight away, although I bumped a fish on the first cast. Luck was on my side as on the second attempt I connected to tentative bite and before long a chub was resting in the mesh of the net. After returning the chub. I spent the rest of the morning enjoying the sunshine while watching a motionless tip. All in all, I fished four swims and only the one produced. With sun blazing, I did some spotting and although I saw quite few they weren’t interested in feeding on my free offerings, so I left them in peace and headed home to bed around mid morning.
4 lb 10 oz – June 2018
The following morning I intended to do another dawn start on another stretch, this time also armed with the float rod as well as the chub rod. I never made the 03:30 am alarm call and it was 05:30 am before I was on the bank. With the sun already up, I knew I’d ruined my chances of a decent net of silvers. It was still nice to be catching on the float in the short time before the bright sun and a lively jack pike killed the swim; I caught a small net of Roach, Dace, Bleak, Perch and a fish which always brings back fond memories for me of when I first started out fishing the humble gudgeon.
Beauty in miniature – June 2018
With the float rod stowed away, I made my way to the top of the stretch to an area which has usually got a few chub inhabiting the swim. Today was the first time I’d seen it in the morning sunlight and I wasn’t disappointed when I peered over the bank. A shoal of 8 chub from a 1 lb to upper fours were holding in the current at the extreme edge of the swim. This peg is essentially split into two parts: the top and bottom. With the chub holding at the bottom of the swim, it made sense to fish from above although I was in no rush to start. I introduced some hemp, corn and boillies in the top half and then I watched the reaction from the better viewing position from the bottom of the run. At first the bigger fish of the shoal held back from feeding letting their smaller cousins test the safety of the free food After a while the bigger fish started to take the odd morsel. I stood and watched the shoal for 30 minutes, as the bigger of the shoal got confident. I set up the rod with a light lead and swung the baited rig into the run from the top swim. A tractor started to turn the grass ready for baling, which had been recently cut right behind me in the field. I was sure the vibrations would spook the shoal. Just as the tractor made its third pass ten yards behind me, the tip twitched twice before taking on a pleasing bend as the chub made its mistake. The fight was great in the tight fast water swim and it was a relief when I manged to get the fish up above the net before letting the current do the rest. I guessed it would be a one fish swim due to the close nature of the holding area and also there is a popular place for dogs to jump in the river on the opposite bank. I was right, despite the shoal returning they spooked for good once the dogs started swimming just upstream. With that I headed home around mid morning.
4 lb 10 oz – June 2018
Fish Tales From The Riverbank 