Frustrating River Chew followed by Bristol Avon Perch

James and I spent many hours on lower River Chew searching for fish in the sedate flow on the float. James loved every minute using his whip he bagged up on Minnows to maggot on a size 16 hook. I am afraid the Minnows did not quite have me so captivated and I was frustrated not to see some variety - maybe the odd out of season trout or chub to break up the predictability but it wasn't to be. We moved to the Bristol Avon and I was happy to finish the day with a nice Perch on the fly, a red fur number that has served me well in the past. Heck of a lot of water coming down but clear enough to work a lure.

Another Chubtastic session on Somerset Frome

A misty morning across the Bristol Avon catchment and the rivers were in fine condition after copious amounts of rain and a short spell of settled, fairly dry weather. The levels were within normal but high with the colour just dropping. Not quite enough clarity to make the fly the obvious choice so if I needed an excuse to run the stick float through some of my favourite runs this was the time. James, my youngest, had brought his Christmas whip which was only really feasible in the back eddies of some of the biggest pools. To my surprise whilst I blanked for the first 20 minutes in the main flow James caught a lovely miniature Roach and Dace close to the bank. First swim then went quiet. After testing a few other swims trotting the stick we finally settled on a long straight run ending in a bend. It was approximately 6' even depth with steady flow.  It was not long before we got re-acquainted with one of the resident big Chub. After a head banging struggle and a couple of burrowing runs to the bank it was in the keepnet (James' Christmas present number two!). For the next couple of hours James and I literally bagged up netting at least a dozen good sized Chub between 2-4lb.

Usual tackle of 6lb fluro attached to size 6 hook and a generous cheese paste blob. In most circumstances a positive hook up would result for leaving the float to dive away for few seconds. An immediate strike would often return the bait in a moulded shape crushed by the larynx of the Chub but without fish. I left in disbelief of how this stretch of river can sustain such a density of large fish. My thoughts turned to new year planning and what great fun a focussed a session on the fly in the summer would be. It was also good to see a couple of other anglers on the bank during the Christmas break.

In praise of Chub on the Somerset Frome

Well I had checked the river levels in the morning and although high the rivers were falling. So I headed off to the lower Somerset Frome with Pike fly rod and back up float gear for Chub in hand. On arriving I could see the river was up and coloured unfishable from a fly or lure perspective. I reached for the stick float and put my faith in the Chub. The day was bright after a period of prolonged heavy rain. I set off for miles trying every back eddy on the stick float feeding each swim with liquidized bread. The current was racing through and I was conscious I needed to get my cheese paste to penetrate the depths. It was tough to start and I only had size 6 hooks so it was go big or go home. Lots of bites from smaller fish, I guessed they were Dace or possibly Roach, but I was not connecting. I had avoided the weir pools thinking the fast flowing water would not be the best in such conditions. This was a bad move as in the last hour I fished the tail of one of the biggest weir pools. The expanse of water was actually dissipating the flow and the float was running nicely at about 5' deep on the edge of the crease to the main channel. Within a few minutes first Chub of about 3lb was on the bank after a lunging fight with the fish breaking water several times. I caught four Chub all within the 2.5lb-3lb bracket on a generous lump of cheese paste and would have continued if I hadn't run out of bait. The Chub were in fine condition and I have to say this stretch of Avon Tributaries Somerset Frome is a cracking fishery.

Somerset Levels Piking

Blustery day on the levels with heavy showers and the odd sunny interval. The drains thankfully staying within their banks but only just. Trio today of  Red, my youngest James and I. Tough day at the office though with very little action. One small pike fell to the fly, a red rabbit fur fly with weighted fish head. The fish hit once but I did not connect and then took it second time as I covered the same area. James and Red were using lures and spinners but not a tug. We covered some ground but it just wasn't happening.