11/01/2025 - A Good start To 2025

Lots of frozen water on the riverside fields

 I’d planned to start on New Years day, but no way could I get near the river, there was one place I might get to the water’s edge, but a stream flowing into the river was just a roaring torrent, the word roaring was just what is sounded like, caused by the water coming off the high fields then down the steep bank through the wood. So no fishing. Today when I got to the river, I found three other anglers, which surprised me as usually it’s rare to see another angler, “Good morning” I said, one of them said “What’s good about a flooded river” I just said “That’s angling, but I will collect all the rubbish left in the car park, tidy up the cabin, and no doubt there will be plenty of rubbish on the banks” They got in their car and disappeared, I heaved a sigh of relief, though the river was still very high and fast, I felt if I roamed around looking for all the quiet bits of water I might just get a couple of fish.

I put together a soft Avon action rod, matched with Certate 2500 fixed spool reel, its top engineering made in Japan some years ago, for Diawa, though later they were manufactured in another country. The Japanese models are far superior, to the later reels. Mine was loaded with 8lb bs moss green Gama line. I then added two float stops which I would use to mould my plasticine around, I then tied on a size 4 Pallatrax barbless hook. In my tackle bag I had some bread, cheese paste and meat, a box holding various size hooks, some plasticine, set of scales, weigh bag, also a box of sweetcorn as a last resort, should I switch to float fishing. With seat and tackle bag on my back, rod and landing in my left hand, my walking stick in the other hand, it was off for what could be a long walk as I didn’t know what to expect.

After walking about six hundred yards, I come a across a partially submerge bush, where the water behind it was slower than above, I thought “That could be worth a try”, checking the water temperature I got a reading of 42 degrees F. I then moulded a small piece plasticine around the float stops set about eighteen inches from the hook. I baited with a walnut size chunk of cheese paste moulded around the hook, cheese that Mark Byfield sent me, I lowered it down in the water until I felt it settle on the river bed, then fed some line so the bait would trundled downstream slowly, then it stopped. Sitting down on a bit of sponge, I sat quiet as a mice, holding the line and hoping for a pluck from a hungry fish.

Twenty or so minutes later, I got a light pluck, then a good pull, striking, I immediately felt a good fish move out into the fast water, line was stripped off the reel. “This is a good one” I said to myself, the fish was using the fast water to its advantage, at the same time it would shake it head every few seconds, I could feel every movement through the rod and line. After a few minutes it was now well downstream. I made the decision to try and get below the fish rather than try to get it upstream against the fast flow. I then started to think, “It might be another five pounder.” I slowly moved downstream dragging the net eventually I was lucky to get below the fish, now I could exert some side pressure and hopefully draw the fish back to my side of the fast water. I had to be careful, as no doubt there was a chance with all the head shaking the fish could get free.

For several more minutes of a give and take tussle, I was slowly getting some line back on the reel, also I started worrying about any old branches in the swim caused by the flood water. Sometime later I got my first sight of the plasticine, then a glimpse of the fish, followed by seeing the hook was in the scissor of the chubs mouth, it looked a big fish. Pushing the net out as far as possible without it being swept from my grasp, I eased the fish close, then over the submerged net then lifted, the fish slid off the rim of the net back in the water. I then got the fish once more over the net, then heaved a sigh of relief, I could to see my fish in the mesh of the net. I dropped the rod then dragged the net onto the bank. Moving up the bank away from the water I laid the net onto my weigh mat, it was easy to slip the hook from the fish, after partially lowering the net in some reeds where the fish could rest, I zeroed my scales with the weight bag, taking the bag off the scales, I lifted the net from the reeds, then laid it the mat, slowly pushed the fish into the weigh bag, then hoisted it in the scales. I got a reading of 4 lb 12 ounces, that will do nicely to start 2025. After a quick picture making sure the flash wasn’t on, I got what I though was a suitable photograph, then walked well downstream before releasing the fish.

Moving on to my next spot I quickly caught two 2lb chub both estimated, both on bread crust, I had these two fish within thirty minutes. After a twenty minutes I changed back to cheese paste, in the next hour I had two more good fish estimated around 3lbs, then a blank session, so I moved on, in the next spot. I chose cheese paste, resulting in two more 2lb chub. After a thirty minutes without any interest I moved to my next spot then cast out a thumb size piece of of meat, checking the water temperature, it was steady at 42 degrees F . I suppose thirty minutes had gone by, when the rod nearly got pulled from the rest, I didn’t need to strike, line was being taken off the reel as I picked up the rod, I let the fish run, to the best of my knowledge I didn’t have any snags in the swim, the fish then went into a bit of head shaking, occasionally taking a bit of line, slowly I started to gain control, but my only problem was getting the fish through the very fast water, eventually after a bit of give and take, I had the fish coming towards my bank, the only danger were the reeds in the water. A couple of minutes or so later, I extended the landing net as the fish rolled on the surface, it was beaten all I had to do was draw it over the net then lift, it was mine. On the scales it weighed 4 lb 3 ounces, I was more than happy to catch a brace of 4 lb fish. After another long break with no interest, I moved again to where a big oak with a bit of bank protruding out into the stream, creating a slack spot.

I was on a steep sloping bank, so I slithered down to the tree roots, using my bit of sponge I sat down on the tree roots not the most comfortable place, but I had to make the best of the swim, baiting with crust I made an underhand cast dropping the baited hook on the inside of the fast water. Within a minute I got a good pull, soon I had a chub about two pounds in the net. Unhooking the chub I walked well downstream to release the fish. Back in the swim I quickly had a similar size chub to the previous one, again on crust. This fish was also released downstream. I fished on for half an hour or more, but no more action. It was time for a mug of OXO with a dash of pepper, I sat in the cabin looking back at the days action thinking “What a good session it had been” I then decided to call my taxi. I will be back tomorrow on another stretch of water.

M first chub of 2025

One of my swims

Oak tree swim

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