01/12/2025 - A Good Two Hour Session on a bank high river

It was around 1000 hrs. when I arrived on the river bank, I should have been guiding a fly fisher today in search of grayling, but there was no chance, so we called it off until next week, hoping the river will be ideal for fly fishing. After taking the water temperature and getting a reading of 45 dregees F, I realized I could be in for a good day with a rise of 5 degrees F from the day before.

I chose to roam about fishing all the slower sections of water, close to the river bank where the water flowed a bit slower.

My Tackle Set Up

I used an 11-foot soft Avon action rod, matched with a small fixed spool reel with 15lb breaking strain braid, I then added a float stop before tying on a size 4 barbless hook. The normal weight would often get snagged in the rocks, then you have to pull for a break. The idea of the float stop is I can mould plasticine around the float stop, as my weight. You don’t often get snagged up, as the plasticine, will either pull off or change is shape, as you can pull it clear around 90% of the time.

The first spot I chose, was where a tree had fallen half in the water with the rest of the trunk on the bank, creating a quiet area of water, baiting with a big chunk of meat, I cast out so the bait was on the inside of the crease. As I sat holding the rod, I would get an occasional knock, but it wasn’t caused by a fish, but rubbish hitting the line. By holding the rod with the line over your index finger it’s surprising how often you can detect what is rubbish, and what is a fish.

I suppose thirty minutes had gone by, when I felt the line tighten over my finger then a powerful pull on the rod, striking I immediately realized I’d got a good fish, as it powered out of the quite water, into the very fast flow taking line off the reel as if powered away to my left, heading straight down the river, I was very surprised at this action, as I thought it would try and kite to my left into a sunken bush, where no doubt it would have got its freedom. It was several minutes before, I felt I’d got control of the situation. Slowly I was now gaining line, but this fish really did try to get its freedom, slowly line was getting retrieved, but every now and again, this fish would savagely shake its head, then take back a few feet of line.

Eventually I was getting the fish into the slower moving water, where it couldn’t use the power of the main stream, a minute or so later I got my first glimpse of my quarry, the silver scales shone brightly against the dark water, then I got its head half out of the water, as I slowly was able to draw this adversary over the net, then it was mine. I heaved a sigh of relief. After weighing the fish and taken a quick picture I walked well upstream before releasing the chub.

I chose to have another cast in the same area before moving down stream it was a good choice as with ten minutes I hooked another fish, this time I felt I’d got as trout, but no, “as I got the fish to the net, it was a chub about 3lbs”

Twenty yards downstream where a side stream flowed into the river, the water flow was much slower in the mouth of the stream. Dropping a bit of meat in I had a good pull with a minute or so, it felt a very good fish as it moved out into the fast flow. I was forced to give line at the same time using my finger on the spool to increase the pressure. A few minutes later I had full control, as I was able to take in line, soon my third fish of the day was in the net I estimated as around 4lbs. Again, a long walk upstream, I don’t like returning fish to the same spot as I feel they could spook other fish.

I then moved downstream to the edge of a wood, where an old Oak tree with some of its roots trailed into the water, I was tight to the downstream fence line. A side stream flowed into the river, where I had quite a deepish pool of slow-moving water, “an ideal spot” I thought, as I put in five pieces of meat as free offerings.

After a few minutes, I made a cast then allowed the bait to move slowly downstream, after a few feet, the rod tip , pulled round, striking, I missed this bite, rebaiting I cast out again within a minute I had another bite this time a fish was hooked, it was another chub around 3lbs.In the next forty or so minutes in the swim, I was very lucky to have four more good bites which I connected with, all of similar size I estimated around 4lbs.With the wind increasing the sky getting very dark I chose to end, what had been a very good session. I was lucky to fish today on a rising river with a rising water temperature. The day before the fields were frost covered, the water temperature was 40 degrees F I had just one bite from a trout.

Bait on a size 4 hook

2 pieces of bait on a hook

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