Big Fish Column: Favourable conditions for chub

The last few days of the river season always sees a last minute rush to the banks and for once conditions have been favourable with opportunities for chub, barbel and perch at different points during the week.

Barbel can be notoriously tricky at the back end but there were opportunities as Bourne End angler Barry Squires proved with a big fish from the RDAA water at Lower Benyons. Dropping into a straight glide between bends he set up a simple running rig to offer a 14mm halibut pellet hookbait wrapped in pellet paste on a size eight hook to a 10lb fluorocarbon hooklength and 10lb main line.

Relying on a walnut-sized, PVA bag of mini pellets every third or fourth cast to ‘add a bit of flavour to the water downstream of my spot.’ Barry’s first bite after an hour resulted in a barbel of around the 6lb mark. An hour later a much better bite resulted in a  plump fish of 13lb 6oz, one of the best reported by a local angler.

Conditions for chub have been much better. Many chub have already grouped up in preparation for spawning and it has often been a case of ‘feast or famine’ with anglers either getting among a few fish - or catching nothing.

One good hit of fish fell to Danny Steward who fished the cage feeder with liquidised bread mixed with ground hemp to net five fish to 5lb 12oz from St Patrick’s Stream. Danny found the shoal of fish holed up in a small area on the middle of the venue just above the Loddon Drive Bridge and presented flake on a size 10 hook to 6lb main line and 4lb hooklength to catch them.

A 5lb 12oz fish was also the reward for Spence Parkinson who took a catch of four fish from the Thames at Cookham. Spence used a bread and maggot cocktail on a size 10 hook.

Back-end perch are typically fat with spawn and Julian Prior caught a Thames fish of exactly 3lb. Julian took the fish on a small gold-coloured Mepps spinner on a roving session on the river at Bourne End and also took several smaller fish to over 2lb on a combination of soft rubber baits and small jelly worms.

The final few days of the season should continue to bring mixed but good results with chub likely to be at the fore.

Any anglers wishing to report catches can contact me on 07780 755138 or email me at ian@bigfishtrail.com