I tried for the big chub several weeks now and finally got a decent one. After several rejections of the fly and fleeing fish I found one happily cruising the stream without spotting me first. The hopper was served and the chub zipped it down without a care. beergarden.
I hooked the fish solidly on the 3-weight and despite it runs I did not loose the fish. The problem now was the bank was like 7 ft high thick with thistles and stinging nettles and the fish below somewhere lodged in the weeds. Only option was to go for a swim so I secured wallet and phone and slid in to net the fish. It was a warm summers day so no bother.
With the first day being rather good for chub fishing I tried again the next day. My goal was to improve on the fish size. I got a shot at a big fish early on as I spotted one in the bend of the stream. My cast landed the hopper near the fish and it moved out from under the bank into the open water.
The chub grabbed the foam hopper with gusto, I struck and had a solid hookup. Somehow the line must have been tangled as the tippet broke when the fish rushed back to its lie.
I only managed a few small chub on the hopper for the rest of the day. I noticed chub at other hot spots but those where not interested in my offerings. In the end it seemed wise to hit the pub as it was hot and sticky.
On the plus side I spotted my first local red kite, a predatory bird I only knew from southern climes. I also spotted an almost black roe deer, another first for me. With the hot summer months in progress top water chub fishery will be the main focus for the coming time.
The mayflies where gone so it was time to switch to another fishery. I decided it was about time to chase chub with big foam hoppers. I was surprised at the higher level of water in the stream. Normally at this time of year the stones of the fish ladders are visible.
The banks where finally mowed but spotting the fish in the higher water was difficult, could not find the big fish. I ended up blind casting upstream dropping the hopper with a splash on the water.
Fishing for chub in summertime was not an early morning outing. Consequently I ended up late for lunch at the pub avoiding the crowds and getting prompt service.
I skipped the visit to the chub section last time due to the weather. Now the skies where an even gray so I figured I might try again. I spotted some big ones from an old railroad bridge. I opted to move for a spot with easier access where I noticed a whole army of smaller chub. It looked like easy pickings but boy the fish where tough.
At other spots I ran into trouble reaching the waters edge or spotting fish. The banks had not been mowed and the grass stood four to five feet tall. Walking along the banks in the sticky heat proved to be a pain. The big fish where there though. I spotted three of them lying in the bend of the stream.
I struggled as my short rod was not exactly suited to contend with the high grass on the back cast. When I finally had a good shot at the chub a gust of wind threw the fly off course and the chubs scattered.
In the mean time the sun appeared through the cloud cover and it got even hotter and muggier than before. Something big was brewing in the sky and when the wind suddenly got stronger and a storm formed I had to make big tracks.
The goal was to reach the pub before the skies opened, alas it was 12 miles away. I was on my bike – the new electric assisted one so I notched the power setting up and tried to get as fast as possible to my destination.
It was a close call when I entered the dirt road near the pub. I noticed a car with Dutch plates and heard my friends stumbling in the forest next to the river. They had also noticed that somebody had turned out the lights. As we entered the pub the heavenly sluice gates opened.
I had to leave the sanctuary of the pub eventually. I reached the outskirts of the city after 2 hours of headwind and continuous rain. Then my battery died … that last mile was tough.
A hot and sticky weekend was predicted with local thunderstorms. I went outside at 0500 hrs and looked at a cloudy sky which looked like rain was imminent. The clouds moved west, I headed east so I was good. I planned was to visit the chub section of the stream and try for the big ones. The clouds however changed my plan, I did not trust the weather. No fun in walking in the open landscape when all hell would break loose.
I crossed the upper section of the stream and noticed rising fish. I stopped, got in the waders and tried to catch fish in ultra shallow water. A sedge pattern yielded only a tiny dace, the perdigon did better. I managed to get a mixed bag of roach, dace and trout.
When I spotted the big brown from last week again I just could not resist to toss another big mayfly under the tree, same result. After the pub lunch I continued to fish for a trout that I missed last time. I scared off the fish at first but lost track of where it went. I figured it might have hidden under some submerged brushes. The mayfly landed near the bank and as it drifted close to the brushes the trout came out and nailed the fly.
With the unstable weather I watched the radar from time to time. When I saw a big red spot moving in my direction I called it quits. It stayed dry with these thunderclouds it is better to be safe than sorry.
Another week, another weather type. The hot and dry weather changed to wet, cold and windy. I felt a little underdressed in the morning as it was quite chilly.
The rain of the past week had caused the water of the stream to rise. Visibility was limited and with the clouds, winds and temperature fish activity was non-existent.
During the first couple of hours only a few roach fell victim to the perdigon. I moved to a sheltered spot of the stream where my friends had failed to catch the resident trout during last weeks session. A deep fished perdigon was the ticket for the first trout of the day.
In the afternoon I went to the pub where the beer garden was empty … Too windy and chilly for the towns folk. I was fearing the pub would be closed due to the weather but I smelled the fireplace so I went in. I had lunch and warmed up at the fireplace before I went out again.
I had hoped for some rays of sun and mayfly activity later in the day. Mayflies where indeed about and some fish where rising. I went to a shallow section where I had seen trout last week. En route I spotted a big trout from the high bank in shallow water.
Every time I would peek over the edge of the bank it would scoot off. Very difficult to get at due to tree cover and shallow water but worth a try on the way back. The shallows yielded one solid hookup from a trout but not solid enough as the trout came off.
I noticed more than one trout when I waded out the pool but I would leave that for another time. The big trout was now a target for me. I sneaked up to the trout from downstream I saw that it was stationary waiting to pick up mayflies.
The challenge was that overhanging branches from a willow would make it very tough to land a fly near the fly. I failed at the first attempts either catching the shrubs behind me or falling short in distance.
I persevered and finally landed the fly next to the trout. A little twitch and the trout noticed the fly and came to intercept it. I set the hook and used maximum force to keep the trout out of the treeroots near the bank. A good end of the day with the best en prettiest trout of the season so far.
The stream almost dried up and fishing was slow in the blazing sun. Managed a few dace and a nice roach.
Near sunset fish where rising but as it was late I did not bother to put on the waders. Plenty of deer about in the field, always funny to see their eyes reflecting the light of the flashlight I carry with me.
Another early outing over the border in bright conditions. We have a drought in spring for the third year and the stream is at it’s lowest flow possible. The perdigon yielded the first trout of the day while the squirmy pulled a small perch from under the tree roots. Trout nr. 2 got away and since I spotted another angler near the spot I fished I moved to a quieter place.
At the spot where I had seen several trout last week I encountered only the dace. The stream was so shallow that I had the notion that any trout would take off the moment my dry fly would land on the water.
The deeper pools that once existed had been filled in with sand in winter when there was longer period with high water. While walking on the high banks I spotted a trout running for cover insome brushwork. Since the fish was surface feeding I moved down to the water and found a spot where I could make a proper cast.
I waited a while and observed dace starting to feed on top. Something larger lunged at a mayfly flying over the water so I knew the trout was also surface feeding. It took a few casts to drop the mayfly at the right spot but then it was an instant hit.
The shortage of water made visiting spots further upstream rather pointless so I went for an early lunch. The pub’s beergarden was crowded as the weather was warm and sunny. I had the porkchops with mushrooms today and for dessert the strawberry cake with plenty of cream. I am afraid this year could be the year that the stream runs dry if it does not start to rain sometime.
I fished a local stream late in the afternoon. The perdigon nymph yielded the first fish quite early in the session. I caught a good size roach and hoped for more of the same. Alas it stayed quiet for a long time. I tried the squirminator but only had a few hits of small fish.
I switched back to the perdigon as the worm did not perform that well. The perdigon was intercepted by a gudgeon, fish species 2 of the day. I tried several other spots hoping for fish but nothing happened.
I switched to a heavier tippet and a lure as the sun was low in the sky. My choice of weapon was a small woolly worm with a bullet shaped head. Something was chasing the fly, a perch lunged forward and took it. To my surprise a second perch about twice the size tried to eat the fish I had just caught.
I continued fishing the spot where I had last fish contact. The perch where wary though and only nibbled at the fly. I suddenly felt a tug on the streamer. A small pike had hit the fly and was actually going ballistic. I landed my first pike of the season despite the lack of a trace in the leader.
I tried the last mark of the day as the sun was setting but only hooked a piece of submerged wood. I called it a day when the mosquitoes came out at dusk.
Despite rain, chilly conditions and lots of wind the mayflies where out in numbers late in the day and fish eager to feed. In the morning surface action was non-existent so the perdigon did its magic.
Next weapon of choice was the squirminator which yielded a trout from within a maze of sunken trees and debris. Further use of the squirminator brought anything from gudgeon, dace, roach to trout.
Late in the afternoon when it started pouring the mayflies where appearing en mass and fish where rising. A large mayfly pattern yielded a good hit from a larger brown trout. The trout went ballistic but somehow the hook came out.
It was an interesting day with some casualties in the perdigon and squirminator department so some replacements are required.
