Browsed by
Tag: Chub

Germany 13-07-2021

Germany 13-07-2021

For last Sunday I had planned an early trip to a section of the stream that is beyond
the stretch I am allowed to fish.
I purchased a day ticket and was at the water around 06:00 watching dozens of fish
rise.

As with the trip last Friday the banks where virtually inaccessible.
The only way to safely reach the water was by means of the steps at the small
gage house.
I fished a small blue dun pattern and the first fish of the day was a small bleak.
Most of the fish rising where small bleak but some chub where mixed in.

The water was just too deep to move around in hip waders.
Next stop was the fast riffle above the weir that was accessible by wading
from the bank.
No fish where rising in that section and blind casting a big mayfly or dropping
nymphs in the current yielded no bites.

I moved down to the end of the riffle where the weir started.
On the calm water I noticed one rise so I made a few casts with the mayfly.
One one of the cast a fish came up and nailed the fly, it was a trout.
I only got one jump out of the fish as it threw the hook, bummer.

Further downstream in the shaded part I noticed a couple of chub behind a tree
in the water.
Casting from the bank would not cut it so I had to go in.
The sediment left over from the recent water was tricky though and I landed faster down
the bank than intended … in the drink again.
With only some wet waders and a covering of mud I continued fishing,

The part of the stream that flowed through the open landscape had no visible fish in the surface.
Too early in the season I guessed.
I noticed one big chub under a tree but the banks again overgrown with a very steep incline.
The water was also deep, once you fell in almost no way to get out.
I tried one hot spot upstream but nothing present so I left for the home waters.

At the home waters again no fish visible.
I blindcasted a know hotspot with the mayfly and a very big chub came up to suck the fly in.
Unfortunately that was at the end of the drift and when the fly began to drag the chub
disappeared into the depth.

Next stop the feeder stream, talked with a guy who walked his dog and he told me some
big chub where present at a bend in the stream.
I went there and behold a few big ones where moving around but rather deep in the water
column.
Fished from the steep high bank in the outer bend was no good so I had to go to the other bank.
I guessed the depth would be just right to wade through but I was wrong, anyways I was
focused so I moved on,

The big fish would not surface to intercept the mayfly, I only managed small fish.
Obviously these fish where not easy to fool and I guess they did not like my presence.
Last stop was the clubhouse where some fish where present in the wide shallow section.
Again the mayfly did not generate enough interest for a strike.
The only big chub I spotted in the open was not interested in my mayfly as it was pursued
by a rather large pike.
Both fish disappeared out of my vision, hint for the next time to run a streamer through there.

At the shallow section I noticed small baitfish jumping out of the water and suspected a perch
or pike might be present.
It turned out to be a chub so I tied on a woolly bugger and blind casted some spots but no hits.

Got a call from my friend that they where fishing the main stream and where taking a break
at the pub later so obviously I had to go.
Left the pub late and a steady run back home until I came on the bike path through the moor.
They had recently installed a set of gates with a cattle grid to give the cows access to
the pastures at either side of the bike path.

The cows had decided the bike path was a good place for a blockade.
Cows a big and stupid so there is an element of danger, I was locked in a stare down
with them.
I had no intention to around several miles so I slowly pushed forward and was ganged
up by the lot sniffing and inspecting my fishing gear.
They made way though in the end … no bulls present this time.

Germany, 11-06-2021

Germany, 11-06-2021

Last Friday was the day with the highest temperatures of the week.
With the end of spring in sight I found it time to go after the chub so
I took a day off from work.
I had gathered intel from the locals and they said it was too early yet
to spot the cruising chub.

It turned out to be true as I could not spot any free moving fish.
The first stop was in de middle of a small village, difficult to cast
but I noticed roach in the surface.
I fished a small blue dun dry pattern with a foam post and got a few
hits on  the fly.
The noise of early morning traffic bothered me though so I moved on.

The outflow of a mill albeit shallow was my next spot of focus.
It was shallow but with the water being a bit murky I figured I could
get away with fishing on close range.
I fished a perdigon nymph and hooked a couple of small chub and roach.
Small chub but in size larger than the roach and dace I had caught
upstream recently.

Further downstream the usual chub hotspots where empty.
In general no fish where to be seen.
The main stream was obviously not yet in summer mode.
Plan b was to visit the shallow wide section of the feeder stream at
the clubhouse of the syndicate.
That stretch usually held smaller chub with dace.

The clubhouse stretch boasted a few fish and the one chub I saw
was a decent one.
The small blue dun pattern however did not yield any interest of the
larger chub.

My thought where that a larger fly pattern would be the way to go.
I had scared of most fish at the end of the stretch by casting so I
moved upstream and found a pod of larger fish.
The big mayfly I fished caused interest and in the end one of the
fish went for it like there was no tomorrow.
I spotted a big fish near the other bank but it has seen me to and
ran off before I could make a cast.

With the targets running out I went downstream to a stretch that
usually was guaranteed to hold fish most of the year.
When I looked down from the bridge I noticed big chub.
The problem was that the steep banks where not mowed yet and
the grass was manhigh so I could not toss a fly from downstream.
The approach from upstream utterly failed as I was spotted by
the fish and caused the fish to run.

The last spot of the day usually good for fish was quite overgrown by the aquatic crowfoot.
No fish where cruising and as I battled the long grass I finally found a spot with rising fish.
All I could muster was one small chub although I had seen one large fish.
The heat really got to me, in order to survive the day I had to visit the beergarden where
I enjoyed my dinner under the cool shade of the trees.

Germany 20-09-2020

Germany 20-09-2020

Another sunny day was upon us so again back to the chub hot spots.
As it had not rained for ages the water in the stream was extremely
low and almost stagnant.
I did not manage to spot any large fish or many fish to be precise.

With the sun low in the sky I had again problems just seeing fish.
The many bow waves in the shallow water indicated to me that
the fish had none of such problems.

I finally spotted a collection of fish near a brigde.
The reaction to a dry fly landing in the water was not what I was hoping for.
The fish scattered with even the larger ones running scared.

Switched to a squirmy brought a small chub to surface and later on
a small sedge did the same.
The fish which I did not where totally uninterested in any flies I
offered them.
Hopefully some rain will fall soon to get some action started.

Germany 19-09-2020

Germany 19-09-2020

A bright sunny day just beckoned for chub fishing.
An early start was out of the question as it was fall and the morning
temperatures where quite low.
The first spot I visited boasted some chub and I had the first fish quite
early on.

A little walk along the stream revealed a very big chub in the middle
of the stream hovering in the surface.
I managed to put the fly right in front of the fish without scaring it
as I usually do.
The chub moved slowly towards the fly and tried to gulp it down.

Tried because yours truly was again to quick on the strike and yanked
the fly out of reach of the fish.
The fish submerged to be never seen again.
A trip to a feeder stream yielded chub nr. 2 of the day and later finally
the largest one of the day measuring 40cm.

Fishing was tough, quite some wind from the east and also a sun low
in the sky that made spotting fish very difficult for me.
Alas the fish had less problems seeing me … they ran …

Germany 06-09-2020

Germany 06-09-2020

I left for the stream just as the sun was appearing in the sky.
The weather forecast was questionable but early morning started with patches of fog and a clear sky.

Fall was here, crisp mornings with fog and still the possibility of warm afternoons.
With the sun low in the sky I could not really have a good look in the water and thus had difficulty with spotting fish.
I scared the fish off before I could make casts with only on one occasion a fish that took a look at the large dry fly twice before rejecting it.

With time the sun came higher but also clouds appeared and the wind picked up messing up my chances for sight fishing.
A small sedge yielded a small chub so at least I did not blank.
The spot I fished was clearly not yielded any fish so I headed to a feeder stream where surprisingly the fish where absent.

With some luck I got two larger fish but still not the size I wanted, fish in the 40 to 50cm range.
It was late afternoon when I tried my last spot which frankly had not been good to me this season.
Again the lack of sunshine made spotting fish virtually impossible with the fish seeing me first and running for cover.

I was lucky that I spotted the orange fins of a large chub upstream from me close to the bank, I noticed in fact two large chub.
I could not place the large mayfly under the bank from my position but I did manage to toss the fly near to the fish.

The fly was close enough to make both fish turn and one of them gobbled up the mayfly without any hesitation.
I kept my cool and struck at the right moment resulting in the landing of 
an 48cm long chub on the 4-weight.

Germany 30-08-2020

Germany 30-08-2020

I wondered if moving to the chub section on a day with fog and thick clouds would be a wise move.
On the other hand the low water at the upper reaches of the stream seemed equally a waste of time.

I arrived at the chub haunts and had difficulty spotting fish.
With some luck I managed to catch one chub near the bank who
failed to spot me.
I dropped the fly over the edge of the plants on the shore and got
an instant hookup.

Other fish I spotted ignored my fly all together, to smart to be
fooled by my attempts.
I witnessed the rare sight of an eel moving in the surface and if my
mayfly had not been stuck in the shrubs I would have tossed it in
front of the fish.

When the cloud cover lifted somewhat blue skies appeared, the
sun made it easier to spot fish.
I still struggled to sneak on to the chub which where in ample supply.
Plenty of opportunities but wary fish as expected in a small stream
with low water.

Before I caught fish nr. 2 I had some heart stopping moments when a
big chub hovered under the mayfly I tried to zip it in only to refuse
at the last moment.
I refrained from prematurely striking so I had the chance to target the
other chub nearby that swam upstream.
One cast near that fish was enough to entice a strike.

Time passed quickly and just before I decided to quit I made a second
pass at the fish I had scared off earlier.
Again the bank side vegetation obscured me from the fish and a cast
near the bank yielded fish nr. 3 of the day.

With three fish on the mayfly my day was made and so it was time
for a pub visit.
With temperatures on the low side a vest was required to enjoy the outside dining.
Fall is definitely around the corner.