Diary of an average angler

I had a successful day at the Chubb Stream on the first day of the season last year so returned again this year, hoping for a similar experience. But conditions were completely different. The stream was low and clear, and very weedy, but that's not unusual in summer. But there seemed to be more streamer weed than I would have expected and, more importantly, the banks were overgrown with dense vegetation including tall nettles. Already a bit dispirited, I was concerned to see evidence of somebody having fished swims that I favoured.

I started at my favourite spot but couldn't access the part of the bank where I would normally cast from because of dense nettles. A little way upstream there was evidence of somebody having cleared an access point, the grass having been flattened. Being about ten yards further upstream, casting to place the bait under the overhanging tree, where I would normally aim for, was very challenging.

I managed to get near the desired spot and quickly had a knock on the quiver tip. On reflection I think I should have waited to see what developed, but I struck on the knock and didn't connect. I persevered and after a while, when I was about to give up, I struck on another pull and thought I had hooked a fish. But if it was a fish it had quickly shed the hook and I was left in streamer weed. Pulling clear sent the end tackle into the dense bankside vegetation further upstream but I was able to recover everything.

I continued to fish the swim, trying cheese paste as an alternative, but there were no more touches. I had probably spooked whatever was there. Disappointed I decided to move on to another swim.

I moved downstream to a spot where I took a chub last June but again the nettles were ginormous and there was evidence of an opening having been created by another angler. This time my first cast, which was blind because of the nettle screen, snagged on the nettle growth and when I pulled clear the end tackle flew up into a tree. I lost all my terminal tackle.

Retackled, I tried the spot for a while but with not a touch to show for it.

I dipped in the first spot again while walking back upstream, again unsuccessfully. I then tried a swim where a raft has formed under trees. It's a difficult swim to fish at the best of times and on this occasion it was close to impossible. And again there was evidence of somebody having already tried it. Not a touch!

Next I went to the swim by the town bypass, noisy but often productive. Getting to this swim was in itself a challenge necessitating wading through high meadow grass, another feature of the day! It was much weedier than I had seen before and with the low water level didn't look that appealing. My impression was justified when I didn't get a touch. Letting the bread flake drift under the raft formed by the overhanging tree, which seemed like a good bet, didn't produce the hoped for miracle!

Finally, on my return to the start of the stretch, I stopped where a pipe crosses the stream, a swim where I had taken a chub in the past. But once again it proved to be extremely weedy and didn't offer up even a touch. At this stage I decided to call it a day. I had only been there for around two hours but the temperature was rising and I was sure that I was unlikely to be successful.

My 'first day of the season' outing thus was a bit of a disappointment. I should have scouted out the stream earlier in the week, as I'm sure that I would have chosen another venue if I had done so. Fishing is all about challenges but on this occasion they were just a bit too difficult to overcome.