Diary of an average angler

The Chubb Stream hasn't been that kind to me of late, with only one chub from my previous two visits this season. But with the end of the season approaching and the reported water level being the most favourable of my local venues, I decided to give it one more go. I took my cane rod and centrepin hoping for a memorable session but it wasn't to be.

On arrival I did indeed find the stream low, too low in fact. But despite the low level it was pushing through quite strongly. The swims at the top of the stretch appeared far too turbulent, as I was to find when I returned later in the session.

I made my way to my favourite spot, once an almost certainty for a chub. But of late it has disappointed, and this was again to be the case on this occasion. Things weren't helped when my landing net slid into the water as I was trying to get comfortable on the sloping and slippery bank. Fortunately the net/handle combination floated, much to my surprise, but there followed a lengthy and difficult recovery process.

I followed the net downstream and attempted to recover it using my rod. The bank was high and very slippery and at one point I had to lay back on the ground as my feet slid towards the edge. I was cursing and breathing heavily but I finally managed to lift the net out. A cup of coffee and a period of recovery followed.

I carried on fishing there for a while but was convinced that any chub present would have been well and truly spooked, so I soon moved on.

My next stop was at the fence at the next meadow where I fished both sides of a small tree. Upstream of it I cast under the raft that had formed against the suspended branches but with no success. I then moved to the other side where an undercut bank a little way downstream offered possibilities. On two occasions the rod tip pulled very slightly immediately after casting but I'm not sure it was a fish. These were to be my only indications throughout the session. Changing to worm in the hope of attracting a perch in the almost slack eddy didn't produce anything.

I carried on downstream, something I haven't done for a while as I've been restricting my walking. The stream becomes shallower with faster water and fewer slacks. I tried a couple of slacker areas below dying reed beds hoping a chub might be sheltering in one or the other. But again, no joy. I didn't want to walk any further downstream so started making my way back, intending to drop in a few spots that I had walked past earlier. I dropped in the first spot again hoping it may have settled after the net drama but once again there was nothing doing. I then had one cast in a tricky spot where a small raft had formed but the bait swung around into the faster flow.

I next arrived at the pool just downstream of the bypass, a spot that had been reliable in the past. But on this occasion there was, once again, nothing doing. I tried both flake and worm without so much as a nibble. At this point I think I knew that the session would likely end in a blank.

Walking back upstream I fished just upstream of the large gas pipe that crosses the stream. Again this was a spot that had produced chub in the past but not this time.

I had a couple of more spots to try when my backup power pack for my GoPro ran out of charge but it didn't really matter, since both spots were pushing through at a pace with really no slacks and a lot of turbulence. So that was that! I must admit that I had hoped for a better outcome and the experience left me doubting whether the stream remained a worthwhile venue. In more recent times it hasn't fished anywhere near as well as when I first fished it in 2020.

Subsequent information has indicated that a seal had been seen on the main river by the outflow of the Chubb Stream. Whether this explains the deterioration in the fishing isn't clear but things ceratinly seem to have deteriorated over the past couple of years.