I had blanked on my last two trips to the Chubb Stream but decided to give it try having renewed my club membership this season. On arrival there was a good healthy flow but the water was crystal clear and the weed growth even more prolific than last year. With the bright sunny weather the conditions weren't therefore that great. I decided to head first to a swim that in the past was very reliable, although more recently it has disappointed. On getting there it was more difficult to fish than I had previously experienced.

The reed bank on the far side of the stream was now encroaching some 80% into the stream, concentrating the flow and thus making my target spot more lively than I had experienced in the past. Bank side growth was, as usual, prolific and the tree under which I proposed to cast the bait was much more intrusive in terms of branches impeding the cast.

Starting with bread flake there was no immediate response to my first cast which was, admittedly, a bit short. The next attempt to cast further downstream saw me snag the tree, but fortunately I got everything back. Shortening the distance between the single 2SSG shot and hook made casting a bit easier and I managed a couple of good placements. All I got were taps on the quiver and I soon concluded that they were probably from dace. Changing to spam stopped the taps but it came back a bit nibbled, reinforcing my suspicion that small fish were there but probably not chub. I decided to move on.

The next stop was a spot I had fished before but with no success. But it had all the hallmarks of a chub haunt with a small raft having formed against an overhanging bush. I kept the spam on from the previous swim and made a surprisingly good cast that saw the bait hit the water just in front of the raft, meaning it would almost certainly drop under it. My line had caught on some nettles just in front of me and no sooner had I cleared it than the quiver tip went round in a firm chub-like fashion. And it was indeed a chub.

After a bit of a battle keeping the chub away from streamer and the edge vegetation I netted a fine conditioned fish that weighed in at 2¼ lbs. Not a monster but good for the small stream.

I next moved downstream a bit to a spot where I had caught before, first trying a nearside undercut just downstream. Casting was blind and all I succeed in doing was first snagging overhanging nettles and then getting caught up in streamer. Casting further downstream to what appeared to be a channel between streamer didn't produce anything either. Time for another move.

I checked out a couple of spots as I walked upstream back towards the start of the stretch. Neither were fishable, and a quick look at a previously favoured swim just below the bypass showed it also to be too difficult to fish.

I was then back in the first meadow and stopped at what I call the pipe swim where a large gas pipe crosses the stream. Here again was a spot that had produced in the past but not recently. I spotted a clear patch of gravel just downstream of where I was standing and managed to cast a piece of spam into it. I could actually observe the bait but my hope for a chub to sidle out of the streamer and take it wasn't realised.

Next stop was where dogs often run down a small gulley to have a swim. It's possible to get down to almost water level but care is needed not to step in the water filled gulley. And the cast is completely blind. I was snagged at the first attempt, with the hook and shot catapulting itself into the nettles as it broke free. Freeing the tackle from the nettles I saw that it was perhaps easier to fish from the top of the bank which offered better visibility for casting. But I got snagged again so decided to move on.

My final swim was to be by the small bridge at the top of the stretch but as I had arrived at the previous swim some lads had turned up by the bridge and were casting into where I planned to fish. I later found out that they were lure fishing. I had to sort out some battery issues with my GoPro and as I was doing this the lads moved on, so I decided to give the bridge swim a try.

I think that lure casting by a couple of lads in clear view wearing white tops would certainly have put any chub down. But I gave it a try, casting spam to a spot under some overhanging branches. But I got snagged in the branches and lost my hook and shot. Retackling I decided to free line with just a hook and a piece of spam, which was heavy enough to cast. But unfortunately a few quite good casts to the area where I expected the chub to be produced nothing.

It was getting hot and I was pretty exhausted with all the walking and struggling to fish difficult swims, so I decided to call it a day soon after midday. But I regarded the session as a success since I had said at the start that even one chub in the prevailing conditons would be a success, and I stand by that assessment.