Arrival time: 09.50
Weather: Overcast but very mild for February.
Tackle: 10ft Fishtec Compact Float, link leger, 6lb line.
Baits: Bread flake & Cheese paste.
Fish: Two chub

A return to the Chubb Stream after quite a long break. The stream was heavily coloured and at first I thought it was running high, but in fact the level was quite low.

My first trip to a river since 17 December because of a combination of repeated flooding and the restrictions of the latest Covid lockdown.

I had my 'jab' over three weeks ago and I rarely meet anybody at the Chubb Stream, so I adjudged the risk as miniscule. However, I had tweaked my back a week or so before and was a bit worried how it would bear up to all the kneeling and crouching that I do when fishing a small stream.

I went straight to what I call the 'tree swim' and after missing a bite on bread flake changed to cheese paste. This proved successful as I was soon into a chub that felt like a monster because of a combination of a spirited fight and the strong flow. However, when I came to net it the flow kept dragging the net away from the fish resulting in a bit of a pantomime. A dodgy left shoulder didn't help and it took me an age to net the fish, which I was lucky not to lose.

It was a nice chub of 2lb 5oz that fought like it was much larger.

Walking up the bank with the rod in one hand and the netted fish in the other my foot slipped and I fell forward. In normal circumstances this would have been no more than an embarrassment but on this occasion the jolt to my back changed a niggle into quite a serious problem.

After this I really struggled. I rested up and did a bit of walking to ease things off. I also had a long chat with a chap who had spoken to me on a previous occasion and then spent a while describing my new camera on video. These 'rests' didn't really improve things for my back but they did, however, allow time for the swim to recover so I carried on there for a while longer, but with no luck.

I then made my way to the bypass swim where I had caught before and didn't need to wait long for a bite. This fish also battled hard but I was able to steer it out of the main flow quite quickly, which made things easier. I thought it was bigger than the previous fish but in fact it was only marginally so, at 2lb 8oz.

To finish off I went to the pipe swim. I haven't caught there during winter and today wasn't any different. I was, anyway, quite beat, the struggle with acute back ache finally taking its toll. But considering the adversity I don't think that I did too bad.

On this occasion I tried out my new POV (Point of View) camera and recorded a live commentary on the video, both of which went quite well I think.