Arrival time: circa 11.15 at swim.
Weather: Cloudy/bright intervals, breezy and cold - 5⁰C.
Tackle: 11' 6' John Wilson Avon Quiver with 1.5oz quiver, simple SSG link, 6lb line, 8 hook.
Baits: Bread flake & cheese paste.
Fish: 2 chub

With the rivers reportedly fining down after the recent rain I decided to give the Trout Stream a try.

The Environment Agency site showed the river at normal level but on arriving it was clearly carrying extra volume and coloured. I had been hoping for better conditions.

I started at the swim where I caught the 'last minute' chub last time, quite close to the entrance to the stretch. But conditions were very different today and despite trying various parts of the swim I didn't get a touch.

I had decided to seek out some new spots today, relying on the fact that the vegetation had died back or had been flattened by other anglers. And this was the case. I dipped in a few spots without success until I came to an inviting swim with slower water nearer the bank and a well-defined crease against the faster water midstream.

And after a short while my reading of the swim was confirmed as I struck into a chub. It was quite spectacular, in that the fish either leapt or was pulled out of the water by the strike. It soon went down again and gave a short fight, trying for the nearside margin as usual. It wasn't big, although probably over a pound. I stayed in the swim for a while as it presented ideal features but didn't take any more fish.

After quickly trying a couple of other quite challenging spots, without success, I arrived at the large pool where I had fished, unsuccessfully, on my first fishing trip to the stream. On this occasion I got bites and actually made contact with a fish, once again pulling it out of the water, but it was probably a roach that was either not hooked properly, or perhaps was dragged out with the bread flake!

Despite a couple of more bites in this pool, one missed because of lack of attention, I didn't again make contact. I moved on to try another challenging and again unproductive spot, before arriving at a swim that I had remarked on when I first checked out the stream. But today, with the summer reeds flattened, it offered a far more inviting prospect than when I first saw it.

Sitting where tall reed beds would have been, I could look down a long straight section of the stream as it left a narrower section and a bend. There was turbulent water to the right and slacker water downstream to the left, and a classic crease between these flows.

I started by fishing the crease but later cast more into the slower water and was in time rewarded by a missed bite, followed by one that I hit. After quite a battle in the heavy water I netted a beautiful 2lb 13oz chub. Judging by the fight it gave, and its girth, I expected it to weigh more.

I carried on fishing the swim for a little longer but didn't get any further bites. It was in any event close to my packing up time, and I was happy to do so after catching such a fine fish.

All in all a challenging day that taught me a bit more about this stream, which I only started fishing recently.