The problem with being an all round angler is trying to find time to track down the larger specimens of your quarry. But the plus side is catching a variety of species and keeping the excitement levels high. The last couple of months of the river season was great fun for me for that very reason.
Pike seem to be my bogie species as I've never caught a large specimen. Although I have caught them to just shy of 20lbs. My local river was my choice for the day as I know it holds a good number of Pike and also throws up the odd bigger specimen. I was fishing 3 rods as I wanted to up my chances of catching. Two ledgered deadbaits and one float fished. Action was not long in coming and the ledgered smelt was snapped up! A spirited fight ensued and a good fish was in the net. A mint 12lber made it worth the early start!
Not long after that a fish of around 8lb graced my net. Again it was on a ledgered smelt. The action dried up after and it was about an hour after starting so I decided it was time for a move. I don't tend to move far on rivers as the fish may not be far away and I don't want to miss them. 30 yards away gave me fresh water to spread my rods.
The river was getting busy and three row boats were right in front of me over my baits. Just as I was thinking I hope I don't get a take now I got one and the ledgered roach was away! I had to hit into the fish as I didn't want to wait for the boats to go and risk deep hooking it. I kept the rod tip under water hoping to keep the line away from the boat oars. The fish decided to come to the surface between two boats! It was a good fish and I didn't want to lose it! Some how I got the fish under the boats and into the net. What a relief! It was a chunky fish and weighed over 16lb. It was recognisable as it had a vertical scare on its back. Maybe from a propeller? And in fact I actually caught the fish again one week later. I had a couple more jacks on float fished baits in the evening before calling it a day.
I use to do lots of Chub fishing in years gone by. It had been too long in fact so I made an evening trip out to a little river I knew had good form at that time. The light was fading fast by the time I got to the river. I set up in a nice looking area with cover on the far bank. A gentle under arm cast had my ledgered cheese paste deposited on the far margin. Just as I was getting my second rod baited the first rod was being dragged off the rest! Much to my surprise it was only a small Chub of about a pound in weight that was punching above his weight! Another small Chub took a liking to my cheese paste but it soon went quiet. It was now dark and a fancied a move.
Ten minutes later I had moved a short way upstream and got my rods into position. It didn't take long before a bite on ledgered luncheon meat saw my rod nearly pulled in again! This was a much heavier fish than the previous ones. It was a very dirty fight with the fish trying to bury itself in the near margin weed! It fought hard all the way to the net but eventually I scooped it up! At just under 5lb it was a lovely welcome back to Chub fishing and has given me the bug for the new season.
Time was getting on now and there was less than a week left of the river season. A Piking trip was planned but it turned into an unexpected Rudd trip too. I decided to take a float and feeder rod with me just in case the Pike fishing was slow. I got the pike rods out first and then got a rod out for the Rudd. I wasn't expecting much to be honest but I knew there had been some good late season catches in the past. Well it didn't take long for something to happen and I soon pulled into what felt like a good fish. Half expecting a Bream I was stunned when a golden Rudd splashed as it hit the surface! I prayed it would stay on and I'm happy it did as it was a beautiful fish weighing 2lb 7oz!
As soon as the bites came they dried up just as fast. The sun was out and it seemed to put the fish off for now. I did manage a few more smaller Rudd through the day but it was the Pike fishing that kept me busy. I had several fish to 14lb up to the evening when the Rudd switched on again. I had another two 2 pounders and several approach that weight too. I had to come back and try just for the Rudd.
I returned to the river a few days later nice and early. Rudd were topping on the surface and some sizable ones too! From the off I was catching 2lbers and in 15 crazy minutes I had four 2lb plus Rudd in a row! The biggest being 2lb 5oz. My mate Giles turned up soon after and was getting among the 2lbers too.
The action soon died down so a pub break was in order at lunchtime to recharge the batteries. When I got back to the river I resisted the urge of an afternoon nap and got the rods out straight away. The Rudd were feeding again and taking the bread flake on the drop. I lost count of the good sized fish I caught but weighed the best ones and ended up with eight 2lb plus Rudd to 2lb 6oz before packing up not long after dark. The day was such a great day that it didn't seem so bad that the rivers were closing for three months. It just builds the anticipation for the new season.
