Warwickshire Avon - Tag-Rags and Torcheculs

When you're greeted to a lovely vibrant sunrise when getting the gear out of the car fishing can almost be secondary. The escapism angling can give is unlike any other pastime especially when you're immersed deeply in nature and all the joys that go with it. 

The big difference you see is that you can be rewarded as a specialist angler in-particular with a bend in the rod and the intended quarry sat in the landing net.

Blanks are common but who cares, roving from swim to swim in and around flowing water really is fantastic tonic for the mind.

Do I know something others don't though ?

The banks seem to be deserted at the minute and this was another session I had the banks to myself. It was colder I suppose, 5 degrees when I got bankside and a little windy, but still a nice day to try and catch a Chevin.

Now a Warwickshire Avon 5lb Chub eluded me for a good while before I managed to get that monkey off my back that had been clinging on for a good while. I've caught a few now so a 6lber is my next target. There are there to be caught for sure, I've seen them.

One such area there must have been 4 or 5 in the swim that were all over 5lb with the biggest probably getting on for 7lb it really was huge.

The problem is chub can be very tricky to fish for much of the time especially when the waters are clear and if you can see them, they can see you. 

They can be the most suspicious of fish and often to outwit them you need to think outside of the box. 

Confidence is the key, once you have that they can be one of the easiest fish to catch. Lures and floating baits are one of those that seem to work well when static baits can fail. 

Floating lures too, like frogs and replicant insects slowly retrieved over the surface can get an otherwise suspicious chub to pounce. 

They are predators after all and I've had success using small deadbaits and whitebait and all manner of weird and wonderful baits.

The are gluttonous that's for sure and that's one of the reasons I really do love catching Chub. In-fact I will go as far as saying they are probably my favourite species.

It's the fact that they can bite in all weathers and especially in the coldest of winters with the water temperature are not far off freezing and it will be the only fish you're likely to get a bite off.  

When there is colour in the water providing it's not proper chocolate brown I've found they can be up for a feed without the fear they usually portray. 

Cheesepaste is very selective, in-fact I don't think I've caught another species using it apart from pike who have grabbed it on the retrieve acting on their predator instinct. Watercraft is needed for sure, but once you've got caught a few chub you get to understand and get to know their hangouts. Rafts are one of those that will nearly always hold chub.

A roof over their heads prevents anyone from seeing them above the water but also rafts naturally because of where they are situated offer a conveyer belt of food.

I was in luck because the recent floods had brought down a tree which literally went from one side of the river to the other.

So big in fact I dread to think was hiding under there. However after I snagged on something the third or fourth bounce through of the cheesepaste this time I positioned the bait downstream of the raft in a close in channel. A bite came quick, so quick in-fact it caught me off guard and I struck just as the fish let go of the bait and I struck in to nothing.

It didn't take long to get another bite though and another powerful pull I was in to a decent Chub. I had to bully it initially but after I turned it I think it already knew the game was up.

A decent fish though, 4lb 10 ounces and some lovely brassy markings. Oddly no more fish came from the raft but I managed another 3 fish from the other fishable swims but this was the biggest. Many of the other swims were still out of bounds because of the water levels but certainly it was an enjoyable short session.