Warwickshire Avon - Liver-Eaters and Lampadephores

If you've read my blog over the years you will know I love experimenting with different baits for Chub and this session down at the handy club water I'd fish up to official dusk and a little after and I'd something new to try. 

So Tesco visited for the bait, luckily largely deserted unlike the garden centre I drove past which was full to the rafters with post vaccinated pension plunderers I'd imagine....

Remind me why the pubs are shut again ?

Liver you say, well yes....

....i'd stumbled upon a YouTube video you see from a German angler who was using Chicken Livers straight on the hook for his local loggerheads. I don't think it's anything new to honest, but still had it popped up in ones feed for a reason ?

Another bait to try for Chevin, would it work ?

Only one way to find out !!!!

Now I've used lamprey, steak, whitebait, unidentifiable Chinese meaty snacks even chunks of mackerel in the past and the latest bait to catch a greedy Chevin on was of all things, Tesco Raspberry Nipples, sorry Raspberry mushrooms.

To be honest is there anything that Chub wouldn't eat ? probably not a huge list, their insatiable appetite proceeds them. 

The advantage of chicken liver much like the steak and meet offering is that not only does it give off a smell that is attractive to the chub, but also distributes a small cloud of blood in the water, which should hopefully draw the fish to the bait.  Because this effect does not last forever, the bait should be renewed regularly. 

Still I was only here for a couple of hours so a small packet of cheapo livers should suffice.

Apparently using this method if you have to wait more than half an hour for a bite, I either have to change the bait or the spot, because most of the bites usually come shortly after being cast out.

A quick fumble with the fresh liver to trim off the nasty bits to more manageable pieces, the Wife gave me a look of discust, nothing new there I might add, but probably using the best kitchen scissors probably wasn't a good idea. 

Now when I tried whitebait which was a success by the way, it's also something different the Chub may not have seen. 

After banking a few nice fish here on cheesepaste my results have been more blanks than anything else. 

Ok the fish may not even be in the swim which doesn't help but they do wise up to baits no denying that, so why not try something different, it could well be the edge I was looking for. 

The recent drop in temperatures could well put the other fish off, but at least there is an outside chance of a Chub or two if they were around and up for a feed.

Like much of the Warwickshire Avon when the levels have dropped and its clearing coming up to dusk the fish start to move after hiding up where ever they can, out of harms way.

This swim has some nice depth and there is always chub there and I've had some decent ones over the years.

I've a dedicated chub rod these days because I've found that ok, the most determined of Chub can still hook themselves on the Barbel rod but with a more flexible quiver to pull against the lack of resistance or the less the chub feels he is less likely to eject a bait. 

If you do get snappy bites that you cannot connect to, often leaving a slack line allows the fish to feel less resistance and often it can outwit these crafty fish. 

Anyway method in ones madness ?

Well an hour without so much as a nibble as soon as the light started to go I started to get bites but then nothing new to be seen here. Anyway to cut a long story short as I've dinner to make and wine to pour, dusk came where I had two ridiculous barbel'esk bites where I pulled in to nothing. 

I think I used far too big'a pieces and wasn’t confident in the longshank hook I used. 

Club rules dictated I had to be off before a headtorch was needed as I'm sure I'd have banked something, still it was nice to chill. I will try it again next week as the bait certainly worked the rig didn’t, a smaller bait and a better hook, and somewhere I can fish in to dark what is the best chub hook again....?