Warwickshire Avon - Dough Balls and Doulocracy

Is there a better chub bait than bread ?

Probably not to be honest as they love the stuff, and especially when the water is clear like it was for this short morning session, bread just works. I do prefer cheespaste when it's coloured or fishing in to dark but bread is always in ones armoury. 

Now you would have thought they would be cautious around a large visual bait but it seems to be the opposite and present a bait in-front of their large mouths, bites can be very aggressive indeed.  

It was clear that a roving approach was required for this session, but then it usually is in these winter conditions. I had planned to venture further afield where a 6lber had come out in a match recently but I will give that a go when the conditions are more favourable.

So it was the stretch of convenience, where to be honest I've not done brilliant over the last couple of sessions but not to be out off, I'm sure I could winkle one or two out.  

It was the bigger chub that usually frequent here I've been struggling with where they seemed to have vanished of later leaving behind the small splashers.

In these cold temperatures though a bite, even if its just one is most welcome and 4 swims down without a nibble I did wonder if I was on for a blank again. I wanted a snow chub though better crack on. Oh by the way, the snow seemed very localised because 3 inches of snow turned in to a smattering a couple of miles away, all very weird. 

Anyway thankfully one swim proved to be the winner where after feeding some bread mash within a few seconds of the bread being cast out a tentative pluck turned in to a proper pull round and a fish was on.

It is quite a shallow and plenty of cover so I could see the fish clearly trying to do me over, but the size 6 hook providing a firm hook hold. Probably not even 2lb but it was nice to see the fish on the bank and made the trip out in the cold worthwhile.

I missed the next bite and then the swim went dead, but after 3 more swims without a bite I returned after an hour where I'd left some mash in the swim to prime, where within a few minutes I had another chub on the bank, this time a slightly bigger fish, but still half the size I'm really after.

It felt like an ice block, but fair play for the chub to be feeding, its trying to find them that is half the problem but at least on smaller stretches at least the probability is reduced.