Warwickshire Avon - Polymelia and Polyphloisboisterous

Winter has certainly kicked in big time now with the next couple of weeks going to be very cold indeed. I didn't think about a dedicate Pike fishing session but I think I will wait till its getting even colder than it was for today.

Pike floats out, a stove on the go with some bacon sizzling in the cold winter air, something every angler can relate to. 

So yes for this short session in to dusk and beyond chub were the target species and yet again the stretch of convenience was chosen to try and winkle one or two out.

This season though they have deficiently thinned out where this was usually a banker area for me and produced one five pounder to get that monkey off my back and then several more.  

What hasn't helped is that a recent cutting back and removal of some mature trees has meant this diminutive stretch that is feature and cover filled, has now been given a number one but who ? well God only knows.

Now canoeists are not meant to navigate up this stretch and signs are there to warn them that which ever fork they take when heading upstream, they will have to negotiate a weir, and depending on when that is, that can be a dangerous route with extra water on. 

Now I've fished this place probably since the blogs conception and over the years spotted the odd one or two and yet this year, I need an extra hand to count how many I've seen.

The willow that used to provide cover to those chub, no more, the barbel cover, hacked back, and various swims have had branches removed to make navigation easier. The water is back to clear again now (how quick did that happen 🤯) so any cover removed could potentially be a chub sanctuary squandered. 

Roving is the key on this sort of stretch but what I didn't expect was swim after swim after swim not even a nibble.

Even my banker swim where when the light goes the chub can often be found nothing and, those slacks ideal for dropping some cheesepaste in to again biteless. Very odd indeed for this stretch, I suspect the water temperature is going to plummet over the next coming days but still, the chub didn't show whatsoever.

Still it was nice to be out and with Sunday morning an option to try again, albeit somewhere else, I'm sure it won't talk long to catch another chub, heck what else can you rely on in these testing conditions.

I might well switch back to bread though, I was amazed just how little colour is left in the river, and bread just seems to work especially when wafting around suspended off the bottom via a link ledger. 

So a blank, oh well, cannot win all the time !!