It Does Pay To Change

For more years than I care to remember I have caught chub in summer on crust or flake, without much of a problem, that all changed recently when I was asked to catch some chub for a magazine feature. I must confess it was a shock to the system not catching on bread.

We had arrived at our chosen venue just after dawn, no way did I not expect to catch. In fact I said to my photographer Ian "We'll be away by 8 o'clock for breakfast" Sitting twenty yards upstream of my chosen swim I fed in pieces of bread, when it reached the fast swirling water the chub were on the scene swirling and sucking down bread with gusto. I said to Ian. "It was worth getting up on Saturday and Sunday at dawn to check on the chubs location". I chose to drift a chunk of crust on a size 6 barbless hook and 6lb Gamma, Crawling on hands and knees I reached some shoulder high nettles, then having wriggled deep into them I felt concealed from the fish.

Lobbing a crust well upstream it drifted down to where the chub had been feeding, after the bread drifted through the swim I struck it off, then repeated the exercise for three more drifts. Nothing. I was exasperated. I asked myself questions such as How did they know I was around?. How did they know one piece of crust contained a hook?. Let's be honest, there not the brightest things on the planet. I tried free lining flake, allowing it to slowly sink. 'Nothing' Even legered crust didn't produce. If I hadn't seen the chub I would have sworn they weren't in the area. in the gin clear water I couldn't see a single fish.

We moved off downstream to check other swims, not a single fish. What was I going to do? I have never failed to produce for magazines, TV or the radio. Today it was different. I decided to go back to the first swim. Choosing to fish a piece of bread flake with an AA shot lightly pinched on the line some 12 inches from the hook I dropped the bait on to a saucer size gravel patch in the weeds, then sat back watching the line for a movement. Twenty minutes later I called "Fish On" After making the reel scream for ten seconds it was off. I was gutted, no devastated, I had a sick feeling in the bottom of my gut.

At 9 o'clock with the sun now high in the sky, I chose to fish the opposite bank so I wouldn't cast a shadow. Having got myself well hidden from the fish I tried various bread baits nothing. Switching to luncheon meat, but not neat cubes, I just tear a piece off the lump, then using a baiting needle I pulled the hook through the meat. For twenty minutes I rolled the bait through the swim. 'Nothing'.

Stonze and Paste to the Rescue

I decided to go all modern using the Stonze method and a hair rig with some modern paste. I tied on a size 12 barbless hook with a hair, using the knotless knot, then fixed a small bit of cork on the hair. Having got everything sorted out I moulded some paste around the cork, not as a marble but as a flat piece of paste. Attaching a small bag of Pallatrax pellets I cast the lot out so it sat on a gravel patch close to some quite large rocks. Scattering five pieces of paste around the bait, I then catapulted some pellets in the area. Fifteen minutes later the rod tip moved slightly, picking up the rod I hooked the line over my index finger. A minute or so later I felt a pluck then a powerful pluck on the line which moved the rod tip. The answering strike connected with a nice fish. I called to Ian "Fish On" For a summer chub it put up a decent struggle but there was only going to be one winner, Ian and me. I was proved correct as a nice fish was engulfed in the landing net. At noon Ian had everything he needed for his feature then it was off home, Ian to work on his feature, but for me a rest, then on the River Ribble at dusk to try for a seatrout.