14/12/2013 - 6Lb 7ounce River Ribble Chub on Lone Angler sausage sizzle flavoured crust

Thursday 12th December another friend Dave Foster collected me from home for a session on the River Ribble, conditions were perfect with a light SW wind, though the river was flowing clear, it had been up a couple of feet early in the week. I put together a soft Avon action rod with a small Shimano reel, 4lb line with a small Stonze weight stopped 6” from the size 8 hook. Fishing my first choice swim for about two hours without a bite, I decided I would have to change swims even if it meant crawling on my hands and knees. After struggling for about half an hour I managed to move into a swim twenty yards downstream.

For about an hour, I fed a handful of liquidised bread flavoured with sausage sizzle every ten minutes. I then left the swim alone for about thirty minutes before casting out a piece of flavoured crust, as the crust hit the bottom the rod tip pulled round, a nice chub about 4lbs. In the next hour I had three more fish of similar size. I then had the perfect bite the rod tip pulled slowly round as if weed had gone against the line; all I had to do was just tighten. A good fish powered away, for several minutes it was give and take but eventually I started to win the contest, soon I had a good chub coming towards the net. "That’s a big six" I thought to myself, then it shook its head and was off slowly disappearing into the depths I was gutted.

I rested the swim just feeding in some crumbed bread every ten minutes of so. After about an hour I decided to put out another chunk of flavoured crust. In the next thirty forty minutes I had four more chub around the 4lb mark. I then had a twenty minute spell without a touch, as I talking to Tony Booker on the phone, the rod tip pulled over striking I connected with a good fish. I said to Tony “Got to go mate I’ve hooked a good fish” Five or six minutes later I netted what I thought was a good five perhaps a six. On the scales it went 6lb 7 ounces. I called Dave to ask if he would come down to witness the weight and take a couple of pics. After weighing the fish again and taking some pics we watched it swim off strongly. As Dave hadn’t caught, we called it a day.

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