Return of the Chub

Went back to the River Medlock this morning at Littlemoss. I didn't have a full day so wasn't venturing far, and Josh, another Droylsden fan (yes there are a few of us!) had said he may be on there this morning trying for his first river fish. I arrived around 10am to find the river low and clear. The weather today was much better and I thought there was a chance of a few fish. I found Josh wading down the river and we headed for the swim under the waterfall, always produces something. I managed the trout below and lost a similar size one, then caught a very small trout, which is significant as I catch very few smaller fish on the Meddy, which concerns me for the future. All the bites were on maggot feeder.

As the bites thinned out we moved upstream and found this gem of a swim below. I have never fished it before but looked at it a couple of times. As the river was too low to fish on the stick float effectively, I decided to give it a whirl on the feeder.

I dropped in right under the tree and waited, intrigued to find out whether there was anything lurking. Meanwhile Josh caught his first river fish, not the quarry we intended to catch! A tiny minnow.

It didn't take long before my tip bounced into action. The bite was more definite than the frantic tip movements that trout produce and I instantly knew I was into a chub. Didn't even see it as it lunged into the tree roots and snapped the hook length. More determined than ever I beefed the hook length up and tried again. It was about twenty minutes later the tip eased round. This time I was going to give no quarter as the fish headed towards the tree's roots again. I managed to bully the fish into the open river and quickly brought this fantastic chub to the net.

Well pleased I sat back and Josh had a crack at the same swim, managing to lose two sizable chub to the undergrowth. Maybe it was not going to be his day. We moved upstream for the final hour or so and bingo, Josh hooked into a good fish. This belter came in pretty quickly but a fine fish for a novice river angler.

Again this little stream had shown the enormous potential it has , and given up a couple of super fish. We ended up with three fish a piece, not one of my best days but enjoyable nonetheless. Off to Salford tonight to learn a bit more about Manchester's improving rivers from some more established anglers than myself. This fishing game is hard work, good job tonight's session is a meeting in a pub!