Chub in the City

Last week I wrote about the lads dropping on the Irwell and catching a few fish and all week I have regretted not taking my gear and having a go myself. Well today was the day, and to say I have been eagerly waiting to fish the River Irwell is an understatement. I knew exactly where to go as I had watched every fish caught last week, so armed with a couple of pints of white maggots and a pint of casters it was my turn to defy the odds and try to catch some quality fish.
Dropping on the pegs that did well last Tuesday proved fruitless and two bite less hours later I decided to move downstream to the deeper slower water, stopping on the way to try a couple of likely looking spots. I managed to catch a trio of small brownies  before dropping on the swim I have fancied for months.  I have spent time on the river watching huge shoals of chub on the edge of the city centre and know they are there in huge numbers.

After climbing down to water level I waded downstream to the deeper water. A word of warning at this point, if you are going to wade in a big river like this make sure there is no rain about. Even today the water level rose during the last two hours sufficiently enough for me to call it a day before darkness fell.
First trot down on a finely shotted stick float brought a beautiful chub of around 2lb. The fish  continued to devour my offerings all afternoon and early evening, and I ended up feeding nearly 3 pints of bait. I weighed my final net in at 29lb comprising of mainly chub and roach. I did catch a couple of small bream and a larger brown trout. The sport was fantastic, and all this in the City centre. It was amazing how I could tempt bites just a rod length from where I was wading. A better angler would have bagged double my tally, but I aim to keep improving. This was my best day on any of the local rivers, and makes me wonder whether I will ever bother travelling any distance in future with such sport on my doorstep.

I would estimate the biggest fish at around 3lb but didn't weigh any individually due to wading in the middle of the river. Gave the local ale cans on the other bank something to watch in the evening, in fact I seemed to draw quite a few astonished glances as passers by stopped to watch the net slide under fish after fish. I will definitely be back before too long. These days don't come along too often, really put a smile on my face.