Wet and cold
I decided to give the Cricket Field stretch a go. However, we have had lots of rain and it is much cooler today. The river was also running very low and slow. With that in mind, I had to try peg 14 as it’s usually a good bet. The weather forecast for the evening was a 20% chance of rain. I therefore decided to forego the brolly and rely on the waterproof pack-a-mac that I keep in my rucksack.

Trying the main flow
Considering the river was quite slow, I wondered if the fish (particularly Barbel) might prefer the main flow (slow though it was). I decided to try using a cage feeder and a groundbait mix made up of a sticky fishmeal and crushed hemp mixed with my usual cocktail of hemp, micro halibut pellets and micro luncheon meat cubes. I hoped to build up a bed of feed in the hope that the Barbel would move onto it as the light levels diminished. I would, of course, fish another rod near the downstream bush with a cube of lunchoen meat as that usually produces a fish.

Best laid plans
I was getting lots of tiny knocks on the cage feeder rod but nothing turned into a proper bite. I suspect it was lots of very small fish attacking the feed in the cage. On almost every cast I started to get these knocks within 10 seconds of it hitting the water.

As for the rod near the downstream bush - I got one or two very shy knocks but nothing I would call a bite. After one of these, I waited for a minute or so and then started to reel in. I felt a small amount of resistance and thought that maybe a little Chub had managed to take the meat. Shortly after, there was a sudden pull on the line and more resistance - guess what, another bloody Pike. This was a small one, perhaps a foot long. Eventually it let go and I reeled in a small Perch that was foul hooked. An hour or so later I was reeling in my meat when I felt a bang on the line. I felt resistance for a couple of seconds then it went slack. When I reeled in I had lost my hook - the line was cleanly cut around an inch or so from where the hook had been. I reckon this was another Pike that attacked the meat as I started to retrieve it.

The end result was that I didn’t catch anything. It could have been down to the earlier heavy rain - it can lower the temperature of the river and put the fish off. It could also have been down to the Pike - maybe there were a few around and it kept the Chub and Barbel away. I just hope that the rain injects a bit of depth, flow and colour into the river over the next few days - if so, I’ll be back to try again.

Epilogue
There were a couple of sharp showers and my waterproof worked a treat. I also took a few minutes to photograph some Himalayan Balsam that surrounded me. Whilst very attractive and very popular with the Bees that buzzed around me all evening, this is an invasive species and not good for our river banks. The problem is that it dies away completely in Winter and leaves the banks prone to more erosion than would be the case with endemic plants.

Fishing Targets	Fishing Log

Summary

This log will record all fish that I consider worthy of recording. This will vary by species but will be something along the lines of Chub >3lb, Barbel (any), Bream >4lb, Roach >1lb, Perch > 1.5lb. The Details column is a link to the blog write-up of that session. It is best viewed in landscape when using a phone.

Barbel

Date	Venue	Qty	Details
07 Jul 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 14	1	8lb 10oz
21 Jul 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 14	1	10lb 4oz
26 Jul 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 5	1	8lb 8oz
28 Jul 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 5	1	10lb 11oz
02 Aug 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 5	1	8lb 10oz
06 Aug 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 14	1	7lb 14oz
18 Aug 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 14	1	9lb 14oz
21 Aug 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 6	1	9lb 3oz
30 Aug 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 6	1	6lb 0oz
18 Sep 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 14	1	7lb 4oz
01 Oct 20	Ure Ellenthorpe Middle peg 26	1	11lb - equalling my PB
02 Oct 20	Ure Ellenthorpe Middle peg 25	2	9lb and 7lb 4oz
07 Oct 20	Ure Ellenthorpe Middle peg 25	1	9lb 10oz
09 Oct 20	Ure Ellenthorpe Middle peg 25	1	8lb 0oz
20 Nov 20	Ure Ellenthorpe Middle peg 25	1	6lb 10oz
2020 Season Summary	Total weight: 138lb 6oz, Average weight: 8lb 10oz	16 fish

Date	Venue	Qty	Details
22 Jun 21	Ure Cricket Field peg 5	1	5lb 8oz
27 Jun 21	Ure Cricket Field peg 5	1	6lb 9oz
28 Jun 21	Ure Cricket Field peg 5	1	3lb 0oz
05 Jul 21	Ure Cricket Field peg 5	1	3lb 8oz
2021 Season Summary	Total weight: 18lb 9oz, Average weight: 4lb 10oz	4 fish

Bream (Over 4lb)

Date	Venue	Qty	Details
01 Jun 20	Roecliffe Lake	2	Lake report
06 Jun 20	Roecliffe Lake	3	Lake report
10 Jun 20	Roecliffe Lake	2	Lake report
12 Jun 20	Roecliffe Lake	1	Lake report
09 Oct 20	Ure Ellenthorpe Middle peg 25	1	5lb 8oz
20 Nov 20	Ure Ellenthorpe Middle peg 25	1	5lb
15 Mar 21	Roecliffe Lake peg 19	1	5lb 8oz
19 Mar 21	Roecliffe Lake peg 12	1	6lb 0oz
2020 Season Summary	Total weight: 56lb 14oz, Average weight: 4lb 12oz	12 fish

Chub (Over 3lb)

Date	Venue	Qty	Details
03 Jul 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 14	1	4lb on float
06 Jul 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 14	2	4lb 0oz, 3lb 4oz
08 Jul 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 3	1	3lb 8oz
21 Jul 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 14	1	5lb 2oz
24 Jul 20	Ure Cricket Field barrel peg	1	3lb 2oz
02 Aug 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 5	1	4lb 9oz
06 Aug 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 14	1	4lb 0oz
18 Aug 20	Ure Cricket Field peg 14	1	3lb 0oz
28 Aug 20	Ure Corn Dryers near fence	1	4lb 0oz
23 Oct 20	Ure Ellenthorpe Far Lane	1	4lb 8oz
12 Feb 21	Ure Ings Lane Bottom	7	4lb 2oz
2020 Season Summary	Total weight: 47lb 3oz, Average weight: 3lb 15oz	12 fish

Date	Venue	Qty	Details
16 Jul 21	Ure Cricket Field peg 14.5	1	4lb oz
2021 Season Summary	Total weight: 4lb 0oz, Average weight: 4lb 0oz	1 fish

Perch (Over 1lb 8oz)

Date	Venue	Qty	Details
24 Jul 20	Ure Cricket Field barrel peg	1	1lb 10oz
14 Aug 20	Ure Ellenthorpe Corn Dryers	1	1lb 9oz
31 Aug 20	Ure Ellenthorpe Corn Dryers	1	2lb 8oz
27 Nov 20	Ure Ellenthorpe Middle Peg 25	1	2lb
02 Jan 21	Ure Ellenthorpe Corn Dryers	1	2lb 10oz
19 Feb 21	Ure Cricket Field Peg 5	2	1lb 12oz, 1lb 10oz
28 Feb 21	Ure Ellenthorpe Middle Peg 25	1	1lb 9oz
04 Mar 21	Ure Ings Lane Bottom Peg 12-ish	2	2lb 0oz, 1lb 10oz
05 Mar 21	Ure Cricket Field Pegs 3 & 5	6	2lb 14oz, 2lb 4oz, 2lb 2oz, 2lb, 1lb 8oz, 1lb 8oz
2020 Season Summary	Total weight: 33lb 8oz, Average weight: 2lb 0oz	17 fish

Roach (Over 1lb)

Date	Venue	Qty	Details
06 Nov 20	Ure Ellenthorpe Corn Dryers	2	1lb, 1lb 2oz
2020 Season Summary	Total weight: 2lb 2oz, Average weight: 1lb 1oz	2 fish

Now for something different
I generally fish through the daytime on a Friday but these daytimes have not been very productive. So, today I decided to switch to a Friday evening. I also decided To try a different stretch of the river from my usual Cricket Field stretch. The idea being to see if the Chub and Barbel have started to disperse downstream.

I therefore fished a stretch called the “Corn Dryers” which is about 1 mile downstream and on the opposite bank from the Cricket Field stretch.

My plan for the session
The Corn Dryer stretch sits on the inside of a wide bend and, consequently, has much slower flow and is quite shallow. This is in stark contrast to most of this stretch which is very deep and much slower than the Cricket Field stretch. The shallow area is used by the cows of the nearby farm in what is known as a “Cattle Drink”. I had been informed that small Gudgeon live on the shallow silty bottom and that Perch hunt the Gudgeon.

So, my plan was to fish about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way across with lobworm to see if the Perch were around. I would bait up the bushes on the far bank with my usual mix of Hemp, micro-Halibut pellet and micro-luncheon meat cubes and fish a larger piece of lunchoen meat to see if there are any Chub or Barbel around. This should allow me to catch a few smaller fish in the shallows and hopefully spring into action with a bigger fish from the far bank - fingers crossed.

Instant action
I started with a couple of bait-droppers of chopped worm. I then fished a lobworm over that. It was less than five minutes before the tip showed signs of interest. Shortly after, I was into my first Perch. For the next 90 minutes I got a bite pretty much every cast. The swim was quite snaggy and I found that the lobworm would bury itself into the snags which were mainly made of of twigs and branches that probably settled in the slower water when being washed downstream. If I did not get a bite then I almost always found that I was caught on a snag. Thankfully I only lost one hook as I managed to drag out several twigs and branches. Here are the results of my first 90 minutes: -

As you can see, one of them was a nice sized Perch. You may wonder what happened after 90 minutes; well, it’s simple - I ran out of lobworms and had no other Perch bait with me! I vowed to order more worms as soon as I got home.

That’s all folks
Seeing as I was out of lobworms, I decided to fish luncheon meat in close as well as the meat I was using on the far bank. Dusk was fast approaching and I was hope to tempt a Chub that may have been attracted by the chopped worms. I also decided to try cheese paste and breadflake in a couple of different parts of the river. Perhaps I could sneak a Chub or maybe a decent Roach. I did get one sharp bite but it didn’t amount to anything. As far as the meat on the far bank, I didn’t get any action on that. I did get a pluck on the tip but it was just as dusk was settling in so could have been a bat catching the line.

Whilst I look forward to returning for more Perch, I will probably go back to the Cricket Field stretch next and maybe come here once a fortnight to see if the Chub and Barbel have arrived. I have also made a mental note to fish over the cattle drink when the river is in mild flood. The flow will be slower here and will hopefully hold Chub as they perfer to stay out of heavy flow

Fishing Targets	Fishing Log

River looking good
I was not expecting to go fishing tonight but saw that the river came up last night and was still slightly up but falling. That would mean more flow and colour and hopefully encourage the fish to feed. So, I changed my plans around and headed off.

My river setup
The Cricket Field stretch is a bit of a walk from the car and then there can be a good walk along the river bank, depending on which peg you choose. I have spent the last few weeks honing down my kit so that I can walk with ease. This was difficult at first because I did not know the river so tended to take everything - just in case. Once I started catching and understanding the river I was able to focus and reduce my baggage. Here is what currently take to the Cricket Field stretch: -

Things to note: -

• No rod bag, I carry 2 rods that are ready made up except for terminal tackle. If heavy rain is expected then I take my rod bag and brolley but this adds a lot of weight. For light rain I have a cagoule in my rucksack and a brimmed waxed hat.
• Banksticks & landing net pole slot into the top of my rucksack
• My chair is folder up and holds my net bag and trench spade. The chair is attached to the rucksack
• I have a zip up bait bucket that contains bait, rod rest heads, ready made hooklengths (around foam winders) and weigh scales
• I also have a hunting style jacket with lots of pockets. This holds my scissors, disgorgers, forceps, weights, hook wallet etc.

You may wonder how I get my selfies with the fish. That is achieved with a camera that attaches to a bank stick and has a remote shutter release on a long lead: -

In the camera photo you can see the adapter that fits a bank stick and you can also see the wire for the remote shutter release sticking out of the side of the camera. As for the remote shutter release, this is just a single button. If you look closely at my selfies, you will see the wire and remote in my hand that is usually at the back end of the fish.

On to the fishing
Following my thoughts from my previous (quiet) session, I decided to go a little farther down the river bank. As the level was slighty up I fancied another go at peg 14. This can be awkward when the level is low as the peg is a long way above the water line. Hopefully it would be more comfortable today. I got to peg 14 and it looked much better. The level was up so that the peg was only about 2 feet above the water line. The flow seemed quite strong so I would probably fish one rod to the downstream bush and one just this side of the main flow.

I baited up with my bait dropper before setting anything else up. This would give the fish time to get confident before I casted anything to them.

I decided to start off with the lighter Chub rod near the downstream bush and intended to swap rods around as it got later. Hopefully I would get Chub first and Barbel later - you can but hope!

Quick bite
Once I got fishing, I flicked a piece of meat on a 3 swan shot link out to the downstream bush. It had been in about 10 minutes when I got a really good strong bite. I have no idea how but I missed it. That gave me confidence that fish were feeding. I tried meat again and kept throwing balls of cheese paste and small cubes of meat in the vicinity of the bush (actually just upstream of the bush in the hope they came to rest near the bush). After 30 minutes I had no further bites so decided to try a lump of cheese paste. This was in about 10 minutes when I got a slow pull around on the tip. I struck into this lovely Chub of 4lb: -

Out went the keepnet so as not to spook other fish by releasing the Chub. I alternated between cheese paste and luncheon meat on the Chub rod but got no further bites.

Time to swap
I decided to swap rods and fish with luncheon meat near the bush with my Barbel rod. It had been about 45 minutes since the Chub and I hoped that it was approaching Barbel time. I tried lobworm on my Chub rod and fished it just this side of the main flow. When I retrieved the lobworm, half of it was gone. I suspect that was a Chub but I didn’t see any indication on the tip.

My Barbel rod started to twitch. I thought it was another Chub pecking at the meat but after a while it pulled around very gently and I struck into a Barbel that went straight into mid river. This was good because it would not spook other fish near the bush. The Barbel fought really well in the main flow and it took me a while before I was able to net this 7lb 14oz beauty: -

Once I had let the fish recover and got my photograph I continued to fish meat near the bush. I got another bite almost immediately but missed it - arghh! However this built up my confidence, there were definitely more feeding fish around.

One more experiment
I usually pack up once there is no more natural light. At the moment this is around 9:30 depending on the cloudiness of the sky. Tonight I decided to fish on for 45 minutes into darkness just to see if the Chub and Barbel would get their heads down in darkness. I did get one or two knocks but, to be honest, it wasn’t worth the hassle of packing up in darkness. Some rivers come alive at night, particularly for Barbel but that was not my experience on the Ure. Ah well, now I know and won’t bother trying again. Perhaps the fish feed at night when there are anglers throwing in bait at night. Who knows!

Fishing Targets	Fishing Log

Weather good, river not so
I was hoping for a good session because it was overcast with a low light level. However the river was very low and slow. I decided to try the far bank this time instead of mid river. This is only really possible in a light flow (unless using huge leads!). The far bank opposite me was quite sparse but there was some cover just upstream of me so I used a block-end feeder with enlarged holes and fired out about 10 casts before putting on a hook so that I could build up a bed of feed. I also used my bait dropper to put in half a dozen droppers near the downstream nearside bush.

I stuck with luncheon meat on the far bank rod because I didn’t want to be splashing in with a feeder too often and potentially scaring away fish. That meant I could alternate baits on the nearside rod. No matter what I did, I was unable to get any bites or even any indications of anything other than tiny fish nibbling at bait.

It was quite windy tonight. There were three Poplar trees on the far bank and the wind was quite noisy as it rustled through those trees and the bankside trees and bushes. I always find wind to be very isolating - not being able to hear anything except the wind gives the feeling of being in a private bubble and is not something I relish.

If it ain’t broke…
Although I use two bait-runner style reels, I have not engaged the bait runners for quite some time. This had not caused me any issues thus far. However, I decided to engage both of them tonight. I was very conscious of having to hold the spool when striking to prevent a free-running spool and the tangles that could ensue. In the heat of the moment, when my rod bent round, I struck and forgot to hold the spool. Immediately the spool started to free spin and I failed to connect with the fish. Damn it - could that be my only chance of a fish tonight! I decided to disengage the bait runners and go back to what worked well for me so far.

Far bank
I did get a couple of twitches on the far bank rod but none of them turned into proper bites. Being slightly upstream there was a high likelihood of a drop back bite and the tip did spring back a little on some occasions. I never struck at anything - perhaps I should have but these were tentative bites and I am sure that Chub/Barbel would have been more positive.

Nearside
Having missed that fish due to the bait runner, I was not sure if I had spooked the fish. However, I started to get quick pulls on the tip. These weren’t in the rod-bending category but a couple were strickable. However I did not connect with anything until just before I was due to leave around 9:30 - gets dark by then. I hit into a small Chub of maybe a pound and three quarters. I think that specific Chub may have been solely responsible for all of the bites that I had been having. The speed of the hits and the fact that my tip registered the bite for just a moment had me thinking that Chub were perhaps nipping at the meat - I only have to think back to a few days ago when I retrieved a cube of meat that had a bite out of it.

So, no photos tonight and just a single small fish. I guess it would become boring if big fish were a guarantee so I will learn a few lessons from tonight (especially about not tinkering too much) and look forward to my next session. I wonder if the fish are now starting to disperse down river. I may walk a bit further for my next session and put that theory to the test.

Fishing Targets	Fishing Log

A different approach to loose feeding
This evening I took my bait dropper having loose fed on recent trips. I was able to sneak up quite close to the downstream bush on peg 5 and put in 5 droppers of mixed hemp, caster, micro halibut pellets, micro luncheon meat cubes and micro cheese cubes. I also put in the same about 1/3rd across the river just downstream of me. My plan was to fish the Barbel rod toward the bush and my Chub rod in mid river.

Pesky Pike
I tried a bit of cheese paste near the bush but got no interest. I then decided to put on big piece of meat and wait it out. This is where most of my Barbel have come from recently so I would alternate baits on the other rod and just leave the Barbel rod for the big boys! After about 20 minutes I got a few taps on the Barbel rod. Eventually this turned into a proper bite. I initially thought it was a Chub but I had managed to hook another Pike on meat. This time it was only a small one - maybe 3 pounds. I returned it and out went the meat again.

Cheese paste strikes again
I had been alternating baits on my Chub rod that was in mid river. I had a few very lite taps on lobworm but didn’t amount to anything. I eventually got a decent bite and was surprised to find that a Roach of about 8oz had snapped it up. I decided to put out my keepnet in the hope of at lease one Chub - I hadn’t any on my previous two trips!

Cat and Mouse
Just before 8pm I started getting knocks on the meat on my Barbel rod. It twitched a few times and then settled again. After the 3rd time I decided to twitch back and move the meat a foot or so. That did the trick and the tip shot round. I was into a Barbel that tore off downstream. This was a very fit fish and took lots of line before I was able to turn it and start to take back some line. I was pleased to be playing this fish on my stronger Barbel rod and 10lb line rather then the softer Chub rod with 8lb line that had caught several recent Barbel. That said, I was still struggling to exert dominance over this fish - especially when it broke surface and did its customary 2nd and 3rd wind lunges. I was delighted to finally net this glorious 8lb 10oz Barbel: -

Once I calmed down, I decided to put in several more bait droppers of loose feed because I suspected that the Barbel had disturbed the swim so I was unlikely to scare any fish with the bait dropper. It was also time to put on my sweater as the sun was now very low and it was getting cooler. I took this opportunity to have a snack before starting to fish again.

How long before the swim settles down
Most of my recent trips have resulted in only one or two fish. I really wasn’t sure how long a swim took to recover. I was also starting to wonder if the Chub had moved downstream - something which they tend to do as the season progresses apparently.

After about 15 minutes I saw large ripples from the undercut bank between me and the downstream bush. As I peeked over, a stream of bubbles steaked right across my peg and a bloody Otter surfaced near the upstream bush just to my left. I shouted at it and clapped my hands and it duly disappeared. I suspected that this would further hinder the swims recovery.

However, no sooner had I sat down again when both rods started to get knocks. They were now both on luncheon meat so it looks like a swim takes about 15 minutes to recover - not bad.

At last, an old friend
About 15 minutes later my Barbel rod started to twitch and then bent around. I hooked into something that was fast but not very strong. I was hoping it was not another small Pike. It turned out to be a Chub of around 2lb. It was great to get a Chub again even though it wasn’t a whopper and was caught on the Barbel rod.

Mid river doubts
All of my previous fish from this peg have come from near the downstream bush except for the Roach that I caught earlier. When the river had been up and coloured, I was getting plenty of half bites mid river but nothing positive. I was starting to wonder if Chub and Barbel avoided that area. Just then I got a bite mid river and hit into something that I suspect was a small Chub - unfortunately it got off before I got it to the surface so I will never know.

I had managed to fish until 10pm on my previous visits but the nights are starting to draw in so I decided to fish until 9:30 tonight. It hadn’t been a bad session so would not mind going home earlier. It was 9:30 and I was just about to bring in my Barbel rod when something started twitching at the bait. I left it a moment and then tried twitching back - it had worked earlier. This time - no joy. I decided to leave that rod there whilst I packed up the Chub rod. Just as I leant forward to pick up the Chub rod, the tip bent around. I struck into a good fighing fish. Not a Barbel but I was hopeful of a decent Chub. I was rewarded by this chunky 4lb 9oz Chub: -

So, the Chub are still around. I had really enjoyed this session. Here are the three fish that I kept in the keepnet: -

Fishing Targets	Fishing Log

River condition - excellent
Following rain in recent days, the river had risen about 18 inches since I fished it two days ago. It was flowing quicker and also had some colour. I decided to fish the same peg 5 and the level now was perfect for this peg - the water was about 8 inches below the peg plateau. I had actually dropped my baiting needle on my previous visit and was hoping that it was still in the peg - hey presto, it was so that was a good start.

I immediately put out some loose feed and took my time setting everthing up. This would give any resident fish time to feed with confidence. Also, recent sessions had been very quiet until the last hour of daylight so didn’t think there was any need to rush.

Activity from the off
In stark contrast to the quiet starts of recent sessions, I was immediately getting good knocks on both rods. One was slightly downstream but out in/near the main flow and one was near the downstream bush. I decided to try sweetcorn for the first time on the Ure.

That’s a first
With the rod that was out in the main flow, I was just getting to grips with the right amount of lead. The flow was stronger so needed to experiment a bit. On the 3rd cast I got what I thought was a pluck on the bait but it could have been the lead resettling in the flow. After a few more minutes I reeled back in just in the case the bait had gone. To my surprise, my cube of meat had a definite bite out of it - must have been a Chub - just look how close it was to hooking itself: -

Exciting - but frustrating
I continued to get half-bites on both rods. I tried all of my baits just in case they would bite more positively on one particular bait. This made no difference - all baits, on both rods, kept getting bites that were not quite hittable. I was really enjoying it, I did not know which rod to concentrate on and felt on the verge of a good fish at any moment. I was pleased to be getting bites on sweetcorn and also on cheese paste mid-river, I had only fished it close to overhanging bushes before. There is no doubt that extra flow and colour turned on the fish - I just wish I could get my first fish.

Here goes
I decided to put a large cube of meat on both rods and just wait it out. Surely a positive bite would come eventually. At about 7:30, my rod bent over and I was into another fine Ure Barbel. This one fought really well in the stronger flow. I got it to the surface several times and each time off it went again. I was finally able to net this new personal best for the Ure at 10lb 11oz. My all time personal best is 11lb from the Swale - so close!

It felt great to get one in proper daylight and I was hopeful of more as the evening wore on. I baited up again and left the swim to recover for 20 minutes or so whilst I had some food/drink and recounted the battle and fish that had made this another memorable session.

The commotion caused by this fish clearly disturbed the swim. I struggled to get any more bites for a long time. As dusk approached I got a couple of half bites again but none of them delivered a fish.

Whilst packing up I heard a fish leap just downstream of me and out of view. A few minutes later a fish leapt in front of me. I think it was a Salmon and was probably the same fish.

Fishing Targets	Fishing Log

I don’t generally set targets for pleasure fishing but, having moved to Boroughbridge for the fishing, it seems only right that I set myself some objectives. That will encourage me to experiment with baits (e.g. cheese paste, slugs etc) and techniques (e.g. roving, touch ledgering etc). Also, some sessions may be quite short with little tackle but aimed directly at a specific target.

Some of these targets may take years to achieve but it will be interesting to be able to look back on my journey.

The Details column may be a link to the blog write-up of that session (where appropriate). It is best viewed in landscape when using a phone.

Chub

Date set	Target	Date met	Details
2020-06-16	Catch at least 10 Chub in my 1st season fishing the river Ure	2020-07-10	It took me over 2 weeks to catch my first Chub but then quickly achieved my target
2020-07-10	Chub of at least 5lb	2020-07-21	Chub of 5lb 2oz, within 30 minutes of a whopping 10lb 4oz Barbel!
2020-07-22	Chub of at least 6lb	TBD

Barbel

Date set	Target	Date met	Details
2020-07-10	Barbel of at least 10lb	2020-07-21	10lb 4oz, brilliant session also included a large Chub that met my latest Chub target
2020-07-22	Barbel of at least 11lb	2020-10-01	11lb - equalling my PB
2020-10-02	Barbel of at least 11lb 8oz	TBD

Bream

Date set	Target	Date met	Details
2020-08-22	Bream of at least 7lb	TBD

Grayling

Date set	Target	Date met	Details
2020-10-02	First ever Grayling	TBD

Perch

Date set	Target	Date met	Details
2020-07-22	Perch of at least 2lb	2020-08-31	2lb 8oz
2020-09-02	Perch of at least 3lb	TBD

Roach

Date set	Target	Date met	Details
2020-07-22	Roach of at least 1lb 8oz	TBD

Mixed

Date set	Target	Date met	Details
2020-07-22	Daytime Ure session with over 25lb of Chub & Barbel	TBD

I decided to try a different peg tonight. I chose peg 5 for the following reasons: -

• Less of a walk to get there
• Large flat area to sit and lay out all of my gear
• Not too far above the low-level of the river
• It has an overhanging bush/tree on both sides of the peg
• The depth seemed reasonable near the overhanging bushes - some pegs currently have just a few inches of depth close in

My plan was to fish a large piece of luncheon meat near the upstream bush and vary my baits between lobworm, bread flake, cheese paste and luncheon meat near the downstream bush. I also decided to use a very light link (just 1 swan shot) near the downstream bush so that I could try touch ledgering near the bush and also allow the current to pull the bait very near or under the bush.

All sounds great in theory but, in practice, I was getting nothing other than tiny knocks on the cheese paste and bread flake. I guess that meant small fish. After a while I decided to put luncheon meat on both rods, place them in a their rests and just wait.

I was just starting to contemplate a blank session (thankfully not getting too many of them recently) when my downstream rod bent right round. I hit into a Barbel that took me a long way downstream. My line was right under the bush so I was not hopeful of getting this fish out. After letting it run for a while I tightened my drag slightly and managed to turn the fish. Eventually it moved out into mid river and I heaved a sigh of relief as it cleared the downstream bush. Then, after rolling on the surface, it made a lunge for the upstream bush and I saw the branches moving - not a good sign. Fortuitiously it untangled itself and swam back out into mid river. Finally I slid the net under this 8lb 8oz Barbel that was in perfect condition. If you look carefully at the anal fin, you can see a trace of what I believe was milt so perhaps the Barbel are still spawning - albeit a little late for that.

That was the only bite of the session. Still, I had now got to know another peg and had a lovely Barbel to boot.

Fishing Targets	Fishing Log

Setting the scene
Today was forecast to be mainly overcast but dry. However it quickly became apparent that there was a lot of blue sky around. I checked the forecast again about 9am (having arrived about 7am) and it had changed to be mainly sunny - oh dear, a low, clear river with sun - not a good combination. Oh well, there are worse ways to spend a day.

I decided to fish a new peg today. It’s the next proper peg along from peg 14. I think this is known as the “Barrel peg”. There was an overhanging bush/tree on my left (upstream) and a large area of slack from there to as far as I could see along the nearside bank. There was also a large tree downstream of me but, due to low water levels, was too far above the water and the water was clear and shallow below it so of no use. I think this will be a day to fish to the ample bush coverage on the far bank. I have not tried this yet but the slow flow should help me hold station near those bushes and, considering the sunlight, is probably where the fish will be.

So I began with a large chunk of luncheon meat straight in front of me and close to the farside coverage. I was using a block-end swim feeder with enlarged holes to help disperse my feed of hemp, caster, micro halibut pellets, micro luncheon meat cubes and micro cheese cubes. I was getting light knocks so there were definitely fish around although probably small stuff. Whilst it was still early, I decided to put my other rod into the main flow in case there were any Barbel patrolling but, to be honest, the light levels were not helping.

First bite - a surprise!
It wasn’t too long before my farside rod get a proper bite. Not a rod-bending bite more like something had picked up my bait but was still moving along the bottom - no bolting. I struck into a solid fish that came toward me relatively easily. Not like a Barbel unless it had not woken up yet. As it got closer it then started on some hard lunges, again not like a Barbel but strong all the same. It certainly tested out my drag setting. After several lunges I got it to the surface and, low and behold, it was a decent Pike. I expected to see a Chub hanging from it’s mouth but it quickly became apparent that it was hooked normally. I netted it and, sure enough, it had taken my lunchoen meat and was hooked inside the mouth. I was very lucky that it’s teeth had not cut my line. I estimated it to be about 10lb as it was similar in length and girth to the 10lb Barbel I caught 3 days ago.

I had setup my camera but, whilst trying to find a safe way to held it (they were big teeth!), the Pike flipped out of my hands and managed to get back in the river. Oh well, at least this was hooked and landed normally so I can count this as a fair catch - unlike the others that have grabbed my Chub recently. The other plus was that I had probably removed it from the farside swim which I had been baiting up.

Nice looking but not welcome
Just as I was settling down after the Pike, I saw lots of streams of bubbles in front of me and then heard something surface under the bush on my left hand side. I had been loose feeding near that bush so did welcome the appearance of an Otter! After a moment or so I then saw the stream of bubbles heading to mid river from near the bush. There was more than one stream of bubbles and it wasn’t long before two Otters surfaced, mid-river, right in front of me and watched me. One of then surfaced clutching a small fish. I quickly retrieved my feeder rod and made a heavy cast/splash near them in the hope of spooking them and getting them to move elsewhere.

Time for a change
As the sun got higher and the day heated up, I was not getting any interest mid river. I decided to try near the upstream bush on my nearside bank. When retrieving my lead/bait from there I realised it was quite shallow. The water was moving near there so I assumed it was a bit deeper but, donning my polarised sun glasses, it was only a couple of feet deep. Perhaps not so good in clear water with sunny skies.

I then decided to fish both rods to the farside coverage. I kept one on lunchean meat and alternated the other between bread flake and cheese paste. I was getting small knocks but no real takes.

So, perhaps another change of bait. I put on a lobworm, cast to the farside coverage and sure enough, started to get reasonable knocks. Whilst I told myself to sit on my hands because Chub have a habit of nipping the ends of worms with their lips, I forgot my own advice and struck too early. So, out with another worm. This time I waited a bit longer but then seemed like the fish had taken it so I struck into the following Perch - a fish of 1lb 10oz: -

I was pleased with this Perch. One of the biggest that I have caught for some time. So it looked like today may be the day of the predators.

Long hard slog
Despite alternating baits, the hot sunny weather and low-clear river combination was wearing me down. No bites. I did start to notice that the flow was picking up. Also, there was more rubbish coming down the river, catching in my farside lines. I could see that the level was also rising very slightly. After a while it became tricky to fish the farside due to the increased flow and the flotsam snagging in my lines. I decided on an ealier than normal finish today - 3:30pm would do it. That gave me about 40 minutes to go. I decided to finish by fishing worm near my upstream/nearside bush and worm to my right (downstream) but just this side of the main flow.

Time to go - or is it?
With about 15 minutes to go I pulled up my keepnet and let the Perch go. I decided to give the net 15 minutes to try out in the sun. No sooner had I done that and settled back down when the rod near the upstream bush burst into action. The result was this lovely 3lb 2oz Chub: -

Typical, the main purpose of the keepnet it to prevent a returned Chub from spooking the swim (they are reknowned for doing that). Should I put the net back in or just give it another hour or so to see if I can catch another? I decided to put the Chub straight back and leave the net drying in the sun.

So, another hour. I decided to try 4-5 casters on my size 8 hook that was being fished downstream, just my side of the main flow. This technique caught me my 1st Barbel on the Ure so worth a try. No Barbel but I noticed that my tip never stopped tapping away. There are lots of small fish nipping at those casters.

I wonder…
I decided to go down to a lighter hook length with a size 14 hook and fish 2 casters. I wanted to see what was attacking my bait. I also swapped my ledger for a 2 swan-shot link. I still had 8lb main line so this would not be a fair fight but, should a bigger fish take the bait, I was still prepared. I also wanted to prove that I could still catch small fish in quick succession.

Dace - all the way down! Using the lighter setup I kept my rod in my hand because the Dace started to hit the casters as soon as they hit the water. They followed it all the way down to the river bed. My tip never stopped knocking. Hitting the bites was another matter but I did manage quite a few of varied sizes. This was enjoyable but, to be honest, I was hoping a larger fish would join the party but that’s maybe something for another day.

Time to go again - or is it?
My extra hour was almost passed and, right on cue, my worm was taken by another Chub. This was smaller at about 1.5lb. However it was most appreciated and meant that I now needed to fish an extra 30 minutes - just in case ;-)

Eventually I decided to call it a day. I had caught a 10lb Pike, 1lb 10oz Perch, 2 Chub and probably around 15-20 Dace. Considering the conditions I was quite happy with this but still long for a daytime session that produces more Chub and Barbel action. For now, evenings seem the best bet.

Fishing Targets	Fishing Log