Just wait till my old pal Paul hears about this!

One of my favourite venues is the stretch of the river at Speen above Newbury. Here the river splits into a number of carrier streams. Last year our club acquired some extra water at this venue, adding a couple of extra weir pools for good measure. It is a large water and this, plus the fact that you are required to walk more than a mile from the car park, means that I often don’t see another angler all day.Whilst it is possible (and most choose to) peg out all day in one swim, I prefer a more mobile approach and come prepared with as little gear as I can get away with – usually just a 14 foot match rod, centre pin, pan net and a couple of pints of maggots in a bait smock. There is a good head of fish – some nice dace, chub, roach, perch plus the odd grayling and in the last couple of years some big pike have been coming out. When winter comes there’s no place I’d rather fish, so my first visit last Saturday was eagerly anticipated.Conditions looked good, the previous week’s rain had added some colour to the river and it was still quite mild. Forecast for the day was for more heavy showers – and so it proved. I was periodically drenched with sudden cloudbursts all day.After the long walk in the gathering light to the river, I always tackle up at the first swim that one comes to when arriving. This is a long shallow stretch and never produces anything big but I can usually guarantee to put a bend in the rod straight away. And so it proved. By 7.30 I was fishing, by 7.31 I had my first fish – a small dace. The first hour continued at a fish a chuck and the swim was just going quiet when I had a nice roach of just under a pound and a quarter plus 3 perch of about 14oz. As the first shower of the day subsided, I made my first move and within 10 minutes was putting my 2.5 SSG chubber float through the bubbling back eddy of the larger weir pool.Bites were proving a lot harder here and I was just thinking ‘I’ll give it 10 more minutes’ when the float disappeared. I struck into something solid which dashed off into the main race – I was starting to think ‘small barbel’ when up to the surface showed a lovely big perch. A minute later and it was being gingerly guided into the landing net. At 2lb 12oz this was my 2nd biggest perch and after a quick picture he was slid safely back into the weirpool. This proved to be my only bite in that swim and after 20 minutes I was on the move again.My next swim was the only one I saw that showed signs of having been fished by other anglers – and it doesn’t take a genius to see why. It is a point on the ‘new’ stretch where 2 of the carriers merge, a crease between the 2 water courses flows under a row of alders on one of the banks. The place screams CHUB and the point gives you an ideal vantage point to trot a float under the trees. However, despite looking so chubby, in 3 visits I’d yet to catch a decent chub here (though I did have a pb perch of 3lb 1oz here on the last day of last season). My plan was to give it a good couple of hours. After an hour and a half I was thoroughly soaked from a prolonged heavy shower and covered in maggots which were taking advantage of the wet to escape from my smock. I’d caught plenty of small stuff (plus 1 decent dace of 13oz) but no sign of anything bigger, so I was off again.Next was a short stop at a run at the tail of the weir, 3 small chub in quick succession was followed by a very acrobatic brownie of about a pound – naturally the swim went dead after all this commotion so I was off again.My next swim used to be one of my favourites and is the reason I put up with wearing waders to this venue. By wading through the reed mace on the near bank, you can get a great vantage point above a long run under the trees on the opposite bank. The run is a long one, nearly 50 yards in total and has produced some nice dace and chub for me in the past. My enthusiasm for it has been dampened recently by the fact that the newly opened Newbury by-pass now runs some 25 yards from this vantage point – and I’m not too keen on the roar of the traffic!As I arrived at this swim, I saw that a fallen tree had changed the character of it. The long run had been shortened but a large eddy had appeared behind the tree. I targeted the eddy first and sure enough, I was straight in to a good fish. By the runs it made for the branches, it felt like a good chub and so it proved 5 minutes later, when I managed to steer it into clear water. This spooked it even more and it tore off downstream with me following ‘salmon angler’ style. Thankfully there were no more major snags and I soon had him in the net. A lovely specimen, it disgorged a half-digested baby crayfish as I unhooked it. At 4lb 9oz it was my best from this venue.The chub was followed shortly after by another brownie. At nearly 3lb, this fish was a lot bigger than the previous one and put up a terrific battle before succumbing. It was put back alive after needing to be held in the current to recover. Yet again though, my swim had gone quiet so I decided to return to the ‘point swim’ for my final hour on the water.So I had an hour of fishing to go. After half an hour of small stuff, all of a sudden I connected with something solid. At first I thought ‘I’ve got a snag’ but the snag was swimming, albeit slowly. You often read of anglers recounting epic tale of how hard their specimens fought but I have to say, this fish didn’t fight at all! For all the time I had it on before I actually saw it, I thought it was a nice bream. It won line by swimming across the current and drifting off downstream. I would then have to guide it back to quieter water and regain the line. However after this happening 5 times I knew I was into a good fish.Eventually I got it into the eddy beneath my rod and was able to glimpse it for the first time. It was a chub, but what a chub! It was definitely the biggest I’d ever seen and a mild panic set in. Would the hook hold? Would it suddenly remember it’s a chub and head for the nearest tree roots? Thankfully, none of these things happened and after getting it to take a gulp of air, I guided it toward the, now rather inadequate looking, pan net. There was no lunge as the net was drawn up, all that time in the current had worn it out, at last it was on the bank.I was shaking – thinking this is what it must be like to win the lottery! The chub was an old one, bearing many scars and frayed fins. I wanted to get it back as quickly as possible but I was flabbergasted when the needle on my scales swung past 6lb. I had to recheck the weight. 6lb 3oz was quickly confirmed by my other set of scales. A couple of quick pictures using my, by now wet camera (Blast it! That last shower got it wet!) and I slipped the huge chub safely back. 6lb 3ozs – I have spent years struggling to make 5lb for a chub and now 6lb 3oz!

Just wait till my old pal Paul hears about this!