Without them though we would have been completely blind

Although not noted for huge fish, the Gipping does hold lots of small to medium sized chub which respond well to a stalking approach. After spending virtually the whole of the last year fishing stillwaters, I felt the time was right to spend some time getting back into the knack of creeping about on rivers before my summer holiday. This year I am off for a weeks fishing on the Hampshire Avon and Dorset Stour, quite different rivers to the Gipping, but just like riding a bike, river fishing is all about having the confidence in your technique. The fish might be bigger down South, but a chub is a chub, whatever the river. Funnily enough, walking along the Gipping the other night with my wife really brought home to me the value of the one essential piece of stalking kit. Now considering the weather was overcast and the light poor, you wouldn’t have expected anyone but the most fashion conscious to need sunglasses. Without them though we would have been completely blind. While I could see almost every pebble on the river bed, my wife could not see past the ever present surface glare. Fish which stood out like sore thumbs to me were totally invisible to anyone not wearing glasses. Because I spend a lot of time near water I have two pairs of polarised glasses. The first are standard grey lenses, which are ideal for bright days. The second pair have much lighter lenses, hardly darkened at all, and are ideal for low light conditions. Along with glasses, a peaked cap is also a useful aid when the sun is high in the sky. You get what you pay for when it comes to polaroids. In general, those sold for game fishing tend to be better than cheapies from the local garage. Apart from polaroids, I guess most coarse anglers would have tackle that could, at a pinch, be pushed into service for stalking. This goes more so for chub, which are likely to be the first species you target, and which do not fight as hard as barbel or river carp. Although no one tool will do everything, most of my river stalking is carried out using an eleven foot 1lb test curve rod, fixed spool reel and four to six pound line. Anything from a decent float rod to a light carp rod could be pushed into service though if you needed to. Obviously, as with all fishing, the tackle must be balanced and the right rod and reel means that I can fish a little lighter than would otherwise be the case. Choose your favourite brand of main line but I would advise always using a fluorocarbon leader of around two feet in length. Any longer and you will find that you have problems when fishing in cramped swims. Hooks again are a personal thing, Drennan specimens tend to be my favourite. A few split shot and some poly floats complete the tackle. A decent pair of forceps and a 24 inch round landing net with extending pole complete the tackle. All of this is stored in a little rucksack along with a tin of luncheon meat, pot of worms, a few other creepy crawlies and half a loaf of bread.

Over the years I have honed my stalking gear quite a bit, but don’t be put off if you haven’t got the perfect set-up. The important bit is how you approach your fishing, something that I will explain in more detail next week.