Upstream

I am compiling some more old skool posts, and have been rifling through my albums (what are they dad?) and stopped at this to me anyway Leviathan of a chub. It was an atrocious afternoon with horizontal rain and driving wind. The river was high, and though not carrying branches and dead cows I knew I had to find a decent slack and perhaps have one chance. 

I did explore the downstream area but my eye kept getting drawn back upstream to the left. As the wind was banging downstream I was able to swing the 3 swan link up into the slack, knowing the wind would keep the line clear as the shot and large lump of paste arced in. I slowly tightened the 2oz screw-in tip just enough to maintain the shot holding and held onto my brolly pole.  I saw the line cutting back rather than the tip springing straight. The fish kept travelling down and boring under the floating mat in front of me. As the chub rolled into the outstretched net I really thought it could be a small common. Solid and pristine and a world away from the Colne and Stour chub I'd been used to. Even using 3 swan in a slackish bit of water was heavy guns. Bang on 6lb. And I did test those tubular scales when I got home. That was about 13 years ago. I haven't bettered it quite yet but in that stretch now the fish go 7's. It's much more balanced now as back then you could fish flake and only get chub bites except in small pockets. A good range of silvers (and spotties)  now.

For reasons probably incomprehensible I have only ever seriously fished upstream to a feature when chubbing less than  it would take a handful of fingers to count. Why? 

It's bang to rights boilie and pellet on there now so two rods in a swim one up and one down is probably common place. I can just see that line cutting back though.......