Getting Jiggy With It! - Winter Lure Fishing

Well hey guy's long time no blogging and once again I have to say how sorry I am for the lack of post's! Hopefully if you follow any of the On The Bank Angling bits and pieces though you will realise there's been a lot going on!

Anyway enough excuses and may I wish you all a very happy new year! So, how has the new year started for the members of OTBA? Well all I can say is I can't wait till the summer!

That's being a little unfair to be honest, as I have actually had some cracking results over the past weeks whilst pursuing my new interest - fishing with lures.

To be more precise I mean fishing with small soft jigs on light rods. This approach really has hooked me. As a kid I often considered lure fishing as a desperate method that never really accounted for many big fish. Don't get me wrong, I would still do it and catch the odd fish but was never really amazingly confident. This may be down to the endless options of different lures all of varying colours, shapes and sizes. There's so many lures in some shops that the whole thing can get a bit confusing.

My first Pike was on a lure! Boy don't I look young.

With this is mind I have always been looking at other methods to catch predatory species such as Perch and Pike but now wish I had not been so hasty in ruling out lure fishing. The more I think about it the more advantages I see in this mobile and creative approach. Lure fishing offers the angler so many options. You can fish at all the depths , you can cover so much water , you can basically make that lure do whatever you want and you don't have to commit loads of time to it. 

It was that last point that made me start my recent spell of jig fishing sessions on the Bristol Avon. As I was up in the area visiting the girlfriend I would often only get a couple of hours fishing time. Not enough to bait and wait effectively. So why not explore the river with lures? 

My first session on the river with the jigs was more than enough to get me coming back for more as I caught Pike , Perch and Chub all on little jigs. Check out the video below to see just how I did it....

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPQUr87dmqY

The Bristol Avon has turned out to be the perfect river for the method too, since as you can see in the video it's just me on the bank without another angler in sight. This means I can try all the areas the fish lie up in - and I mean all the areas. I always tend to look for the predatory species near cover and every tree , undercut bank or snag is thoroughly explored. Soon you begin to get a picture of the exact areas the fish like to sit in and then fishing gets really easy. I have already had three Chub in three sessions from the same swim on the Avon , it's a swim where a concrete pipe enters the water in the near margin. The fish I find always are sat under the pipe , a spot that would more than likely be ignored using other methods as it is so close to the bank.

A near PB Chub on a Lure

Another Chub from the "Pipe" swim

It really pinpoints a fact that is important in all fishing disciplines and that's location. In a lot of the swims I try I end up biteless - however in other spots the jig is hit almost instantly, indicating there are a number of competing fish present.
The Perch I have caught on the Avon so far have all come from the same tree. This is a typical Perch spot where a fallen tree has created a large raft. The numbers of Perch under this tree are staggering and I am sure if I persevere that big two or three pounder will show up!
The method it's self is so simple too , a small jig mounted on a single hook. That's it! This is fished in an up and down motion to imitate a fish in distress. The skill in lure fishing really is working the different lures though and I'm sure far more experienced lure anglers than myself would have had a lot more fish - but I keep learning as I go!
A few of the other lads have also jumped on the method and are getting some cracking results. We pass on our observations and findings so that we can all use these tips in our own fishing. One observation we have noticed already is that how different species tend to prefer certain styles of retrieve. Perch prefer the classic jigging motion of a lift and drop, whereas Pike seem to like the faster dart - like retrieve. With the Chub I've caught I can only imagine that they are snatching at the lure as it passes. I personally find it hard to imagine Chub chasing down the lure but I may be - and probably am - wrong! What do you guys think?

A Dorset Stour Perch

So that's what's been keeping me busy recently, work and a bad case of the lure fishing bug! I hope those of you who haven't tried light jig fishing yet really fancy going and giving it a try after this little read. There isn't really too much else to say other than get out on the bank using this mobile and exciting method. Oooh - there is one other thing and that is that I've just got back from my first session drop shotting!  We'll save that story till next time! ;) .


Tight lines!

The search for Winter Chub-Part 1.

Well hello again, sorry the posts are so inconsistent at the moment. I have unfortunately had lots going on and have not had much time to sit on the computer. Anyway this post is going to be about a couple of sessions myself and my friend Kev have had out on the rivers in search of Chub recently. Chub are a great species to target at this time of year because they seem to feed whatever the weather. Most rivers nowadays have a stock of Chub to target and we are very lucky in the South west not only to have rivers with large quantities of Chub but also some real specimens of over 6 pounds in weight!!
Our first Chub adventure was going to be on Somersets river Tone which runs straight through the city of Taunton. It is a relatively narrow and fast flowing river with a good number of all coarse fish. Not living that local to the river we decided to fish the free stretch instead of buying a ticket for the more prolific stretches. We set off mid morning from Exeter and made the 20 minute drive up the motorway. Which actually turned out to be more like a 40 minute drive due to the never ending road works! Even though we were a little late we still managed to get down by the river for lunch time.
Our tactics for the day would be simply to move from swim to swim with big hook baits and no loose feed. My main bait for the day would be bread but Kev fancied a more natural bait in the form of a big juicy worm. These baits would be presented on simple running ledger set-ups in likely looking areas.
The first swim we came too was just past the motorway bridge on a junction between the main river and a small side stream. The spot looked prime to hold a few fish and I began fishing the crease line were the two waters met. Kev was fishing tight to a overhanging tree in his near margin. Chub are known to love snaggy areas and overhangs so Kev's spot looked bang on. It felt like an age had passed however before Kev's rod began to show the first signs of action. Short sharp wraps on his tip indicated a fish had taken a liking to his worm hook bait. He struck into the third knock to reveal the culprit, a small Chub of about a pound in weight was soon in the net. It wasn't the monster we wanted but a good start. A few minutes later my rod was also away but with only a small Roach to show for my efforts.
We decided a change of swim was needed and we set off back down the river. We found two more lovely looking swims, one with a tree in the water and another with a crease line running into a deep hole. It wasn't long before Kev was in again in his new swim. This fish was no Chub though but still made Kev happy as it was his first Grayling. Kev's worm hook bait was certainly attracting the fish. I decided to plug away on the bread though and not long after dropping the bait into a hole just off the main flow, I had a solid pull round on the tip. The result was a Chub of about a pound and a half in the net. On re-casting to the same spot I connected with another Chub and a slightly better one too. This fish was about 2lb in weight. Unfortunately it seemed that the quick action and disturbance had spooked what looked like a good shoal of fish. So after a few more casts it was time to move again.

2 lb River Tone Chub

The session was going well but the next two swims we tried seemed entirely fish less. Not to get disheartened we continued to rove down the river back towards the car. I then arrived at a stunning swim were a tree had created a raft down my own margin. It looked prime for a bite. So a cast down towards the tree with the bread soon followed. The bait was in the water for no less than a few minutes when it was taken with a violent wrap round on the tip. What looked a decent swim in the books proved to be just that! The fish thought harder than all the others and used the current to its advantage to try and shake the hook. After a short battle it was in the net though and looked to be the biggest Chub of the day nearing the 3lb mark. As with the other swims though this instant action seemed to spook any other fish in the area and a few casts later I was off to the next swim. 

The light was now fading as it so quickly does in winter and I was struggling to find any more fish. Kev however managed to bag another one from a stretch of overhanging trees on the far bank. It was to be Kev's biggest Chub of about 2 and a half pounds.

2 lb + River Tone Chub

The session had been a lot of fun and although we hadn't caught any monsters we had however caught in most of the areas we had tried. The bonus was it was all for free too! You can't beat a bit of winter Chub fishing and I now was itching to get out on the bank after the species again.

To watch a video of our River Tone Session check out the You tube Channel 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lBZuop1Vqw

Would I catch a bigger Chub next time out? Find out in part 2.......

Tight Lines