Black Ops - Middle Irwell Chub Extaction

BLACK OPS MISSON - CHUB ON THE STICK.

I had a three hour window on Sunday morning to extract an Irwell chub. Got to a " Deep Cover " out of the way peg that I have only seen in the winter. Casterman & myself trimmed the branches on the opposite side so you could trot under them. When I got there it was like the Amazon.........Hogweed, nettles and brambles were the enemy ....I had to fight my way through  100 meters of this shite being extremely careful not to get stung off the Hogweed.

For those of you who do not know about Giant Hogweed it is an invasive species that grows all along the river Irwell making some sections of the river almost impossible to fish in the summer time. When stung by this plant it can produce huge blisters that can re-occur for seven years, is light sensitive so it comes back when the sun shines upon the infected area …….as I said…..NASTY STUFF INDEED………I could go on but I will leave it for know as this is a topic on its own.

I arrived at my chosen peg absolutely exauhsted to find my hidden gem of a pool.

“ This is not how I remember it “

The river was very low and it had taken its toll on my peg. I was a little deflated. It was a hard fought battle through the thicket so to see a virtually  still pool in front of me did not put me in the best of moods I can tell you.

All my kit was nice and neat including a new rod bag I acquired from Elton Tackle in Radcliffe. ( Good shop this one if you are in the area) As I was eying up my Conni X I saw a flash of metallic blue wiz past my bait station ……” oooh…….Kingfisher “ At least the wild life would keep me interested if the pool was devoid of fish !!!!!!!!!!!

A large splash released my eyes from my hook tier as I finished of my stick rig.

( One of my own floats of course….lol). A hefty trout was taking dry flies right in the fast run opposite me. I had opted for a Retro Stick as I could well be fishing worm or bread as well as maggots on this session as there were some supposed “ Beasties “ that frequented this little pool…………..so the legend has it……J and I did not want to loose it if I hooked one.

I had been introducing free offerings of maggots and liquidised bread for the last 20 minutes whilst I was tackling up to put the fish at ease in a feeding mood and to get their heads down off the surface. First trot down and my pink Retro disappeared from view. A quick left to right strike and I was in……………………. What was it????????????? It powered straight for the overhanging trees opposite to my  left. I did not think it was a massive fish so , with my thumb I applied some considerable pressure on my pin to halt the fishes run. It did the trick. The fish turned ad stared to shake its head………it’s a trout…………not an intended chub.

The Wild Brown trout I was playing literally went wild………..jumping out of the water nearly hanging its self on the bushes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…………. After the acrobatics I played the fish out in the clear water in front of me. It was not a bad fish for a small pool…………………..about a pound and a half guesstimate……. and very welcome from on first appraisal, what looked like a vey out of sorts peg……………….

One of the smaller Brownies

I nearly used this float but even I thought twice about using it near overhanging branches and a snagie peg.....lol.......

It was great to see a kingfisher on the Irwell, testament to the hard work that has been done for the last thirty years. I must have been right in the middle of its flight path because every 10 minutes it would streak past me. A metallic blur of turquoise and a flash of its red breast broke my concentration every time she went to hunt. It was worth the effort just to see this spectacle.

The chub never showed up on the day unfortunately but I had a slow……but steady stream of trout, the first one being the largest. I also Has a few but important little tiddlers…..minnows………..I had about 10 . Irritating on most occasions but today they were a welcome distraction and an all important “ Rod Race “ point for me..... :)

And that was that………….not the best day on the Irwell I have ever had by a long way but a new peg was explored and investigated even though the conditions were not really appropriate and I caught. A nice morning out in general……………….but ...................

Gives me an excuse to do it again though........

I have got to look at some other virgin pegs ( To me ) and have a dabble on them. When I go I will report my findings……..

.................

If you would like to look at all of the hand crafted floats I make please click on the link below and it will take you to my float page.

http://purplepeanut007.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/hand-crafted-floats-float-making-by.html?m=1

TTFN

Peanut.

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