At 3lb 12oz not the biggest bream I have ever caught but certainly the one which gave me most satisfaction and one which has almost certainly never been caught before - caught Monday evening from my local small river after work.

A group of 6 of us fish this stretch of a tiny local river which runs through some farmland nearby. Costs us next to nothing, because we get on with farmer and we keep an eye on it for him. Excellent spot for wildlife too - Sat evening I was greeted by two young badgers as I walked back up the track to the car in near darkness. Anyway, I digress... The main quarry in this river is chub, but there's a shoal of bream which are often spotted cruising about but only one has ever been caught before and that was a a bit of fluke. They are elusive with a capital E and are rarely spotted feeding, although obviously they must do at some point. The shoal is about 12-14 fish, estimated between 3 and 4lbs, possibly more. They look huge in this tiny river. I was really determined to catch one this season after trying and failing several times the last couple of seasons (like the other guys) and Sat evening I was sure I'd hooked and lost one, so I went back Monday evening armed with a softer rod than my usual one, plus a tub of redworms from the garden compost heap. I'd given up in the swim they are usually spotted in and thought I'd have the last half hour in another chub "cattle drink" swim on the way back to the car. I still had the size 12/redworm rig (not my normal size 8 chub rig) but thought I'd leave it on anyway as I was short of time. Didn't help that the inquisitive young heiffers in the field decided to come and "help me" by having a drink, sneezing in my ear, licking my unhooking mat and generally getting in the way. They're quite funny though to be fair. Had a few small perch, then a more positive bite and struck into something solid, which thudded and came off, but not before I'd seen a suspiciously humpy back break the surface. Hmmm. 5 minutes later, same thing, but this time I eased off the pressure, kept the fish on and played it more gently to the net (I'm still used to leaning into to those chub runs!)....and lo and behold:


Was I chuffed or what? I grinned all the way the home, feeling hugely smug at my achievement and needless to say couldn't wait to tell the others. And thats what fishing is all about to me and what keeps me coming back

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A nice conditioned fish for so early in the season Jeff.

Well done.

TF

Nice fish. That's some little river you seem to have there!

Yep, superb condition isn't it. Some of the chub are still looking a bit patchy from spawning, as was a jackpike I caught the other night, who had clearly been on the receiving end of a few major "lovebites" from Mrs Pike, poor fella

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