The River Chess is a small stream usually associated with fly fishing but further down it's short course it gets a bit more urban and dare I say it more coarse and it was here I was to wet a line for a few hours last week. After the recent heavy rains I made my way through a waterlogged car park and along a slightly overflowing canal which was looking the perfect colour so I hoped for the same from The Chess as it fishes much better when so, it is however a chalk stream and reminded me that on arrival as I could see down a good three feet.
The river did have a slight tinge of colour and the three feet I could see down was in the only spot it goes that deep, so I set up here as usual deciding to sit on the bank on my net bag to keep a low profile. However there was a steady run of leaves down the middle which was owning my little stick float, so much so that I found it unfishable, my line catching on the endless run of rusty sycamore leaves as they seemed to be having a conference, going round in the eddy and then back again to greet my float each time. I decided to move but just as I was about to get up something large swam right under my feet heading upstream, sitting low to the water has it's merits so I carefully got up and tried the spot above.
Chasing big fish up a little river isn't a guarantee of success so I was happy to run a float through for anything, so a nice roach was the first fish of the day. Leaves weren't a problem in the new swim but it was oh so shallow, my float was on the hooklength and I felt many of the bites were bottom, it was a lot faster here but I am used to shallow rivers so having learnt to fish on the nearby Gade so I was enjoying this little tree lined run, I picked up a small chub and another roach before losing sight of my float and an instinctive strike indicated something solid.
There can't be a better feeling in fishing than hitting the bottom only to feel the bottom shake it's head and then slowly move upstream and so it dawned on me that I could be aquainted with the fish that I saw a few minutes earlier. Whatever It was now headed downstream and spun on the surface, a flash of bronze in the dark shade of the trees showed It was a good bream and it used it's deep body to good effect in the current, something river bream do so well. I gradually battled it upstream through the flow and into the net where it snapped me just after I landed it, fighting till the end like an urban brawler.
Now I like bream, back in the day as kids they were the target fish, even on the little rivers, so I was happy with this one. As I returned it gently back to the water the sun came out and lit up the river in small spots like a torchlight through the autumn canopy. The bottom was suddenly revealed showing an array of snaggy branches, leaves and the odd bit rubbish and I wondered how the hell I caught anything there never mind a fish that was almost as deep as the swim.
With the sun now out I sat in the mottled woods having a coffee reflecting on a good start to the day as the first dog walker went past, I only saw three all day and it was so peaceful aside from the constant drone of the roads and the police helicopter in the distance reminding me of my urban surroundings. A kingfisher beeped as it zoomed by as if to let me know it is coming through and I too decided to carry on my journey as there were other swims to fish, I had this short stretch to myself so it would be rude not to fish all of them after all.
Trying spots here and there was fun as was getting some nice looking roach and dace in each one, throw in the odd perch and small chub made for a nice mix of fish. It was the usually small stream fare, catching a few fish before each spot went dead, mainly roach which looked a lot larger in the clear water but were a fun size to catch.
I packed up after only three hours fishing as that was more than enough and went round to chat to my mate Simon who was on the nearby Colne. What a contrast this was as it was coloured from the canal water running in, he was catching plenty too although it was a different world as a marathon had been going on to add to all the dog walkers, cyclists and pushchairs, a few runners were still coming by with numbers on their shirts and you know you are straggling when you get overtaken by a bloke in waders.
The rumour mill was going full throttle with a body being found in the river downstream hence the police helicopter, although I hope not, there always seems to be something going on when I go fishing lately but that's a bit too much. I walked back to the busy car park reflecting on my little bit of quiet fishing in the woods around the corner away from all the hustle and bustle, sometimes it's just good to get away from it all.
