And so again it was the turn of the Teme for a visit, for a big fish? Maybe! The sun was high and the hopes were too, this time I might be able to spot some fish for the first time this season, or not. It was early afternoon and the warm part of the day when often the fish will feed, the river looked great, the banks not so because they were carrying a lot of debris and flotsam from all the extra water over the past weeks. Still the river was not yet clear enough to even see shadows, which was a shame but that’s the way it goes. The fish were still willing to bite and I had a few nice ones which included a chub that had to be weighed as it`s frame was huge, it went 4lb 9oz. Before long, it was time to decide on the swim to watch it get dark in. The kingfishers were active, the birds singing, and all was well with the river. The hour was spent without much activity until 9pm, when the rod arched to that “alarm bells” point and we were in business….Even after a great tussle earlier in the day from an 8lb fish, this fish was putting up the fight of the season so far, and after some runs to inside cover and a rub or two against the submerged branches, the fish was not giving up!
As the flow fought with us both the fish came close enough to be netted, and as it did I missed it, and almost saw the last dive but the hook hold was good, though the line was frayed from the rubbing. The fish was very long and big framed and weighed 11lb, just two ounces short of my best from the Teme caught a few years ago! I was beaming for the whole journey home and still am now, it`s amazing how these day`s can surprise us. Now which river did I say next?