Thought I'd get out for a couple of hours stick float fishing in preparation for the Itchen Fish-in in just over a weeks time.

The 'river' (more of a stream really) was fined down nicely, and I was soon getting small roach and chub up to around 8oz from most of my favourite swims.

(Where the river is often just inches deep, deeper holes formed around features usually hold a few fish)

Early on, I lost a larger chub that took me by surprise and went straight into the tree roots.

Then I hooked into a fish that gave a good account of itself on the light tackle I was using.

It came out of some deeper water near to the tree on the far bank.

I then lost another larger chub when the hook pulled (I was using size 16s to 2lb bottoms).

A while later I briefly hooked a much larger fish, then hooked it again as I trotted throught the swim.

I didn't get to see it, but it felt much bigger than anything I'd so far hooked into.

I tried trotting the swim a few more times, but it had obviously had enough, so I moved on.

I really coudn't resist trying the swim again on the way back to the car.

First trot through and I was in

This time the fish stayed on and I netted it, and weighed it in at 3lb 8oz

A young lad, on his way back from Mote Park was gob-smacked, that a fish so big had come out of such a tiny ditch!

'Is it a pike?'

I returned the fish (which was actually an old friend that I'd had out of that swim at around the same weight a couple of years back), and emptied the maggots in to boil around 'his' hole as compensation for the indignity of being caught.

I occasionally do get a larger chub out of the Len, but most are around the 8oz mark. I caught plenty of those today, and I've had many bigger chub from bigger rivers in the past, but having caught two decent sized fish, and lost two others, on the same day out of this tiny river made it a rewarding trip.

And a memory to torment me when the river season ends in just a few weeks time!