September is a difficult month for me as on the lakes certain species start to feed up as they realise that the seasons are changing.

The colder nights also mean that the rivers should start to switch on and after already achieving some memorable captures on the Stillwater I decided to turn my attentions to running water but not before a last attempt at a record crucian. Unfortunately very little happened, although the carp could be heard crashing at one end of the lake.

The Cemex stretch of the River Lee has always been on my mind for it’s big chub so the long trip was made one early morning around the M25. The river was nothing to what I had imagined and after talking to a few anglers that arrived later is only a shadow of what it was once, due to a fish kill some two years ago. I roved the whole stretch, finally connecting with a barbel just over 10lbs. I had left the camera in the car due to the long walk so she was slipped back without a trophy shot. That was the only bite my father and I had and mid afternoon we left before the traffic built. With this venue off my hit list, it will have to be the Thames for the chub.

An evening trip to the Loddon found after a long walk that I had snapped my nut drill. Unable to drill a hard pellet and having no soft baits or bands to mount them adequately I returned home with no intension of returning until my gear had been sorted out.

Knowing that a couple of very large barbel are in my local stretch I decided to plan a baiting campaign in the hope of tracking one of them down. This seemed a great idea as others were sticking to the known swims and blanking. A swim that produced a few weeks back, off the beaten track and rarely fished was picked for a baiting plan.

Every other day I will be depositing around three kilos of hemp in the hope that this will draw and keep some barbel happy. Not wanting to disturb the swim too much I would rove around as in previous years, dropping into the baited area at the end of each week, after dark. Well, four visits were made over the last week and apart from one five-pound chub that was extremely rewarding after such a barren spell little happened, even in the baited swim. One thing the hemp has done is draw the bream to the area but although they are rolling after dark seem reluctant to feed on my spot, good!