Overgrown banks and urban chub

With the young'uns in bed and the approving nod from the Mrs confirming I had a pass for the evening I jumped in the car and headed to a little urban waterway in pursuit of chub. I checked in on 2 areas I had caught from previously but these only contained a number of small chublets, who were ravenous for a handful of white maggots. Moving further downstream I decided to drop into an area that is always very overgrown as there is no access to cut the bank side vegetation, initially the waterway looked devoid of fish as the weed was nearly thick enough to walk across. Not seeing anything at the first time of asking I scanned my eyes down stream and picked up on several shapes moving in and out of small opening in the weed. The opening ran all the way up up from 20 yards downstream to the area in front of me. Dropping into the swim the vegetation- bryers, sticky buds and nettles were much higher than I expected. Using the cover of a small tree halfway down the bank it, camouflaged me from the chub further down stream. Setting up the short 9ft rod, 4lb Drennan Supplex and size 12 Drennan Super Specialist hook I mounted up 4/5 maggots. Sliding down the last half of the bank, the water level was much lower than I anticipated and the last half of the bank much steeper than I recall. Landing at the bottom with every part of my body tingling from nettle stings I though I may have blown my chances, as it wasn't most graceful of entrances. Crouched over myself I started to feed small handfuls of maggots and it wasn't long before a number of chub were engulfing these in the flow, there bodies gliding in and out from under the streamer weed with white lips pulsing as they picked off each maggot that drifted downstream. My eyes caught sight of a large shape and the flash of its lips which were considerably bigger than all the other chub in the swim. Knowing I would only have one chance at this fish I needed to get it on its own to avoid any chance of a smaller chublet sealing the show. I began feeding a handful of maggots in the main flow of the waterway and a handful on the inside line. I repeated this several times, once I had the bigger fish of the shoal on the inside line I the tempted it up stream throwing maggots a shorter and shorter distance. With a handful going over the far side of the waterway to keep the chublets busy. As the fish made its way up stream it was probably 5 yards down stream from where I crouched, swinging the bait into the small pocket of clear water I guided the maggots down stream before they were engulfed at the first time of asking. Setting the hook the fish instantly buried itself in the streamer weed in the middle of the waterway, maintain the pressure it came free and I was able to slide a massive fish for the water into the landing net. Resting it well I peered back up the bank and actually thought I want going to be able to get back up the steep bank. With a little help from a brick creating the perfect foot hole once removed I lifted  fish to to the top of he bank for some quick photographs. An immaculate fish and I would estimate one of only a handful of big chub in the waterway. Treated with the up most respect and well rested she soon glided back to the weedy urban jungle.

No more casts required I headed back to the car, I don't think there is a better way to get an angling fix on a summers evening than free lining for chub.