Chub, Chub and more chub.

That's half a dozen trips to the River Tees since June 16th in search of the elusive barbel (which other people I know have managed successfully so far), and all i'm getting is chub. It's getting frustrating, though it's always good to get a bend in the rod. 

I've changed my approach recently, not starting fishing until the kids are in bed, and fishing until midnight or so. Tactics wise, i've changed to a double boilie hookbait (10mm Nutrabaits Trigga) to try and avoid the chub. Even then, they are still hanging themselves on my rigs, however i have noticed that less are hooking themselves, allowing me to ignore the chub pulls and hopefully soon allow a barbel to get to the bait. The problem is that tees barbel are not common, and seem to be very nomadic. It's a case of finding them, which is easier said than done (and when they do get found, angling pressure seems to move them on). Add to the fact that chub out number them massively, and sometimes bream, and you can see why it is such an interesting challenge. Why am I keeping at it? Simple - The average size of a Tees fish hovers around the double figure mark. 

Hopefully it will happen soon, dont get me wrong, in the middle of winter I would be specifically targetting chunky chub, but right now they are a nuisance!