From Winter Thames Chub to Giant Black Carp Abroad | Gary Newman

Why the River Thames Keeps Me Coming Back

The River Thames has always been one of my favourite venues to fish. It’s challenging, unpredictable, and never quite the same from one session to the next. You can fish stretches you know well and still never be entirely sure what might turn up — whether that’s a hard-fighting chub or a genuinely big barbel. That uncertainty is a big part of its appeal.

Unfortunately, recent winters haven’t made things easy. Conditions have often been poor, with long spells of high water, heavy colour, or flows that made fishing difficult — and at times impossible. This winter was no different.

Waiting for the Right Conditions on the Thames

Ideally, for barbel fishing on the Thames, I want the river to be up and coloured but beginning to drop, ideally alongside milder weather. That combination gives you the best chance of fish feeding confidently. While we did see some of those conditions earlier in the autumn, they came with a major drawback.

The river was full of leaves, dead weed, and general debris. On my regular stretch, this material constantly built up on the line, often making it impossible to fish effectively — even when using heavy leads such as an 8oz Grippa.

Stretch Topography and Its Limitations

Many of these problems are exacerbated by the topography of the stretch I fish most regularly. There’s a weir at the top end, followed by a long, fairly straight section of river. Unlike big sweeping bends, which often provide slacker water on the inside, this stretch offers very few natural refuges from the flow.

Margins and close-in areas also aren’t always where I want to be fishing due to depth and features, although there are exceptions. When the river is really up, fish can be caught right under the rod tip — especially if it’s the only place you can comfortably hold bottom — but generally I prefer to fish further out.

Switching Focus from Barbel to Chub

Although I enjoy barbel fishing on the Thames, I really wanted to spend some time targeting chub. For that, I needed lower river levels and, more importantly, manageable flow rates. I don’t want to be chub fishing with massive leads, and once the river drops and steadies, everything becomes far more enjoyable.

Cold temperatures and clear water aren’t an issue for chub, apart from perhaps when the water temperature drops suddenly before stabilising. In fact, a spell of colder weather can actually work in your favour, so a proper winter feel was something I welcomed.

A Short Window of Opportunity

We didn’t get much of a window where conditions lined up, particularly as I was away filming for work until mid-November. However, I did manage a few nights on the river when everything looked right.

I could hold bottom towards the middle of the river with a more sensible lead size, although it still required 4oz in the flow. These sessions produced a handful of smaller chub in the 2–4lb range, which at least confirmed that fish were present and feeding.

A Standout Thames Chub Session

One evening, at around 7:30 pm, the rod tip suddenly slammed round and held firm, bouncing frantically at the same time. Straight away, it felt different — heavier, more determined, and clearly a better fish.

After a good fight, I slipped the net under a really nice chub. It didn’t quite break the 6lb barrier, but at 5lb 13oz, I certainly wasn’t complaining, especially given how difficult the conditions had been overall.

Thames Chub Tackle and Rig Setup

The fish fell to my usual home-made milk protein boilies, fished with a small PVA bag of chops. The rig consisted of a size 6 Super MWG hook — a new size I was trying at the time — tied to a thin braided hook link.

This was fished with a 4oz square pear lead on a Guru lead clip, using 10lb Drag Line, a prototype Guru N-Gauge reel, and a 1.75lb N-Gauge Dual Tip rod. It was a balanced setup that allowed me to hold bottom effectively while still offering good bite indication.

When the River Turns Difficult Again

Since then, fishing has become hard again. Persistent rain combined with colder temperatures has meant conditions haven’t really suited much of anything. Despite putting in the time, I’ve only managed a couple more small chub, which sums up how challenging the river has been.

A Return Trip to China

Autumn also saw me returning to China — one of my favourite countries — for another attempt at black carp. I revisited a lake I’d already fished a couple of times, but this trip also involved travelling to the far south-west of the country, into Yunnan province.

The plan was to look at a large lake with a history of producing big black carp, with a view to possibly fishing it in the future.

Exploring Yunnan Province and New Possibilities

This part of the trip turned out to be one of the highlights. Yunnan felt completely different from the regions around Shanghai, with incredible scenery, much spicier food, and some of the best tea I’ve ever tasted.

The lake itself was very interesting and clearly held a lot of potential. Whether I’ll fish it anytime soon remains to be seen — all my bigger items of tackle, like my bivvy and bedchair, are based in Shanghai, and getting there involves either a three-hour flight or a very long road journey.

Eight Nights on Pearl Lake

I then spent eight days and nights fishing Pearl Lake near Shanghai, a venue I’d fished twice before. On previous trips, I’d landed black carp to 118lb, but there was always the possibility of much bigger fish, which kept me coming back.

Temperatures dropped noticeably over the first couple of days, slowing the fishing more than expected. Even so, I still managed to land ten black carp.

Big Fish, Night Bites, and Lost Opportunities

I also went through a frustrating spell where I lost five fish in a row, including one that felt completely different to the rest. It fell off around 15 minutes into the fight during the early hours of the morning. Unlike earlier trips, most of the bites this time came at night.

The biggest fish I landed weighed 99lb, although unfortunately it jumped straight out of my hands when I tried to lift it for a photo. These black carp are unbelievably powerful and unstoppable when they decide to go.

Other fish landed included specimens of 96lb, 84lb, 80lb, 72lb, along with several between 30lb and 60lb.

Black Carp Tackle, Rigs, and Feeding Strategy

All of my black carp were caught on double live snail hook baits, fished in the shell. Each snail was pierced with a 6mm bait drill and hair rigged blowback style on size 1 or 2 Wide Gape XX hooks.

Hook links were either 50lb Arma-Kord or 80lb Kamo, fished to a DuraKord leader and 100lb braided main line. The rigs were placed around 50 yards out, just before the lake began to shallow towards the centre.

Pearl Lake covers about 1,200 acres, and the area I fish is the deepest, at roughly 12ft. Baiting was heavy, with around 30kg of snails introduced per day using a boat, topped up regularly with a spomb.

Looking Ahead

Despite the tough fishing back home and the challenges faced in China, it was an incredibly enjoyable period on the bank. Seeing just how big the black carp can grow — especially after my fishing partner landed fish far bigger than anything I’ve caught — has given me plenty of motivation to return next year.

It’s been a season of hard-earned bites, big fish, and unfinished business — and I’m already looking forward to what the next one brings.