Evesham match ace, Brian Bennett, (although Dave Harrell fiercely disputes that title!), tells me that the town stretch is fishing it’s wotsits off, with chub to 3lb, plus loads of chublets, showing themselves to be very greedy both below the bridge and permanent pegs 1 to 10 downstream of the famous ‘boards’. Wag ‘n’ mag just the job but make sure you pay for your Evesham council parking ticket or you’ll get a ticket of a different sort! A lot of quality roach appear to be swimming in amongst the chub, and if the river is holding a touch of colour … bingo! Talking of coloured water, the Ferry pegs hold a massive head of bream, but they’ll only feed when they get ‘switched on’ by an extra inch or two of murky H2O. Believe it or not, anglers will have a strange encounter with tench on the Ferry section as the calendar flicks over to 2005, as they refuse to believe the warm summer months are behind us. Worms, casters and the favoured bronze maggots are tip-top baits, and don’t be surprised if a big perch comes along or ‘Clarissa’ … the latter of which you won’t get out anyway! Call into Diana’s café for the best breakfast in Evesham, and a pint afterwards, or get the missus to fetch you down Sunday lunch at your peg between bites! There is some terrific chub fishing to be had over at Manor Farm Leisure, just outside Evesham (tel: 01386 870039), with bronze maggot on the float the name of the game, but I’m still convinced that cheesepaste or mashed bread combined with flake will tempt the bigger specimens that go up to 5lb and a bit more here. The Theatre length at Stratford offers roach fishing that ‘redfin freaks’ would die for, and whilst Brian recommends maggots plastered in tumeric fished under a waggler, I’m going to stick my neck out and plump for breadpunch and liquidized bread feed. If you saw the number of swans at Stratford then you would know why … they and the roach swimming below live on a diet of ‘tourist bread’! Ring Stuart’s Angling on 01789 293950 for on-the-spot info or, better still, call in and see him at his excellent Stratford tackle shop.   

Midland Angler