I have posted this in the Barbel thicker than Carp thread, but what the hell It`s my band width and I`ll do what I want with it. :OP
I think they may reason monk. I was fishing the Ribble last week, after feeding a few swims upstream I settled on a swim lower down, after about 2 hour I went back up stream to look if anything was in the pre bated swims, I got to the last swim crawled down the bank and peered over some nettles I swear the biggest chub I`ve ever seen was just bimbling away and all the bait had gone, BTW I was using Polaroid Glasses.
I went back to the swim I had settled in and got my rod, net, unhooking gear some pellets, past and rushed back. When I got there I re-feed the swim and settled behind the patch of nettles. That fish came and went 5 times It would have a bloody good look at the baited hook but would it pick it up?.....would it hell, but it did eat all the freebies. I had no lead on the line and my hook link was 7lb fluorocarbon. Was I unlucky? or was the fish using reasoning? Any way in the end all that was left was my Hook bait with a hand full of minnows showing interest. That sodin` fish had beat me hands down.