Chub
The chub is one of our more common species in our nations rivers, it can grow to an average size of 3-5lb on many rivers but in recent years some rivers have seen the size of Chub increase massively, On Rivers like the Lodden, The Lee and the Dorset Stour fish to 7lb and even 8lb are not uncommon and the current British record stands at 9lb 5oz a truly massive fish landed by Neill Stephens on the river Lee in March 2012.
Neill Stephens huge 9lb 5oz British record
The Chub is really a very obliging fish that will take almost any bait including Worms,Sweetcorn, Pellets, Boilie's and of course Bread which is my personal favorite used in one form or another, usually a nice big piece of flake, One of the most exiting ways to fish for them is by free lining Slugs in the early summer, Simply find a suitable looking swim like a floating weed raft or alongside bank side rushes, then simply hook your slug onto a size 4 or 6 hook and use it's weight to flick it into position, you then simply feed the line through your fingers as it bounces through the swim, Bites can be very aggressive so be ready to strike!
Location
Chub can be found almost anywhere in a river but the larger fish are very fond of cover, Bank side vegetation, overhanging tree's and floating rafts of weed are all prime spot's to search out chub, My favorite spot would be in any crease swim preferably with both shallow water and deeper covered areas near-by, The chub will sit on the edge of the crease waiting to come out of the faster water, I have even caught chub in flooded fields where they will hole up in any deeper areas goring themselves on worms, They also hide out in undercuts in the bank usually found on sweeping bends, these can be real hotspots if you can get a bait to float into the hole itself. Smaller Chub can often be found in large shoals and a simple float fishing approach feeding heavily with maggots can provide fantastic results.
Methods
You can use almost any method to catch Chub but as i am writing this in early winter i will explain two simple but very effective methods that will work on big or small rivers.
Firstly is float fishing, using a heavy Avon float set at the exact depth or slightly over depth you should bulk all your s hot about 18" from the hook and then use a suitable size hook, say size 14 for maggots or a size 10 for Bread flake, Then pre=bait a few likely swims with your chosen bait and then start back at your first choice, Chub are very greedy fish and a shoal of sizeable fish can eat a large amount of bait so keep a stream of free offerings going in, A bowl of mashed Bread is my personal favorite. Then simply trot your float through the swim, every so often hold the float back as this will make the ait rise up in the water and make a tempting bait. It is also well worth holding back hard at the end of the swim as the larger fish often wait here picking up the freebies.
This image by Fishing Author Mark Wintle shows the rig perfectly
My favourite rig for winter Chub fishing is a simple Feeder rig used in conjunction with a 11ft Avon Rod using the quiver tip, I would mix up a bowl of mashed bread and lightly pre bait a number of likely looking swims and then head back to my first peg and choose a medium sized open ended feeder, i prefer the metal cage feeders myself, I would then use the 3 loop feeder rig.
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The 3 Loop Feeder Rig
This rig may look complicated but it is really not and it is a great rig for many species on running water, The feeder is held on a loop so that the fish taking the bait feels no resistance from the feeder giving a confident bite and a good pull on the tip. To make this rig you place the feeder on the line and then make a loop of about 18-20" use a double over hand loop knot, you will now have your feeder sat in the loop, make another loop of about 3" at the hook end and then another of about 1" to attach your hook link too this, the bottom two loops are really to act as a stiffer anti-tangle boom and give you a simple loop for your hook link which should be about 1lb under your reel line to prevent losing your feeder if broken off.
Use this rig in conjunction with regular casts of mashed bread in your feeder and you should get really confident bites that are easy to hit, a great rig for the winter.
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