...for serious pike and predator anglers!
Chub Fishing Methods
Chub fishing...
Over the last few years I have caught some crackin’ chub on lures. My biggest to a lure is just over 6lb. Personally, I much prefer to catch chub on lures to that of bait - as I find sitting for long periods to get a bite quite boring. If I do ever have a bait session for chub, I like to spot/stalk them - and cast a bait to the stalked chub.
As the ol’ saying goes, everyone to their own!
For the angler who has never fished for chub before, I will give you some indicators as to where you will be most likely to locate them in your local rivers. Personally, I have very little experience when it comes to still water chub - simply because I don’t know of any Norfolk still waters that have been stocked with chub. I know of one or two still waters that have a few chub in, but they are very hard to catch - they get caught more by chance than by targeted methods.
Location...
River chub like to hold in well oxygenated areas - like weir pools, back eddies, and just down river from weir pools. They like to hold and ambush their prey from structural features - like fallen trees, dense weed beds, undercut banks, or any other obstacle that offers shelter from the flow. It really does pay to leave the rod at home from time-to-time and go a do a bit of fish spotting. I have learnt a lot about chub by just watching them working the flow.
Presentation...
Chub will take lures high or low in the water - and off the top! Lure size can make a big difference to the strike rate.
When hungry, chub will happily take small to medium size plugs. When not so hungry, chub will take small flies far more readily then they will small to medium size plugs, spinners, spoons, or rubber grubs.
I have found trotting flies down on the flow, after being cast well up the flow, takes some beating. I do not twitch or flick the fly, I simply take-up the slack line as my fly comes towards me - which on some occasions, especially after rainfall, needs to be donevery fast - i.e. due to the river running much faster than normal.
A pair of polaroid sunglasses helps me greatly to spot chub hiding under weed and in amongst structure - like fallen or overhanging trees. An accurately cast fly rarely ever fails to get the attention of at least one chub. It's really nice seeing a chub glide effortlessly from its holding spot and track your fly down river with the flow. Takes can sometimes be very gentle - so gentle, it's a hard job knowing quite when to strike. Once hooked in fast flowing water, believe me, it’s arm aching stuff! Perhaps when I’m a few years older and a bit wobbly on the legs, I’ll have a go at static bait fishing for chub more - until then though, I’ll continue to have crackin’ fun catchin’ 'em on lures.
Top-water lure fishin’ for chub...
Top-water lure fishing for chub, during the summer months, is brilliant fun! I also love top-water lure fish for chub at night - boy, can they give you one hell of a strike, fright and fight (!) Small crawlers, chugger plugs (often referred to as poppers), and propbaits, all produce the goods. My preferred lure for top-water chub fishing is a small chugger plug with loud rattles in - chub really surge for it! Believe me - it’s awesome stuff! A drop of the hard stuff.
Good Luck!!