Mike Wilson wrote:My thoughts on Chub
I love chub fishing especially at the back end of the season. Over the past 50 years or so I’ve caught thousands. The fishing in the 60’s and 70’s on the Upper Thames was superb for quantity with the bulk around 3lbs. Bait was mainly 2”squares of crust. My results improved and I started catching a lot of bigger fish on both the Kennet and the Thame when I changed to using (white claw) crayfish. At the time I was mainly fishing for carp at a lake called Savay. Having caught a hell of a lot of 20lb and 30lb fish I packed up serious carp fishing in 1981; which you can read about elsewhere. From then to date I concentrate on other species, but mainly chub and it’s interesting to see how the fish and methods of catching them have changed. I have no idea how many 6’s I’ve caught, but it’s a lot; mainly from the Thames and its’ tributaries, including the Kennet as well as the Avon and Stour.
Some of the older anglers amongst us may remember an article I wrote in the late 70’s entitled The Baiting Pyramid. [Google it on Barbel Fishing World or find it in Rod Hutchinson Book – The Carp Strikes Back and other books and magazines]. Now this is where I get controversial again ……. Whilst I still use a similar principle, now, instead of maize as bait, I use the humble maggot!!
With a few exceptions, all my ‘big’ chub were caught on a single red maggot and 2lb or 3lb line. Sometimes a 3” hook length on the Avon and Stour and up to 18” hook length on the Thames etc., where they can sometimes appear a bit ultra spooky.
I look for a slack swim close to the bank at least 2’ deep - no matter how small it is. However, I do prefer a much bigger area as it likely to hold a larger quantity of fish. Where I can, I put just a quarter pint or so of red maggots with a dropper into the swim. If not, then I use an un-baited block end feeder to put out maggots, whilst I sort myself out. Bites are generally very short pulls of ½” to 1”. I recast if, after ten minutes of having had a pull, nothing happens. It’s very important to check your maggot each time you reel in to see if they have been ‘sucked’. Sucked maggots are generally caused by dace, small roach or minnows. If the maggot looks as though the tip has been ‘nipped’ or more importantly ‘stretched’ then in my experience this suggests (big) chub. I use 20,18 or sometimes 16 size hooks and never strike. I just pick up the rod and the chub moving off sets the hook. If possible, when playing them, don’t be in a rush to bring them close to the bank. I’ve lost a few big 7’s and a very big 8 when a fish found that single reed or twig close in … they seem to be experts at finding a snag! Care and thought is required with such fine tackle/hooks. Watching match anglers catching 3lb chub on 11/2” line taught me a lot. Staying calm is the key.
Just a point, don’t ground bait with anything except maggots; above all don’t lay down a bed of hemp. A big barbel takes a time landing and can screw up the swim for further chub.
Constant trouble from dace, minnows etc. requires the use of a rubber maggot. Oh, and don’t bother to fish ‘boiling’ water. Yes… you may catch the odd chub but I’ve never had a big one.
Due to activity of ‘small’ fish these tactics are only used doing the winter months when water temperatures fall below 45F.
These are, of course, just my views, which may not correspond with your own, but I hope they may provide food for thought.
Mike
Hi mike,
Very interesting piece here, although I've used bread in various forms from popped up crust to flake etc for numerous amount of years I honestly have to say that I've also probably had more big chub on light tackle tactics and maggot than any other tactics and bait,
However I'm a little different in my approach is that although I do similar in a bait and wait approach at the start I'm very very observant and always try to keep myself concealed behind any bank side cover as much as possible,
I personally like to fish swims where I've got a bit of a high bank but can get to the waters edge with ease and still have a bit of cover around me, the idea behind this is because my ideal way of fishing is fishing the stick float or wagler in slower currents and always prefer to stand whilst I'm trotting a float through the swim, with me at the wasters edge and a bit of a high bank with some cover I'm now well below the skyline.
Obviously not all rivers and swims that I fish won't have these higher bank features but I do try to utilise this facility when and wherever I possibly can
In fact one of me club waters that I'll soon be fishing is the complete opposite of what I just mentionedi but I luv the water because it's a very clean man water way that has a chalk filter bed the same as any other chalk stream and I'm a sucker for chalk stream fishing but the other main aspect of this water that although I'm close to the water with no high bank and no vegetation cover the water course is perfect and ideal for long trotting
This particular water pictured below is not so much for the chub but is one of me roach waters.
I much prefer to use red maggots as my ideal conditions to fish would be overcast days if poss and to me when chub see the maggots falling through the water column the red maggots act as a silhouette against the white sky
Incidentally I've also had much better big roach catches on red maggot aswell
I've often found that with a bit of forethought, patience and perseverance that there ain't many big chub that will ignore maggots if presented In the right way,
The hardest part of the equation is to get em feeding confidently just so momentarily for a few seconds one or two loose and forget the fear factor and slip up