Chub fishing and learning how to read the water.

[tink]

Good afternoon.

I intend to get some chub fishing in on my local river before the end of the season. I have fished on and off for years on this river but i am the first to admit that my watercraft and being able to read the river is totally non existent! I've caught chub and several other good fish from it over the years but i probably put it down more to luck than judgement. I turned to Carp fishing for a good few years but the lure of the winter river is proving hard to resist! I've been reading the forum and the thoughts of some of the experienced chub anglers and it is obvious that i have a lot to learn before i can consistently catch decent sized chub. It is only a small river (The Bain) but it holds many big chub.

I've just had a walk down the river and even though there is a lot of water flowing through it, i tried to look for creases and slackwater etc and places that looked chubby but it was difficult to be honest! I've read on the forum that the Tony Miles book 'My Way With Chub' is pretty much an essential read. I've seen a few for sale on the internet that are pricey but i think i would be quite happy to pay a fair wedge if i thought it would help me gain some priceless advice. I see Tony has also written 'Search For Big Chub'. Is this as good as the original 'My Way....' book?

Thankyou for taking the time to read. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers, Paul.

 

[tink]

Anyone??!

 

[mick b]

I've got the first Miles book, its pretty basic IMO.

If you want a Chub or three I would advise taking a whole loaf, mashing it into a slop, then feeding anywhere along the nearside bank where the water over 3feet deep and a bit slower than the main current.
Don't chuck in handfuls just an egg sized lump 2 or 3 times over a 10 min. period is what's required.
Don't tramp on the bank where the mash is flowing towards, don't skyline yourself and don't fish immediately following the last feed.

An 1 or 2 inch lump of flake on the hook (8 or 10) enough lead to hold bottom and roll the bait into the prepared area from just outside the main current.
Bites will be a short knock followed by a big confident pull, thats all there is to it, quite and simple really.

if you want the absolute bible on Chub fishing get someone to buy you the latest Chevin, it's a bit pricey but far far better than any Chub book written by a single author, but if you really want the Miles book pm me and you can have it for what I paid.

 

[chav professor]

Water craft basics are covered really well by tony miles and a starter for 10. Just starting out chubbing? bread mash and link ledgered bread (don't personally use a link ledger - but its the place to start). Or a smelly cheese paste.

Obvious features are rafts - just places where debris collects around tree branches in the water. Creases seem to be good places on biggish rivers - its easy with very little practice to see the line where faster water meets slower water - often due to an obstruction or bend.

Not too fussed fishing slacks. I think chub prefer a bit of flow - not turbulent, but steady - look for smooth water.

Depth wise, deeper stretches seem to hold better fish in winter.

Near bank is as productive as the far bank, so keep low and disturbance to a minimum. Bank sticks are a no no as i don't like to transmit sound through the ground - just as easy to hold the rod. I love fishing on a near or far bank fringed with reeds (Norfolk reed, I think the stuffs called) as it dies back, some collapses and may produce a continuous subtle feature similar to a raft.

If you are learning a venue, keep mobile and move every half hour to an hour.

Coming up to the best time for chubbing.... from feb onwards, it should get better and better....

Use the close season to walk the banks, take note of depths, features and fish spotting - it will keep you in good stead for next season - hope this helps.

And yes, if you can get hold of a copy of Chevin - its brilliant..... shame speculators push up the price of books. Could get an unsigned one from ebay for £80 if your lucky.....

 

[Phil Hatton 2]

Watercraft takes time to pick up mate. Read everything you can. To be honest there's no substitute for time on the bank.

 

[tink]

I've got the first Miles book, its pretty basic IMO.

If you want a Chub or three I would advise taking a whole loaf, mashing it into a slop, then feeding anywhere along the nearside bank where the water over 3feet deep and a bit slower than the main current.
Don't chuck in handfuls just an egg sized lump 2 or 3 times over a 10 min. period is what's required.
Don't tramp on the bank where the mash is flowing towards, don't skyline yourself and don't fish immediately following the last feed.

An 1 or 2 inch lump of flake on the hook (8 or 10) enough lead to hold bottom and roll the bait into the prepared area from just outside the main current.
Bites will be a short knock followed by a big confident pull, thats all there is to it, quite and simple really.

if you want the absolute bible on Chub fishing get someone to buy you the latest Chevin, it's a bit pricey but far far better than any Chub book written by a single author, but if you really want the Miles book pm me and you can have it for what I paid.

Cheers for the advice matey. I'll PM you regarding the book.

Water craft basics are covered really well by tony miles and a starter for 10. Just starting out chubbing? bread mash and link ledgered bread (don't personally use a link ledger - but its the place to start). Or a smelly cheese paste.

Obvious features are rafts - just places where debris collects around tree branches in the water. Creases seem to be good places on biggish rivers - its easy with very little practice to see the line where faster water meets slower water - often due to an obstruction or bend.

Not too fussed fishing slacks. I think chub prefer a bit of flow - not turbulent, but steady - look for smooth water.

Depth wise, deeper stretches seem to hold better fish in winter.

Near bank is as productive as the far bank, so keep low and disturbance to a minimum. Bank sticks are a no no as i don't like to transmit sound through the ground - just as easy to hold the rod. I love fishing on a near or far bank fringed with reeds (Norfolk reed, I think the stuffs called) as it dies back, some collapses and may produce a continuous subtle feature similar to a raft.

If you are learning a venue, keep mobile and move every half hour to an hour.

Coming up to the best time for chubbing.... from feb onwards, it should get better and better....

Use the close season to walk the banks, take note of depths, features and fish spotting - it will keep you in good stead for next season - hope this helps.

And yes, if you can get hold of a copy of Chevin - its brilliant..... shame speculators push up the price of books. Could get an unsigned one from ebay for £80 if your lucky.....

To be honest i've fished for chub on and off for around 25 years now but not been a 'chub fisherman' if that doesn't sound too daft! Just a lump of cheddar slung out to where i could see the fish and i'd literally just watch the fish take it and strike. And miss far more than i hit! My biggest chub to date is 4lb 8oz on trotted maggot in crystal clear water where i just watched the fish take the bait - no particular skill involved, although i did end up with about 80lb of chub that day - i watched every fish take the hookbait - and i was only 15 years old (a long time ago now! lol). I just want to understand the water more and catch decent chub on a regular basis. I've probably only ever caught two or three chub in my life where i couldn't actually see them in the water!!

Thankyou for the advice, i'll take every scrap of info that people tell me and store it in my noddle!

Watercraft takes time to pick up mate. Read everything you can. To be honest there's no substitute for time on the bank.

Gonna do just that before the season finishes mate!

---------- Post added at 23:45 ---------- Previous post was at 23:32 ----------

Signed copy of Chevin on ebay at the moment - £89.99 + £9.50 postage. I really can't justify paying that for a book! lol

 

[tink]

When using 6lb main line what is the recommended strength for a hooklength?

Do i attach the hooklength to the main line using a swivel so the link leger swivel can bump up against it? (using beads either side of the link swivel)

 

[chav professor]

When using 6lb main line what is the recommended strength for a hooklength?

Do i attach the hooklength to the main line using a swivel so the link leger swivel can bump up against it? (using beads either side of the link swivel)

You can fish 6lb straight through to the hook no problem for general ledgering. free running links don't really work in terms of low resistance - but if you are going to use a buffer bead against a swivel, it will work fine.

If you only need 1 to 3 swan shot (and getting this right is more critical than anything else - use the minimal amount of weight in order to JUST hold bottom) - might as well lightly pinch it straight on the line. This is not a weak spot in practice - never lost a Chub due to it.

Winter Chub fishing – some thoughts on bite indication. - Lee Swords Fishing - Lee Swords Fishing -

This may be of interest and kind of elaborates on techniques that I find useful.

 

[tink]

You can fish 6lb straight through to the hook no problem for general ledgering. free running links don't really work in terms of low resistance - but if you are going to use a buffer bead against a swivel, it will work fine.

If you only need 1 to 3 swan shot (and getting this right is more critical than anything else - use the minimal amount of weight in order to JUST hold bottom) - might as well lightly pinch it straight on the line. This is not a weak spot in practice - never lost a Chub due to it.

Winter Chub fishing – some thoughts on bite indication. - Lee Swords Fishing - Lee Swords Fishing -

This may be of interest and kind of elaborates on techniques that I find useful.

Thats a very interesting article of yours Christian and food for thought indeed.

So it will be ok to just tie the hook directly onto my main line without any swivel? How far should the swan shot be away from the hook - between 12 -18 inches?

Also do you recommend the rod tip high or low when quivertipping? Or does this depend on the flow of the water?

Paul.

 

[chav professor]

The rivers I fish are not pushing through hard most times, so just comfortable - the rod is parallel to the river. Hit a lot more bites if you hold the rod and not use a rest in my experience. Bites are rarely wrap rounds - frequently, a tap followed by a pull is the norm which is why I like to hold a bow of line just to give the fish a bit more space.

Its also worth playing around with the shape of the bait..... Imagine a Chub backing off with a bait gently clasped between its lips. If you fish luncheon meat, two pieces rather than a single cube has a better hook up ratio - I interpret that this is due to the meat 'hingeing' back to back.

As for distance between hook and swan shot - not too critical, perhaps a foot, some times more, sometimes less.... far more critical is keeping resistance as low as possible whilst still maintaining sufficient contact with the bait to determine the bite. popped up crust? the swan shot is inches away from the hook.

If you fish big rivers and need weight to hold bottom, the less line in the water reduces pressure on the line - so the rod is up high. though how this works in practice if you feed out a bow in the line, I am uncertain - don't have a lot of experience of this type of fishing on rivers - but thats how beach anglers manage it - hence the term 'codding' used to describe the method of fishing the river in that style.

 

[tink]

Thanks for the info CP. Definitely given me plenty to think about!!

 

[tink]

Well had a couple of hours chubbing this afternoon. Started off at the back end of a weirpool casting to the far bank to an area of slack water which just screamed chub. I used a link leger with 3 swan shot but the weight was nowhere near enough so i added a 1/4oz bomb, which was still not enough, it was just washing downstream. I then moved downstream to slower water (there was still quite a bit of pace though). I managed to hold the bait down with 3 swan shot but caught nothing.

For the last hour i walked back upstream to a spot above the weir in the slower water. A few casts later and a 2lb 11oz chub on breadflake. Probably the most welcome fish i've ever caught!

It was quite an eye opener legering with such little weight having been used to at least 1oz bombs when previously chubbing! When casting out should i pay some line out when it hits the bottom or just tighten up straight away?

I seemed to spend most of the time today just casting, trying to get the feel of the water and reeling in - the fish was just a bonus.

Paul.

 

[chav professor]

Really does depend on the flow/variation of flow etc. There are benefits to casting directly in front of you to the far bank and paying out a large bow. The tip should take up the slack and just hold (if it keeps nodding, probably indicates the flow is too strong and gets washed down - or need to pay out a larger bow)... The bite is often indicated when the chub dislodges the weight and the tip nods - pays to strike early - or indeed may need to reel in a fair bit of bow to connect with the fish.

Even when fishing into the near bank, i try and leave a bit of slack - preferring not to fish tight up to the bait.

its tough generalizing..... but as a rule of thumb, prefer to use the least amount of lead - this seems to suit my venues. Conversely, suspect there may be worth investigating the complete opposite and using a heavier bolt rig..... it would certainly make fishing a number of swims more fishable due to the floods and extra flow which are uncharacteristic of my rivers.... Last year was moaning about the lack of flow...lol

 

[Judas Priest]

Tink, try and get hold of a copy of Chub and Dace by John Bailey/Roger Miller. There's plenty on watercraft, what to look for etc, plus good ideas on tackle etc. In my opinion an excellent read.

 

[chav professor]

Tink, try and get hold of a copy of Chub and Dace by John Bailey/Roger Miller. There's plenty on watercraft, what to look for etc, plus good ideas on tackle etc. In my opinion an excellent read.

its one chub book I keep meaning to get...... nice to see it recommended - might have to get myself a copy!

 

[Judas Priest]

Certainly worth the effort Chav.

 

[tink]

Really does depend on the flow/variation of flow etc. There are benefits to casting directly in front of you to the far bank and paying out a large bow. The tip should take up the slack and just hold (if it keeps nodding, probably indicates the flow is too strong and gets washed down - or need to pay out a larger bow)... The bite is often indicated when the chub dislodges the weight and the tip nods - pays to strike early - or indeed may need to reel in a fair bit of bow to connect with the fish.

Even when fishing into the near bank, i try and leave a bit of slack - preferring not to fish tight up to the bait.

its tough generalizing..... but as a rule of thumb, prefer to use the least amount of lead - this seems to suit my venues. Conversely, suspect there may be worth investigating the complete opposite and using a heavier bolt rig..... it would certainly make fishing a number of swims more fishable due to the floods and extra flow which are uncharacteristic of my rivers.... Last year was moaning about the lack of flow...lol

Christian - the fish i caught today had nearly swallowed the hook. Luckily no problem to unhook as forceps and a microbarb hook made it easy. My point is that i hit the bite early but the slack in the line when i struck had given the fish time to wolf down the bait to the point of near disaster as i effectively had to strike twice to set the hook. Did i pay too much line out when i let the bait settle? What are your thoughts on this?

Tink, try and get hold of a copy of Chub and Dace by John Bailey/Roger Miller. There's plenty on watercraft, what to look for etc, plus good ideas on tackle etc. In my opinion an excellent read.

Thanks for the recommendation Judas Priest - i'll try and get hold of a copy.

 

[chav professor]

Christian - the fish i caught today had nearly swallowed the hook. Luckily no problem to unhook as forceps and a microbarb hook made it easy. My point is that i hit the bite early but the slack in the line when i struck had given the fish time to wolf down the bait to the point of near disaster as i effectively had to strike twice to set the hook. Did i pay too much line out when i let the bait settle? What are your thoughts on this?



Thanks for the recommendation Judas Priest - i'll try and get hold of a copy.

Strike at the earliest opportunity.... its a very effective method, the fish feels little resistance as the force of the water helps to 'trot' the weight downstream when the chub shifts the weight.

Heres an interesting observation - you only get an indication of any sort if the weight actually moves. Observing roach taking a bait behind a small micro feeder (similar diameter to a fag filter)..... if you waited for the tip to move - the feeder had to shift - and the short rattly bite was nigh on impossible to hit. But, watching the flake and striking when it 'disappeared' invited hook up after hook up.

Sometimes I simply free line a bait - the bites will either be a twitch of the line or a full on confident take. If you think about it, the bait is the weight and consider the following....

If the weight moves - an indication of some type is transmitted to the rod tip. You will get used to reading the tip and reacting appropriately.

As it happens, I rarely fish a free-lined bait much preferring a single swan shot (which is effectively free lining - its negligible). I will free line and even open up the bail arm ONLY IF I CONTINUE to get snatchy aborted bites that are otherwise impossible to hit. Its a last ditch effort and in theory carries a greater risk of deep hooking - but surprisingly, have had chub charge off and strip meters of line with no problem. Even then, hook ups are not guaranteed.

Its about having an appreciation of trying to choose the appropriate method in a given situation - most times its not that critical. But sometimes its the difference between a blank or a netful... Hope this helps.......

Is your river a slower flowing river? Just wondering - because I very occasionally do get a deep hooked fish - mostly with baits sensibly weighted.
This may be a massive generalization but I tend to get better bites on bigger rivers with a flow and shoals of competing fish........

 

[Judas Priest]

Tink
Have you tried holding the line and feeling for bites ?
When teaching kids I explain it's like trotting but without a float. Hold the line in your free hand and "trot" the bait through and around the swim. You'd be surprised how much more you can tell what's going on opposed to sat watching a rod top.

 

[bigcarpchaser]

Caught loads of huge chub on massive 24mm boilies while carp fishing on the Thames and they used to give screaming runs.
Never weighed any of them as they weren't "fair" catches but having seen a good number caught conventionally I'd estimate they were well over 7lbs with huge mouths. I could never catch them when I was trying
On conventional tackle they seem to give cautious little knocks but on big leads and big baits they'd tear off like trains. Maybe a big bait, big lead light lines and approach would be worth a go?
Also, I'm always surprised to see lots of anglers barbel and carp fish in the middle of a river like the Kennet as nearly all my fish have come from right under the bank.
Think about it, if you were vulnerable to attack you'd protect yourself so having one side of your body tucked against a wall would make you harder to see, that's how I think a lot of fish work. By hugging a margin they only leave themselves open on one side. Also. A lot of natural food must fall in from the bank. The banks of the kennet are teeming with huge juicy slugs for example.
Oh well, that's my theory, seems to work on occasion