Favourite Chub Hook

[bigchub]

That proves sweet FA about the hooks..........just that the old man is a better angler!

Lol! I suppose he knows his stuff when it comes to chubbing (edit - he definitely knows his stuff when it comes to chubbing!) but neither of us can remember the last time he lost a chub on a Hilton Carp Hook and that's going back well over 10 years.

 

[barbelboi]

Why do people use barbless for Chub? It may just be a confidence thing and rarely if ever do chub slack line me, but I have to use barbed or preferably micro-barbed hooks.

Because some club waters insist on barbed and some insist on barbless, being of the age when barbed was 'take it or leave it' I prefer barbed and will use it when possible. The only problem with barbed,IMO, exists with people who do not know how to safely unhook a fish with a barbed hook in it's mouth therefore causing unnecessary damage - IMO playing a fish on a barbed hook does less damage to the mouth of the fish than barbless.

Jerry

 

[chav professor]

Yep deadly serious. Brilliant for chub especially when paste fishing.

Chav Professor - Remember that wet cold and miserable day on the Gipping when me and you blanked in style while my old man caught the only two fish of the day? Jack Hilton's didn't let him down that day! Mr Chub magnet is still doing the business but these days he is targeting roach with his same laid back style.

Hang on a sec BigChub, that wouldn't happen to be the day I put you and your Dad in all the going swims and I went off piking....... I caught 7 or 8 livebaits - but no pike. Thats not blanking big style lol.

I had a bash at the last hour with my little 7ft winkle picker livebait rod for a Chub if i remember correctly and borrowed some stuff of ya! Still not a big style blank........

Three hours into darkness tonight - i Blanked big stylee. But I'm quite happy with my Chub tally so far this year. Still on target to clear 50 chub over 4lb comfortably this year

For the record I reckon Chub would get on well with Jack Hiltons as well as Lion'D'Or, or any other hook. IMO there is not an issue with Chub and hooks. I do use SS because they are only £1.10 a packet and easy to get hold of - even hit and hold I have yet to have one straighten on a chub....They don't fight hard, but can fight dirty though..... Favourite hooks for Chub is like saying which is your favourite member of TakeThat!!! Every one has one, the majority like Robbie or Gary (super specialists) - but they are all in takethat, Jason and Howard (modern fancy carp hooks) can dance and Marky (Jack Hiltons) - well apparently he used to be the cute one. Sorry guys, took the missus to see them on saturday night! One excited fan got her baps out - probably not for my benefit - I of course just looked disgusted (but unfortunately too intently to look sincere).................

 

[bigchub]

Hang on a sec BigChub, that wouldn't happen to be the day I put you and your Dad in all the going swims and I went off piking....... I caught 7 or 8 livebaits - but no pike. Thats not blanking big style lol.

I had a bash at the last hour with my little 7ft winkle picker livebait rod for a Chub if i remember correctly and borrowed some stuff of ya! Still not a big style blank........

Three hours into darkness tonight - i Blanked big stylee. But I'm quite happy with my Chub tally so far this year. Still on target to clear 50 chub over 4lb comfortably this year

For the record I reckon Chub would get on well with Jack Hiltons as well as Lion'D'Or, or any other hook. IMO there is not an issue with Chub and hooks. I do use SS because they are only £1.10 a packet and easy to get hold of - even hit and hold I have yet to have one straighten on a chub....They don't fight hard, but can fight dirty though..... Favourite hooks for Chub is like saying which is your favourite member of TakeThat!!! Every one has one, the majority like Robbie or Gary (super specialists) - but they are all in takethat, Jason and Howard (modern fancy carp hooks) can dance and Marky (Jack Hiltons) - well apparently he used to be the cute one. Sorry guys, took the missus to see them on saturday night! One excited fan got her baps out - probably not for my benefit - I of course just looked disgusted (but unfortunately too intently to look sincere).................

Of course your right Chav, hooks for any species are a very personal thing and with most kinds of tackle. What might be ok for one person might not be ok for the next. Ok so you didn't "blank in style" (like me) that and that's down to you knowing your local river so well. By the way I didn't know you had a secret Take That fetish!

 

[Bob Hornegold]

hooks ?

I think it depends of the way you want to catch Chub ?

On a Hair Rig you cany beat the circles, if I'm on the Tip fishing Bread/Cheese Paste, I like the Straight Long shank hooks.

If it's Maggots/Feeder then the Animals seem to suit my kind of fishing.

Bob

 

[chav professor]

Is hair rigging a reliable method of tripping up chub? I don't mean the odd fish - but sustained use resulting in a better than average hook-up and landing rate of chub...... I mean anything can have its day!

When i suggested 'am I missing out not using a bolt rig and hair for Chub'.... it opened a can of forum worms to say the least........

I suspect if bolt rigging was a good method there would not have been any nonsense about - 'you don't wanna do it like 'at'! - brigade.... I just suspect that it is not a method best suited to this species or a method that works all the time! Otherwise, it would be a generally accepted method - rather than be met with 'the why would you want to 'cheat' and catch them with an underhanded method like that'... it doesn't seem to bother people when considered as a method used for other species. (in-deed if it was effective, I would be just as inclined to use it as anyone else).

Being a forum and a place where every line can be picked apart and misconstrued. I am not being judgemental, just curious as I am yet to be convinced. Does bolt rigging work for Chub????

 

[barbelboi]

Like many I believe that the most important aspect of chub fishing is not to let them know you are there. Once that's sorted, IMO, end tackle presentation is not usually paramount. The only time I’ve used a bolt rig/hair whilst chub fishing was when trying out armour mesh when it first came out. It did work with some very sloppy bait/particles that you could never fish any other way, however I believe that many traditional methods work equally well or better with less $odding about..

 

[chav professor]

Thats where I am at...... too many more convenient and effective methods. But is did bug me at the time that whilst bolt rigging for every concievable species is OK, but to suggest it for Chub is a heresy. If it was a good method - it would be standard practice for most, like it is with Barbel, carp, tench or now even roach to name but a few........

 

[cg74]

Is hair rigging a reliable method of tripping up chub? I don't mean the odd fish - but sustained use resulting in a better than average hook-up and landing rate of chub...... I mean anything can have its day!

Being a forum and a place where every line can be picked apart and misconstrued. I am not being judgemental, just curious as I am yet to be convinced. Does bolt rigging work for Chub????

It is an exceptionally adept method of catching chub, though not one I often use as I enjoy watching a soft tip pull around much more. Also I like watching a tip as it tells me what is happening under the water.

I didn't know Bob was an advocate of this technique but a real exponent of it is SimonK, and after my last attempt at explaining it on here being berated so much, I'll leave it to Simon or Bob too describe the rig mechanics, if they wish...



On the hook front:
Float fishing, Drennan Super Spades, bear in mind I only ever float fish small or relatively small baits.
Legering small baits, Drennan Carbon Feeder (spade end hooks).
Legering big baits, Drennan Carbon Specimen.
For fishing bread flake, Drennan Super Specialist (the ones costing about £1 a pkt, not the barbel hooks).

 

[Fred Blake]

Thats where I am at...... too many more convenient and effective methods. But is did bug me at the time that whilst bolt rigging for every concievable species is OK, but to suggest it for Chub is a heresy. If it was a good method - it would be standard practice for most, like it is with Barbel, carp, tench or now even roach to name but a few........

Based on my experience (which is admittedly limited to small and medium rivers, up to Hampshire Avon size) the combination of bolt rig and hair would seem to be the best way to avoid hooking chub! Whilst they certainly gulp the bait down and give easy unmissable bites on occasion, more often than not they can be quite difficult to hit. They tend to pick the bait up in their lips and back off with it, which is why it helps to feed them some slack as soon as the first pluck is felt. Mounting the bait on a hair just makes it easier for the chub to pick the bait up without getting the hook, and using a bolt rig simply causes the bait to be pulled out of the chub's mouth again almost straight away.

I prefer to create the exact opposite effect - hook in the bait to maximise chances of the chub actually having it in his mouth when I strike, and the means to feed slack line to a taking fish.

I'm not anti-bolt rig either; far from it, as I use the principle to good effect for carp, tench, bream and roach.

 

[bigchub]

We seem to have been over this old ground many times before and I'll say it again - Hair rigging DOES work for chub and can be a very effective method. The secret is to have the bait hair rigged as tightly as possible to the hook. This way the fish can't pick up the boilie without picking up the hook as well.

 

[steph mckenzie]

If Hair Rigging doesn't work then how does Bob James catch the fishing Pellet on a pellet band, it's the same principle, the bait stand free from the hook.

I have caught all of my Chub on Hair Rigged Stewing Steak ....... ok i've maybe only had 20 Chub or so but still caught them on the Hair Rig.

How do people catch Chub on Boilies, do they side hook them ..... no i don't think so.

 

[cg74]

If Hair Rigging doesn't work then how does Bob James catch the fishing Pellet on a pellet band, it's the same principle, the bait stand free from the hook.

Well I wouldn't call that hair-rigging, it's not exactly much different to the way most anglers nick maggots onto a hook is it??

 

[bigchub]

If Hair Rigging doesn't work then how does Bob James catch the fishing Pellet on a pellet band, it's the same principle, the bait stand free from the hook.

I have caught all of my Chub on Hair Rigged Stewing Steak ....... ok i've maybe only had 20 Chub or so but still caught them on the Hair Rig.

How do people catch Chub on Boilies, do they side hook them ..... no i don't think so.

I think what Chav meant was its not "the thing to do" when purposely setting out to catch chub. It's not the first thing people think of when trying to catch chub.
I started using bolt rigs and boilies when anglers on my local river, at the time, were having lots of chub "trouble" when trying to catch the barbel. All I did was target the chub instead of the barbel with heavy leads, large hooks and boilies instead of the normal link legers or very light weight feeders and bombs that people were using. In other words, I did the very opposite of what they were doing, and cleaned up while they sat motionless behind their rods.
My sequel to my Big Chub on Boilies article will be appearing at the end of this season and that will certainly ruffle a few feathers and open more than one tin of worms.

 

[Bob Hornegold]

Is hair rigging a reliable method of tripping up chub? I don't mean the odd fish - but sustained use resulting in a better than average hook-up and landing rate of chub...... I mean anything can have its day!

When i suggested 'am I missing out not using a bolt rig and hair for Chub'.... it opened a can of forum worms to say the least........

I suspect if bolt rigging was a good method there would not have been any nonsense about - 'you don't wanna do it like 'at'! - brigade.... I just suspect that it is not a method best suited to this species or a method that works all the time! Otherwise, it would be a generally accepted method - rather than be met with 'the why would you want to 'cheat' and catch them with an underhanded method like that'... it doesn't seem to bother people when considered as a method used for other species. (in-deed if it was effective, I would be just as inclined to use it as anyone else).

Being a forum and a place where every line can be picked apart and misconstrued. I am not being judgemental, just curious as I am yet to be convinced. Does bolt rigging work for Chub????

--

I think it's 6x7lb+ Chub to my mate and I have caught a few more.

I rest my case and No I won't be doing an article, for the reasons above.

Bob

 

[Simon K]

Is hair rigging a reliable method of tripping up chub? I don't mean the odd fish - but sustained use resulting in a better than average hook-up and landing rate of chub...... I mean anything can have its day!

When i suggested 'am I missing out not using a bolt rig and hair for Chub'.... it opened a can of forum worms to say the least........

I suspect if bolt rigging was a good method there would not have been any nonsense about - 'you don't wanna do it like 'at'! - brigade.... I just suspect that it is not a method best suited to this species or a method that works all the time! Otherwise, it would be a generally accepted method - rather than be met with 'the why would you want to 'cheat' and catch them with an underhanded method like that'... it doesn't seem to bother people when considered as a method used for other species. (in-deed if it was effective, I would be just as inclined to use it as anyone else).

Being a forum and a place where every line can be picked apart and misconstrued. I am not being judgemental, just curious as I am yet to be convinced. Does bolt rigging work for Chub????

In short....................yes.

I spent some several years on the q'tip for them, then a friend showed me the Fine Art of Boilies and Bolt-Rigs and, to be honest, I rarely deliberately target chub with any other method.
I've caught a lot of chub up to an ounce under 8lb and all of the better fish have come to the boilie.

The long-hair vs short-hair debate is a difficult one. I have used both with great success and couldn't pick one over the other. The 7.15 came to a 2-inch hair.
And I saw that fish rise, cast a 2 ounce lead 5 yards directly upstream of it and hooked it less than 10 minutes later. So much for big leads etc spooking them.

Apart from anything else, I can fish hard venues with confidence in the middle of Winter where one bite in 8 hours would be a good expectation and know that I'm not going to miss that "lightening" bite and then throw my rod in the water in frustration because my frozen hands wouldn't respond in time!

I do still fish a quivertip when the mood (and weather) takes me though.
Likewise a bolt-rig maggot feeder. Now that's a fun method with a few fish in your swim.

Hooks? Sharp and barbed and, unless I'm on maggots........big.
They have Big Mouths.

 

[chav professor]

Based on my experience (which is admittedly limited to small and medium rivers, up to Hampshire Avon size) the combination of bolt rig and hair would seem to be the best way to avoid hooking chub! Whilst they certainly gulp the bait down and give easy unmissable bites on occasion, more often than not they can be quite difficult to hit. They tend to pick the bait up in their lips and back off with it, which is why it helps to feed them some slack as soon as the first pluck is felt. Mounting the bait on a hair just makes it easier for the chub to pick the bait up without getting the hook, and using a bolt rig simply causes the bait to be pulled out of the chub's mouth again almost straight away.

I prefer to create the exact opposite effect - hook in the bait to maximise chances of the chub actually having it in his mouth when I strike, and the means to feed slack line to a taking fish.

I'm not anti-bolt rig either; far from it, as I use the principle to good effect for carp, tench, bream and roach.

See this is my experience (though limited to the Hampshire Avon) - barbel, carp and bream are regularly tripped on the bolt rig style set up, but I have only had one chub to this set up, though this only my experience from only three seasons as a visitor (maybe 15 odd days fishing). I get plenty of rattles that I have felt may of been chub.

You could argue that the method described by BigChub makes a compelling argument for bolt rigging for chub - but if you think about it -the method described is in fact usually asosiated with barbel and not chub on a typical river???........

I have caught Chub on hair rigged and banded pellet but rarely bother - but when I do this is with a light linked ledgered.... this is where the method does not work on Bigchubs old river.... so maybe the change was accepted and the fish tripped up or 'cleared up' with a regularity that enabled a solid hypothesis.

Typically my techniques mirror Fred's et al that I try and reduce and keep resistance to a minimum - that is not to say this is the only approach.
But compare how confident a bait is taken when free-lined or up-stream ledgered to that of a ledgered static bait (howver carefully balanced) - I sense that the reduced resistance techniques may have more longetivity and give more confident bites!!

I still stand by my thoughts that as a generalisation Bolt rigging isn't that sucessful otherwise the popular angling media would have normalised it as a technique (you know, Bowler, Lampard, and others Catching Chub on the bolt and trying to sell the gear to do it)... Maybe, hook choice is going to be more critical and we will be Carpchubling!

As for hair rigging - if you want to use a tough bait - hair rig its got to be!

I certainly don't think along the lines of 'its not the done thing'!
I suppose I just wanted to liven up the thread really!!!

 

[Simon K]

I didn't know Bob was an advocate of this technique but a real exponent of it is SimonK, and after my last attempt at explaining it on here being berated so much, I'll leave it to Simon or Bob too describe the rig mechanics, if they wish...



QUOTE]


Well, that's only because I spend more time than Bob on my chubbing, but it was Bob's "innovation" I copied.

Short, stealth links with the last inch peeled. Hair coming off as the bend starts, short or long I don't think matters. Backlead. Put kettle on.
Simple.


Also, we've taken Bowler chubbing, but the silly ****** insisted on using a float*. He'll learn.


Edit: A smile just came to me as I remembered him calling us and saying "Ummmm............Where's the river gone?"
They'd been doing some engineering works upstream (unknown to us) and the river level dropped 3 feet while he was running his float through and trying to build up the swim. How we laughed...............



and carried on with our piking. :w

 

[Bob Hornegold]

I still stand by my thoughts that as a generalisation Bolt rigging isn't that sucessful otherwise the popular angling media would have normalised it as a technique (you know, Bowler, Lampard, and others Catching Chub on the bolt and trying to sell the gear to do it)... Maybe, hook choice is going to be more critical and we will be Carpchubling!

As for hair rigging - if you want to use a tough bait - hair rig its got to be!

I certainly don't think along the lines of 'its not the done thing'!
I suppose I just wanted to liven up the thread really!!!

Chav,

You really are a XXXX at times - re Carpchubbing !!

I was going to explain the mechanic's of the rig, then I thought - No, let them get on with it.

Goodnight.

Bob

 

[chav professor]

In short....................yes.

I spent some several years on the q'tip for them, then a friend showed me the Fine Art of Boilies and Bolt-Rigs and, to be honest, I rarely deliberately target chub with any other method.
I've caught a lot of chub up to an ounce under 8lb and all of the better fish have come to the boilie.

The long-hair vs short-hair debate is a difficult one. I have used both with great success and couldn't pick one over the other. The 7.15 came to a 2-inch hair.
And I saw that fish rise, cast a 2 ounce lead 5 yards directly upstream of it and hooked it less than 10 minutes later. So much for big leads etc spooking them.

Apart from anything else, I can fish hard venues with confidence in the middle of Winter where one bite in 8 hours would be a good expectation and know that I'm not going to miss that "lightening" bite and then throw my rod in the water in frustration because my frozen hands wouldn't respond in time!

I do still fish a quivertip when the mood (and weather) takes me though.
Likewise a bolt-rig maggot feeder. Now that's a fun method with a few fish in your swim.

Hooks? Sharp and barbed and, unless I'm on maggots........big.
They have Big Mouths.

The maggot bolt rig!!!! yes, thats a reliable method especially if you have chub competing and coming up to the feeder (Throop originated!) not really an issue on the types of river we have in this part of Suffolk.

Still reckon you could just as equally be missing fish because of the heavy lead, just as equally as a chub will turn and ignore a freelined offering because it senses something it doesn't like. Never a simple solution with specimen fish other than every method has its day - even bolt rigging as it seems!

I still don't understand why bolt rigging for Chub causes so much heated debate other than 'does it work'? this is where the debate or argument for its use or fitness for purpose becomes clouded.

It is a solution to a problem! On the rivers I fish, part of the problem is not the number of bites you may recieve in a day, rather, how can you be selective and avoid the smaller examples...... Different rivers, different problems, different solutions IMO.

Do I use or have I used hair rigged bollies? Yes - will I ever Bolt rig for chub? probably not, but never say never as they say!!!