Big Chub thoughts.

Reading old threads on big chub (where have all those guys gone?)

We have known for some time big chub have a way of taking a bait without being caught. Those tips rattles that come to nothing, are often chub. Ive seen with my own eyes how they "nibble" at the bait until it comes off or another fish takes the bait.

So I'd like to know how others are fishing for big chub these days. I only seem to catch the odd one when fishing for barbel, for the reasons above. But I would like to find a way of hooking the baits that give me a better chance with mr chub.

With pellet I think a band is as good as any as it sits tight to the hook. But would you use a shorter hook link?

Bread maggots and meat I use without a hair. Boilies I'm unsure to be honest, side hook, but again short or long hook link?

Running or fixed. Would like to talk about this and get some thoughts?

Short, 3 to 6inch hooklength, smaller hook and bait with a ultra short bait right up against the hook shank, or the bait directly on the hook. You can fish a tight running line or semi bolt job, they both do the same job . You can still fish a large bow in your line and fish will hook themselves anyhow.

IMO the most effective way to catch chub is trotting bait on a float.
They don't get time to mouth the bait in their lips they just grab it as it passes.

peter crabtree said:

IMO the most effective way to catch chub is trotting bait on a float.
They don't get time to mouth the bait in their lips they just grab it as it passes.

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Whilst stood mid river and trotting i've watched chub only feet from me suck in my maggots and eject them without even registering anything on the float. How often that happens at other times who knows but I would imagine it's more often than we think!

Smaller baits and hooks often help. Tigger has also nailed it with his comments. I used to use long hairs but have found a short hair tight to the hook works for me. As for hook lengths, i varied mine from 3" to 3ft from the bomb or feeder. All depend on the river and how wary the fish are. There is nothing set in stone. It's mostly trial and error

Not sure its the best way , but its the way I go after big chub,trotting for them.
As mentioned they do not have the time to mess around with a moving bait so its normally a good positive take. Normal chub bait that works for me is red maggot or caster.

tigger said:

Whilst stood mid river and trotting i've watched chub only feet from me suck in my maggots and eject them without even registering anything on the float. How often that happens at other times who knows but I would imagine it's more often than we think!

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It happens literally all the time, especially in the low summer levels, the float is so crude in such conditions for chub, the best way to counter this effectively is to freeline a single maggot although in clear water the chub will suss a large hook too. Even when freelining those big white lips are often quick to spit out a bait and a quick strike is needed, watching the bait. For me it's my favourite way of fishing on small rivers in summer.

I have never used a hair, I know when using a big bait I give the chub time. I fished one small weir-pool once with half a dead sprat often on a fly rod and line. They used to hang under a sunken log and come out and pick up the sprat and I would see the line move, I would pay out line as they went back under the log and then wait for about 10-20 seconds and then strike. This often resulted in a nicely hooked fish. Same with big lumps of cheese or a big slug.
The bright orange fly line I found better for watching what was going on, a float would disappear under the water and the line too thin to see properly plus less likely to tangle than float and shot round the log. And I liked playing the fish on the fly rod, it was an old nice soft action-ed rod. I had a lot of chub from under that log but it worked in other places as well, I liked using the current to work that fly line into in-accessable places, worked better than a float more often than not.
The thing was, it was easier to work out what the chub were doing with the big bait. If the line twitched and then did not move for 10-20 seconds I would strike, the fish were sitting where they were and chewing the bait, if it moved, I could work out where their lair was and act accordingly. Did not miss many fish like this. better than a float or lejer in many circumstances especially on small rivers or streams and some weedy, loggy snaggy swims a lot less snagging up; it at all...Swimfeeders, lejers, floats and shot, all a bit of nightmare for this type of fishing and venue, just a piece of mono attached to the fly line was a lot better. And casting into trees/bushes not good, lower the fly line into the river up-stream of the object target and pay out line and work the rod tip to get the bait where you want it.
But the big advantage was working out what the fish were doing with the bait and timing the strike a lot better, with a bit of practice, can't remember missing chub much on the strike...
And it was quiet, no casting and splashing weights and floats into the water, essential for chub on some small streams or rivers. Just creep and lowering the bait in and silently steering it were you want. And you don't need to carry much. Hooks, mono, bait and a few extras.
Plus an interesting, thought provoking fun way to fish. One of my all time favorites and big chub, whats not to like.

Very short hook links 3" are fine, IF the fish are feeding hard on small baits like maggots, small pellet. They will come right up to the feeder, but not until you get them very confident.

So what about larger baits, or when your just trying to search out a beat with few, but big chub present? What length hooklink then? Or if your just moving between swims after pre-baiting maybe just prior to fishing?

I'm interested in whats your choice is?

Rich.

IMO chub are not generally tackle shy. They are however very ‘people’ shy and as long as you know where they are, and they don’t know you’re there you’ve a very good chance of catching them...............

Before this thread I'd already intended to have another go with boilies for chub this summer. I'd bought some boilies and sorted out the gear I needed to use with them; 8lb line, 8lb Krystonite hook link, Raptor size 10 hooks and a baiting needle. Last night I actually had a go, hair rigging the boilie tight against the bend (I did a lot of this fishing back in the summer of 2005 but had stooped doing this sort of fishing) with a 2ft hook link and just 2 SSG on a 6" link with a light quivertip.

I decided not to feed at all! First three casts produced chub, then roving around produced three more. The method is as simple as creeping into a swim, sitting very low and casting in a boilie and holding the rod on a low set rest. Read the bites and strike accordingly. None of the chub were massive but decent enough and without the tiddler problems maggots would bring this time of year. At the end of the session I had a bonus barbel so 7 bites, 7 fish 7 boilies.

When I'm fishing for Barbel on the bottom I regularly use a 1 inch hair with either a piece of firm luncheonmeat or a pellet or something similar and I then hook very few Chub at all; however I still hook the barbel which I am targeting.

If I want to catch chub deliberately I just either fish with the bait mounted directly onto the hook or use a very short hair with the bait resting against the hook shank and I start hooking both chub and barbel.

I clearly remember someone trotting a float in the swim above me on my local stream and the guy was using small cubes of luncheonmeat. The water was very clear and I could often see his bait coming off his hook at the end of his trots almost in front of me (he hadn't spotted I was there when he had started trotting)
The meat would fall to the gravel closely followed by a couple of chub and the first chub would grab the meat from the gravel between its lips then dart off well away from the other chub with the meat still between its lips before starting to swallow the meat properly.

It was just like watching a garden bird picking up some bread off the lawn and flying up onto a fence or branch away from the other birds before actually starting to eat it.

NB: I remember thinking that if the meat had been attached to a hair then the hook would very likely be hanging outside of the mouth when it first moved off with the bait between its lips and the bait would very likely be pulled out of the chubs mouth once the lead was felt.

And ever since that day I have regularly (but not always) used a longish hair when chub are being a particular nuisance when I'm targeting barbel. or if I am after chub I use a hook mounted bait or a very short hair when I don't want any of those classic pull rounds that rarely result in a fish; and more often than not this has worked for me.

Keith

Imo big chub are best targeted in winter,trotting maggot,all fish will take baits and eject them without always indicating,on a float,or lead,our methods are not as great as we think they are and the fish are not stupid either,especially chub.

My best results have been with wasp grub many times it has taken fish out of a swim which have refused cheese and meat.
Caster is a great bait also ,something magical about stickfloat and caster with a bit of hemp.

Chub are my next target species!

barbelboi said:

IMO chub are not generally tackle shy. They are however very ‘people’ shy and as long as you know where they are, and they don’t know you’re there you’ve a very good chance of catching them...............

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Exactly my feelings. Allot of the problems are caused simply because they know your there. Get a bait to a Chub without it realizing your there and chances are it will take it within seconds. If there is more than 1 fish they will even race each other for the bait.

I find the main problem with bigger Chub is finding where they are, if you can locate them you've got a good chance of catching if you haven't spooked them.
At the moment, most swims i fish which will hold decent fish in autumn and winter,are full of small fish.