WHY I LOVE CHUB
IT WAS a long, cold winter, with our river temperatures struggling to rise above 40¡F.
I returned from a January break in Thailand looking forward to targeting big roach, barbel and zander in the closing weeks of the season, but the weather meant that was not to be.
Such plans have now been put on hold for 12 months.
Happily, as an all-round angler, I find that when one dream slips away another is waiting in the wings to keep my enthusiasm on full burn. The barbel didn’t want to bite, but the grayling and chub certainly did. The Lady of the Stream never disappoints, and with fish to 3lb it was worth the frozen fingertips I suffered on every trip.
I love chub fishing, too, so I wasn’t too upset to spend plenty of time in pursuit of the species.
I’m a big fan of maggots, presented either through a feeder or under a float, but for finesse you can’t beat paste on the lightest quivertip possible. Getting it to fish convincingly and fool a big, fat chub is something of an art form.
Many times I caught half-a-dozen or more fish, including braces of six-pounders. I really didn’t miss the other species, I was enjoying what was on offer that much… and besides, next winter is unlikely to see the rivers constantly in flood and
chub so willing to feed.
A good tip, which is relevant to every month of the year, is to pick the species that wants to feed, not what you had planned to catch. This way you will seldom have a dry landing net.