PAUL GARNER
Discover how you can fool wary chub with buoyant hookbaits
CHUB fishing can be a frustrating business. Time after time the quivertip pulls round, only for your strike to connect with nothing but air.
After getting your swim and bait choice right, missing your chance when the moment comes can be difficult to take. So it’s important to understand why this happens, and look for ways to combat the problem.
Observations from above and below the surface all point to the same quirk of chub behaviour. When they pick up baits, especially larger baits, they tend to hold them in the extremities of their lips and often move off before taking the bait further back. I don’t think this has anything to do with them trying to avoid being caught. More likely it’s to do with them not wanting to lose their meal to a larger chub that might bully it away from them.
So, if we know the problem, can we do anything about it? The answer, fortunately, is yes. We can reduce the number of missed bites, often quite significantly, by using baits that are buoyant, and so easier for the chub pick up.
Breadcrust
I know a lot of anglers fight shy of using bread, because they lack confidence that it will stay on the hook. In truth, this is rarely a problem, and when using the tougher, buoyant crust it will stay on very securely.
In fact, the crust on some loaves can be a bit too tough, so I tend to use a normal sliced loaf, removing the crusts with a knife before microwaving them for a few seconds.
The microwave makes the bread more rubbery and pliable, ideal for the hook.
Always fish crust with the hookpoint exposed, as it can be difficult to strike through. A favourite trick of mine is to use two pieces of crust hooked back to back, with the flakey part facing outwards. These baits ensure that the hookpoint is exposed, but also that the hook will be concealed by the bread when it expands in the water.
Pop-up boilies
I always have a tub of small pop-ups with me when I’m chub fishing. They are useful either on their own or used for balancing heavier baits to produce a floating or wafter hookbait.
Really small 8mm match-style pop-ups are easy to wrap with paste or breadflake to make a buoyant hookbait that’s not too large. I use two of these. The shape grips the paste well, making for a great hookbait.
Floater cake
You can make a fully customised bait using a really simple cake mixture. This has a brilliant, pliable texture, and by adjusting the cooking time and the ratio of the ingredients you can vary the buoyancy too. Because this mix has very little natural flavour, and is an off-white colour, you can use whatever additives you prefer, producing a highly effective bait all of your own.
I like to use a dumpling mix for this bait. This is stodgy, with a softer crust than conventional cake mixes and even better for making chub hookbaits. Adding a tablespoonful of wheat gluten makes the cake even denser. It will hold together on the hook for hours.
It is a good idea to keep some of the mix back and use it as paste. You can wrap this around the hookbait, or use it as a feed, introducing half-a-dozen nuggets into the swim to attract the chub.
“You can make a customised bait using a really simple cake mixture”