FIVE TOP CHUB BAITS

CHUB are greedy fish and will eat anything, even deadbaits intended for pike! Here are five tried and tested winners to bag an autumn fish or three.

Lobworms

Large and active, a whole lobworm is a mouthful that few chub will turn down. Equally good in clear or coloured water (try nipping the tail off to release the juices if the river is coloured), lobworms are a good choice when small fish make using maggots all but impossible.

Cheesepaste

The ultimate floodwater chub bait, a lump of smelly paste made with blue cheese or strong Cheddar will pump out a scent trail into heavilycoloured water, allowing the fish to locate it with ease.

Halibut pellets

A recent addition to the chub angler’s armoury, the fish love the pong of halibuts. By feeding smaller 4mm and 6mm pellets and using a large 8mm or 10mm bait on the hook, you can set the perfect trap on both float and feeder.

Maggots

When you’re after numbers of chub as opposed to a specimen, few baits beat maggots. Four or five pints are enough to keep a constant trickle going into the peg via a feeder or the catapult, and they really come into their own in clear water when the fish are hunting by sight.

Boilies

Years ago you’d have been laughed out of town for using boilies for chub, but they’ve now become the best bait to get on for a whacker. A 14mm or 16mm boilie fished in among a helping of pellets, broken boilies and hemp is just the job – go for a fishy flavour and boost it further by dipping your hookbaits in a fish glug.