PREP YOUR SWIM

When roving for chub I like to fish lots of swims, as I have found that if a chub is present and willing to feed I get bites very soon after casting.

To improve my chances I like to prepare a number of swims prior to fishing them by introducing a couple of handfuls of mashed bread.

I make mashed bread up in small amounts. I simply take the centre out of three or four slices of thick sliced white bread, which are saved for hookbait.

The remainder is put in my landing net and submerged until the air bubbles stop coming out. The bread is then lifted out and allowed to drain before putting it into a bait box and mashing it up with my fingers.

The aim is to break it up into small pieces but not turn it into a complete mush.

The mashed bread can then be fed by squeezing it into small balls. These should explode on impact, leaving a mixture of different-sized fragments of bread, everything from crumbs up to pieces about 2cm across.