PAUL GARNER Deadly chub baits to try
Try my simple bait tricks for stalking success on running water
LOW, CLEAR rivers can make for tough fishing during the summer, but one way to use these conditions to your advantage is to adopt a stalking approach and go in search of chub.
By keeping mobile and exploring every nook and cranny of the river, you’ll be amazed at the opportunities that present themselves. It’s brilliant fun, too, and a great way to learn about a new stretch of river.
Covering plenty of ground is crucial to this approach, and reducing your tackle and bait burden to the minimum means that you’ll fish more swims and ultimately catch more fish.
Here, then, are my favourite baits for this exciting style of summer fishing.
SLUGS
Rarely will a chub turn down a juicy slug. These protein-packed molluscs offer a proper mouthful, and have enough weight to be freelined yet sink quite slowly, giving the chub plenty of time to pick them off.
Riverbanks are a great place to collect slugs, especially in the evenings. Hook them through the back using a size 6 hook for the best results.
BREAD
Surface fishing for chub is great fun, although they can be frustratingly difficult to hook. Try feeding a few pieces of floating crust under overhanging trees. You’ll often hear the splash of a chub taking the bait before you see the fish, making this a great aid to location. If the fish are wary of crust, a lump of flake makes a slow-sinking bait that is rarely refused.
LUNCHEON MEAT
When the weather has been hot and natural baits are scarce, meat makes a superb alternative bait to have in the tackle bag.
Being slow-sinking due to its fat content, a freelined cube of meat can easily be drifted down to a shoal of chub that are holding station in the flow.