Rig school: Chub feeder rig

With a short hooklength that lengthens when a fish takes the bait, this clever tweak overcomes the problem of chub mouthing the bait without getting hooked

CLEAR, cold rivers can mean tough fishing, but a species that can be caught easily when conditions are like this is the chub. Small baits reign supreme in clear water, with maggots being the number one choice for most anglers. In the right swim trotting a float can be an effective way to catch chub, but the flow has to be just right. More often, the feeder is the best tactic, as it presents the hookbait right where the chub want it and will hold position long enough for them to find it. Despite their brash looks, chub can be incredibly finicky, using their rubbery lips to pick up individual food items before swimming off with them. Anything that doesn’t feel right will be instinctively rejected in an instant, giving – at best – missed bites. This can even happen when fishing with maggots, especially if the hooklength is too long, as it enables the chub to move around without the hook pricking them in the lip as the line tightens to the feeder. To combat these problems, a simple, but very effective, chub feeder rig can be made that is strong enough to land big fish, yet is fine enough to present a single maggot hookbait if required. The hooklength is also kept really short, to ensure that every chub that picks up the bait is hooked. The hooklength is trapped in a small piece of rig foam in the feeder, which not only shortens it until it pulls clear when a fish is hooked, but ensures the hookbait sits directly below the feeder. With just a couple of pints of mixed maggots fed exclusively through the feeder, this is a very effective way to fish for chub on days when larger baits are likely to be ignored.