SPECIES: CHUB EXPERT: Dai Gribble

Twice winner of the prestigious Drennan Cup, there are few anglers who know more than about catching big fish than Dai

WHEN it comes to targeting chub, few baits are as effective as cheesepaste. Just as casters seem to have the ability to single out a larger stamp of silver fish, so cheesepaste often pulls out the bigger chub. Because it is dairy-based, it’s probably the milk proteins in the paste that turns them on. Cheesepaste is also watersoluble, so you are able to use the flow to your advantage, sending a powerful flavour trail downstream. But most importantly, chub really like the taste of cheese for some reason!

It’s all a bit cheesy

When it comes to their taste in food, if it can fit into their cavernous mouth, they will have a go at eating it! Fish fry, slugs, sweetcorn, pellets, luncheon meat, boilies, bread, maggots… the list is endless. But it is cheesepaste that they adore above all other baits. Bizarrely, a lot of anglers are nervous about using it. This may be because paste can change its consistency during the day, depending on the temperature. When you remove it from the fridge it will be firm, but after a few hours on the bank it can soften considerably. But this shouldn’t be a reason to avoid using it, as there are plenty of little tricks to get around this.

Making cheesepaste

My cheesepaste recipe is incredibly simple. I add equal amounts of blue cheese and a strong, hard cheese such as Cheddar to 8oz of finely-grated frozen pastry. I mix all three to form the finished product into a smooth paste. I add a tablespoon of Sonubaits’ Hemp and Cheesy Garlic Liquid Enhancer. This adds extra flavour and

produces a smoother consistency. To prevent it going soft on the bank, I carry a small amount of fresh liquidised bread crumb. Adding this enables me to stiffen the mix again.

How to mount the paste

When it comes to fifishing fishing with cheesepaste I rely on three ways to mount it, depending on how soft it is. The first is to mould a grape-sized chunk around a size 6 hook, leaving the hookpoint exposed. If the paste has gone too soft or, conversely, is a touch on the stiff side, making it difficult to pull the hook through on the strike, I mould the paste around a hair-rigged Korum Paste Cage. The final way of mounting the hookbait is ideal for when the paste has gone very soft or if you’re fishing into faster water. In this instance, I squeeze on a lump of breadflake, and then smear the paste around the shank of the hook.

Fishing with paste

I favour a running rig set-up, and switch between a small bomb and swan shot, how many depending upon the flow. The aim is to cast further out than I want to fish, and slightly downstream. If the leger weight is correct, the rig should move and swing round in the flow until it comes to a natural resting point. I also carry a number of different quivertips, ranging from ¾oz to 2oz, so I can fine-tune my approach even further. Chub can be cautious, and if you use too stiff a quivertip, they will feel the resistance and reject the bait. Conversely, too light and the flow will bend the tip too far around, once again causing resistance on the take. Roving between swims is key to my chub success. Good swim choice comes with experience. Some swims are limited in size, perhaps with a small overhanging bush as the only feature, making it obvious where any chub might be lying up. A spot like this might only require 10 minutes of fishing to get a result. A larger swim with more cover could warrant fishing for 30 minutes or more. I try to tilt the odds further in my favour by walking the stretch prior to starting fishing and prebaiting a few spots, before targeting them in rotation.