On The Chub Trail – Part 4

Chub fanatic Dave Slater has had an almost lifelong love affair with fishing, an affair that began some 50 years ago, when he first picked up a rod. Much of that time has been spent chasing chub, a species he considers to be special. In this series of five articles Dave (“I’m not an expert, just experienced”) is sharing some of those experiences with us.

FISHING FOR FUN – DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES

So far I have written about my own chub fishing experiences. I work full time, have a normal family life and interests outside fishing so, as is the case with most people, my fishing time is limited.

I usually fish a couple of evenings during the week plus at some time over the weekend. The weekend fishing could be all day Saturday or could be an early Saturday morning session and/or a Sunday evening session. I also use some, but not all, of my leave entitlement for fishing. More fishing would inevitably lead to more and bigger chub, although I don’t think the fishing would be as enjoyable for the anticipation of a session would, to some extent, disappear.

A 5lb 13oz chub from the Ouse for Dave

These days I like to fish many and varied stretches of river for chub. Each stretch is different and there is always something new to learn. Some of those stretches do not contain large fish but are enjoyable places to fish. If I fished differently I could improve on my catches but, for me, enjoyment is the most important part of chub fishing. Fishing more popular stretches would also improve results but I would far rather fish nice, quiet stretches and find my own fish than chase known fish on busy stretches.

You will have noticed that I do not mention pellets, boilies or bolt rigs. Although these catch numerous big chub, personally I think they are more appropriate to carp fishing and I like to use different tactics when river fishing. If I were to use boilies I would side-hook them and use a running lead, as hair rigs do not work well for chub. I would also limit myself to one rod so that I could concentrate on the bites.

I try to find stretches with no barbel present. This often pays off as these stretches often receive very little pressure and are not usually frequented by the pellet and boilies brigade. If possible, and should the need arise, I like to be able to move swims a few times during a session, and these quiet stretches suit my style of fishing. I would never try and compete with the big names as fishing, for me, is an enjoyable hobby and many of these people are almost full time anglers. To get the most out of chub fishing variety is important and I will elaborate on this later. Chub fishing allows anglers in different circumstances to enjoy good sport in nice surroundings. I will illustrate this by outlining the chub fishing experiences of some of my friends and how they fit these into their life patterns.

AWAY DAYS
To get the maximum enjoyment from chub fishing variety is essential. The chub grows to a good size in a great variety of waters and can be caught on many methods and baits. I like to fish as many different stretches as possible on my local rivers, the Avon and Stour. I enjoy fishing different methods including legering, feeder fishing and float fishing. Many different baits and approaches are used. Stillwater chub also provide an enjoyable diversion when the rivers are unfishable.

It is very enjoyable to visit waters outside the local area and I try to do this a few times each season. I would recommend this to anybody, irrespective of where they live, as fishing different places always provides something different which can often be adapted to fishing on local waters. The fish don’t always have to be big as enjoyment is the main factor.

I often go on Chub Study Group weekends. Two of these are held each season and they are on a variety of rivers throughout the country. These are very enjoyable social events and I try to attend at least one each season. In addition to this I also like to visit a couple of other places through the season. For the past few seasons I have been visiting three areas. The first of these areas is in the midlands. I sometimes stay at Chub Study Group member Terry Brindle’s house and fish his local rivers, although rivers like the Anker and the Mease do not hold big chub. I have not caught a chub weighing over four pounds there, but there are plenty of them and it is very enjoyable to fish in different surroundings. Another area I currently visit is the Upper Great Ouse system. I catch a few good fish on these visits and it is nice to fish rivers which are very different to the Avon and Stour and to see different countryside.

LOBWORMS
I tend to use lobworms often, but not all of the time, on the Ouse and the Claydon Brook as there are some big perch there and the chub seem to take them as well as any other bait. I got into the habit of using the lobworms I had left over when I returned to the Avon and the Stour.

Dave with a very pretty 6lb chub from the Claydon Brook

The results were instant and I may not have used them had I not been to the Ouse. This came in very handy this October when I had a few days off and decided to fish a stretch of the Stour I would not fish at the weekend, as it would be too busy. I had been informed that the chub would not feed as they had been hammered on boilies and pellets. The results were instant, with several good chub to 6lb 1oz being taken. I doubt if lobworms had been used before on this stretch. So, if I had not been using lobworms on the Ouse I may not have decided to use them on my local rivers. This is just one example of how fishing somewhere else has helped with fishing more locally.

The other area I visit is Herefordshire, fishing the rivers Wye and Lugg. I haven’t got to grips with these rivers yet and they are another challenge. I am sure I will master them eventually and I am lucky enough to know some of the Welsh members of the Chub Study Group who fish these rivers. They are very helpful anglers, as are most people in the group, and I am sure I will eventually catch some good fish there with a little help. This is a lovely area and, again, it is nice to see some different countryside and fish new rivers. I would not hesitate to recommend a few away days to anybody who appreciates what chub fishing is about.

ANGLERS IN DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES
Here are a few examples of how anglers in different circumstances adapt their chub fishing. I do know some anglers who are able to fish every day and prebait swims on top stretches on my local rivers. Their results are incredible but I will not write about them in this article, as I do not think this is relevant for most of us. I do sometimes wonder, however, if the obsession these people have detracts from the simple enjoyment of chub fishing.

Dave Gamble with a 5lb 10oz chub from the river Eye

THE ANGLER FISHING UNFASHIONABLE RIVERS
Not everybody is fortunate enough to live near rivers holding very big chub. In these circumstances the chub angler should have realistic targets for the river they are fishing. One such angler is a founder Chub Study Group member, Dave Gamble. Dave lives in Leicester so his local rivers do not hold chub that reach the same sizes as those on the big fish venues. Dave makes the most of what he has locally and is known as ‘Hero’ within the Chub Study Group and ‘King of The Welland’ within his local angling circles. Incredibly, Dave has caught more chub weighing over four pounds than any other member of the Chub Study Group, despite many of us living near top rivers. Dave does all of his fishing locally and this is an amazing achievement.

His preferred method during the summer months is floating crust. In the winter months Dave does nearly all of his chub fishing at night and uses bobbins, as there is very little flow on his local rivers. He caught a chub weighing over six pounds from the river Welland last season, and I cannot think of a fish that was more deserved. Another angler who does very well despite not having waters with big chub locally is my good friend Terry Brindle. Terry’s 5lb 1oz chub from the river Anker is a real achievement. Terry does travel outside his local area as well and fishes the Great Ouse, Severn, Wye, Avon and Stour on occasions. Fishing different rivers makes him a very versatile chub angler. Terry could have claimed the Scottish record a few years ago with a 6lb 6oz chub caught when taking a fishing holiday on the river Annan.

TWO METHODS FOR THE SPECIALIST SUMMER CHUB ANGLER
There are two methods of chub fishing that are the most effective during the summer months. One of these methods is sight fishing over a bed of particles. This method is very time consuming as, to get the best results, prebaiting and constant observation are necessary. I used to fish like this years ago but I do not have sufficient time these days. I wish I had more spare time, as the method can be devastating.

Summer chub ace Dave Ivey with a 7lb 3oz fish from the Dorset Stour

The other effective summer method involves stalking using natural baits. Chub Study Group secretary Dave Ivey is a master of this method. Dave often likes to fish for pike in the winter months, but is doing a little more winter chubbing these days. Dave’s shifts often mean that he has to confine his fishing to the middle hours of the day. This is perfect for stalking chub during the summer months, as visibility is greatest during these hours. A few years ago Dave used plugs to great effect but now concentrates on the use of natural baits. I have fished with him a few times in the summer months and it is an art form. After spotting his chub Dave will often stand for several minutes before casting to ensure that his presentation is perfect. He reminds me of a heron. When I fished with Dave in the summer a couple of years ago he was using slugs and snails as bait. The snails were very tricky to use and he hooked them through the foot after taking the shells off. He has had very good results in recent seasons using caterpillars but most of his chub this summer were taken on crickets. Dave is the most successful summer chub angler I know. I am going to fish with Dave a few times next summer to try and master this method as I like to be reasonably proficient at all methods of chub fishing.

THE SPECIALIST WINTER CHUB ANGLER
Circumstances sometimes dictate that chub fishing has to be done mainly in the winter months. One angler this applies to is my good friend, Bill Neal. Bill does very little summer chub fishing so it is ironic that his two biggest chub, both monsters from the Avon, were caught during the summer months. The first of these weighed 8lb 0oz and is the Christchurch Angling Club record. The second one weighed 8lb 1oz and is the Chub Study Group record.

Winter chub ace Bill Neal with a 7lb 4oz fish from the Dorset Stour

Bill works outdoors so most of his evenings, and often the weekends, are taken up during the summer. In the winter Bill is able to get a couple of hours in most evenings when the conditions are right and to fish all day on most Sundays. Bill is the best all round chub angler I know and I have learned a great deal from him over the years. He usually favours wide areas on the rivers where fish spotting is not possible. The types of swim he favours are often either deep pools or on or above bends.

Bill is often unconventional in his approach and it was when he and I were fishing together that we discovered chub fed well in fast, shallow water in sub-zero temperatures on winter nights. Bill makes some very nice bread feeders and he often uses these. He prefers liquidised bread to mashed bread. The first cast is usually made with the feeder and then it is taken off and a lead replaces it on the clip.Baits
Bill uses a variety of hookbaits and, like me, rates cheese as the best of these. One trick I picked up from Bill is to use a piece of crust on the shank of the hook when using cheese if the fishing is difficult. This can sometimes make a difference. Bill uses bread hookbaits more than I do and does very well with these. Although he sometimes uses the maggot feeder if fishing during daylight hours he does not use meat hookbaits as often as I do. This is probably because much of his winter fishing is done in the hours of darkness. Although meat is sometimes as good as, or better than, cheese in daylight hours, cheese is the supreme bait as soon as the light starts to go. Bill rates bread after dark on some stretches.

He is not a very patient angler and is always on the move, searching for bites. I think this stems from the years he was involved in match fishing. His experiences in match fishing make him a very competent float and feeder angler. It is good to fish with Bill as we have different approaches to chub fishing and are able to learn a great deal from each other.

It can be seen from these examples that the chub is a fish that can be fished for and enjoyed irrespective of where an angler lives or their circumstances.

Part 5 – ‘STATISTICS’