Small river chubbing with Chubber LancasterThe venue I would like to take you to today is a small river on the outskirts of Hertfordshire. It holds such fish as chub and perch, roach, dace and the odd barbel. But today I would like to share with you some chub fishing.
The river runs through farmland, twisting and turning and is overgrown with trees and shrubs. Although private, I have been given permission to fish this stretch whenever I want and consider myself very fortunate. Coloured river but no weedAfter recent rain the river coloured up and started to push through but today it’s fining down and clearing slightly, which is not so good for chub. The river itself is around one to four feet deep and 12 yards wide at its widest. In some areas it is as narrow as three yards.The weed has almost gone but the river has many snags in the shape of tree roots, rafts of dead weed, etc. It’s around 7: 45 am I have reached the first swim. I’m still not awake yet but let’s have a coffee and talk tackle. TackleI have selected two rods, one of which is a 10′ split cane Avon rod together with a centrepin reel loaded with 6 lb main line. On this I put a Drennan clear plastic type Chubber float. I like these in shallow water. Also two SSG shot around nine inches from the size 8 barbed Kamasan hook. I don’t normally use barbed hooks but as I’m fishing with worms today I find I need a barbed hook to keep the worm on.
The second rod is a new rod I purchased this week, as I write. It’s a Greys Prodigy barbel rod with a 1oz tip fitted, coupled with a Mitchell 300 and 6 lb main line through to a size 8 Kamasan hook. I would normally use lighter lines for chub, but there are so many snags in this river I am going a bit heavier. Added to this is a trusty landing net, some spare shot and hooks, scales, bread and worms. And by no means least a camera. Well now, shall we get started?The first swim I’ve selected is very overgrown with trees and fine bracken and very awkward to fish, but if you want those chub that’s where they will be. Notice at the back of the swim there is a big tree root lying horizontal to the bank and I intend to cast a bait as close as I can to it. With float tackle it’s going to be very difficult indeed to get close but I’ll have a go.
After a few casts, what with the wind and the trees, I realise it’s proving just too much, so now I turn to the quiver rod. I take a piece of bread, the size is around a 10 pence piece, from the inside of an uncut loaf, which I always find best. Now a quick dunk, as this adds casting weight, and a sideways flick and down to the bottom she goes. The bait had not even had chance to settle and there is a slight pluck on the tip, but nothing else. At least I know there are fish there, which is very encouraging.
Now normally I would not try to catch anything more from this swim as the thrashing about that this little fish made would normally put paid to the swim for a spell, but I am going to try just one more cast. So it’s another coffee and the introduction of a few loose offerings of pinched bread. I rest the swim for a few minutes while I drink my lovely hot coffee (boy, it’s cold today).
Soon, the rod bent doubleOK, the coffee is drunk and it’s back to the fishing. I bait up as before and cast back into the same spot and this time it’s perfect, right under the overhanging log. And I didn’t have to wait long before the rod tip bent double and I was back in again. This is a better fish, putting up a better fight indeed, going for the snags, under the bank into the reeds but to no avail and into the net she goes. A nice chub of around 3 lbs. Right, that really has finished this swim.So onward we go to the second swim. This swim is wider and deeper and not so overgrown. As you can see in the picture, it’s just before a bend in the river, so the opposite side of the bank has an undercut where the water has eroded the sides. Now if there’s one place chub love it’s an undercut bank. I’m going to try a few casts with the float rod this time, to see if I can entice a fish to take the bait. After around 15 minutes I have no luck with a moving bait so I revert to the quiver. In the picture you can see a bush opposite my rod; well, that’s where I’m going to cast the static bait. And again I didn’t have to wait long before another greedy little chub had my bread, a gutsy little chap of just over a pound and safely in the net.
On to the final swimWell that’s three in the bag, and I head off to the final swim and try for one more. This last swim is very overgrown again as you can see, plenty of branches spanning the whole width of the river. I can get a float under this lot, so that’s what I’ll do. But this time I’m going to use worm as bait.
The float is running nicely down the swim, firstly letting it run through at pace, then holding back, trying all the tricks but to no avail. Ten minutes of float fishing and nothing to show for it. Oh well, back to the quiver again, but the problem will be getting the bait under all those trees. So it’s another coffee while I think about it. It’s nice to have a break and collect your thoughts. I have another look at the swim to see if I can spot something I didn’t notice before. Right, here we go, three worms on the hook and a swift side cast very low to the water. Under it goes – perfect! A sip of my coffee and I’m ready to strike. There’s a pluck, but I strike too soon (twit!). The worms are gone and I’ve blown it I think, but I’ll have another go. A nice chub to end the sessionI’m back in the same spot, but I have to wait ages this time, and then wham, round goes the tip. I strike and off she goes. Boy, this is better! It’s even taking line off my reel so I tighten the clutch a bit and gain control. This new rod is nice, it’s taking all the stick this chub is giving it – lovely. Anyway, after a fair battle she’s mine and what a beauty to end the session with, a nice chub of 4 lb 11oz.
At this point I’d like to say sorry the pics are not better, my son was supposed to come with me today but failed to turn up. So I had to take them all myself with the help of a tripod and self timer (10 seconds ain’t enough lol). Never mind. Well, I started fishing at 8 am and its now 11. 45 and I’m off home. But not just yet, I’m just going to sit here and go over what’s gone on today; what I’ve done right or wrong and what I could have done better. It’s good to sit and have a think rather than just pack up and go, to give yourself a few minutes to look around and take in the lovely time you’ve spent fishing. This article is to serve two purposes. The first is to help others who are perhaps just starting out in the world of fishing. I’m certainly no expert but perhaps you can take some of this information and make it work for you. The second is to give the experienced guys on here something to read and get their comments on and perhaps we can all learn something. But above all folks just don’t forget and get so carried away with what to buy and what to use, that you forget the fun fishing can bring you and the friendship it also brings. You never know, next time I might take you feeder fishing for chub. Won’t that be fun. Tight lines all Chubber
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