Chub Cyprinidae Leuciscus cephalus.
Distribution : Common locally in parts of England, parts of Wales and southern Scotland. Absent from Ireland.
Notes : Thick set, large head and mouth.

The anal fin is convex - a sure way of identification when compared to Dace.
They like running water, especially where trees overhang the water.
They are also found in some ponds and lakes.

Tackle, Bait, Techniques

Rod
9ft to 11ft

Reel
Fixed spool

Line b.s.
3lb, to 51b

Hooks
No.16 to No.6

Lifespan
10-12 years

British record
8lb 10oz, River Tees, 1994

Specimen weight
5lb

Bait
Luncheon meat, sweetcorn, maggots, casters
Bread flake, plugs and strong cheese*.
*info Tom Mitchel

Groundbait
Loose hookbaits only

Techniques
Ledgering, trotting, lures and freelining.

Landing and playing a fish

THE CHUNKY, brassy-flanked chub has been called the greediest fish in the river. Certainly it has a huge mouth capable of engulfing large lumps of bread and it is one fish that will feed all year round, even when Jack Frost is freezing the droplets of water in your rod rings.

Yet despite its reputation as a glutton which will eat almost anything, the chub is truly a wily fish and a worthy capture.
It is extremely rewarding to spend an afternoon silently crouched behind cover, watching a shoal of fish swaying gently with the current, picking off food. But inadvertently sneeze, or cast an accidental shadow over the water, and all the chub will disappear in seconds.

Therein lies the fascination for the angler in chub fishing. There are days when you can catch chub on a piece of cheese paste the size of a ping-pong ball and 61b (2.72kg) line and wonder what all the fuss is about. Yet there are also times on the same venue when you need to scale down to size 22 hooks, fine lines and single maggot even to have a chance of tempting a bite.

Of course if you go too fine, you will get smashed by the chub’s initial surging run. Fishing’s great conundrum!

Tactics
As with many river fish, the best conditions for chub fishing are when the water is ‘carrying colour’. This means that the clarity of the water has been temporarily clouded by mud washing into the river, often following heavy rainfall. Under these conditions a big, smelly halt is the best bet. Lobworms are a particular favourite, as is breadflake or paste.

TACKLING UP

Fish with heavy tackle with big baits such as lobworms and paste. Size 8-10 forged specimen hooks and 4-51b (1.81-2.27kg) line straight through is the order of the day. For the maggot set-up, use a 4AAA straight peacock waggler, or bigger, with most of the shot around the base of the float, with 31b (1.36kg) line straight through to a size 18-20 forged chub hook.

It is certainly true that chub like cheese flavours and smells, and a flavour called Scopex, which can be sprayed onto your bait, is excellent.
When the river is crystal clear, or at venues which are heavily match-fished, big baits are unlikely to work. Here, you should present a small bait such as single or double maggot close to, or under, the far-bank features like overhanging trees. Use a catapult to fire a healthy helping of loosefeed over your hookbait.

Maggots are the best loosefeed as they sink slowly and attract fish from far downstream. Don't use groundbait as chub hate the stuff! With the maggot method you are attempting to bring the fish into the upper layers of the water and catch them with a waggler ‘on the drop’ (as the hookbait sinks with the loosefeed). They can be caught as clone as 12 inches (30cm) from the surface of the water.

In certain waters chub become predatory, and can be effectively targeted with spinners and spoons.

Like all members of the carp family they possess a frighteningly powerful set of bone-crushing pharyngeal teeth at the back of their throats which could easily do serious damage to your fingers should you be foolish enough to stick them inside a chub’s mouth.