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BIG CHUB

Paul Richardson

Paul Richardson

Senior Member & Supporter
I was privileged to witness a 7-3 chub last week caught by a friend on the float
It was beyond impressive, for me the fish of a lifetime.pictures can’t do it justice - a behemoth!
This got me wondering just how rare ( or indeed common) is a fish this big today?
On one hand barbel baits will undoubtedly encourage bigger weights but I’m guessing a chub in todays rivers has to be pretty darn wily to survive to get to that age
Listening to some people 6 & 7s are common as muck, for me a 6 makes my season and I do target chub
Interested in comments/ observations
 
Seem to be a fair number in the middle Hants Avon at the moment. Biggest I had this season was a 6.12 but quite a few sixes have come out along with some sevens and at least one eight. Whether it’s the chub benefitting from the decline in barbel numbers or just a couple of good year classes coming through, I don’t know.


Dave
 
A 7lb + chub is the fish of my dreams.

Ive had plenty over 6, including a 6.11 recently - but I can’t find a 7.

The Thames produces a few 7’s and the very occasional 8 (Viz Michael Weir’s lovely 7.2 on here last week) but they seem fairly tightly grouped. We catch reasonable numbers (of chub, any chub!) on some stretches and almost none on others…..

Back out there later today. One day it will happen.
 
Paul Richardson said:
I was privileged to witness a 7-3 chub last week caught by a friend on the float
It was beyond impressive, for me the fish of a lifetime.pictures can’t do it justice - a behemoth!
This got me wondering just how rare ( or indeed common) is a fish this big today?
On one hand barbel baits will undoubtedly encourage bigger weights but I’m guessing a chub in todays rivers has to be pretty darn wily to survive to get to that age
Listening to some people 6 & 7s are common as muck, for me a 6 makes my season and I do target chub
Interested in comments/ observations
Click to expand...
We see quite afew 6’s out the nene and Gt Ouse every year but 7’s are another thing entirely. I’ve caught two 7’s in my life and only 1 by design.

I’m very much of the opinion that if it wasn’t by design it doesn’t count. My biggest ever came out on barbel gear last year on the upper Trent.
My biggest bream was a low double out the nene also on barbel gear and neither count as far as I’m concerned. 15lb line on a self hooking rig welded to the deck …. Just not sporting enough as lovely as they are to catch at that size.

The truth of the matter is 6’s are quite common nowadays in certain rivers but they are intelligent fish at that size and definitely a very well respected capture if caught on sporting methods with balanced tackle.
 
Paul Richardson said:
I was privileged to witness a 7-3 chub last week caught by a friend on the float
It was beyond impressive, for me the fish of a lifetime.pictures can’t do it justice - a behemoth!
This got me wondering just how rare ( or indeed common) is a fish this big today?
On one hand barbel baits will undoubtedly encourage bigger weights but I’m guessing a chub in todays rivers has to be pretty darn wily to survive to get to that age
Listening to some people 6 & 7s are common as muck, for me a 6 makes my season and I do target chub
Interested in comments/ observations
Click to expand...
Was that from the Swale Paul?

A 7lb chub is a beast from anywhere...but from a river that far north it's an absolute monster! I'd rate a 6lb northern chub as a more meritorious catch than a 7ln fish from a southern chalkstream. As would a 5lb chub from my local river Dane. That's not to do down a 7lb chalkstream chub btw, I had a 7lb 0.5oz chub from the Havon in 2021 by design. I regard it as the best fish I've ever caught. It was an August fish, god knows how big it would be by the end of the season!
 

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Although chub are not the same as tench, they do seem to be mimicking them to a certain extent in terms of their recent growth rate. Time was when a 4 lb chub was a good fish, a five was very big and a six was the fish of your dreams. Similarly, a five pound tench was a good fish, a six was even better and anything over seven was huge. Now, even an 8 or 9lb tench is almost run of the mill, with doubles found in lots of waters. For a very long time, my best chub was a big four and I struggled to catch a 5 pounder. As luck would have it, I then caught a six and went on to catch a pb of exactly 7lb from the Dorset Stour.

I guess the close season and the fact that stillwater fish potentially have more food than river fish, means that tench have had the opportunity to be caught at much heavier weights but there can be no doubt that chub are much bigger now than they were back in the day and the opportunity is there to catch a monster from a river so good luck with your continued search for that elusive ‘seven’ Paul. I’m sure you’ll get one soon.🤞


Dave
 
Iv only ever caught 3 6’s and 2 of those came 5 days apart. Never had anything over 5lb other than them 3. I don’t tend to catch that many chub though to be fair
 
Joe Winstanley said:
I do wonder if a lot of 6 and 7lb 'accidental' chub reported by some barbel anglers belong in the same category as many of the 'accidental' 9-10lb tench reported by some carp anglers??
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Definitely a factor. I met a chap last year and he showed me a photo of what did look a very big Chub. Well over 8 in his opinion. I enquired further and was told he doesn’t weigh them because they smell but it was definitely over 8. Having been caught out many times myself by the famous Styrofoam Chub of the Stour I know they can often (especially in summer) be underwhelming.
 
Graham Elliott said:
I've been quite fortunate with a Loddon chub of 7.2 and a 7.7 from the Kennet.

However about three years ago I lost a fish on the Stour that I would estimate as a big 8lber...

Still have nightmares..
Click to expand...
I believe I recall you saying about that. I can’t remember wether it was before or after your visit but one of 8.02 iirc came out about 250 yards downstream. I’m sure that’s right. There was one that lived in a margin snag, you couldn’t get at it and a sensible person was convinced it would have been a venue record.
 
Richard Isaacs said:
We see quite afew 6’s out the nene and Gt Ouse every year but 7’s are another thing entirely. I’ve caught two 7’s in my life and only 1 by design.

I’m very much of the opinion that if it wasn’t by design it doesn’t count. My biggest ever came out on barbel gear last year on the upper Trent.
My biggest bream was a low double out the nene also on barbel gear and neither count as far as I’m concerned. 15lb line on a self hooking rig welded to the deck …. Just not sporting enough as lovely as they are to catch at that size.

The truth of the matter is 6’s are quite common nowadays in certain rivers but they are intelligent fish at that size and definitely a very well respected capture if caught on sporting methods with balanced tackle.
Click to expand...
Similar to me Rich - PB was a 7-2 caught early season when barbel fishing using method feeders on Chimera 3s but fought like a barbel
Next best was a 6-12 which took a float paternoster full bluey and was a one- toner?
Best by design 6-8 on steak.
 
Paul Richardson said:
Similar to me Rich - PB was a 7-2 caught early season when barbel fishing using method feeders on Chimera 3s but fought like a barbel
Next best was a 6-12 which took a float paternoster full bluey and was a one- toner?
Best by design 6-8 on steak.
Click to expand...
My biggest was also 7,2 on a chimera 3. Difference was it did not fight like a barbel. At one point I thought it was just weed till I felt it kick back.
It wasn’t till i saw it, I was half in the mind of swinging it 🤣

I had one on the great Ouse by design at 7lb on the nose. That was a lot more sporting and what I actually class as my pb
 
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