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Chub in the winter

Iain Tutt

Senior Member
Now the fishing has got harder and the weather a little colder. Do you go smaller on the bait and go down a size on hooks for Chub. I usually use anything up to size 4 hooks with a large lump of meat. Should i cut back on bait and hook size this time of year, if so would do you use and recommend
 
You see in these fishing magazines that they are using size 14 hooks and maybe they go to a 10 sometimes. I use 14 to 18 for Roach and alike, these silver have smaller softer mouths. So would have thought sizes 14 would be too small
 
It all depends on bait. With cheese paste I'm confident to use an 6-8. Maggot I won't be going bigger than a 16, 18 is my go to. To be fair, in summer, in daylight it's not uncommon for me to go down to 3lb bottoms and 18s to a single 6mm pellet.
I wouldn't listen to be though. My catch rate at present is inconsistent, to put it politely.
 
More or less Snap Stephen. Had to go to a stillwater just to get my Mojo back. I'll try some flake on a 10 and if nothing change to a 6 or 4 and try a bit of paste tomorrow
 
Good question Iain,...chub are sometimes one of the most obliging winter species, often happy to eat an endless selection of angler's baits. But on occasions they can be one of the most finicky line shy fish in the river.
I reckon there are too many variables to talk of big or small baits being preferable in cool conditions.
For instance,...a big chub will eat half a sardine, but will shy away from a double maggot on a size 18. Depends how the bait is presented sometimes and how they are having it on the day.
I had one of my best ever mornings chub fishing when the car registered -8 when pulling up in the carpark and the frost stayed on the ground until lunchtime. The bait was a big bit of folded bread crust on a size 4 with a single swan shot two inches from the hook.
Other good sessions have been with mini boilies hair rigged to a size 12 or 14 for static fishing when the standard 10/15mm boilies struggle to catch.
I prefer fishing a moving bait and trotted flake or punched bread coupled with a bit of mash fished on a size 12 often works. There again a big bait worked through a swim will get a response when roving.
Can be an enigma sometimes which is all part of the attraction I guess!:)
 
Dave. The Chub are very finicky where i fish. You can chuck anything in the water and they will totally ignore it. Then other times they will fight over the smallest of crumb that fell from your sanie. You can blank but on the next peg, someone using the exact tackle and bait will be creaming it. The last 5 session ive blanked. I tried bread flake, spicy sausages, cheese in one form or other. Be it ledge, feeder and static. But i will not let the river beat me even if i have to get the scuba kit out.
 
One morning this Autumn I spotted a group of 5 good chub and threw in a few boilies which were quickly gobbled up by two of them but completely ignored by the other three. Got the same response a further two times, so I tried another flavour and colour,...low and behold, the other three went for those but were ignored by the original two!
Sat there for a full hour chucking in a few freebies and I promise you the result remained the same,..just goes to show how finicky they can be.
 
Maggots and more maggots, feed heavy,trot a float with light line 2lb-3lb,16 hook and double maggot, make sure your hook bait is in the cloud of freebies,make them compete,yesterday i had 35 chub doing just this.A cheaper option is to trot with bread flake on a size 8 hook with bulk shot or olivette and a bigger float,trot the swim first a few times without feeding and then introduce some mashed bread,if no bites, move on.Moving baits catch lots more chub than static baits.
 
Well, the flake and crust were a no go. Free lined and bouncing crust off the bottom. Not a nibble or knock. Bait No 2 was cubed luncheon meat and hot dog sausages covered in LA sizzling sausage juice that has been soaking for 2 days. Strong smelling like BQ sauce. First, cast and within 10 minutes a nice 5lb Chub. The second hook up pulled the line like a steam train, up, down, back and forth. My 1.5lb Avon rod was bent right to the Cork. My old bum hole was quivering and twitching thinking any second i was going to hear the sound of Carbon cracking. Once i got it closer i could see it was a big Pike. Was sure it was going to chew through my 8lb Mono but landed it with a struggle. It weighed 23.9lb, no wonder the rod was bent in half. Returning it Mr Pike flicked his head and impaled a tooth in my thumb. Only the second bite back this session.
So very big thumbs up to the Lone Angler sizzling sausage juice.
 
Well, the flake and crust were a no go. Free lined and bouncing crust off the bottom. Not a nibble or knock. Bait No 2 was cubed luncheon meat and hot dog sausages covered in LA sizzling sausage juice that has been soaking for 2 days. Strong smelling like BQ sauce. First, cast and within 10 minutes a nice 5lb Chub. The second hook up pulled the line like a steam train, up, down, back and forth. My 1.5lb Avon rod was bent right to the Cork. My old bum hole was quivering and twitching thinking any second i was going to hear the sound of Carbon cracking. Once i got it closer i could see it was a big Pike. Was sure it was going to chew through my 8lb Mono but landed it with a struggle. It weighed 23.9lb, no wonder the rod was bent in half. Returning it Mr Pike flicked his head and impaled a tooth in my thumb. Only the second bite back this session.
So very big thumbs up to the Lone Angler sizzling sausage juice.

Sounds like you got very lucky with hook placement.
 
Re the chub . Essentially they are greedy fish and will eat virtually anything . On a cold day try roving about with a float rod , keeps you warm . I spent 2 hours on a local stream yesterday and caught a dozen good size chub on sweetcorn , they love it, each landed fish coughing up the loose feed as I netted them . Rig ? Centre pin , 4lb line straight through , old cane Marco rod , crystal chubber float , size 14 hook . Great fun :)Packed in when the line started freezing to the rod rings , brrr.
 
One morning this Autumn I spotted a group of 5 good chub and threw in a few boilies which were quickly gobbled up by two of them but completely ignored by the other three. Got the same response a further two times, so I tried another flavour and colour,...low and behold, the other three went for those but were ignored by the original two!
Sat there for a full hour chucking in a few freebies and I promise you the result remained the same,..just goes to show how finicky they can be.

Hi Dave, wonder what the response would be, if you tried halve of each boilie, back to back on a short hair rig ? :)
 
Der....

Wanted to bless this thread with a couple of pictures of chub (from my phone) but, it seems not so straight forward as it is on other sites. Any instructions welcome, ta. Perhaps via pm?
 
IMG_0930_zpsd9v4tcn7.jpg
Like these Chris,the little one on the floor is 6lb 15 oz.Its a poor photo though
 
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