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Chub rod advice

W

William Taylor

Senior Member
Hello,

I could use some advice regarding a chub rod. I fish the middle Severn at Bridgnorth, and have enjoyed chub fishing on the float, however I fancy getting a feeder rod that is suitable for chub.

I have tried chub fishing with my barbel rods, but they are 1.75 tc and feel a bit over gunned. I do have a lighter 10ft commercial carp feeder rod,but I am not sure if it will be suitable. Can anyone recommend a rod?

Also, if anyone has any advice regarding swim selection, rigs, bait choice etc, then I would be very grateful.

Thanks
 
I've got the 12' versions and love them for chub and tench. Not used them on a big river like the Severn, but would think the Avon top would be spot on.
 
Try your carp feeder rod before buying a new rod, no point in buying a new rod if you have a rod that will do a job already. First thing is forget about Barbel, too many chub are missed with anglers trying to target both species and using too heavy tackle to compromise. If targeting chub you need to use as light a tip as possible and the bait needs to be on the hook not hair rigged. If you can balance the lead to the flow all the better and also try to give the lead a bit of slack line/bow. Hold the rod because they can take and reject baits quickly and strike at any positive tap/drop back, no matter how small. Liquidised bread feeder and a big lump of flake on 6lb line/ 6 hook is good to start off with, you should get bites and quickly find swims that hold chub,then target those swims. I would also concentrate fishing the swims you have been successful in with the float (though you will rarely get as many on the lead).
 
Depends on your preferred methods really.
A medium/heavy feeder rod is pretty good for static baits. Something with a selection of quivertips to accommodate various flow strengths and casting weights.

for trotting a decent power float with line ratings around the 6lb range is ideal.

for rolling or trundling baits on a mobile set up I quite like a through action Avon type rod. 1.25 something like that being pretty ideal.

a lot of Avon/specialist rods have quiver carry sections which can cover a few methods and tactics from one rod. The old John Wilson Avon’s were very versatile chub rods with various tops and quivers to cover different case scenarios. Can be picked up second hand for sensible brass.
 
I used a Cadence 13' #3 feeder with 1.5oz tip at the weekend - using 30- 50gm black-caps - 6lb mainline and hook-lengths 4lb to 6lb
Sensitive enough in the tip and did hook and land some nice chub to 5-8 but lost a couple of good uns in snags due to the set-up just lacking a bit of grunt to bully a fit, heavy fish in a modest flow. As Mark said strike at everything as bites can be very subtle.
I changed over to a Daiwa Theory 2.25 with a 2oz tip and 10lb line for bread fishing and had some nice fish with big bites, which honestly surprised me. This time I could really apply pressure to get them away from the danger areas but still got a good fight as the chub are in good fettle at the moment. Consequently 3 out of 4 landed with the heavier set up.
And this can be the dilemma IMHO - some days the chub can be very, very finicky and you need to fine right down for bite indication but..if you get a wily old fish in a snaggy swim with good flow it could be a challenge.
Conversely and as happened at the weekend, for a short period they were hanging themselves on big hooks, big baits and cruder rigs.
I had a 9lb mono hooklink snapped like cotton a couple of weeks ago whist fishing an in-line maggot feeder with a short hooklink, such was the ferocity of the take. So you are constantly having to work out what works on the day.
In the right swim most carp feeder rods or heavy match feeder( I have puddle chuckers & a Carbonactive for this too ) can offer great sport on chub
In snaggy swims/ powerful rivers and if fishing specifically for bigger (5lb+) chub I prefer a barbel type rod with a tip - Fox Royales are a nice rod at good money and anything from Drennan will be good. I will eventually get a Theory in 1.75 t/c, simply because the 2.25 is a bit too powerful when the chub is under the rod tip and I end up having to give more clutch than I would like rather than let the rod absorb lunges as they try one last time for that snag under your feet.
Apologies if this doesn't give a definitive answer, but I think I've learnt that you need quite a few approaches if you want to hook and land chub consistently. And I make that distinction because some days you get the hooking bit right, but the landing bit wrong and vice-versa More so than barbel, and we've not talked about float rods.
 
The only advice I would give is use a long shank hook. Size 8 or 6.
Big piece of flake size of 10p.
Squeeze bread around shank leaving point exposed through flake.

Decent size cage feeder filled with mash that has some 5p size pieces in it.

As a general rule about 2ft tail ideal

Two casts above hot spot pulling out mash at it hits bottom.

25 mins a swim. Bites will generally be a jab as fish takes bread immediately followed by wrap round on a quiver tip or Avon top on fair flow.

Move downstream swim by swim same line of fishing.

As suggested a cheap JW quiver rod is ideal and covers you for perch fishing.

Or a Drennan Series 7 Quiver/ Avon rod in 1.25 or 1.50
 
Graham Elliott said:
The only advice I would give is use a long shank hook. Size 8 or 6.
Big piece of flake size of 10p.
Squeeze bread around shank leaving point exposed through flake.

Decent size cage feeder filled with mash that has some 5p size pieces in it.

As a general rule about 2ft tail ideal

Two casts above hot spot pulling out mash at it hits bottom.

25 mins a swim. Bites will generally be a jab as fish takes bread immediately followed by wrap round on a quiver tip or Avon top on fair flow.

Move downstream swim by swim same line of fishing.

As suggested a cheap JW quiver rod is ideal and covers you for perch fishing.

Or a Drennan Series 7 Quiver/ Avon rod in 1.25 or 1.50
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, really good advice.

I like the mobile approach, plus when its cold I want to move around a bit.

I shall keep my eye out for a JW quiver. A quick question, there seems to be a few different John Wilson quivers, lots of the modern ones seem to be travel rods. Is their a specific JW rod that is viewed as 'the best'? Just want to make sure I am looking at the right thing.

Thanks for all the replies.
 
My take on Graham's advice is a Korum Ambition quiver which is a sound affordable rod paired with a 3000 or 4000 reel. 8 to 6lb mainline with a 5lb hooklength. A free running feeder with mash or liquidised bread cast close to the tree line, overhanging bushes, or rafts, etc. Recast every ten minutes and move on after 30 if no action. Bites and takes can be as Graham describes or the rod tip quivers/rattles and does not wrap round.
 
I recently bought the new Drennan Twin Tip Duo in 12ft 1.25TC and to be honest cannot say it is any better than my old John Wilson Avon Quiver rods. There are plenty of the JW rods about most probably because they are reckoned to be the best selling rod ever sold in this country. They went through a few design changes and in my opinion the best version is the one with a model number AQ1102. 11 ft two piece with a cork handle and duplon foregrip, screw reel fitting, avon top and quiver top plus three push in quiver tips of varying test curves. The blank is a pleasant green colour and some of the later models were also available with an additional 2ft dolly section to make it up to 13ft. The quiver tips are all glass and very sensitive but I would not read too much into their test curve rating. I did an experiment hanging a weight off each and measured the amount of tip deflection that hardly varied between all three.

The new Drennan Twin Tip Duo comes in 11 & 12ft 1lb or 1.25 TC and has one glass tip and one carbon tip. If you look on Youtube there are a few promotional videos which are worth watching. I bought mine in a closing down sale at a significant discount and probably would not have forked out the full retail.

Cadence feeder rods seem to have good reports from buyers but they are three piece which is more awkward to carry set up, the quiver tips are all carbon and you don't get the versatility of a standard avon top. Aimed more at the match angler. Glass tips are available as an extra but you may need to check which rods they fit.

Darent Valley rods from The Tackle Box are another good budget brand and they offer an 11ft 1.25 TC with a 2oz glass and 4oz carbon quiver tip plus an avon top for £69.99 +P&P. I bought the 13ft two piece float rod at a similar price and cannot fault it. Here is a link: https://www.tacklebox.co.uk/rods-en...ley-11ft-1.25lb-avon-quiver-twin-tip-rod.html
 
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This threads reminded me ..I've got a pair of JW Quivers at the back of the garage. Green blank, full cork, winch fittings, twin tip (one quiver/one Avon) ...not used for donkey's years. Something else to sell, it happens every winter ;)
 
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