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chub

Touch-legering whilst using a bolt rig set-up?! Surely he would know better than that? Was he doing it to demonstrate a point??? :confused:

As I'm sure most of you have, I've caught countless chub on bolt-rig tactics whilst barbel fishing, but I certainly don't think it's the best approach. In my experience, because chub tend to be more cautious and less frenetic than barbel when feeding, you need much longer hooklengths as it gives them a chance to actually mouth the bait and get it into their gob (rather than just between their lips) before feeling any resistance and thus spooking.
 
Stuart Wright said:
Touch-legering whilst using a bolt rig set-up?! Surely he would know better than that? Was he doing it to demonstrate a point??? :confused:

He was using a bolt rig but he said when they were talking it that in frustration at the lack of action he even held the line at one point to see if he could feel anything but couldn't.
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Matthew Collier said:
What do you all think the case is for using either a bolt-rig (semi-fixed) or a free-running rig for Chub. Obviously Barbel have a tendancy to turn downstream so the bolt-rig seems to work well there but do you think the Chub can and do pick up the bait and back off, thus feeling the lead and dropping the bait? I have caught lots of Chub using both methods but do wonder if some of the really big and shy fish might be doing this, especially on rivers with plenty of Barbel (and plenty of people using bolt-rigs). :confused: :confused: :confused:

Matt
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Not that any of the rivers around here have plenty of Barbel but!! :(

I don’t use a bolt rig for Chub as I have never found that I hook them consistently.

Nearly 99% of ledgerd Chub baits are fished using a running rig incorporating either a feeder or lead that is balanced with the flow so that it only just holds, this is fished with a fairly long hook link with bait mounted directly on the hook and I always hold the rod and line feeling for any indications.
Using this set up I find that nine times out of ten I have struck before seeing any movement on the rod tip and I do feel that Chub are very cautious of weight as a general rule.

While Barbel fishing on the Thames using a bolt rig I have spent hours watching my tips bouncing all over the shop as Chub continually attempt to hook themselves until one manages, having said that I have also found that by fishing a very large bait with a heavy bolt rig I have had allot of nice chub hook themselves very well, so who knows?
But I can honestly say that if I had not been holding the line feeling for any movements I would not have caught the majority of the Chub I have.

Just my take on it, I would love to know how everyone else feels....

Tom.
 
Matthew Collier said:
Have any of you seen 'Barbel Days and Ways'? there is underwater footage of Barbel picking up Bob Roberts hair-rigged bait, turning and dropping the bait. He never felt a thing either, despite touch ledgering. When they slowed down the footage though it was clear that the problem was that they were picking up his bait and as he was using a bolt-rig and a short hook length it actually pulled the bait out of the Barbels mouth rather than the Barbel actually ejecting the bait. :( Food for thought though, what is going on underwater unbeknown to us.

He did summise that if he had used a running rig or a longer hook link he may have hooked them (or at least felt a bite) ;)

What do you all think the case is for using either a bolt-rig (semi-fixed) or a free-running rig for Chub. Obviously Barbel have a tendancy to turn downstream so the bolt-rig seems to work well there but do you think the Chub can and do pick up the bait and back off, thus feeling the lead and dropping the bait? I have caught lots of Chub using both methods but do wonder if some of the really big and shy fish might be doing this, especially on rivers with plenty of Barbel (and plenty of people using bolt-rigs). :confused: :confused: :confused:

Matt
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Well, Martin was using a light link-ledger if I remember correctly, so you'd expect him to feel something...........


My experience falls into two categories. I feel more confident of hooking chub using the bolt-rig. There's a "wrinkle" I (and friends) employ to up the ante and my results (I think) speak for themselves. Give them a desirable bait and a rig that maximises hooking potential. I should say this also applies to maggots, bolt-rigged beats quiver-tip, but this is when you've really got them competing.
I like my bankside coffee fresh along with my roll-ups, so I don't "do" touch-legering. :D

I got so frustrated with employing quiver-tips and missing those lightning-fast bites. To combat this I now have an extremely "soft" rod which I use when the mood and conditions dictate, which gives a little more time to react. For use with bread, worms, cheesepaste, prawn etc

The problem is that fishing the Lea, I'm doing a 6 to 8 hour session for maybe one or two bites on a good day. When the quarry might be an 8lb-er, missing a bite in the cold depths of Winter is all too easy and doubly frustrating. There aren't many smaller chub giving lots of bites and keeping you busy and on your toes where I fish.

Bolt-rigs have definitely upped my bites to hooked ratio.

Having said that, Bob Morris used a longer braided hook-length on a running rig, which he reckoned was the best success rate he ever got with chub (about 50% hooked up, he reckoned), so there's obviously many ways to skin a cat, as it were.
 
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I,ve used a running set up for as long as i can remember Si,and have never had many missed bites with the right balanced tackle .Also free linning a bait for chubb can be devastating night or day,a method many don,t employ at night ,something i,m leaning toward,s at the moment .I have enduced takes from chubb late at night from just tweaking the line too move the bait slightly.
 
Ultimately, I think people fish the way they enjoy, Dennis. The more you enjoy a method, the more you employ it, the better you become at it. If there was only ONE way to catch we'd all be doing it, so that's patently not the case, of course!

Three friends of mine, who've each caught an 8lb chub; one was on maggot feeder and quiver-tip, another was a touch-legered boilie. the other on a quiver-tipped halibut pellet.

I have faith in my approach, but I keep others in my armoury and use as I feel appropriate, or when the mood takes me.

One thing I will say for boilies over, say, worm, bread etc is that it takes longer for the crays to destroy them after dark (when I do most of my fishing). I find a boilie will last an hour, whereas a worm maybe 10 minutes!

That gives me more confidence, knowing there's a bait on my hook.

I'm just about to start using rubber boilies, so I'll let you know if I have any success, if anyone's interested. It's taken a little bit of preparation to get them set-up, but I think they'll do the job nicely.
 
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Must admit Simon i have to agree with you regarding bolt rigs/ semi fixed for chub..ive done better on bolt rigs but like youve said other rigs suit other peoples fishing..My own opinion regarding quiver tips over light avon tips is even with quiver tips small knocks are near impossible to hit so my own way is to try and wait for proper pulls on the tip which is why ive more confidence in bolt rigs.but as said before it all comes down to what you have confidence in..:)
 
Craig Wood said:
Must admit Simon i have to agree with you regarding bolt rigs/ semi fixed for chub..ive done better on bolt rigs but like youve said other rigs suit other peoples fishing..My own opinion regarding quiver tips over light avon tips is even with quiver tips small knocks are near impossible to hit so my own way is to try and wait for proper pulls on the tip which is why ive more confidence in bolt rigs.but as said before it all comes down to what you have confidence in..:)
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I think one of the keys to quiver-tipping for chub is, like perch, to minimise resistance. It's why I've gone down to a 1oz tip on a 1lb t.c. rod, it's not just the tip, but almost the whole top half of the rod which acts as the tip. Not to be used on windy days, though. :D

The longer you can give them with the bait in their mouth the better chance you've got of converting.

A light bobbin on a rod pointed at the bait is something I've used with success before, too, especially with worms.
 
Well, tonight's session proved a point, as it happens. One bite in 6 hours, just as I was in the middle of answering "nature's call". If I'd been on the 'tip I'd have missed it.

6lb 5 oz. :)
 
Simon King said:
Well, tonight's session proved a point, as it happens. One bite in 6 hours, just as I was in the middle of answering "nature's call". If I'd been on the 'tip I'd have missed it.

6lb 5 oz. :)
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Cathetate or decant.... or my preference, wait until I need to recast.:)

Nice fish:), about 20" long and as broad as a carp?
 
Colin Gordon said:
Cathetate or decant.... or my preference, wait until I need to recast.:)

I won't go into it, but waiting that long's not an option. I'm not Tex Avery:D

Nice fish:), about 20" long and as broad as a carp?


Yes, it was a big broad fish. Packed up at 10.30 and saw one mooching along the margin under my rod-tips feeding merrily away. Cold? What Cold? :cool:
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I agree that if using quiver tip or touch ledgering that it is obviously important to minimise resistance. What about using back leads to pin the line down? If using back leads, even the clip-on ones when fishing free running rigs wouldn't they have the potential to provide more resistance?:confused: When I say this I'm thinking of the way they change the angle of the line to the tip/quiver i.e if you think about it the angle from the tip to the back lead will be more acute than if one wasn't used. So when a fish picks up the bait instead of pulling the line and therefore the tip, it is feeling the resistance of the back lead before the resistance of the tip (I hope this makes sense :confused:) .I do prefer free-running rigs, especially when using paste but With this in mind I have only used back leads with semi-fixed rigs and is one of my main concerns with the free-running rig. Does anyone else use back leads with free running rigs or have an opinion on my concerns?

This must be one of the best threads around for Chub I think, great to hear other people's ideas. Keep it up :D
 
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Simon King said:
No, it defeats the object. Use a longer hooklink instead if you're worried about fish spooking off the line.
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Have to agree with Simon about defeating the object.

I work on the principle that free lining is probably the ideal/ most effective approach, so any added complexity and/or weight (resistance) should be driven by circumstance rather than choice.

Each to their own though, obviously Simon differs as he prefers to use bolt-rig tactics. As with any sort of fishing, it's often as much about having confidence in your approach as anything else.
 
I've been lucky enough to catch a few recently to 4:14 using only a single swan shot about 2ft from a size 10 loaded with red maggots....this has been fished alongside a bolt rig set up which is now retired as the hook up ratio was so poor in comparison to the light weight rig rod.


Paul
 
Managed a few chub today in a bitterly cold wind. Then the heavens opened. Started off trotting, but this proved tricky with an upstream crosswind. Perhaps a waggler would have been a better choice of float. However swapped to feeder, 3 maggots on an 18 Guru hook. Steady action taking 8 pristine chub to 5lb 1oz and a bonus 7lb barbel. Most enjoyable despite the weather. Good to be out again on the banks.
 
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