Chub Fishing In Winter

This entry was posted on 14th January, 2015

Chub Fishing In Winter

It was a cold rainy December afternoon around 4.00, the working week was all but over and thoughts had slowly began to drift towards the weekend, to the weekends fishing plans. A few idea’s were floating around for the Saturday fishing trip, big Roach on the feeder, commercial carp on the pole and even pike fishing from a boat were all idea’s brought to the fore.

Due to commitments Saturday afternoon it meant we would only have around four hours fishing time, so the idea’s above sounded great but probably weren’t realistic. We were almost at the point of knocking the whole fishing idea on the head when old friend and local specimen ace Justin Grapes spoke the words ‘Chub’! We hadn’t even given this species a thought, they had been completely neglected from our plans, even though we have some great spots on the river Wensum to catch them and even though they will feed in the harshest of cold conditions! For a few hours fishing in winter they are the perfect quarry.

So the plan was hatched, we would be down the river for 7.30 and away by 11.30, perfect! Justin had even agreed to meet us down there and show us how it was done!

The chosen stretch was an area known as the bridge stretch, on the river Wensum in Lenwade, an area we hadn’t fished before but were very familiar with.
The alarm sounded the next day around 6.30, the small amount of tackle required was loaded in the car and we were on our way. Of course, like normal a hearty anglers breakfast was required, for anyone who’s followed our angling adventures will know how we love a good breakfast! This time a quick pit stop at the local garage was suffice, a large bacon roll (lived up to its name, 8 slices of bacon and plenty of Tommy K!) and a strong coffee set us up perfectly for the morning session.



As we pulled in the car park at the bridge Justin was already there, ready and raring to go, however before we set off on the short walk to the river we had a quick look through the tackle and bait. There was nothing complicated with the set up at all, an avon rod with a quivertip and a fixed spool reel loaded with 8lb mono. On the business end was a simple running ledger setup, the lead was a 2oz korda grippa , the hooklength was a short length of fluorocarbon, tied into a hair rig, with a size 10 korda wide gape hook to finish it off. The bait was simple, Dynamite baits Source Boilies in 10mm were the selected hookbait, matched with the Dynamite baits Source paste to wrap them in.



As we reached the river we were expecting the water to be high, fast flowing and chocolate coloured and it didn’t disappoint! A week of heavy rain meant the river was fit to burst, not ideal conditions for fishing, but we were still confident of taming a Chub or two!

The plan was to fish at the far end of the stretch and gradually work our way back to the start, hopping from swim to swim, giving each one around 15-30 minutes. On the walk up to the end of the stretch we stopped in each likely looking swim and pre-baited with a handful of the source boiles and a few pinches of paste. We didn’t deposit many baits, but around a dozen, just to get a bit of smell In the water and to get any Chub rooting around looking for the free offerings.

As we reached the final swim on the stretch we were conscious not to make too much noise and to set up well back from the waters edge. Even though the water was very coloured we didn’t want to risk spooking any Chub that may have been feeding close in amongst the tree roots or the undercut bank. On the baiting needle went two source boilies, these were then wrapped in a decent pinch of Source paste, with an added extra pinch of paste moulded into the hole in the lead.

The swim looked very appealing, with two or three spots looking perfect Chub territory, we agreed to drop the Source hookbait in each of the area’s for around 10 minutes, if we didn’t get any indications of fish we’d then move back up the river to the next swim.



We fished the swim for the allotted time we had allowed, but unfortunately no sign of fish, Justin who had set up just upstream from us was also fish-less, only declaring a couple of small rattles on his quivertip. It was agreed we’d move back up towards the some of the pre-baited swims as by now they’d had time to settle, we dropped in and fished a few of them, but like the first they didn’t produce.

After fishing around four or five different swims without a fish enthusiasm started to waver, the tip remaining motionless other than for the odd piece of floodwater rubbish washing through and snagging the line.

As we dropped the gear into around the sixth swim a fresh pair of Source boilies were added to the hair rig and once again wrapped in paste, this was then cast around ten yards out, as a small flick saw it plop nicely under the branches of a close in overhanging tree.



Once again the tip sat there motionless and thoughts started to drift towards the afternoons football and a pint with the lads, when all of a sudden a sharp pluck on the tip brought my thoughts back down to the fishing. With concentration fully restored, one hand hovered over the rod as I could just sense something was about to happen, and happen it did as it couldn’t have been much longer than 60 seconds after the initial pluck that the rod tip hooped over.

The connection was instant, the fish using all of its muscle, as well as the fast heavy flow to get back into the sanctuary of the tree roots, the avon rod was well bent over, but the strong backbone managed to turn its head and get it back into the open water. Once in the safety of the main river it was just a case of letting the fish tire out, there was a few heart in mouth moments as the fish was caught side on in the current, but with steady pressure and careful maneouvering the fish was soon being eased over the lip of our landing net. As the golden flanks of a nice Chub were secured safely in the net, a joyous punch of the air signified it was a case of job done! A real rewarding capture on what had been looking like a certain blank day, we didn’t bother to weigh the fish but it must have been around the 5lb mark.



After a couple of trophy shots for the album we had one last look at the fish before slipping it back to its watery home, full of confidence we fished hard in another couple of swims but didn’t produce another bite, but it didn’t matter as on a tough morning it was a case of mission accomplished! To top a great morning, the afternoon was wasn’t bad either, as the mighty Norwich City won! Happy Days! A pint in the evening saw us reliving the days events, promising never to overlook the Chub especially when conditions are unfavourable for other species, it also saw us vowing to return to the venue for another crack at this wonderful species!

The Tackle Box Greys Prodigy TXL Twin Tip Specialist Rod Shimano Exage 4000 Reel Daiwa Sensor Mono Korum Tackle & Bait Bag Daiwa Feeder Rest Korda Big Grippa Lead Korum Quick Change Bead Korda IQ2 Extra Soft Hooklink Korda Wide Gape Size 10 Daiwa Rubber Spoon Net Daiwa 2.5m L/Net Handle

The Bait Box Dynamite Baits Source Boilies Dynamite Baits Source Pellets Dynamite Baits Source Paste Sticky Baits The Krill Paste (Alternative)