As the season is coming to a close, there is still plenty of time to get out and catch yourself some fish, and one of the most obliging species to target are chub. Not only can they be caught on a wide variety of methods, but they will be at their biggest weights of the year so you have a great chance of breaking your PB, ending the season a high!
Stay off the beaten track
Heavily pressured swims very rarely hold quality chub at this time of the year, so it is best to head off the beaten track to find a new personal best. Walking to spots that are well away from car parks and access areas is often the best way to find these elusive lumps. Big chub can be quite solitary so it is worth dropping into a likely-looking swim for 20 minutes with a big bait like worms, boilies or meat without any loosefeed to try and grab a bite! If no bites are had, move on!
THE BEST CHUB RODS ARE IDEAL FOR LANDING LATE SEASON MONSTERS.
Short sessions
You don't need load of time to catch chub at the back end of the season and often, sneaking down in the evening for an hour is a great time to fish. Not only will the light levels be dropping to help encourage the fish to feed, hopefully some warmer sunshine will have helped lift the water temperatures slightly, which can also help stimulate them to feed. If you can get away with it, fishing into the first hour of darkness can often be the best time to bag a big fish.
IF YOU DON'T FISH RIVERS OFTEN, HERE IS A GREAT BEGINNERS GUIDE TO HELP YOU!
Margins in floodwater
Unfortunately, very often the last few weeks of the season sees a lot of floodwater on the rivers. Many anglers think that barbel are the only species that will feed well in a flood, but chub will too as long as you find where they are sat. More often than not, it will be out of the main flow, right in the edge. Use a smelly bait, such as cheesepaste, and drop your bait into any calm looking areas out of the flow. Slacks behind bushes and other flow-deflecting bits of flora are absolute bankers in such conditions.
HAVEN'T MADE A CHEESEPASTE BEFORE? HERE IS HOW TO MAKE A GREAT ONE!
Break out the float rod
Trotting maggots and chub go hand in hand. It is one of the most enjoyable and successful ways of catching a few fish, and as long as you can present a bait well in the conditions, you are onto a winner. Make sure you take plenty of maggots with you, at least four pints is generally the minimum amount you need, as often you will have tofeed continuously for a good hour or two before the chub gain confidence. If you don't feed enough they may not be interested or worse, you run out of bait as they start feeding!
Avoid falling into the trap of feeding down the middle and going through the motions like everyone else. Aim to trot your float along the far side vegetation and along snaggy tree-lines where the chub live. Don't be afraid of loosing a couple of hook links in the branches or using a big float to control your hookbait.
USING ONE OF THE BEST FLOAT RODS WILL HELP YOU GUIDE YOUR FLOAT THROUGH PERFECTLY!
Try a bolt rig
As chub may have been caught previously in the season, they naturally become wary and sometimes the little taps you get on your lighter setups are fish getting away with it. This time of year it is best to try a bolt rig combining a feeder with a very short hooklink that gives the fish little to no time to react before getting hooked. If you only get one or two bites, make them count!
TRY THE ADJUSTABLE BOLT RIG TO HELP YOU LAND MORE CHUB THIS SEASON!
