It has been a great season for chub so far, with bigger fish than are usually caught in the summer months being landed consistently. James Buckley was one such angler who got among the specimens when he banked a 7lb 2oz chub while fishing on the Hampshire Avon.
James has been trying to catch a barbel from the river since the season opened, but with tough conditions and not many barbel present in that particular stretch, the fishing hasn't been easy. He wasn't complaining on his most recent session however, as the barbel he was targeting turned out to be an enormous chub instead.
"I have been trying this year for a Hampshire Avon barbel, but it has proven very difficult. I know the stretch I am fishing has very few fish in it and gets very little angling pressure, but the fish are extremely spooky of any bait. With so much weed, it is near impossible to find them," James explained to us.
James had a change of tactics for this session, choosing to be stealthy, with light baiting and rigs to make everything appear natural, in the hope of tripping up one of these very wary fish.
"I decided to sneak into little clear patches under trees and small holes in the weed, giving each swim plenty of time. Half a boilie on a hair, just 2 SSG shot on the line, a light 1 1/2lb Avon rod with my trusty centrepin, and a very small scattering of baits over the top," he added.
"The way I love to fish, by touch ledgering or rolling, is not very selective. Anything can pick that bait up and make my old Hardy centrepin scream."
"When the line tightened up in my fingers today and I stuck into a solid fish, my heart did drop, thinking I might have finally hooked a barbel," exclaimed James.
"The fish went straight into the weed, as I expected it would. Some hard pressure on the fish, and up into the net it went before any real drama occurred."
"Only then did I see how huge this chub was. Scales out, set to zero, and up she went... the needle went right around to 7lb 2oz."
"I was a bit taken aback by it. I have caught lots of 5s and even a 6 on this stretch, but they have all been in autumn and winter. So to see a summer chub at 7.2lb is crazy, and just imagine what that fish could weigh come October," he said.
CHUB ARE GREAT FISH TO TARGET ALL YEAR ROUND, MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT THE BEST RODS FOR CHUB FISHING.
