“As we get later into summer the chub on the small and intimate rivers I fish, such as the Wensum, become increasingly spookier and more difficult to catch.
“The rivers at this time of year are often low and weedy, so roving with lures, my standard chub fishing approach, becomes harder and harder.
“Something I have been messing around with for the past few seasons, however, is ditching the lure rod for a light fly outfit. The fly gives me the chance to be far more delicate in my approach and gently drop a tempting offering in the chub’s path. I’m still roving the river, often keeping the fly above the water. Then, when I see one out searching for food, I drop it 6ins in front of the fish and they usually can’t resist taking it.
“Through careful observation over many seasons, I’ve seen that the plop of a lure, or lead for that matter, can often be enough to spook the fish. The fly gives a far less intimidating and more natural sound when it hits the surface, often flushing the chub from cover as they come to investigate the morsel that may have just dropped into the flow.
“For tackle, I use a 4-6 weight fly rod and a basic floating fly line with a long leader of around 15ft. Depending on the situation, I tie it with either a tapered 15lb line or 6lb fluorocarbon. It’s important to keep the fly line landing behind the fish to avoid scaring them.
“I did start my fly fishing for chub using standard trout beetle patterns, but I found the chub were actually ignoring them or simply not finding them. After a bit of experimentation, I’ve managed to stumble on a fly which is just the right weight, and sounds spot-on. I tie these in a beetle pattern with silicon legs, using size 2 to 10 long shank carp hooks.
“Once fishing, it’s not like chasing trout. You start by slapping the fly quite hard onto the surface. This noise is enough to pull the fish from any cover as they look for the culprit – then, when you drop the fly back in, you can land it in front of the one you want. They can’t find a fly by smell, it’s all a vision and sound thing.
“Already this season switching to the fly from lures has caught me some cracking chub to 5lb, but I’ve had them to 6lb 10oz on this method in the past. Give it a go – it’s so exciting, and will help you keep catching those wary fish when the conditions get tough.”
