Turning To

With the prolonged cold spells and sudden downpours, Duncan Charman
had to re-evaluate his winter perching agenda and scrap it in favour of
chub. Follow his advice and you can catch your share of old rubber lips!

t long last and for the

first time in years we are
experiencing some settled
winter weather, just like the
ones l remember as a child, with clear
blue skies giving way to ground frosts
that form almost every morning.
The lakes are frozen and a chilling northeasterly wind constantly rips across the
countryside, numbing fingers and toes.
This is the sort of winter an all-rounder
welcomes as grayling, chub, roach,
perch and pike acclimatise and feed
freely, albeit for short periods each day.
If a warm front does move in then its
simply a case of grabbing the barbel kit
and timing your arrival with a rising river.
However, somethings wrong.
During this settled dry spell, our
rivers should be low and clear, but
they are not, they are racing through,
high and with a tinge of colour.
The problem weve got is that the
ground is saturated from the wet summer
and autumn, and every week we seem
to see a very brief wet spell cross the

country, depositing more extremely cold

rain into the rivers, killing sport instantly.
As quickly as this wet spell arrives,
it disappears and we are back to the
cold nights. Its an extremely difficult
and frustrating time, and after turning
up at numerous different rivers, with
the aim of targeting perch, Ive finally
decided to ditch that plan and turn
my attention to chub, a species that
seems to adapt far quicker than others
to fluctuating weather systems.

Choosing The Right Venue

Back in the autumn l set myself
two targets. The first was to beat
my perch best of 4lb 9oz and the
other was to catch a 7lb chub.
Both targets, although difficult, are
far from impossible, as nowadays
plenty of waters are turning up both
species beyond these weights.
Everyone makes mistakes and
due to the adverse weather weve
had I realised I had made one in
targeting perch before the chub.

The second mistake I made was simply

not keeping my options open. No, stupid
old me had decided both fish would
come from the same venue, leaving no
back-up plan if the river was unfishable.
The venue l chose was the mighty
Thames but unfortunately for me, it
has been racing through for weeks.
Every brief downpour sends an
influx into its many tributaries and
eventually over a period of time
this pushes on into the Thames.
This only contributes to its pace,
making perch fishing from a small
boat almost impossible.
No fish is worth risking your life for
and although l have managed to launch
my small Bic two-metre boat twice on
the tidal stretch at Teddington, once
afloat it has soon become apparent
that the volume of water is just too
great for any fish to feed confidently.
Ive finally made the decision not to
return until the river is running again
at a more sedate pace, so those
perch and chub will have to wait.
February 2009 |Coarse Fisherman

|55

CFChub
I decided against this
option as it would have felt
as though I were edging
my bets and not focusing
specifically on chub. Bread
has to be one, if not the
all-time best chub bait, so
this was to be my main
tactic on the Kennet, with
cheesepaste coming into
its own on the Stour after
dark. Maggots and lobworms
would also feature in my
bait selection but only if
the main two failed.

A cracking 5lb 15oz

With chub now taking priority, l

chub taken after dark
on my barbel kit.
had to look elsewhere. The last
thing l wanted to do was get
caught in the same predicament
as before, so l needed to find
at least two rivers that had the
potential to supply the goods.
They also needed to be far
enough apart not to react
exactly the same after any
rain. One also needed to be
close, so if an opportunity to
put in a few hours did present
itself, then l could be on the
bank fairly quickly. The Dorset
Stour has always been a river that had
Traditional Tactics and Bait
been on my hit list, so who better to ask
I have to admit that Ive never spent
than Chris Holly, a local guide whose
any serious time targeting chub,
knowledge on Throop is second to none.
but during my efforts barbel fishing
Chris has been extremely helpful,
Ive been lucky to catch plenty
going out of his way to forward as
of them to a best of 6lb 9oz.
much information as possible, including
This specimen was actually taken
location and tactics. He also lives
during a session specifically designed
close to the river, so all I ever needed
with barbel in mind and, after watching
to do was make a quick phone call to
the odd big chub drift into my swim and
know what state the river was in.
get away with my somewhat crude rigs,
With all that knowledge gleaned, it
l finally decided to fine things down.
was time to send off for a Ringwood &
By scaling down, l managed to take
DAA ticket. I did this knowing it could
the largest fish out of four in the swim
take a few weeks to process, and yet
- but only after understanding just
I still needed somewhere I could fish
how they wanted the bait presented.
immediately.
And it really was an eye-opener.
It would have been so easy
to fine-tune my barbel rigs and
Burghfield Ahoy!
offer either pellets or boilies.
Earlier in the year l had taken a look
at a Cemex stretch of the Kennet at
Burghfield for its roach. After asking
around, word reached me that the chub
on this stretch were well worth targeting.
Knowing the stretch from the odd
session over the past few years and
having already taken chub to well
over 5lb from it, it seemed the perfect
combination with the Stour.
The Stour holds far more 7lb chub than
the Kennet and although Burghfield does
produce the odd fish in excess of my
desired weight each season, the chances
of actually catching one are quite slim.
Nonetheless, I knew it would prove
to be a good learning ground, where
l could fine-tune my tactics.

Downstream cover
often contains chub

Above:
Minimise resistance
by using a Korum
Running Clip. This
allows the feeder
size to be changed
easily. A Korum
Rig Sleeve creates
a boom, which
eliminates tangles
and a Buffer Bead
and Swivel completes
the components.

Bread has to be one, if not the

all-time best chub bait, so this
was to be my main tactic on
the Kennet, with cheesepaste
coming into its own on the
Stour after dark. Maggots
and lobworms would also
feature in my bait selection but
only if the main two failed.

Duncans Liquidised Bread

Overcoming
Presentation Problems
Deciding on bait was easy, although
presenting them creates an altogether
different problem. I love float-fishing
and bread lends itself to floatfishing, especially for roach.
However, when targeting just a few
big wary chub in a swim, the last thing
l wanted to do was to spook the fish
by trotting a float over their heads,
overfeed them or feed incorrectly, as
this might drag them downstream.
The answer had to be the use of a
feeder, which concentrates the loose
feed close to the bottom. Chub have
extremely big mouths so a big hook,
around a size 6 buried within a lump
of flake, isnt going to be seen.
Using the crust from the bread is
another option and my game plan
would be to cast a feeder into the
swim to deposit lots of small items of
liquidised bread.

I would then use flake as the hookbait but before leaving a swim I
would also try a piece of crust cast
further downstream, just in case the
clever chub were holding back.
This is fished on a quivertip rod,
in my case a Korum Neoteric Quiver
with a fixed spool reel. With this I
can see what is happening in the
swim. I also set up another identical
rod with a centrepin reel and both
reels were loaded with 8lb line.

Roving Around
Sitting in a swim, waiting for the fish
to arrive, isnt my style at all. Like
my barbel fishing, my aim is always
to find them and l know if a bait is
dropped in the right spot, at the right
time, it wont go unnoticed for long.
Chub are similar in as much as if
they are present, then it wont be
long before they give themselves
away. You can expect a bite from a
chub usually within the first fifteen
minutes of casting into a swim.
My intention is to keep on the
move and to maybe fish a swim for
around an hour before moving on.
By doing this you build up a picture
of the venue very quickly, which will
pay dividends on future sessions.
If a swim doesnt produce a fish
but the signs are there, then it is far
better to move on and return later in
the day when the light is fading.

ch
Dawn and dusk are easily the best times to cat
els
a fish. During these periods, the low light lev
a
often trigger fish into feeding. Therefore, it is
on the
good idea, if you want to be successful, to be
n.
water an hour each side of sunrise and sundow

Another point worth mentioning

is that although you may only
get one or two bites each day,
these will come from big fish.
Overcast days will be far more
productive than bright winter
days. Having said that, chub are
opportunists and will often grab a
big bait if presented near to them,
in the middle of a sunny day.
Spend the day searching swims,
spending just a few minutes in
each. Locate a swim that supplied
twitches and return when the light is
fading. Action can often be instant.

Features To Look For

Pastures New

Searching out every likely-looking area

on a river can only be done by moving
around. Any swim that offers some
type of cover needs investigating.
The next area that l look for will be
swims that have a nice even pace
with a good depth of water below,
around four to six feet is ideal.
Often the best swims will be well
worn but they also see far more
attention than others, with fish only
turning up and feeding confidently under
the cover of darkness, so my advice is
to try less worn areas during daylight.

Timing Your Arrival

1 Go for value brands.

Cheap bread is often the best.

2 remove if youre after roach.

56 |Coarse Fisherman |February 2009

Keep the crust on for chub but

3 enough for a days fishing.

Liquidise a loaf, more than

4 end result isnt too fine.

Liquidise just the once so the

Dawn and dusk are easily the best

times to catch a fish. During these
periods the low light levels often
trigger fish into feeding. Therefore,
it is a good idea if you want to be
successful, to be on the water an hour
each side of sunrise and sundown.

A smooth surface
indicates a clean riverbed.
February 2009 |Coarse Fisherman

|57

CFChub

Duncans Top Tips

Wrapped up, sitting

comfortably and holding
the rod.

Venue Facts

For Targeting Chub

up well. Thermal underclothes

1 Wrap
and footwear are a must in freezing
conditions.

your rod at all times as

4 Hold
you may only receive a couple
of bites throughout the day.

two casts with a feeder

down on your tackle, as too
2 Scale
5 After
and flake hook-bait, try a
much gear will deter you from moving
frequently.

3 your link leger so you just hold bottom.

Change the weight of your feeder, or

As expected the tip rattled and

pulled round. The strike was met
with solid resistance and knowing
that there was a sunken tree just
yards downstream, it was a case
of hit and hold. But then disaster
struck, with the hook pulling out
five seconds later.

One-Nil To Mr Chub
A couple of casts with the feeder and
breadflake produced nothing, not a
sniff. The next cast l hooked a piece
of crust to the hook and dropped it
further downstream.
This was my banker swim and as
expected the tip rattled and pulled round.
The strike was met with solid resistance
and knowing that there was a sunken tree
just yards downstream, it was a case of
hit and hold. But then disaster struck, with
the hook pulling out five seconds later.
58 |Coarse Fisherman |February 2009

Knowing that chances were going to

be few and far between, l felt gutted,
as l knew it was a very big chub.
As predicted, a chilly northerly
wind had sprung up, creating a wind
chill that felt well below freezing.
Undeterred, l dropped into a further
eight swims but shortly after
darkness and after not witnessing
any more signs, l called it a day.
Reliving that lost fish as l walked
back to the car was painful as l
knew that fish was a right lump, one
that would have made the day.

Back For More

Returning a couple of days later after
an overnight temperature of minus
5 Celsius, I was greeted with a river
looking in far better nick. The pace had
slowed, as had the colour and l was
confident that the chub would be active.
Dropping into where l lost that fish
earlier in the week, l tried the feeder.
Two casts were made before switching
to the crust and a repeat performance
followed, with a bite and a hooked fish.
However, the fight indicated a far
smaller specimen. At 3lbs 11oz, l
was well happy though, and knew
more would follow if l continued
to search out different areas.

With my rigs, rods, bait and venues

sorted, it was once again time to venture
out, into the cold, knowing that l was
targeting a species that should oblige
even in the cruellest of conditions.
Scraping the ice from the car
windows, it was going to be a
typical cold-water chub session.
Leaving home well before daybreak,
the temperature gauge read a dismal
minus one degree Celsius, so having
to add extra time for the journey,
l headed off into the darkness.
Forty minutes later l was crunching
through the icy puddles along the track
next to a frozen Burghfield Lake.
I was not sure what state the river
was going to be in, but it was the same
old story, the Kennet flying through
and looking the colour of weak tea.
I headed towards a deep swim where
the main flow had been pushed to the
far bank, which created some smoother
water close in. The swim also contained
some cover below and l hoped a
chub or two might be under there.
Searching out a stretch of river means
spending around an hour in each swim.
Unfortunately, this first swim failed to
produce a bite, so l dropped downstream
into another that looked similar.

A section that screamed chub failed

to produce so l dropped a bait under an
overhanging tree that had lots of debris
caught up in its trailing branches.
The great advantage of using a link
leger or a weight that just holds bottom
is that you can cast it out and hold it
on the surface, allowing the current
to pull it around, finally dropping it
in areas that would be impossible to
target with a heavy lead or feeder.
It wasnt long before the centrepin
screamed and another chub,
slightly smaller than the first, was
in the net, having been unable to
resist a piece of breadflake.
The next swim down produced knocks
under a similar feature but l suspected
roach to be the culprits, as the twitches
failed to deliver a positive bite.
Another swim below this feature
also looked promising and as soon
as the bait hit bottom the tip pulled
round and my third chub, another
three-pounder, was netted.
I remained confident I would catch
others but a couple of other anglers
arrived and were also roving around
the middle reaches, so l headed off
downstream to try new swims.
Although no further chub were
caught, l did manage some indications
in a couple of areas and made a
mental note for future visits.
On a day when l know anglers fishing
pellets and boilies would have almost
certainly blanked, Id gone back to more
traditional methods, moved about on
a freezing day and managed to catch
three splendid chub on good old bread.
So the message is loud and clear:
Dont let the weather get to you,
grab a loaf, dress sensibly for the
weather conditions and believe in
the power of bread - it will often
score when all else fails. CF

The great advantage of using a link

leger or a weight that just holds bottom
is that you can cast it out and hold it
on the surface, allowing the current
to pull it around, finally dropping it
in areas that would be impossible to
target with a heavy lead or feeder.

Out On The Bank

small piece of crust slightly

further downstream.

River Kennet, (Group Venues),

Cottage Lane, Burghfield, Nr Reading, Berks RG30 3UW
This section of the Kennet at Burghfield is probably one of the best on
the entire river, with its variety of features. It has a large weirpool at
the upstream end with gravelly shallows directly below and then a deep
slow middle section, ending with a slightly smaller weirpool.
Huge barbel over 15lb and enormous chub to over 7lb dominate this
venue. Good river carp and pike also thrive here and with all other river
species present, it makes a great mixed fishery.

Permits valid from 16th June - 14th March - 2 Rod limit

Fishing is permitted from one hour before sunrise to 90 minutes after
sunset. (Sunrise and sunset times listed within guidebook). For more
pricing information please visit the website below.
Call CEMEX Angling on 01932 583630
Email info@cemexangling.com
or visit their website www.cemexangling.com

Other Cemex specimen chub venues worth checking out Fishers Green chub to 8lb 2oz
River Wey chub to 6lb 2oz
St Patricks Stream chub to 6lb 10oz

February 2009 |Coarse Fisherman

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