With the Pike fishing so slow on the Fenland drains this winter my brother and I decided to do some Chub fishing instead, something we hadn't done since we were kids. The Chub is a perfect winter target as they always seem to be up for a feed even in the coldest conditions and boy did we have some cold conditions this winter! The first couple of trips on our local stretch of River was a bit of a learning curve as we tried several different baits including maggots, bread, cheese paste and lobworms. Adam did manage a lovely Chub on our first trip of 2lb 6oz caught on the trusty lobworms in Baltic conditions but I had yet to get a nibble on the cheese paste.
So we were more prepared for the next trip we decided to get properly set up and first spooled up with some fresh Matrix 10lb Horizon mono mainline and Matrix Power Micron in 5.5lb for hooklengths. This was set up using some simple run rings and beads from Drennan, with a 2 foot hook length tied to a size 8 Drennan Wide Gape Specialist hook. To keep things simple and avoid confusion we took only one bait with us - Dynamites Frenzied Luncheon meat in Garlic flavour.
Another great part of Chub fishing was how effective short sessions of just a few hours could be which is why we decided to go after work and make the most of it. Arriving at 3:30pm we would be able to fish until after dark armed with some night lights in a night light adapter. Dropping into our first swim of choice we soon had a lovely piece of garlic luncheon meat anchored over to the far bank with a half ounce bomb on to just hold bottom in the gentle flow.
Within minutes I had a lovely bite with the line going totally slack so with a good strike I was into what felt like a half decent Chub and I wasn't disappointed as she looked in great condition when she rolled into the net. Fat as anything and 3lb 12oz on the scales, a very pleasing start indeed. With nothing else occurring in the swim we moved further down stream to try a few more areas where we caught several more as the light faded into the darkness to just under 3lb. After we had had enough of squinting at the starlights in the pitch black we decided to call it a day after a successful evenings angling, keen to return again for some more action before the season ends!
If you'd like to see in depth how we set up for our Chub session and how we got on then check out the video on Youtube below and don't forget to leave us a comment and subscribe.
