How to catch chub in winter | Overview of fishing methods

Where to look for chub

In winter, chub usually gather in small schools. Medium-sized chubs are found at a depth of about 4 meters , large individuals prefer deeper places.

The diagram above shows a diagram of a chub standing in a place next to open water (a ravine) - a dangerous place for walking, which is enriched with oxygen. Fish loves such places, so they come close to them. It is not recommended for a person on ice to come close to the edge of the ice, so you need to be careful and choose a safe fishing area .

The chub chooses its winter stopping place quite carefully, preferring to settle in shallow rivers with moderate currents. Often this is a deep hole in the coastal zone or a steep, steep bank.

In search of food, the chub goes to nearby shallows and spits.

Fish often hunt near washed-out shores, in areas littered with snags and driftwood.

On rivers, chub can be caught almost all year round, but on reservoirs only during the period of ice formation and in early spring. In summer, its bite decreases significantly.

Where are chub found in winter?

Chub is a fish belonging to the Carp family. Found in freshwater bodies of water (rivers, lakes). In winter, it prefers to stay on shallows with a sandy or rocky bottom. It can also be found in places with thick snags and large accumulations of silt and algae. In such places, fish feed on various invertebrate organisms, crustaceans and other inhabitants of the reservoir.

Winter fishing conditions

Active biting will begin no earlier than sunrise. A particularly good catch can be on a calm, fine day, when the sun begins to warm the ground and the chub becomes active. A good bite continues almost all daylight hours.

The biggest catch in winter can be obtained during the first and last ice , when the fish are very energetic and active. In the middle of winter, you shouldn’t hope for an active bite of large fish, but small fish may well get hooked.

Chub bite all winter and only in February the bite practically stops.

Clear, warm weather without strong winds also contributes to a good catch.

Tackle for catching chub on ice in winter

Many fishermen look forward to the arrival of winter and enjoy spending their free time fishing.

Near riffles they use a float or a fishing rod with a nod. In shallow reservoirs up to 2.5 meters deep, chubs are caught using devils. During thaws, a balancer is often used. In open areas of rivers, winter fly fishing will provide a good catch. On a river with a strong current, it is better to use a jig or a jig as tackle.

For fishing in open, ice-free bodies of water, experienced fishermen use a fishing rod, spinning rod or donka. For ice fishing - a jig without a nozzle or with a decoy bloodworm.

Winter fishing rod

Jigs, spoons, and balancers are the main winter baits for vertical fishing, which will bring a rich catch of chub in December.

An excellent video that well illustrates catching chub on the river in the early winter hours using a winter fishing rod and jig. This video material well describes the depths and approach to catching chub on the Oka.

Fishing with a jig

One of the common winter gear is the jig. To fish with a jig you will need:

• fishing line with a diameter of 0.14‒0.17 mm;
• pellet 6‒8 mm;
• hook No. 5‒6;
• white cambric;
• It is better to choose a jig with a natural steel color.

You should not take a very thick fishing line, as this will scare away the chub (cautious fish). You can put colored cambric .

The following types of jig attract chub:

• ant;
• Uralka;
• pellet;
• oatmeal;
• droplet.

Most often, of all the above-mentioned jigs, shot is used in February and March. The weight of the jig depends on the strength of the river current. If the jig can reach the bottom, then the weight of the jig is selected correctly.

Chub are caught on a fishing rod with a jig, playing along with bait. They start from the very bottom and, with slow oscillatory movements, lift the jig up 30-40 cm with short pauses. You can also attract fish by making several sharp movements up and down, simultaneously raising turbidity from the bottom of the reservoir.

See jig fishing techniques. This video reflects inactive fishing, which is why the angler is so inactively shaking the nod of the fishing rod . However, this leads to frequent bites, thanks to the right approach to attracting fish.

Lure fishing

It is best to catch chub using a spoon on the first and last ice. For this you will need small light-colored spoons up to 4 cm long. On fast rivers it is better to use gliding type spoons, and for reservoirs with weak currents a diving spoon is suitable.

To attract the attention of the chub, make sharp movements with the rod from the bottom to a height of up to 30 cm upward, maintaining a short pause between jerks.

Chub wintering areas

Ice fishing for chub will be most effective and exciting if a promising location is correctly identified. Considering that it is not easy to find it in winter, be prepared for active movements. Basically, large specimens live in groups in areas with anomalous bottom topography, where the current is moderate. You can also find small fish here.

For successful chub fishing on the first and last ice, it’s worth exploring:

• hills;
• underwater holes;
• dumps;
• eyebrows;
• hard-to-reach places with an abundance of snags and tree debris;
• recesses up to 8 meters.

Catching chub in winter with a jig will be productive if we consider the horizons near the bottom as working places. Small individuals are found in any layer of water. To find promising points, you should use the method of fishing holes. You should not linger on each for more than 10 minutes; switch to the next one. In addition to chub, you can also catch perch and trophy bream.

To increase the chances of catching, it is necessary to drill holes at a distance of 5–6 m from each other. It is better to arrange them in a checkerboard pattern. The chub is a cautious fish, so having caught it in one hole, you shouldn’t expect to be able to pull it out again, you need to move on to the next one.

Among the favorite habitats of the chub in winter are ice-free rivers. It's easy to catch it up close:

• washed away banks;
• snowy terrain;
• areas with an abundance of underwater vegetation.

Hunting chub in the cold season at a depth of up to 1 meter is ineffective. It is optimal to choose deeper parts of the reservoir, where the probability of catching large specimens is much higher. You can catch chub in winter in strong currents, as well as in river eddies. He often chooses such places for his hiding place.

This representative of the carp family is also found in deep-water rivers, near rocky, steep banks, where there is a reverse current. This is where trophy specimens are most often found. Considering that the water temperature in winter is not constant, fish can change their habitats, looking for more comfortable conditions.

On small rivers, chub is caught quite actively in winter, especially on first ice and in mid-March, when there is a thaw. It’s better to go hunting after 10 a.m.; bites can be present throughout the day. The fish feeds quite actively and responds well to the offered bait.

Catching chub on girders

Fishing with girders takes place in sections of the river with high currents. The chub is a very suspicious fish, so often, when it hears a noise or feels a hook, it releases the bait, so it is important that it is not noticeable in the water.

For this gear you will need:

• hard foam reel with soft stroke;
• monofilament line 0.25 mm thick;
• hook No. 5.

On rivers with strong currents, girders are used. In this case, a heavy sinker is placed on the bottom, and a float hidden under the ice is used as a signaling device. However, this fishing method is used much more often when fishing for pike.

Fishing on ice-free small rivers

On rivers that don’t freeze in winter, it is quite possible to catch chub with ordinary summer gear: a spinning rod and a float rod. In order for fishing to be effective, the river should not freeze throughout the winter, and the water temperature should not drop below 5-8 degrees. This situation is observed in small rivers into which warm water is discharged by various enterprises.

Of course, it is not recommended to eat fish caught in such conditions; you never know what ends up in the river with the discharged waters. But we are interested, first of all, in fishing and fighting strong and stubborn chub.

So where is the best place to fish? We choose places close to the rifts, with pronounced edges. But unlike in summer, it is desirable that the depth of the place be more than a meter; in shallow water, vegetation dies off in winter, depriving the predator of natural shelters.

Promising places are steep banks, where current streams come close to the water's edge. It’s not bad if there is a return line along the cliff - here the concentration of fish is highest.

The lower the air temperature, the deeper the chub stands!

Spinning fishing

A rod for catching chub in winter is chosen similarly to a summer spinning rod:

• light dough – 3-15 grams;
• length 6-7 feet;
• build – medium-fast;
• "warm" handle.

It is desirable that the rod has a safety margin in the sense of lifting caught fish to a high bank. But even a half-kilogram chub can break the form when rising.

For comfortable fishing in winter with a spinning rod, special cords that do not absorb water are desirable. But they are too expensive, so to save money, it is fashionable to use a regular cord and silicone impregnation or even switch to nylon fishing line. The thickness of the fishing line is selected depending on the test indicated on the rod. In no case should you exceed it, as this may result in the form being damaged.

Of the baits, various wobblers work best for chub in winter; mostly spinning anglers use fat fatties like chabiks.

For reference! The name of the series of wobblers is from, translated as chub!

Where the current is calmer, flat-bodied shad and even deep minnows work successfully. The gentle current allows you to twitch successfully.

The general rule for using baits is that they should be deeper than in summer, because the chub stands in lower horizons in winter and does not collect food from the surface.

Rotating and oscillating spoons can also be tried in winter spinning rods; sometimes it is the lures that shoot.

On the fishing rod

To catch chub on non-freezing rivers, you can successfully use both a feeder and a float summer fishing rod. The difference from the summer options is minimal. The main thing is not to let the line freeze in the cold.

The power parameters of the equipment are also small; a 0.14 mm cord or a 0.18 mm monofilament line is sufficient. Leads are used approximately 0.02 mm thinner.

The following is used as bait on the hook:

• worms;
• a bunch of bloodworms;
• bloodworm sandwiches with maggots;
• canned corn.

Separately, it is necessary to say about fishing with the liver, to which the chub is especially partial. This offal is cut into small pieces up to 1 cm and placed on a hook. Since the juices are washed out quickly in the current, you need to re-cast the tackle more often, changing the bait.

On a note! The experience of using lung instead of liver is interesting; its pieces hold more firmly on the hook and ooze blood no less intensely.

Open water fishing gear

Open water fishing will be successful on warm days when the water warms up under scant sunlight. To do this, it is better to choose small rivers connecting to a large deep river. Mass entry of chub into small rivers begins at the moment the rivers enter the banks. The chub not only looks for food here, but also chooses a place for spawning.

For fishing you will need:

• light rod with medium action and flexible whip;
• coil;
• fishing line with a tensile strength of 3 kg;
• swivel;
• leash made of fluorocarbon fishing line 8 cm long;
• a sinker whose weight depends on the speed of the current.

A swivel or ring is put on the cord, and a side wire with one or more weights is attached. Hook No. 6 is attached to the end of the main line. For bait, you can use any bait: worm, dung beetle, bloodworm, pieces of lard, bark beetle, maggots.

Float rod on small rivers

On the ice, an ordinary winter float rod with a variety of baits is used to catch chub. It is better to choose a nod from lavsan, as it has proven itself to be resistant to temperature changes. Next is a video with a visual process of catching chub on a small river with a winter fishing rod. Pay attention to the game of nodding and hooking the chub.

This fishing rod will require the following equipment:

• transparent fishing line with a diameter of 0.18 mm;
• sliding pellet;
• olive type sinker;
• leash 0.14 mm in diameter;
• hook number 4.

Usually two or three fishing rods are used simultaneously, placing them in a row across the river flow. A wobbler or worm-type silicone twisters are used as bait.

Two ways to fish from ice

Catching chub on ice can be done using two types of winter bait - a jig and a spinner.

For the spinner

Fishing for chub requires the selection of small spinners of a white or silver shade, no more than 4 cm in length; when fishing for fish in the current, it is most appropriate to choose gliding spinners that help provoke and provoke the chub to bite. The lure mechanism is simple: after jerking the fishing rod, the lure should jump 0.3 meters in the water and sharply return to its previous position. You must wait two seconds after the jerk.

On the jig

Catchers for chub - ant, bug, uralka
The choice of fishing line diameter should be no more than 0.17 mm; a thicker fishing line reduces the frequency of bites by the distrustful chub.

Used: uralka jigs, ant, oatmeal, shot, cone, droplet. But more often it bites on a classic shot with a diameter of 6–8 mm, with meat bait such as bark beetle, maggot, bloodworm on hook No. 5-6. To make jigs more attractive, yellow and white cambrics no larger than 3 mm are attached, the color of the bait itself or a natural metallic shade or black.

The game with the jig begins at the base of the bottom and with repeated swaying movements, pull the jig 0.3 meters above the bottom. If the fish is not interested, make a sharp swing of the jig down and up and repeat the game.

Catching chub with a spinning rod

For spinning fishing, you need to choose ice-free areas of rivers, lakes and ponds so that you can calmly approach the water and bring the fish ashore. Warm sunny days with prolonged thaws contribute to a rich catch.

To do this you will need:

• a spinning rod that can withstand negative temperatures with good rings in lightweight frames, no more than two meters long;
• spinning reel;
• It is better to use cords with anti-freeze impregnation.

You can use silicone twisters and spinners as bait. In general, catching chub with a spinning rod in winter is no different from summer. So there are no specific recommendations here, except, of course, it is better to choose regular hours for fishing (dawns, at sunrise and sunset).

The best spinning lures for chub:

Mepps Aglia Comet Mepps Aglia Mepps Aglia TW

It's no secret that Mepps spinners are very effective and have long proven themselves to be the leading baits when catching many predatory fish using a spinning rod!

Bait for chub in winter

For fishing on a float or feeder without the use of live bait or with them, complementary foods play an important function in attracting fish.

Use bait that helps hold the fish for a long time. Feed in the same place for a week.

By adding additives with certain aromas and tastes to the water at the same time, you can train the “lobato” to swim as scheduled. Groundbait can be made from:

• steamed peas;
• pearl barley and oatmeal;
• makukha;
• of bread;
• cake.

In winter, the meaty taste and aroma of maggots. Bloodworms and worms will be very attractive to a hungry chub.

The food element can be live bait - the baked blood of any animal. A gauze rag or foam rubber is impregnated with it and tied to any heavy object that should be thrown while fishing. It should be remembered that when using worms, beetles, peas, and larvae, blood soaking is not suitable as bait. The use of these baits is combined with various cereals and special commercial compositions for fish.

Choose small live bait – the maximum size is shown in the photo.

Mixing store-bought and home-made bait will enhance the effect of attracting chub. For feeder fishing, it is better to hammer the bait mixture into the feeder and make up to 10 sharp casts to create a food table for a representative of the cyprinids. When using a summer float rod, you can throw molded lumps of feed mixture into the desired place.

Store-bought bait Traper, Sensas and Dunaev are perfect for winter fishing

Feeding chub for ice fishing is a little different from fishing with summer gear. The fishing area is fed with various mixtures, always with the addition of bloodworms. Throwing bait into the hole from which chub fishing will be carried out is not carried out. You need to drill an additional hole at a short distance from the main hole and carefully throw the bait to the bottom. A useful tip is to use two feeders, one of which is left open, and the food from the other is washed out slowly.

Open water fly fishing

Fly fishing in winter is used on large rivers with areas of non-freezing water. Using this gear allows you to catch large specimens.

For successful fishing, a two-handed rod of class 5-7 is best suited.

Fishing begins with short casts, gradually lengthening the line. After fishing a possible territory, they usually move a couple of steps towards the riverbed and repeat everything all over again. This is the fastest way to find a chub site.

If you are new to fly fishing, then check out this fly fishing guide: Fly Fishing for Beginners.

For equipment you will need:

• 5-7 class rod up to three meters long;
• reel with friction brake;
• dark fly fishing line;
• backing 50‒80 meters long;
• undergrowth and leash with a diameter of 0.12‒0.18 mm up to three meters in length;
• hooks No. 10 with a long shank;
• artificial flies.

Review of favorite flies for chub:

Chub loves large baits. He is known to be very fond of the cockchafer, so using beetle flies

Bait in winter

To attract chub to the fishing site, aromatic bait is used. They prepare it in advance, and at the fishing site they only bring it to the required consistency. It should be loose, easy to mold and emit an attractive aroma.

It is highly advisable to add to the bait the live or plant component that you will be fishing with, which will be attached to the hook.

For bait, use freshly brewed porridge with the addition of elements of animal origin: worms, bloodworms, maggots. The chub will not remain indifferent to a mixture of rolled oats, pearl barley, bran, peas, and cake taken in equal proportions and steamed with boiling water. To make the bait composition loose, you can add a small amount of crackers.

Some fishermen use baked blood wrapped in gauze as bait. German fishermen make bait from a mixture of liverwurst, bloodworms and sand.

Favorite chub baits

Perhaps the only bait that no chub will refuse is the bloodworm , if we talk about the winter season. Fishing using other baits in the winter is not always successful.

Since at this time the chub has a lack of animal food, you can also use a worm, insect larvae or a cockchafer as bait. The chub also reacts well to small pieces of meat and chicken liver .

Lure

There are 2 ways to feed a representative of the Karpov family:

1. Long term. The angler must spread the chub feed over a long period of time. Some “quiet hunters” feed fish for 2 months or several weeks, every 2–3 days. But, you can shorten this period to 3 days and feed the fish in the same place in the morning, then you can confidently expect a good catch from fishing.
2. One-time use. Early in the morning, the fisherman throws food for fish in the place where they accumulate and immediately begins to catch them.

Did you know? In 1968, off the coast of New Zealand, fisherman Donald Heatley sailed on a boat for 32 hours after a black marlin weighing 700 kg, which finally got off the hook.

To lure a representative of the Karpov family, you need to use complementary food consisting of the following ingredients:

• pearl barley porridge;
• boiled corn kernels;
• steamed peas;
• cake;
• bread crumbs;
• bloodworm;
• maggots.