How to catch chub with a float rod

Some general information

The species in question belongs to the carp family. If allowed to fully grow, it can reach a length of 80 cm and a weight of 8 kg. But usually there are individuals no more than 1 kg. Under favorable conditions in nature, it can live up to 15 years. It is usually found in rivers where the current is fast and the water is clean and cool. He likes pebble and rocky bottoms with a lot of riffles. The modern chub is a shy and cunning fish. When catching it, you must take all precautions, silence and camouflage. It should be noted that most professional fishermen prefer to go out for chub with a fishing rod rather than a spinning rod.

What to catch chub with

Truly sporty and exciting chub fishing is considered to be fishing using artificial baits. Today the fishing industry produces quite a lot of specialized baits specifically for this fish. Next, we will look at the main trends in this area, describing the features of choosing bait and the characteristics of the best options for artificial chub baits.

Wobblers

Small fats with slight depth are considered specialized wobblers for chub. Fats of various colors with their own small-frequency play are suitable for fast and energetic retrieves. Manufacturers produce wobblers of this type not only in fish imitations, but also in all kinds of beetles, grasshoppers, flies and bees. Fat sizes ranging from 3–5 cm in length and weight of no more than five grams are considered optimal tools for spinning chub fishing.

Some variants of mines no longer than 4–5 cm also show good mining results when twitching. The performance characteristics of both types of wobblers differ in their depth limit from half a meter to two and are available in a floating type. An active fish picks up the wobbler even when it falls on the water, even before the start of the retrieve. When fishing, the bite is characterized by a sharp blow with the predator immediately retreating into the depths.

Spoons

Among spinners, the preferred variants are rotating ones with a drop-shaped petal and its distinct silver color. It is to the glare of the petal that the active predator reacts. Rotating spoons move through the water without touching the bottom even after casting. The bite is completely identical to the fish entering the wobbler. When using oscillating spoons, preference is given to narrow products up to five centimeters long, with the same silver coating.

Read: What to catch sterlet with

Other baits

Among other baits, it is worth noting all kinds of artificial knitted flies and beetles, which are used in fly fishing, and are also used to catch chub on a fishing rod. Artificial imitations of insects should have bright, non-wet plumage and should not exceed the size of their real counterpart. Place the fly on the water and wait for a bite, slightly twitching the bait. When the fish are highly active, it is enough to release the bait with the current and watch for its selection by the predator.

What is the best time to go fishing?

As for the time of year when you can go out for chub, it covers the period from the melting of the ice to the end of autumn. You can choose almost any time of day – from morning to evening, or at night. But the peak activity of this fish occurs in the early morning and late evening, because it does not like heat. And at night the largest individuals come out in search of prey. Experienced fishermen know that most species do not like sudden changes in weather accompanied by pressure surges. The chub is no exception. Therefore, going out on it in unstable weather means being left without a catch. On the contrary, if the weather is stable over a long period, the temperature and pressure remain at a constant level, then you can safely go fishing. You can give the following advice - the most favorable weather is with a light (not strong) breeze, when the water is covered with light ripples. Then the chub somewhat loses its caution. But if the wind is strong, then the fish may not bite at all. Conditions in which the water is free of ripples cannot be called favorable - this makes it easier for the fish to recognize the appearance of a person and become wary.

Quick tips for catching chub

1. The chub is very suspicious, so while fishing, do not make noise or make sudden movements.
2. A noticeable float will frighten the chub, so you should choose a float of muted tones.
3. Large individuals become active as evening approaches.
4. The best bait is a mixture of store-bought bait with homemade bait and parts of bait.
5. As soon as a couple of successful bites have occurred, the fishing location should be changed.
6. Spinning requires precise casting, so this type of fishing requires additional practice.
7. For bottom fishing you need a lightweight bait. Which will be comfortable to “play”.
8. For successful fishing, use a float rod to feed several places in the pond at once.
9. The favorite bait of the chub is the cockchafer. This kind of fishing requires long casting with bait retrieved.
10. The chub likes to hide in various shelters: holes, sunken trees, stones.

What are the best places to catch chub?

Catching chub on a riffle
The species in question is attached to areas with fast currents and riffles. If the water becomes colder, then it tends to go deeper. He also likes to look for places covered in the shade of coastal trees, because all sorts of insects often fall from them, serving as food for the chub. Whirlpools are also of interest to him, because insects often get caught there too. It also likes boundaries between currents and areas near large boulders protruding from the water. If you plan to catch chub, then you need to keep in mind that they gather in large numbers in different places, depending on the time of year. So, in the spring he prefers to swim at the bottom or in the middle layer of water. Also at this time it loves riffles rich in food. As summer approaches and air and water temperatures rise, the chub tends to rise to the top and get its food in the form of insects that have fallen on the water. And in the fall, the water temperature decreases and, in addition, there are no insects left on the surface. Then the chub goes deeper. But this does not mean that the bite stops; on the contrary, it intensifies, because the fish senses the approaching cold. If it’s a warm autumn, the fish can continue biting until November. In autumn, it becomes more important to catch chub with a bottom fishing rod than with a float rod, since it tends to stay closer to the bottom.

Lures

A great variety of baits are used for catching chub on a float, which allows the fisherman to experiment and choose the best one:

• Bloodworm
• Maggot
• Chafer
• Grasshopper
• Barley shell meat
• Dough
• Bread
• Berries

In addition to all the baits listed, chub can be caught using cheese. They are caught by first feeding them cheese to the fishing spots for several days. For bait, it is cut into small cubes.

If you take non-hard varieties of cheese, then they are moistened with water, stirred until viscous and rolled into balls. You can catch chub with cheese during the entire period of open water, but this bait works best in the spring.

Nozzles for catching chub on shelves

Catching chub on a crust of bread
Chub feeds not only on animal, but also plant prey. Therefore, you can use a variety of attachments on it. The preferences of this fish change depending on the time of year. So, in the spring the cockchafer appears in large quantities. It is this insect that is of the greatest interest to the chub at this time. Therefore, the cockchafer bait is the most effective during this period. You need to wait for the cockchafer to fly out, collect the insects and go with them to the chub. During the period when the cockchafer has not yet appeared, you can use other attachments. A lot of things are suitable: - earthworms and dungworms, maggots, bloodworms, May beetle larvae, live bait, bread crust, dough, crayfish neck. But with the appearance of the cockchafer, if you want to get a serious catch, you should switch to this bait. You need to prepare a box for collecting insects, go into nature and hit any tree. Then the insects will fall off it. But it should be borne in mind that the flight of the cockchafer does not last long - only about two weeks. After this, it will not be so easy to get it. Therefore, you will need to switch to other animal attachments. Caterpillars and grasshoppers will do just fine as a replacement. Grasshoppers can be used throughout the summer. The ability of a grasshopper to stay firmly on a hook is known. But catching this insect is not so easy. Caterpillars and grasshoppers are most attractive to chub in the upper layers and on the surface. In autumn, the chub usually goes deeper and stays in a layer half a meter from the bottom. It was during this period that fishing with a donk, as well as a feeder, became relevant. You can use the types of bait described above, in particular those purchased at a fishing store. We can also recommend another bait - cheese. In autumn, chub readily bite on it. The cheese must be cut into cubes according to the size of the hook.

What to use to catch chub on a float rod

The chub is an omnivorous fish and there are many baits on which you can successfully catch it, but there is also some seasonal dependence. So, in the spring, the most effective bait for chub can be considered the cockchafer. This is indeed a very catchy bait when catching chub on a float, and besides, it is quite a common food for this fish. May beetles often end up in the water during flight or fall into the water from trees, where a hungry chub is already waiting for them. During the period when the cockchafer emerges, the chub may completely refuse some food for some time.

or other food, which allows you to save time on choosing bait and will allow you to catch a lot of chub during this period.

However, you need to catch something before the May beetle emerges. Here the choice of baits increases significantly, I won’t list everything, I’ll focus only on the most effective ones, with which the chances of catching a chub are really high. And in the spring such bait can serve as:

• Dung worm, earthworm (large chub are good at crawling);
• maggot;
• bloodworm;
• larva of the May beetle and dung beetle;
• small minnow;
• barley shell meat;
• cancerous cervix;
• bread crust;
• dough.

Well, with the advent of the main delicacy of the chub - the cockchafer, it is immediately necessary to switch to using it as bait for the chub. It is quite easy to get a cockchafer, especially before sunrise, when the beetle is in a sleepy stupor. You just need to kick a tree and the beetles will fall off. Of course, you need to choose a thinner tree. Having collected the beetles in a cardboard box, you can safely go fishing.

In the summer, May beetles “run out” and it is necessary to look for an alternative to this catchy bait. And caterpillars, of which countless numbers appear in the summer, can quite deservedly serve as such an alternative. And of course, grasshoppers. What can we talk about catching chub if we don’t mention the grasshopper. This bait can be the best one for chub fishing all summer, and there will never be any problems with catching such a bait. The grasshopper, as a bait, holds very well on the hook, thanks to which you can freely and without fear make long casts, which can be very useful when catching such cautious fish. You should catch a grasshopper at the very surface of the water.

With the arrival of autumn, the same grasshoppers and caterpillars, as well as bread or dough, are used as bait for chub, however, in the autumn period, they should be caught from the bottom, or rather at a distance of about half a meter from it. And to catch large chub in the fall, use a small frog as bait and fish with such a bait in the wire. Small chub will not bite on such bait, so you should only expect a large trophy.

There is also an unusual bait that catches most peaceful fish, but few have heard of it. This attachment is cheese! Yes, they say the chub is a true connoisseur of this dairy product. The cheese is cut into cubes according to the size of the hook and served like any other attachment.

Float tackle for chub

To catch cautious chub with a float rod, you should not use a fishing line that is too thick, which can alert the fish and, as a result, you may not see bites or their number will decrease significantly. It is advisable to use a fishing line no thicker than 0.25 mm, and a leash no thicker than 0.2 mm. If you know in advance that the size of the chub in your pond allows you to use a thinner line, be sure to do so. The hook is placed No. 7-8 with an average fore-end length, and the weight should be placed at a distance of 10-15 cm above it. The rod must be equipped with a reel so that you can release the bait with the current, waiting for the chub to bite. Wiring fishing often shows better results than stationary fishing.

Chub float

The chub float should be hidden and camouflaged from the fish's view as much as possible. Floats with bright colors when catching chub with a float rod are unacceptable, since I have already said that this fish is very careful. Choose black, gray or brown floats that will blend in with other objects floating in the water. The bulb float has proven itself to be quite good when catching chub. Such a float is less alarming to the fish, as it simply resembles an air bubble floating on the surface of the water.

How does a chub bite?

It is sometimes quite difficult to distinguish a chub bite from another fish, especially when you consider that in different bodies of water these bites can be completely different. Basically, the chub bite is very sharp. The chub is accustomed to grabbing everything edible that falls into the water, and this is how it grabs the bait on the hook. After being bitten, the float suddenly goes under the water without any preliminary movements. Such a chub bite can often take the angler by surprise, so you always need to be on alert. If the bait is correctly placed on the hook and the sting of the hook is sharp enough, then the chub may hook itself, but you should not hope for this, because self-hooking of this fish on a float tackle occurs very rarely due to the small weight of the sinker.

Bait for chub

Bait plays an important role when catching any fish, such fish as chub are no exception. You can use store-bought bait or make it yourself. Homemade bait for chub can consist of just one ingredient - bread. It just couldn't be simpler. The bread must be crumbled and folded into a fine mesh net, tied into a knot, and a cord or rope attached to it, the other end of which is attached to the shore. Then, the net with bait is thrown or brought by boat to the intended fishing location.

Since the chub is a fish of the carp family, it can be attracted with the same bait as carp. You can find out the ingredients and methods of preparation here.

Chub spawning

Chub spawning takes place in May-June, depending on the region, and in the southern regions its spawning can begin even in April. Usually it coincides with the flowering of bird cherry. Chub spawning does not in any way affect its bite. The chub does not stop feeding during spawning and its biting remains just as active.

The chub reaches sexual maturity in the third year of life. The spawning begins with the heating of water to a temperature of 10-15 ° C in river beds with a rocky and pebble bottom. Large chub choose deeper places for spawning, while small ones, on the contrary, spawn in shallow riffles.

Chub caviar is small, the size of a poppy seed, and orange in color. The chub is a very fertile fish and the female can contain up to a million eggs, and its small amount in reservoirs, compared to roach, crucian carp and other fish, can be explained by the fact that a large number of eggs are carried away by the fast current without having time to be fertilized.

I also recommend reading the article about catching asp on a float.

Correct equipment when catching chub on a float

Rigging a rod when fishing for chub
Generally speaking, equipping a float rod for chub is a normal process and does not cause difficulties. A regular float rod will do for a chub, so we go to a fishing store and buy: 1. Rod 2. Line 3. Sinkers 4. Hooks 5. Reel 6. Floats 7. Line for a leash 8. Cams

Today, rods are usually sold not equipped, but separately. That’s why we buy separate rods and tackle elements separately. Just take a long and light rod. When purchasing, it is better to try the rod, lay it out and make casting movements with it. It should not crack or fold at involuntary moments. Also on its body, closer to the handle, there must be sliding clamps for installing the coil. It is better to purchase sinkers in a set of different sizes and weights. Such sets of sinkers are sold in flower-type boxes. Cambrics are also sold in sets of different sizes in a bag. We take a standard coil of a simple device. Next, we come home and start assembling the rod. It is important not to forget that first you need to install the float, then the sinker, then tie the hook. It is best to take a plastic antenna-type float with two thin ends so that it can be attached to the fishing line using cambrics. The effectiveness of fishing largely depends on the sensitivity of the float and the accuracy of the signals it transmits. We take the main line with a thickness of 0.35 mm, the leash - 0.20 mm. You will need a large hook with a shank. When preparing the tackle, the correct tying of the knots is important, but even in this case you should not count on the strength of the tackle being greater than three-quarters of the strength of the leash. And this despite the fact that when fishing, the chub fights fiercely and resists. The distance between the hook and the float should be about 100 cm. Let us recall that the float is attached to the main fishing line at two ends - at the base and the top. Depending on the circumstances, it is also possible to use self-submerging floats. Some fishermen believe that a float for asp gear is best for chub. If you plan to fish in the dark, you should ensure that you can attach a glow stick to the float (these are sold in fishing stores). So, we approach the edge of the shore and make the first cast. The float must be allowed to float freely with the flow. The nozzle should be downstream. If possible, without taking out the gear, we follow the float, downstream. Then we make a new cast and again wait for a bite.

Tackle for catching chub at the bottom and in the middle layers

Let's first discuss fishing near the bottom and in the middle layers. As I said above, it has been noticed that at night and in bad weather the chub “squeezes to the bottom.” To get it in such cases, use simple equipment, the device of which is shown in the figure. The tackle is constructed using an oval-shaped float with a carrying capacity of about 10 grams. In deeper places or in strong currents, larger floats are used - with a load capacity of up to 40 grams. The shape of these floats is somewhat reminiscent of a pear. They have a rather large oval lower part, which smoothly turns into a thick upper antenna. The thickness of the antenna, depending on the size of the float, ranges from 3 to 10 mm. By the way, if anyone wants to make such a float with their own hands, I advise you to make the antenna from some thin-walled tube. Such floats cope well with currents and do not sink in whirlpools.

Read Night fishing on the feeder, catfish, chub, burbot and silver bream

Such tackle is loaded with the help of a main sinker and a sub-sink. The main sinker, usually in the shape of an olive, is set close to the float. This is done to make the tackle looser. This rig easily plays in currents and whirlpools. Therefore, the bait looks very natural and natural in the water. A small pellet weighing about 0.2 grams prevents the bait from floating to the surface, keeping it in the desired fishing horizon. The distance from the hook to the hook depends on many factors. Firstly, it depends on the strength of the current and the depth at the fishing spot. If the place is shallow and the current is decent, then the stock is placed at a distance of 20 - 50 cm from the hook. If the current is not strong and the depth is 3 meters or more, then this distance is increased, up to one and a half meters

Secondly, the distance from the hook to the hook is increased when biting is inactive and careful, or when a heavy bait is used, something like a large crawler. Heavy bait does not really need feeding at all

The technique of fishing with such tackle is quite simple. We cast the tackle and let it go with the flow, gradually dropping the line from the reel. If the river section is more or less flat, then the float can move a decent distance. Although usually it’s not too far away, well, no more than 20 m. It’s good that the float is large and noticeable, even from such a distance you won’t miss the bite. When there is a bite, the float usually begins to dive. It happens that bites occur in the same place. In this case, I usually try to hold the tackle at this point for a while.

A few words about bait. When fishing for chub near the bottom, I always throw in bait. If I fish from a boat, I put bait in the feeder and lower it to the bottom. The current will pull the delicious crumbs of bait, creating a fragrant stream under the water. I noticed that at dawn the fish usually rises from the bottom and takes a position in the middle layer of the river, about a meter or two from the surface. In this case, I raise my feeder with bait all the way to the surface so that the bait trail fits right under the fish’s nose. If I’m fishing without a boat, from the shore or wading, then I simply throw the bait in balls into the water, while calculating so that the current will carry the bait trail to the place I need. By the way, to get a long, appetizing train, I use light bait. They are also called bleach. As part of my bait, I usually have some kind of steamed and always crumbly grain. But still, the best bait is maggots or pupae.

Chub bite pattern

Chub bite
Generally speaking, chub bites are not characterized by a strong difference from other species of fish, which grab prey predatorily and greedily. It is also difficult to give general advice on this issue because in different bodies of water, bites can be of a different nature, depending on what types of food the chub is used to eating in them. But, in general, the chub bites sharply and greedily; in particular, it, without stopping its movement in the water, grabs larval insects. Accordingly, one can expect that he will react in a similar way to bait if he does not recognize danger in it. In this regard, the advice that should be given is that you need to carefully monitor the float and, like a fish biting, make quick and sharp hooks. If you are late with hooking, then there is a high probability that the fish will either spit out the bait or eat it off the hook and leave, leaving the fisherman with only one hook. The mass of the sinker is taken to be small, so one can hardly place high hopes on the likelihood of self-hooking. It can only happen when feeder fishing using heavy feeders. What kind of bait should be prepared for chub It is common knowledge among experienced fishermen that properly prepared and applied bait can increase fishing performance significantly. If we are talking about float fishing for chub, then both universal purchased mixtures and a self-prepared product are suitable. In the latter case, we can recommend such a simple product as bread. Technically, this is done by placing the grain mass in a fine mesh net, tying the net in a knot, and then throwing it into the water using a long rope. In general, since the chub belongs to the carp family, it will use the same bait as carp.

Chub bait for autumn fishing

In autumn, the chub becomes more predatory and prefers crayfish meat, small fish such as bleak or verkhovka, and does not disdain leeches, tadpoles and even frogs. The meat of bivalve mollusks and snails is also the food of the chub in the fall. In the southern regions of Russia, especially where grapes grow, the taste of snails is well known to the chub, because during heavy rains and floods they fall into the water in large numbers and become easy prey. You can mount a whole snail, having first freed it from its shell.

Abroad, so-called meat baits made from sausage, steaks, meatballs, meat and meat products have become firmly established in the practice of chub fishing. The meat holds well on the hook and emits a characteristic specific smell; in addition, its cut slices are easy to color and flavor. To do this, for example, pieces of sausage in the form of cubes measuring 1.5x1.5 or 2x2 cm, coloring and flavoring are placed in a plastic bag, after which all components are shaken.

In the south of Russia, cherries and some other fruits and berries are often used as bait for chub, which, when ripe, can end up in the water. By the way, here in Upa I have more than once seen fishermen using cherries to catch chub. And one of them said that he recently caught a chub with a piece of fresh cucumber in its stomach!

In Europe, beef or pork liver is very popular as a nozzle, which is cut into strips 7-10 cm long and 2-4 cm thick. Unfortunately, such a nozzle quickly loses its attractiveness, since the blood is washed out of the mass within 20-30 minutes. Despite this, thin strips of liver can serve as bait for catching chub and some other fish if you place them in a special mesh feeder and throw them separately from the bottom. In the same way, pieces of regular meat are cut and placed on a hook so that the sting remains open.

Bone marrow dressing is served in the form of balls, for which the contents of tubular beef bones are mixed with dough, bread or breadcrumbs. The rolled balls are placed on the hook and a careful cast is made.

Another unusual attachment is balls of minced meat with a diameter of 1.5-3 cm, which, for convenience, are mixed with breadcrumbs so that it sticks better to the hook.

And finally, the simplest attachment is a piece of sausage or sausage. Germans sometimes catch chub with this bait. Simply break off or cut off a piece and place it on the hook. True, they actually produce these products from meat.

Features of chub spawning

The chub spawning period depends on the specific region, but usually it begins in April and ends in early June. According to fishing tradition, spawning starts at the same time as the bird cherry blossoms. Here one important feature must be taken into account: most fish species almost stop feeding during the spawning period, while the chub continues to feed heavily. Therefore, it is during the spawning period that you can catch many specimens of this greedy fish. But the legislative side of this issue should also be taken into account - in many regions, catching chub and other species is prohibited. The chub reaches its ability to reproduce in the third year. He waits until the water warms up to 10-15 degrees and begins to spawn. To do this, he prefers rocky and pebbly places at the bottom. Large individuals choose deeper places for this process, while small ones choose shallows and riffles. The caviar is small in size and orange in color. One female lays up to a million eggs. A significant part of chub eggs remains unfertilized, so the percentage of chub in comparison with species such as roach and crucian carp is usually small.

Catching chub in the spring with a fishing rod

The chub is most active in the warm season, in particular in the spring. Most often during these months, snags located near bridges become habitats for fish. In addition, the chub tries to choose places between strong and weak currents.

The described species is very fond of a variety of insects, we will even say that this is its main food, for this reason it is also found in areas of rivers and lakes adjacent to forests, where tree branches are located directly into the reservoir. Fish are very picky about their diet. At the same time, the chub can act as both a carnivore and a herbivore.

In the spring, the chub tries to feed during daylight hours. But during these hours, only small individuals are caught, collecting insects that have fallen into the water. Large fish are passive at this time. They begin to be active only in the late evening, when they crawl out in search of food.

To catch chub on small rivers, it is recommended to use a fishing rod; donka and spinning rods can also be used for these purposes. If we are armed with a fishing rod, then all potential parking areas become our hunting grounds: bridges, current boundaries, branches leading directly into reservoirs, various objects located in the water, behind which this species likes to hide.

It is necessary to take into account that when fishing on a stream, the bait is thrown a little further or, conversely, is not thrown. Large individuals practically do not float up for insects, and small ones are located there.

So, we set the depth to 30 cm and fish the area in close proximity to the jet. Then we set the depth almost equal to the bottom so that the sinker does not reach the very bottom and it slowly moves downward with the current. The bait is placed on a leash of 20 cm.

The best option for fishing is a relatively long, but mobile fishing rod, which allows you to make rapid hooks of about 6 m. We are talking about a strong, but lightweight fishing tool that will not put much strain on your hand.

As for the float, it is better to give preference to a natural color, so that it will look completely natural among those objects that are nearby in the water.

The nozzle should be located almost at the bottom. The best baits for chub in spring are: small fish, worms, bread. This fish is very fond of May beetles and caterpillars. For this reason, when the spring months begin, catch chub near the branches that have sunk into the pond. With the onset of summer, the chub changes its location.