Best chub baits

[JV44]

Apart from lobworm, minnows (live, liphooked on a size 6) are superb, they can be legered, floatfished or even used in conjunction with a feeder!

 

Another favourite of mine is babybel cheese, smelly and stays on the hook and keeps forever (still in the wax) if you leave it in your tackle bag! Warning, don't put Babybel in a feeder, big chub will take the feeder instead of the hookbait.

 

Last year I was fishing the Teme, wandering up and down feeding half a dozen swims. I caught numerous small chub and dace until I visited the last swim (also the first of the day) and lobbed in quarter of a babybel using a small arlesey bomb and let the current roll it past a fallen tree. In 20 minutes I had landed four chub, the smallest 3lb 15oz and the biggest 4lb 8oz. The two blokes fishing the other side from the barbel society about 20yds upstream were a bit miffed as they'd been baitdropping about three cwt of something in the pool at their feet all day (probably buried all the fish!).

 

Another favourite is maggot and caster, as many as you can squeeze onto a size 6 or 8 hook (don't worry about just nicking them on, just squidge 'em on any old how, the more the merrier), used in conjunction with an open ended feeder with a mix of any bog standard groundbait blocking the ends and maggot and caster filling. Adding a worm to the end of the cocktail on the hook has frequently taken fish when the maggot and caster has failed.

 

I must admit, either I do something terribly wrong or I'm just unlucky but I have never caught a chub on luncheon meat!!!

Minnows are a bit thin on the ground on my bit of the Thames but i have often caught them on Bleak when targeting Perch and lures when targeting Perch and lobworm whilst targeting Perch hold on a moment.......

[tincatinca]

When considering that there are several elder statesmen on the forum, I am quite surprised that no one has mentioned wasp grub on the hook and wasp cake for feed. Deadly bait on its day and used to be extremely popular with some of the old river matchmen.

[Angly]

Frogs are listed as a prime chub bait in one of my old reference books, particularly large ones on size 6 hooks.

[JV44]

When considering that there are several elder statesmen on the forum, I am quite surprised that no one has mentioned wasp grub on the hook and wasp cake for feed. Deadly bait on its day and used to be extremely popular with some of the old river matchmen.

As a Painter i come across loads of wasps nests every summer whilst working on exteriors of propertys,I have an old guy in the next village who used to be the council pest guy before he retired anyway he deals with these nests for me but i have never used them as the i asume that the powder used to kill said wasps would be harmfull to the chub does anyone know if this is the case? Steve.

[Guest tigger]

Frogs are listed as a prime chub bait in one of my old reference books, particularly large ones on size 6 hooks.

 

 

 

Frogs are pretty scarce these days and some people might use violence towards the people practicing hooking frogs on for bait.

[BoldBear]

When considering that there are several elder statesmen on the forum, I am quite surprised that no one has mentioned wasp grub on the hook and wasp cake for feed. Deadly bait on its day and used to be extremely popular with some of the old river matchmen.

I used to use a spray wasp-grub flavouring on my maggots I dont know if it caught me any more chub but the sweet strong smell gave me confidence.

looking back I think the 5 baits that have caught me most Chub over the years are:

 

1. Bread flake/Crust in conjunction with squeezed soft bread/breadcrumb for feed.

2. Bronze Maggots

3. Peeled Prawns (not the aneamic ones they sell in cheap supermarkets as they have had all the flavour boiled out of them).

4. Cheesepaste mixed with raw onion juice and bread.

5. Slugs.

 

 

Quote from John Conway of the Chub Study Group: "The top baits for chub between 1972 & 2008 CSG catch returns for 13,500 chub over 4lb were:-

 

Bread Flake 1,938; Cheese Paste 1,800; Cheese 1,342; Crust 766; Luncheon Meat 706;The total no of different baits used was 414 including cocktails of the above. "

 

Was it Walker who said that a mediocre bait in the right place is far better than a good bait in the wrong place (or words to that effect)?.

Edited January 11, 2009 by BoldBear

[Angly]

Frogs are pretty scarce these days and some people might use violence towards the people practicing hooking frogs on for bait.

 

Are frogs scare? My mum's garden gets overrun with them; usually end up with half a dozen in her house from the cats as presents!

 

And for the violence, that's usually from the uneducated illiterate half-wits who use violence as the answer to anything they can't spell/understand/do themselves...I find if you speak to them slowly using big words they get confused and go away.

 

EDIT:

 

I actually thought it was toads that were scarce.

Edited January 8, 2009 by Angly

[Guest tigger]

I find if you speak to them slowly using big words they get confused and go away.

 

 

 

Mmm...that sounds ok but it might not always work, probably better to just make sure no one's about when hookin on the frogs . I would say using a frog for bait would be a waste of time and there are far better and easier to obtain baits to use.

[Angly]

Mmm...that sounds ok but it might not always work, probably better to just make sure no one's about when hookin on the frogs . I would say using a frog for bait would be a waste of time and there are far better and easier to obtain baits to use.

 

Joking aside, and just to be clear, I wasn't actually suggesting to use frogs, and certainly not live ones (I can't bring myself to livebait, although I respect those that do, yet I use live worms & maggots...strange). The book I referenced has a whole paragapah on frogs for chub bait, and only mentions their health status once, when the author talks about catching a large chub on a dead frog. However, if like my mum you have a ready supply of dead frogs I can't see the harm in putting them to good use.

[Chub Frenzy]

I caught a chub on the river last season when i was fishing for pike - lure fishing.

I think it was a fluke so does anyone know if Warwick, warwickshire is known for chub