winter chubbing in weirpools?

[fantasticfisherman]

i love watching chub slurp down bread in the summer. they were only free offerings though

[Peter Sharpe]

On the upper Welland, It was rarely legered in the traditional sense. The best method was to use either a small drilled bullet or a few swan shot. The trick was to cast downstream to the far bank and let it roll across the river, well downstream into the near bank, which is where the takes usually occurred. I always thought conditions were perfect when the flow was sufficient to make a couple of the old lead swanshot (probably about three of the non-toxic ones) trundle slowly across in the current. If there was insufficient flow to do that, the prospects were usually poor.

We used to fish in quite heavy floods using drilled bullets, usually using moulded cheddar, which went rock hard in the cold water. We used Goldstrike hooks up to size 2, but missed far more bites than we struck, due to a combination of the cheese and the comparitively blunt hooks. I did have some success with the backwards hair rig, ie, with the Cheddar moulded onto the line above the eye of the hook, but then found that Danish Blue was even better. This may have been due as much to its softer texture though as much as the smell. It took me quite a while to discover that big chunks of legered bread flake outfished everything else, with the bonus that I often picked good roach up as well.

Going back to the earlier post, I always looked for a glide where the water suddenly slowed down, but never in the real slacks. Bends were also good but again, never in the slowest water, always where it began to slow down into the bend or where it began to pick up speed on the way out.

If I was going to try for winter chub these days, I would probably try slices of mackerel about two inches long if bread failed. You might get pike trouble, but I think the chub would usually get there first. In spite of what you might think, it doesn't pick out the big fish - quite the reverse in fact. I tried mackerel at Gerrard's Carp Lake at Maxey one winter and I was amazed how it picked out the smallest fish. I started experimenting and caught a five pound carp on a piece about as big as a matchbox.

[Graham Elliott]

Winter chub. For the BIG ones look for the steady even paced slower/boring water.

 

2 methods will outscore all others with frost/snow on the ground.

 

1/ cage feeder filled with 5/6 day old bread that has had a minimum of water added to make it into dry porridge stage. ( you can add some ready brek if you need)

 

Don't fiddle with small hooks. A long shanked size 4 or 6 (drennan crystal are perfect)and large piece of fresh bread from medium sliced pinched around the shank with the point exposed. Use a tail around 2 feet long.

 

Start at the top of the stretch and cast the feeder in and pull the bread out straight away when it hits bottom. Do this twice.

 

Cast out on the same line and give it 20 mins.

 

Repeat and work your way down the swim along the same line. tpical bites will be a tap and immediate pull. Mouthing the bait and then turning away.

 

2/ Nice stick float 4 or 5 bb normally enough, chubber 1/2 swan if you are not a good trotter.

Shirt button shotting and tail 1/4 of depth set.

Same size/type hook as before, same size bait.

 

Loose feed 2 handfuls of stale mashed bread at start of comfortable trotting distance. Start about 3/4 depth of river but be prepared to go 1/2 depth if you have 1 or 2 fish and then no bites. Bites are sharp takes and a FA rod is good value especially at distance.

 

Graham

[fantasticfisherman]

thanks for that graham, but what is an FA rod?

[Graham Elliott]

Sorry, a Fast Action tip match rod.

 

Graham

[Slyder]

quote:

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but what is an FA rod?

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I've got some of them.....they catch sweet FA!

[Peter Sharpe]

"You can also buy halibut oil (I was offered some today but at 7.50 a bottle I politely declined)"

There is absolutely no point in going to such expense. Halibut pellets do not contain halibut, but are formulated for feeding farmed halibut. Any fish oil would probably work just as well (that's if you believe it does improve the bait).

[Guest Brumagem Phil]

Thanks peter.......I might go to my local chemist and buy some codliver oil and try that. I'll simply marinate the pellets in it overnight.

 

My theory is simply that a pellet with more wet oil on and near its surface should put out its scent into the water more quickly, and perhaps permeate a little further downstream.

 

I guess there are other oils I could get in a supermarket perhaps......I'll have to have a look.

[argyll]

A friend in the Fens had some success soaking his deadbaits in Nam Pla (thai fish sauce)Find it in any supermarket next to the soy sauce. Cheap compared to tackle shop flavourings and probably worth a try for chub.

[fantasticfisherman]

thanks i think i'll try that too