Fishing For Chub - The Basics

Naturally, the chub is a river fish, although the development of commercial fisheries has seen the species stocked in all kinds of waters nowadays, offering great sport to anglers throughout the country. It has even been caught in brackish waters in river mouths believe it or not!

The chub is one of the most widespread fish in Europe, occurring in every location with the unusual exception of Ireland, Denmark and the north of Scandinavia. The body of a chub is generally long and cylindrical, with a gray/brown tinged with green network of scales across the back working down to a lighter golden flank and a light belly. Its dorsal fin is a grey/green colour, with all the other fins being orange/red. The chub is renowned for its huge mouth.



Chub are found in nearly all rivers. Their habitats range from sluggish deep water to fast flowing shallows. In shady spots beneath overhanging branches chub wait for insects to plop onto the surface of the water. Chub will shoal in weed feel pools often with dace and roach. When hooked, the fish will dash to underwater obstacles, such as submerged tree roots and cause the line to become snagged.

A Great Chub Swim

Chub prefer to feed in clear water and not when the river is in flood or muddy. Still waters, especially gravel pits, are gaining reputations for having large specimens of chub.

The chubs’ natural staple diet consists of invertebrates as youngsters, although small fish and vertebrates such as small vowels are always on the main menu for the big boys. The chub spawns April to June among aquatic plants and stones in high oxygenated turbulent parts of rivers. There is some debate as to chub spawning in still water and whether it is right to stock them.

The chub is basically an eating machine. If it fits in its mouth, it will have a go at it! Natural baits have always been a favourite, especially on rivers. The stick float fished in conjunction with regular loosefeed of maggots casters and hemp. However, a big old black slug or lobworm free lined under an overhanging willow might just be the killer for that fish of a lifetime.

Ledgering is another great technique, with a block end feeder or even a crumb feeder. A big smelly piece of cheese, meat or steak. The main thing to remember when fishing for chub is that they can really eat some bait. so make sure that you give them plenty.

The specimen world has also had an effect on chub fishing, as many of the real big dogs are now taking boilie baits or large halibut pellets. Basically, a chub will eat anything. Wasp Grub, plugs and spinners. Chub can also be successfully targeted on the fly.

Commercial fishery chub also offer great sport, and are growing very big. They can be caught well with the usual carp methods, pellets, paste, but chopped worm and caster has seen several big match weights of the species.

Tackle up away from your chosen fishing spot. Movement and vibrations next to the water will frighten the chub away. Approach the water quietly and slowly. Don't become a large profile against the skyline but instead merge into the environment. Chub will swim close to the bank if there is no threat.

Watch for tell tale signs of feeding fish like dimples on the surface and swirls in the water. Cast your line gently and enjoy.

Fishing For Bream

The bream is a really deep bodied fish, with compressed sides, which give the fish a very thin appearance. Larger, mature fish have a dark brownish bronze back, a lighter bronze side, and an almost white belly. Many really big bream go very black. The smaller of the species are a much lighter colour, very silvery across the body with a white belly. These fish are known as Skimmer Bream, or ‘Skimmers’, and tend to start to go a darker colour at around 5 years of age. Bream have a protruding mouth, with their top lip coming over the bottom to give the fish a hoover like mouth suited to sucking food up of the bottom.


The classical way to fish for bream is on the ground bait feeder. This method is often used to target bream on natural waters, rivers and lakes. A simple paternoster setup is a well known bream rig, although a simple running rig is just as effective. Slide your feeder up the line or a quick change snap link swivel, then a bead, and then tie on a swivel. Your hooklink is then attached to the other end of your swivel. This running rig offers as little resistance as possible to the fish, and therefore they will take the bait much more confidently. A soft, light tip in your feeder rod, 1oz say, will also be a big advantage for the same reason, and will also aid you when fishing for finicky fish that only give you a small indication on the tip.


When fishing for bream on the feeder, the length of your tail is very important! It's always better to go for longer rather than shorter. A good starting point is around 3 foot. If the fish are hard to come by, don’t be afraid to try hookliengths of 5 foot or more, as these will give your hook bait a slow natural fall, and your hook bait will be well away from the feeder, where those wary shy fish may be sitting. A Hooklengths of 2lb to 4lb are best for bream, although heavier can be used.

Ground bait Mixes

Bream naturally have a really sweet tooth. All companies now make this classic sweet mix for bream, and all will do a similar job. One of the most important things to carry when bream fishing is BROWN CRUMB. It’s about a quid for a kilo of the stuff, and all bream love it! A 50/50 mix of brown crumb with another ground bait will produce a fluffy mix, sweet smelling which should catch you some bream! Mixes for the feeder should be a little on the dry side, which will enable you to add juicy baits like chopped worms, casters and pinkies to the mix without it getting too wet

A fishmeal mix with some brown crumb has accounted for some recent big bream catches, especially on heavily fished carp waters and commercials. Small pellets added to the mix are also a good fish holding bait, and some big bream have been caught using small boilies and pellets on the hook! Other good additions to the mix are additives such as Brasem or Sweet Molasses, both gorgeous smelling, available in liquid of powder form.

The feeder is by no means the only way of catching bream. Waggler fishing has accounted for some fantastic bream catches, as has slider float fishing. On canals and lakes, balling in ground bait to make a fish attracting noise can be effective for skimmers and bream. Bream on commercials can be caught very quickly if you get them feeding. Pellets and casters regularly loose fed, can bring the fish up in the water, which goes against the breams stereotypical ‘Bottom Feeding’ habits. Also don’t be afraid to whack plenty of line on the deck, and even some shot, this will ofter give you some cracking lift bites from bream!

The spring and autumn are classic months to fish for bream. Also, some of the biggest record bream have been caught at night, when they will feed more confident closer in. Hot calm conditions are not really favourable for Bream fishing, more of a wild windy day, where waves are on the water, and churning up the bottom tend to be when the best bream catches are recorded. Also fishing with a strong wind (preferably warm) in your face may also increase your chances of catching bream, as they are known to follow the wind.

New carp fishing accessory - Duck Sentinel

The DUCK SENTINEL Designed and developed by LINJAZRO which is a new Uk based company. Who's mission and passion is to design, develop and manufacture innovative quality fishing accessories.
The company founder has been a fresh water angler for over forty years and has gained considerable expertise and knowledge from fishing in many different demanding environments including United Kingdom, Europe, Middle East and United States of America.

DUCK SENTINEL was subjected to intensive development and testing spanning many months, involving several concept design changes. The feed back from several independent expert fishermen was incorporated into pre production models.  All of the development evaluation processes were conducted at different fishing venues within the UK. Various techniques were applied to the pre production models, including distance casting.  During the prototype and development stages of DUCK SENTINEL, every trial successfully protected the various different types of floating bait offerings from numerous wild fowl, both large and small, whilst enabling the Angler to keep the floating bait on station in the water and catch fish.

The body is transparent and not seen by fish. It is about the size of the palm of a man’s hand. The edges of the flotation discs represent a familiar pellet shape to surface feeding fish and act as an attraction. The DUCK SENTINEL has a UK Patent Number GB 2470988A and been designed to be reusable and offers minimal resistance to breeze and light winds.

Duck Sentinel is supplied with two (2) spare Floatation Discs.  Dumbbell line stops are supplied, but any small suitable line stop can be used.
Sufficient PVA string for a number of casts is supplied but any PVA string can be used to lock DUCK SENTINEL.

To use

pass main line into dome through outer lower eyelet, back out through next eyelet then back into dome via centre eyelet. Attach hook or hair rig inside the dome. A stop is required to set the distance inside the dome between the centre eyelet and the top of the offering (this keeps the line and hook out of the water) before attaching the chosen floating offering.

To cast, close the dome in half with the offering inside and the eyelets on the underside. When the floatation discs are touching each other wind a few turns of PVA string around the two centre tabs to secure in the closed position. The tab area must be kept dry and water free when applying the PVA string. DUCK SENTINEL is now aerodynamic and ready for use.

Cast to your desired location. Within seconds of landing on water, the DUCK SENTINEL will - self right. If the self-righting does not occur on contact with the water, a twitch on the line will do it. Deployment will normally occur within 30 – 40 seconds, depending on thickness of PVA string used and the number of PVA turns around the centre tabs.

Casting longer distances can be achieved by adding extra weight. Use a clear ball controller float attached by at least 1/4mtr of nylon line to the ventilation hole opposite to the eyelets. Retrieve main line to ensure the baited hook is inside the DUCK SENTINEL. When bait is taken, strike and play fish in normal way. The DUCK SENTINEL will be retained on the main line and not impede the fish retrieval.



Grab yours today visit: linjazro.co.uk

Carp Fishing Tackle Review: The Daiwa Infinity X BR Big Pit Reel - Model IFX5500BR

The carp is a fish species shrouded in myth, legend and lore. Highly regarded in many Asian cultures, the carp, in Western culture, often is kept in decorative ponds, as a sort of landscaping adjunct. To me, the carp is neither mythic nor decorative -- it is a worthy piscine opponent. The carp generally is regarded as a lesser sport fishing species, especially when compared to the more "noble" species like salmon and trout. Well, such for a lowly fish, it certainly is capable of putting up quite a thrilling fight! To be equal to the task, I need my carp fishing tackle to be in top shape. Here's some information about one of my favourite carp reels: the Daiwa Infinity X BR big pit reel, model IFX5500BR.

Key Features of the Daiwa Infinity X BR Big Pit Reel - Model IFX5500BR

BR stands for "baitrunner," a type of fishing reel that's similar to a fixed spool reel, with one important difference. When using a baitrunner reel, it's possible to bait fish with the reel's bail closed, while still having it completely in free spool mode. When using a baitrunner reel, the angler must adjust the free spool tension according to the type of bait used. As soon as the angler turns the handle, the baitrunner feature disengages and the tension then is adjusted by way of the main drag system, leaving the angler in full control of the fight.

 

 

More About the Daiwa Infinity X BR Big Pit Reel - Model IFX5500BR

When I'm facing an especially tough carp challenge, I generally find myself reaching for this well-made and durable reel. I've found the combination of the double-axis BR feature with a big pit spool configuration to be a particularly helpful and effective design. This Daiwa reel also has the popular Twist Buster II feature, a mechanism that dramatically reduces line twist by using a special collar which ensures the line always travels at a 90-degree angle to the roller pivot.

Final Thoughts on the Daiwa Infinity Reel

This reel is just loaded with positive features, including 5 ball bearings and a micro-pitch front drag system. It also has infinite anti-reverse and a large diameter ABS spool. ABS, by the way, is a type of highly strong and durable composite plastic that's widely used to make automobile bodies and outer cases for appliances and computers. The rotor is gyrospin balanced for the smoothest possible operation, and the 4.2:1 gear ratio delivers increased winding power when the angler needs it most. The reel comes with a spare, full-specification aluminium spool. Expect to pay about £375.00 for this superb reel, but do look for it on special offer at about £249.00
I've found the Daiwa Infinity X BR model IFX5500BR big pit reel to be beautifully engineered and a supreme pleasure to use. I'm pleased to rate it at 4.5 out of a possible 5 stars.
I've been fishing since I was 9 years old and nothing calms me more. To get the best deals on carp fishing tackle in the UK I happily suggest KeensTackleandguns. Their friendly staff are extremely well informed and are always extremely helpful. Check out their online fishing tackle store for more details or call 01656 722448.

Carp Fishing Rigs - The Combi Rig

The Combi Rig is a style of rig that has been around for many years. Originally starting from joining a softer braided material to a much stiffer material, such as Amnesia or monofilament in years past.

Then ever since the release of the first coated braided hook link material all them years back now, this type of set-up/material is now no doubt one of the most used by Carp anglers.

Combi-rigs are an effective way of presenting a hook bait in order to catch wary carp. There are numerous variations of combination fishing rigs that can be made up easily on the bank of a lake. The most common types are made up of a stiff length of fluorocarbon fishing line, with a smaller section made of a type of braid material. The braid end section is attached to the hook.

Combi carp rigs can be used on many different lake beds, from silt to gravel. and can be used for bottom baits as well as poups.  

This rig has many advantages, the first being that it combines both the subtlety and hooking potential of a braid and the invisibility of fluorocarbon. This is a rig which will help you catch many species of fish but carp and tench will fall to this rig the most often.

Monster Squid black - SPECIAL EDITION - OUT NOW

The Awesome Monster Squid in a new Black Special edition colour

Nash Bait have been producing black boilies to special order for many years and for those anglers looking for something a little different, black baits have long provided a real edge. If diving birds are driving you mad then the chances are they won’t immediately recognize black baits as food and pressured carp that may be spooking off bright colours will be straight on them and will consume the bait with real enthusiasm.

The awesome Monster Squid is now available in black,some of the counties top Carp Anglers highly rate ‘Squid Black’ as its been code named by those in the know. The forward thinking anglers amongst us who are already on ‘The Black’ are catching well and its already produced one or two elusive monsters - awesome!

Squid black Frozen Boilies - 15mm - 1kg bag
Code B9451 - Price £9.99

Squid black Frozen Boilies - 20mm - 1kg bag
Code B9452 - Price £9.99

Black Squid Pop ups - 10mm - 30grm tub
Code B2580 - Price £3.99

Black Squid Pop ups - 15mm - 30 grm tub
Code B2585 - Price £5.99

For more details and to find your nearest stockist visit: Nash Tackle

Carp Fishing Rigs - The Blowback Rig

The 'Blow Back Rig' is one that has become probably one of the most popular specialized Carp Fishing rigs used by today's Carp angler and one that I have been using a lot myself over recent times with excellent catch results.

The rig is constructed from coated braid, which is weighted to help aid its ability to sink and lay flat on the lake bed to help with cautious feeding fish. Also with the short stripped section of the coating near the hook, this gives the hook a bit more freedom to be picked up by the carp.

This braid is matched up with a long shank carp hooks and is linked together via a Micro Rig Ring running up and down the long straight hook shank, finished off with a curved section of shrink tubing to help flip the hook as quick as possible once in the carps mouth.

The idea of the construction of this rig is that with the ring on the shank of the hook this allows the hook greater movement and a greater chance of catching hold, due to being able to pivot within the ring itself. Having the ring starting low down around the hooks curve this keeps the weight from the bait where you want it, near the hook point.

Secondly once the carp has sucked in the hook bait and hook and then goes to blow the bait and hook out upon realizing what is happening, the bait freely slides down the shank first leaving the hook fully exposed to catch hold plus with the weight of the bait being transferred this pulls the hook down faster too into the carps mouth giving greater penetration.

A sure winner for anyone that uses this rig.

Watch Jon Bones, Deputy editor of Total Carp, as he demonstrate how to tie "The Blow Back Rig"