It's been a pretty slow winter so far for Britain’s chub anglers, with heavy rain and high water levels making things tricky on many rivers. However, if Tom Salisbury’s latest catch is anything to go by, we could be set for an exciting end to the season for fans of the species.
He landed this huge fish weighing 8lb 3oz from the River Colne, and it blows his previous best of 5lb 15oz right out of the water. Having finished preparing for a week of work on Sunday, Tom decided to pop out for a few hours before dark.
“The sun was out and the river was up, with a bit of colour to it,” he told us.
“I headed to a stretch of the Colne that holds some big chub and started in the spot where I’d caught my previous personal best."
“It’s an area that ‘screams’ chub, where the main flow passes by a big fallen tree, which creates a big slack on the far side.”
Setting up a light quivertip rod with a little running bomb on 6lb line, Tom pinched some breadflake around a size 6 hook and introduced a bit of liquidised feed.
“I cast to the slack, but after about five minutes I got itchy feet and was about to recast,” he said.
“As soon as I put my hand on the butt of the rod, the tip started twitching, and I struck and hooked into a fish."
“It moved into the main flow and I didn’t think it was very big, then it continued to the right and snagged me up.”
After a few minutes of back and forth, Tom managed to free the fish and, when it came out, he saw the huge belly of a big bronze chub.
“I netted it and couldn’t get over how big it was, I just stared at it in disbelief,” he added.
“I then weighed the fish and realised I had skipped both the 6lb and 7lb clubs! This is what I love about fishing rivers – they never cease to amaze me."
IF YOU WANT TO CATCH A CHUB BEFORE THE SEASON ENDS, CHECK OUT THESE GREAT TIPS...
