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Brace of cracking chub caught ‘bouncing bread’
by Freddie Sandford |
Published on10th January 2026 at 9.00am
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This season, the levels on the Great Ouse have gone up and down so many times I’ve lost count, but I recently managed two great chub catches just a few days apart.
“The first was from a stretch that some anglers wonder why I bother with, a place where I’m always drawn to a quiet, forgotten bend in the river.
“Here, the water hurries past with purpose, which restricts my choice of where to cast. I’ve blanked more times here than I care to count, yet each walk back to the car I’m filled with a strange hunger to return.
“On this visit I fished with nothing more complicated than bread. I let the river decide the rest, casting into creases and letting the flow carry my bait wherever it went.
“My persistence was rewarded with a 7lb 7oz chub, and a few days later when I found the river dropping after a flood, I managed one even bigger.
LOOK FOR THESE FEATURES ON A RIVER TO CACTH MORE FISH!
Vito's 7lb 7oz fish
“The banks were empty, but the air was filled with birdlife, as red kites turned slowly overhead and kingfishers flashed along the margins. I fished bread again, and the first two chub came quickly, from two different spots.
“After then losing a good fish, the river went quiet. Moving on, I found a steady glide off the inside of a bend and sent my bait downstream. Touch legering with the line drawn lightly across my fingertip, I felt the bite first – the gentlest pluck as the chub dared itself to take the bait.
“The rod tip nodded, hesitated, then dipped again. I struck and the fish fought hard, shaking its head and leaning into the flow.
“After landing the chub – a broad and powerful 7lb 9oz specimen – I left the river, quietly satisfied with my time having been well spent.
“Many anglers go down the bolt-rig and boilie route for chub, but I caught my fish by bouncing my bread hookbait along nearside edges. I slowly lift the rod and give it a slight flick, which makes the hookbait flutter in the flow.
“Any willing chub nearby will smack the bait!”
Vito with the biggest of the two chub
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