The 2024 season has kicked off in fine style with numerous big chub being reported on opening day, Jon Hall was one of those anglers who managed to get amongst them when he caught a superb, 6lb 5oz chub.
The River Chelmer was Jon's chosen venue for his first session. He was met with a crystal clear river, and whilst they weren't favourable conditions, his enthusiasm was still high.
CHECK OUT OUR WHERE TO FISH GUIDE FOR SOME EXCELLENT RIVERS TO TRY AND TARGET CHUB.
"With the river being low, I decided to get my polaroids on and go stalking fish, not only does this allow you to target the big fish, it is also really exciting," Jon explained to us.
"I decided to use a simple link-leger setup, this allows you to tailor the weight quickly depending on how you want your bait to act which is ideal when fishing numerous swims."
"There was only one choice for bait, and that was bread. It is visual and is such an instant bait that fish are willing to accept with no loosefeed in a lot of circumstances."
After finding some fish in a snaggy area of the river, Jon quickly deployed his rig upstream of the fish, watching it trundle down and settle where the fish were sat.
"I had a thumping take just after the bait had settled and could see I was attached to one of the better fish."
"After several attempts to snag me up in the weedbeds, I steered the big fish into the net. It weighed 6lb 5oz and was a fantastic fish to kickstart my season on the rivers," he said.
WANT TO CATCH A BIG CHUB? OUR WHERE TO FISH GUIDE HAS SOME GREAT RIVERS TO TRY.
This page is a free example of the amazing content Angling Times Members get every single week. Becoming an Angling Times Member gives you access to award-winning magazine content, member rewards, our back issue archives, bonus content and more! Join our fishing community and find out more today!