How to Catch Chub

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

How to catch chub comes down to three things: find cover, fish the low-light hours and feed little and often. Look under overhanging trees, beside bridge pillars and along creases, then match the method to the water. Stalk in low, clear summer rivers, trot a float through steady flow, and switch to the feeder when the river is cold, high or coloured.

The steps below run in the order you would work through a session, from the legal checks to landing the fish. Step 1 comes first because the river close season shuts chub fishing on rivers in England and Wales from mid-March to mid-June. For identification, sizes and where chub live, see the chub species guide. This page is about catching them, and our coarse fishing techniques hub covers other methods.

Step 1: Check the Close Season, Your Licence and Permission

Turning up at a river in May with a bag of bread is the quickest way to an awkward chat with a bailiff.

Coarse fishing is banned on rivers, streams and drains in England and Wales from 15 March to 15 June inclusive (GOV.UK). River chub fishing reopens on 16 June. Canals and most enclosed stillwaters stay open all year, subject to local byelaws (in Wales, check Natural Resources Wales). Private waters may set their own close season.

Anyone 13 or over needs a rod licence in England (except the River Tweed), Wales and the Border Esk region; 13 to 16 year olds get a free junior licence. Fishing without a licence risks a fine of up to £2,500 (GOV.UK; Natural Resources Wales). Buy it on GOV.UK up to 30 days ahead and check the current price there.

A licence is not permission. You still need a club card or day ticket, and regional byelaws can add closed areas and tackle rules. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules, so check with the relevant authority.

You should now know which waters are open to you. Between mid-March and mid-June, that means a canal or stillwater that holds chub. Our fishing seasons and fishing licence guides have the detail.

Step 2: Find Where Chub Hold by Season and River Level

A chub that won’t look at a bait under a willow at noon can be feeding hard in open water during the last hour of light.

By day, chub hold tight to cover. The classic lies are:

overhanging trees and rafts of trapped debris
bridge pillars and snags
undercut banks and weedbeds
creases, where fast water meets slow
eddies and backwaters

Summer. Low, clear water pushes chub into shade through the bright hours. They move out to feed at dawn and dusk, so plan your session around the first and last hours of light, not lunchtime.

Winter. Chub drop into slower, deeper water close to cover. Fishing improves as a flooded river starts to fall and clear, carrying food down to fish that are ready to eat. While the river is still rising and heavily coloured, look in slacks and backwaters close to the bank, where fish shelter from the push of water.

Conditions	Where to look	Method to start with
Summer, low and clear	Shade under trees, bridges, snags; open water at dawn and dusk	Stalking (Step 4)
Normal level, steady flow	Creases, glides beside cover, the tail of weedbeds	Float (Step 5)
Winter, or falling after a flood	Slower, deeper water near cover; slacks and backwaters	Feeder (Step 6)

Your approach matters as much as the swim. Chub spook easily in clear water, so stay well back from the edge, keep low and keep the rod low. Walk the bank and look at each swim before you set up, and use our guide on how to read a river for more on flow and features.

By the end of this step you should have two or three likely swims picked before you tackle up: shaded cover for a summer evening, or a slow, deep spot by cover on a falling winter river.

Step 3: Choose Stalking, Float or Feeder for the Conditions

One chub guide says 4 to 6lb line. Another says 6 to 8lb and a 13ft rod. Both are right, for different rivers and months.

These are typical starting points. Adjust for fish size and snags.

Method	Use it when	Typical rod and reel	Mainline	Hooks	Main baits
Stalking	Low, clear water; fish you can see; summer	9 to 10ft rod, 2000 to 2500 reel	4 to 6lb mono	Size 6 to 10 for crust or paste; 8 to 12 for slugs	Crust, flake, cheese paste, slugs
Float	Steady flow you can run a float through	Float rod, fixed-spool or centrepin	5lb minimum where chub run big; 6 to 8lb near snags, with a 0.14 to 0.18mm hooklength	Sized to the bait	Maggots, luncheon meat, bread
Feeder	Winter, coloured or fast water; swims too awkward to trot	12 to 13ft medium-heavy rod, 4000 to 5000 reel	6 to 8lb	Size 8 for lobworm or flake; size 12 for maggots	Lobworm, breadflake, cheese paste, maggots

Chub are not especially line shy and bolt for snags, so err on the stronger side near cover.

The verdict: on an unfamiliar river, start on the float and switch to the feeder if bites don’t come.

Step 4: Stalk Summer Chub With Freelined Bread and Slugs

A loaf of bread and a pair of polarised glasses make up most of the kit you need. Stalking is the most direct way to catch chub in summer, because you find the fish first and then put a bait in front of it.

Work through it like this:

Walk slowly with polarised glasses on. Scan the shade under trees, bridges and snags for dark shapes holding station, or a fish sipping something off the surface.
Stay back and low. Approach from downstream where you can. Chub face into the current, so they are less likely to see you coming from behind.
Test them with free offerings. Drift a few pieces of crust down to the fish. If they rise, you have your answer. If they ignore it, switch to sunk flake, cheese paste or a slug.
Freeline the bait. Tie the hook straight to the mainline, with no float and no weight. In faster water, pinch on a single swan shot to get a sunk bait down.
Control the drift and strike. Let the bait trundle down to the fish while you take up slack. Strike on the take and steer the fish away from cover at once.

Each bait has its place. Crust is visible and cheap, but it only works on the surface and wary fish soon learn to ignore it. Cheese paste works under cover and into autumn. Slugs are a natural summer bait, and you can often find them on the bank after rain. For more on crust, flake and paste, see our bread bait guide.

Some anglers also use small surface lures for predatory summer chub. Only try this where the fishery rules allow lures.

Stalking has limits. It needs clear water and decent light, and polarised glasses help far less under flat grey skies.

Best for: clear summer rivers you can walk. Skip if: the river is up or coloured.

Step 5: Trot a Float Through the Swim With Steady Loosefeed

Bites come for twenty minutes, then stop dead. Usually the feed stopped first. Float fishing catches chub because it pairs constant feed with a bait moving naturally down the swim, and the feeding rhythm matters more than the float pattern.

Shotting. Lock the float with a bulk of shot so it cocks straight away. Below that, space a No.6 dropper for every 2ft of depth so the bait falls naturally. Don’t go too light. Chub bite boldly and fight hard, so a heavier float you can control beats a delicate one that drags under.

Depth. Plumb the swim and set the bait just off or tripping the bottom as a starting point. Shallow off if you keep snagging, and go deeper if bites are being missed.

Feeding. Feed little and often, such as a dozen maggots every trot. In summer, try 6mm cubes of luncheon meat as feed with a much larger, roughly torn piece on the hook. The ragged edges leak more scent and the bigger bait tends to pick out the better chub.

Control. Hold back gently so the bait runs slightly ahead of the float. Lift and drop the float as it travels to keep the bait moving among the feed, which often triggers a take.

A basic chub trotting rig:

A float suited to the pace and depth of the swim
A bulk of shot to lock and cock it
No.6 droppers, one per 2ft of depth
A 0.14 to 0.18mm hooklength near snags
A hook sized to the bait

For line control, mending and running a float the full length of a swim, see our trotting guide.

Compared with the feeder, the float covers more of the swim and shows you more bites. Once the river is up or cold, the feeder takes over.

Step 6: Fish a Chub Feeder Rig in Winter and Coloured Water

A feeder cast tight to a near-bank raft with a lobworm on the hook is often the simplest way to catch a winter chub. When the river is cold, high or coloured, the feeder pins your hookbait and a scent trail in the chub’s lie, and it keeps catching when a float struggles to hold.

Build a typical starting set-up like this:

Rod and line. A 12 to 13ft medium-heavy rod with 6 to 8lb mainline.
Feeder. Fish it running or on a paternoster, with enough lead to hold bottom in the flow. Step up the weight as the current increases. Use a blockend for maggots, or an open-end with groundbait or liquidised bread.
Hooklength. Keep it short, so a chub picking up the bait pricks itself against the weight of the feeder.
Hook. Size 8 for lobworm or breadflake, size 12 for maggots.
Tangle fix. If the hooklength wraps around the feeder on the cast, trap it against the feeder with a small piece of rig foam.

Where to cast. Put the feeder tight to cover, or on the edge of the crease where faster water meets slow. Chub sit in that seam and let food come to them.

Rhythm. Recast regularly so feed keeps going in. Cast more often at the start to build the swim, then ease off once bites begin.

Cold-water baits. Lobworm and breadflake are the strongest choices, with cheese paste as a third option. Maggots work as feed and hookbait, but expect small fish to find them first.

Bites. Watch the rod tip. Chub bites are often a confident pull round rather than a tentative tap.

For more on leads, bobbins and quivertip bite indication, see our ledgering guide.

If the river is falling and clearing after a flood, start here.

Step 7: Land Chub Safely and Fix Missed Bites and Blanks

A hooked chub’s first run is usually straight for the nearest snag. Lose that battle and you are left with a snapped line and a spooked swim.

Playing and landing. Apply side strain away from cover from the first second, rod low and angled towards open water. Have the net ready before you cast. Once it is in open water, let the rod absorb the lunges, then draw the fish over a net sunk in the margin. Never lift a chub by the line.

Fish care. Wet your hands before handling, use an unhooking mat and keep the fish out of the water as briefly as possible. Support it in the water facing upstream until it swims off strongly. Some fisheries require barbless hooks or restrict keepnets, so check the rules.

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Bites stopped	The feed stopped	Keep feeding little and often
Missed bites on the feeder	Hooklength too long	Shorten it
Fish spooked	Shadow, noise or a careless approach	Stay back, keep low, keep the rod low
Nothing at midday in summer	Wrong time of day	Fish early or late
Only small fish on maggots	Bait too small	Step up to flake, meat or lobworm

The verdict: if a likely swim gives nothing after a fair spell, move. Roving finds chub.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best bait for chub?

Bread is the most versatile chub bait: crust on the surface in summer, flake on the bottom in winter. Luncheon meat, lobworm, cheese paste, slugs and maggots also catch. Steps 4 and 6 match baits to stalking and the feeder.

What time of day is best for chub fishing?

Low light is best, around sunrise and sunset, especially in summer. Chub sit in cover through the bright hours and move out to feed as the light changes. In winter, river level matters more than the clock: fish a flooded river as it falls and clears.

Can you fish for chub in the close season?

Not on rivers, streams and drains in England and Wales between 15 March and 15 June inclusive. Canals and most enclosed stillwaters can be fished all year, subject to local byelaws and fishery rules. See our fishing seasons guide and GOV.UK.

What size hook and line for chub?

Typically, use a size 6 to 10 hook for big baits such as crust, flake or paste, and a size 12 for maggots. Use 5lb mainline minimum where chub run large, and 6 to 8lb near snags. Step 3 has set-ups by method.

How big do chub get in the UK?

The British record chub is 9lb 5oz (4.224kg), caught by Andy Maker in 2007 from a southern stillwater, according to the British Record Fish Committee list as at 30 January 2026. Records change, so check the current BRFC list. For typical sizes, see our chub species guide.