Chub

Hi,
We are now at number two, in my favourite fish top 10, and I guess a lot of people will be surprised to find that the place is filled with the chub. So what is it about the chub that makes me rate it so highly, after all it isn't the best fighting fish in the world. Well firstly, the chub is a good looking fish and it feels solid in the hand. The chub is also the right shape and isn't covered in horrible slime like some species. The fact that it isn't edible doesn't come into the equation because only barbarians eat coarse fish.
Having said all that, the real reason I like the chub is because it was the first decent sized fish I ever caught. .
When I got my first set of wheels in the early seventies (pictured on the right is my beloved first car, a MKI Cortina 1500 Super) it meant that I could fish further afield. Up until that time my fishing had been mainly confined to farmer Brown's pit, in the village of Seighford, nr Stafford.

Anyway, one day I was driving along the Eccleshall Road towards Great Bridgeford, when I looked across the field and saw a chap fishing the little river sow. Now, I kid you not, but the traffic was not so heavy in those days, so I parked up at the side of the road and went to see how he was doing. Those who know the Eccleshall Road between Stafford and Great Bridgeford will not believe it was possible to park along that road without being flattened by a truck, but I did.

So, having parked up, I walked across the field and approached the angler with some caution. As I got close he motioned for me to stay low and proceed quietly to his upstream side. I did this and crouched down low beside him.

My father had always taught me the need to be quiet when fishing and this angler confirmed what he'd said. If you are going to catch big chub in a small river then you've just got to use some river craft because if you spook fish like the chub you will be fishless all day.

Anyway, this old fellow, who spoke in whispers, showed me how he went about catching big chub on a small river and I was very impressed. Whilst I sat at his side he caught 3 chub all going close to the 4lb mark and my relationship with the chub and my love affair with the craft of angling was born.

I will tell you more about the old man, and how he went about catching those big chub in my next post.
However, I'd just like to share with you a photo that I came across whilst looking for the one of the Cortina.You can see it on the left and it shows how proud I was of my match fishing successes. The photo is of the wall in my lounge where I used to put my fishing trophies. Clearly, at some point I ran out of room on the shelves and started nailing them to the lounge wall. No wonder my first Mrs pissed off and left me. My new wife wouldn't put up with it that's for sure.

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