My chub/barbel rig

 

Mainline

As I have pointed out in an earlier post I have found large chub, which are my target, are not tackle shy. I used to fish 6 lb mainline for chub in the past but I am happy to use the same as I do for barbel, that is 12 lb b.s. Usually cheap as chips sensor but I change it often.

Hooklength

11.5 lb frog hair 100% fluorocarbon. This stuff isn't cheap but it is completely reliable and much limper than most fluorocarbons on the market and virtually invisible in water. I use a 5 turn grinner (uni) knot which is wetted before it is drawn together. The hooklength shown is the one I caught the 5lb+ chub from the Ure on. It measures 40 in long. Unless the water is very coloured I prefer a longer hooklength. Studies of river barbel underwater apparently show that they are often spooked from steeply angling line that is close to the bait ( not sure why they take a float-fished bait!) By using a longer hooklength and having my rod tip close to the water, whenever I can, I reduce this angle. Seems to work well enough. I use tungsten hooklength weights on the hooklength to ensure that the line is firmly held down. These are quite expensive but you can recycle them as you can get one of those tools that you use to thread pellets onto a hair through the hole in the tungsten weight so you can put them on a new hooklength.

Weight

 

I like to use as small a weight as I can that will hold bottom after it has been cast in, unless I want to roll my bait under a raft or overhanging bush, then I actually want it to be carried away from where it landed. Because of this I prefer a ledger rather than a feeder. I don’t want half the weight to be ejected and then for the weight to be pulled away from the loose feed by the current. I therefore prefer to present any loosefeed in a pva bag which will deliver the loosefeed by the hook after the weight has settled. I fix my weight to a lead clip but it is free running. I do this so that the pressure on the mainline from the weight is reduced.

 

Hook

 

I used a size 10 on the rig shown ( drennan barbel specialist) but often go to a size 8 for paste baits and a 12 for sweetcorn etc. I rarely use maggot as they attract too many smaller fish for my liking. I usually use a knotless knot to my hook.

 

Bait

 

The bait for the chub was 2 krill pellets but I often use paste baits.

 

Sticky baits krill is good but I have caught lots of fish on cheesepaste shown on the right, especially in high water in winter - including my pb barbel of 11 lb 12 oz from the River Swale.

It is made by using equal amounts of

 1 shortcrust pastry ( in a packet from the supermarket )

 2 red Leicester or any Cheddar cheese

 3  Danish blue cheese

I add a teaspoon of red powdered dye and whizz it all up in a blender until I get the right consistency i.e like putty - should come off the hook if you strike.