L U R E
In the centre of the lure’s wake another
disturbance appears. A bow wave a foot
behind rears up, its creator closing in on
its the target. Less than a second later the
surface explodes; spray and scales everywhere
behind a large mouth that searches for the
lure but fails to connect. This is the game, this
is the excitement, this is lure fishing for chub.
As carnivorous and predatory as any of the
major UK species targeted on lures, possibly
the most exciting aspect of hunting chub is
that it’s the big specimens that feed on other
fish. And they’re aggressive, competitive; hit a
pod of these chunky cyprinids in the feeding
mood and every one of them will want to be
the first to the food.
Gareth’s tactics for the hunt are
twofold. Moving along the river
with minimal gear, watercraft is
his first weapon, using experience
and fish behaviour to work
out where they will be sitting.
Second is sighting them. In the
clear water Gareth scans for
movements; a shimmer of flank,
a brief movement of shadow, his
polarising shades a must.
The banks of the Wensum
are overgrown with reeds and
stinging nettles. Bad for his
hands and face, great for cover as
he negotiates his rod into place.
And that’s what he does at
our next spot. A raft of weed
gives cover to chub around 10
metres downstream. A cast
goes out, sending a Bomber
Shallow A lure to the far bank
and floating down to the raft.
Again Gareth holds his rod
high and cranks the lure back.
The aim with this 5cm, fatbodied floating lure is to create
a wake on the water imitati