River chub: read cover and improve your approach
Course pack: Chub approach worksheet. Coach Willy, our virtual AI coach, can explain each step, set you a practice task and check your understanding.
Who it's for
You've done the basics and want to tighten things up. Aimed at chub.
Where and when
Done on the bank. Waters: river. Best in: all.
What you'll work through
- 1Observe cover flow and access
- 2Plan a quiet approach
- 3Test one appropriate bait and presentation
- 4Review movement and repeat visits
Step 1: Observe cover flow and access
Alright mate, let's get stuck into river chub: read cover and improve your approach. I'll walk you through what to look for, what to try and how to tell whether it helped. We'll start with observe cover flow and access, then work through a proper practice job at each step. Take it at your own pace and keep a few notes so you've got a useful plan for next time.
By the end of this step
Have a go at: observe cover flow and access.
Check first
Check fishery/club rules, permission, local seasons and closures, and GOV.UK rod licence rules before fishing; confirm the appropriate national requirements for your location. This is a bankside exercise, not a wading lesson. Avoid unstable or undercut banks and stop if rising water threatens safe access.
Willy’s take
Right, chub fishing on rivers is all about reading cover properly before you do anything else, mate. Chub love overhanging trees, undercut banks, snaggy woodwork, and crease lines where fast water meets slow — they sit tight to these features for both safety and easy feeding.
Walk the bank quietly and look for these spots rather than just picking an open, easy-to-fish stretch, and check access rules for the river too, since some stretches have restrictions on bank walking or wading near sensitive areas.
Kit I'd start with
- Chub tackle needs to handle a fish that bolts hard for cover the moment it's hooked. A 12ft river rod with 8-10lb mainline suits most chub work, stepping up to 10-12lb where undercut banks, tree roots or heavy snags are close by, since a chub given line near cover will use it.
- A size 8-12 hook to a 10lb hooklength suits bread, meat or pellet hookbaits, with a simple running leger or light feeder rig carrying enough weight to hold in the flow without needing constant recasting.
- Carry a selection of leads or feeders matched to the current's pace, a landing net with a reasonably wide mouth for a thickset fish, polarised sunglasses to help spot fish holding near cover, and quiet, drab clothing since chub are notably easily spooked by movement and silhouette on the bank.
On the bank
Worked example
Imagine you've got a choice between an open, easy-access straight stretch and a snaggy, overhung bend further along. Hypothetically, which would you investigate first for chub, and what would make you choose it?
Your turn: Observe cover flow and access
- 1
Walk the bank looking specifically for cover
- 2
Prioritise creases, undercuts and overhanging trees
That's the free sample — this is where it stops
The full step keeps going with the rest of the practice job, common mistakes and fixes, a check-your-understanding quiz and your Chub approach worksheet. Then 3 more steps, each with its own task, and Coach Willy on hand to talk it through.
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