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Carp, tench & river giants🇬🇧 Native🌱 Good for beginners

Chub

Squalius cephalus · Also called Chevin, Loggerhead

The river's great opportunist. Big-mouthed, wary and hungry all year, even on the coldest winter day.

A chub with dark-edged scales and red lower fins lying on grass
Photo: Algirdas at Lithuanian Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Typical size
1 lb – 3 lb
A good one
5 lb (6 lb+ is a specimen)
Length
30 – 50 cm
Best time
All year (rivers open 16 June to 14 March)

🏆 British record: 9 lb 5 oz (4.224 kg), A southern stillwater (2007)

How to spot it

Long, chunky body with a broad, blunt head and a big white-lipped mouth. Large scales with dark edges give a net-like pattern. The bottom (anal) fin is reddish with an outward-curving edge.

The dace looks similar but is slimmer, with a small mouth and an inward-curving anal fin.

Where to find it

Mostly rivers, from small streams to big lowland rivers. Some stillwaters too.

Chub love cover: overhanging trees, undercut banks, rafts of floating debris, weed beds and bridge pilings. In summer you can often spot them sitting just under the surface in clear water.

Find waters near you

Feeding habits

Chub will eat almost anything: insects, worms, slugs, crayfish, small fish, berries, bread and cheese! They're very wary though, and disappear at the sight of an angler.

They feed all year and are one of the best fish to target on cold winter days.

Best time: All year (rivers open 16 June to 14 March). Winter is excellent; dusk is the best time of day.

Favourite baits

  • Bread flake

  • Cheese paste

    A winter classic.

  • Luncheon meat

  • Maggots

    Trotted down the river.

  • Worms and slugs

How to catch it

Bread flake on a link ledger

Rivers, near cover

Rod
11–12 ft feeder rod with a light quivertip
Reel
Fixed-spool (3000–4000)
Line
6 lb main line
Hook
Size 8–10
Bait
A big pinch of bread flake

Use just enough weight to hold bottom, and cast just upstream of a snag or overhanging tree. Mash some bread into a pulp and throw in a small ball first. Bites are usually sharp, confident pulls.

Trotting a stick float

Steady-paced rivers

Rod
13 ft float rod
Reel
Fixed-spool or centrepin
Line
4 lb main line
Hook
Size 14–16
Bait
Double maggot

Feed maggots steadily and trot the float down the swim, letting the bait trip along the bottom. Chub often follow the feed upstream towards you.

Handling and rules

Chub are tough fish. Net them, unhook quickly and return them. They can be slippery, so keep a firm, gentle grip.

📜 Rules and seasons

On rivers, streams and drains in England and Wales there's a close season for coarse fish from 15 March to 15 June. Most lakes, ponds and canals are open all year, but check the water's own rules.

Check the official rules on gov.uk

Watch: catching chub

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