Tricky Trent Chub

[TrentFisher]

Hello TFF members,I am a new member and very pleased to join you.
My first post concerns my chub fishing on the river Trent,the problem is with those rod wrenching bites which result in no contact with a fish,this has become a more regular experience in recent seasons,I tried various things but it is still happens on most trips,I normally touch ledger with a simple running rig .Just wondered if this happening to other trentfishers and on other rivers?
kind regards
Trentfisher

[Julian]

Welcome aboard Trentfisher

[Hovis]

Welcome sir. I have fished the trent a fair bit over the last few years and have been fairly successful in catching a few chub to 6lb+ can you please give us a bit more info like what tackle are you using and what size fish are you angling for? I may be able to help after that

[TrentFisher]

Hello Hovis.I use a 11ft rod converted ctm13 6lb line,hook sizes 8-4 ,baits are nomally cheesepaste,bread flake or a crust/cheesepaste combination,I have caught fish to just under the magic 6lb but still missing too many bites.

[Hovis]

Well your catching so won't be doing that much wrong. I used to fish the A1 section and used huge baits to combat the huge population of bream and I am talking baits like quarter of a tin on meat. I reduced the bait size and increased the hook lenght to a min of 2 feet and I hardly missed a chub bite but I also caught a hell of a lot of bream (no bad thing). Over the last few years though I have fished the tidal trent and some is smooth mud and have been catching but only had a few large fish. What lenght hook lengths are you using?

[Dave Burr]

As Hovis suggests, a longer hook length is often enough to sort out unhittable bites but also make sure that your paste is soft enough for the hook to pull through allowing for it to be firmer as it gets cold in the water.

[TrentFisher]

hello again gents,thank you for input on this subject,I do vary the hook lengths and bait sizes ,so I am toying with using 5ft hook lengths,large baits to see if this gives the chub that extra time holding the bait and movement to see if the bites are more a steady pull rather than a wrench?

[James]

If i remember right Peter stone had this problem and his answer was to have more slack line between the rod and rig,giving the chub more confidence feeling less resistance [taking the bait better].

[Bob Brookes]

You say you are touch ledgering! Try holding the line between the reel and the first eye AWAY from the rod. As soon as you feel an indication let it go, giving Mr Chub some free line. This often results in a confident take and a fish on. A similar principle to James, but suits your touch fishing style. The slack line from the rod tip is not always possible in the heavy flow of a river like the Trent. My biggest of 6.09 came from the Trent using this method.
Bob

[Bob Brookes]

......as a follow on from my previous post. If the flow conditions allow, then try using a light bobbin like the renowned Fairy liquid bottle top. (dough bobbin or tinfoil for ultra trad). This give a virtually resistance free indication and will result in more fish. The secret of both these methods is little change of resistance.
Bob