Match angler takes biggest ever brace of chub during competition

The biggest brace of chub ever landed in a match has been taken by an angler fishing the River Nidd in Yorkshire.

John Leyland was competing in a Bradford No1 Angling Association match on the waterway at Cowthorpe, near Harrogate, when he landed the pair weighing in at a staggering 7lb 4oz and 6lb 11oz.

The specimens were the best of a match-winning bag totalling 32lb 3oz from seven chub, a figure that beat the second-placed angler by nearly 20lb.

“It’s a catch that’s hard to believe, especially as I was really struggling to get a bite for most of the match,” said John. “I started on the feeder before moving to stick float and then tried waggler as the conditions changed. It was only when I explored the bottom of my swim which seemed to have a sunken tree that I started to get bites.

“I had all the fish in the last hour to double maggot on a size 16 hook,” he said. “I couldn’t believe the size of them and it took a while to get each one in because I was only fishing 3.5lb line. I asked a mate in the next peg to witness the bigger fish and at first glance he thought I’d caught a carp.

You just don’t expect fish of that size from a little river like the Nidd.” As the icy conditions crept back across the country, though, it wasn’t just the match scene that threw up big chub this week. Representing specimen hunters in pursuit of the species was Basingstoke rod Alan Stagg, with the Gardner Tackle-backed angler taking a brace of big fish that tipped the scales at 6lb 7oz and 5lb 13oz.

Fishing the River Blackwater in Essex, Alan tempted both specimens with legered breadflake presented on a size 8 Talon Tip hook on a set-up using a small cage feeder loaded with hemp and cheesy garlic-flavoured liquidised bread.

“Five pound fish are a rarity for the Blackwater,” Alan told AT. “And sixes are few and far between. I’m sure that this is the biggest brace of chub ever landed from the river and I’m pretty sure the bigger fish is one of, if not the biggest chub ever to be caught from the river.”