Homemade cheese paste lures 7lb 12oz chub

A Homemade piece of cheese paste the size of a golf ball was the secret behind the capture of this 7lb 12oz river chub.
Nathan Leney hadn’t been chub fishing for several months, but the recent mild spell inspired him to take a trip to the tough River Lea in Hertfordshire.
There the 36-year-old from Aylesbury relied purely on the pulling power of his homemade hookbait – made from shortcrust pastry, blue cheese, oil and flour – to attract the attention of the huge fish.
“I hadn’t come up to the river for over two months, but there’s always a big opportunity when big fish are concerned after a noticeable rise in temperature,” Nathan said.
“The most simple tactics are more often than not the most effective, so the only thing on the end of my line is a big hook and a golf ball-sized lump of cheese 0paste.
“Using something this size also gives me the option of trundling it around the swim, because it’s so heavy.”
The all-important bite from a fish that falls just short of his current chub pb came as he visited his last swim before heading home. He beat the specimen on 12lb line tied straight through to a size 1 hook.
“Cheese paste couldn’t be easier to make – I use four blocks of blue cheese to one shop-bought pack of pastry,” Nathan continued.
“I then add a little oil and then flour to obtain the perfect consistency for the hook.
“The only time I will feed at this time of the year is if I retrieve my hookbait and the paste is still on.
“I then remove this, form a couple of small balls from the leftover hookbait and flick them into the swim – that’s all it takes.”