Spooking fish off the spot before casting is vital for big Stour chub - Nigel Kennard

“TEN years ago I started working nights, which meant I only had time for short, opportunistic fishing trips. I love chub fishing, but back then I struggled to catch them from my local river in the three hours I had before my shifts started.
“The swims I fished all looked great for a bite and I knew the chub were there, because I’d seen them moving in the area, but from the moment I dropped in my rig it was as though my sessions were doomed, and time ran out before I’d even had a knock.
“I have lots of confidence in bolt rigs for chub, and the 2oz versions I use feature a boilie hookbait alongside a PVA bag of eight matching boilies. However, the rig makes a relatively loud splash when you cast it out, so I could only think that this was the reason for my blanks.
“Eventually I came up with a solution to the problem and thought up a way of temporarily spooking the chub from my swim – giving me enough time to cast my rig before they returned.
“This simple tweak involved feeding just six boilies into the area, one at a time, the idea being that the small splashes would deter the chub just long enough for me to make my move. The change made an instant impact, and has accounted for the majority of my chub catches ever since!
“Two weeks ago I headed to the Dorset Stour for another short session before work and I decided to fish a marginal swim with a bit of depth to it. After dropping in my six boilies to move any resident chub out of the swim, I then flicked out my rig.
“My first bite came two minutes later, resulting in a 5lb 13oz fish. After letting the swim rest I repeated the process – eventually banking a much bigger chub of 7lb 5oz.

“A little over a week later I headed to a completely different stretch of the Stour.
“The water was carrying a bit of colour, but I had seen big chub in this particular swim during the summer so I decided to start there.
“Using the exact same tactics, I waited less than an hour for a bite and landed a 7lb 9oz chub following a strong scrap under the rod-tip.

“This fish proved to be my biggest chub from the Stour and just 2oz off my PB, caught from the River Lea some years ago.
“I don’t think I’ll use a different approach to my chub fishing ever again.”