Canal chub are something of an enigma in my experience, whilst I am well aware of their presence in the canal system they are not a natural target that I think about often. I've heard reports over the years of some very decent fish coming from most of the canals within my reach, but I have never got around to specifically fishing for any canal chub as yet. It's just another entry on my long to do list.
As with a lot of the chub I catch they often come by accident when fishing for other species. It happened again the other night, there I was sat in the darkness happily ledgering strips of trout on a stretch of canal for zander to see if I could locate some in a new area, when the bobbin finally slid up to the rod blank and the tip pulled round. I lifted into a fish that fought back and resisted being raised to the surface more than the usual 3 or 4lb zed would. This could be a decent one I thought until this fine chub popped up and slid over the net rim. Though not a big zander I wasn't disappointed to catch this nice chub of around 3 - 4lb. If there is one fish that fits the omnivorous bracket best it must be the chub. They will have a go at virtually anything, in fact I think it is one of the only British freshwater fish you can catch on almost any method from fly to lure and certainly any bait !
