Summer Chub Fishing with Crankbaits

You’ve got to love the adrenaline-fuelled excitement of a truly aggressive take. For me, during the warm days of late summer, my thoughts turn immediately to one species and one presentation: summer chub fishing with crankbaits.

Glasses on and ready for action!

The great appeal of fishing for chub with these hard-bodied lures is the sheer aggression of the take. Unlike the tentative pluck of a silverfish or the slow draw of a lurking predator, a hungry chub absolutely smashes the lure. When they are feeding hard in the warmer months, this take is often explosive and occurs surprisingly close to the surface!

Some new lures to try! Rattlin Hornet in Copper.

My recent session focused on a favourite stretch of river, and I was eager to try out some new additions to my tackle box. Specifically, I was testing the renowned Salmo Rattlin’ Hornet crankbait in one of its newest colours: Copper. This lipped floater has a fantastic wobble and, crucially for me, its floating nature allows for some superb presentation methods that can be key to success when targeting cover-loving chub.

As any successful chub angler will tell you, the golden rule is to always target cover. Chub are creatures of structure and shadow. Overhanging trees, sunken branches, undercut banks, and clumps of water lilies are all prime ambush points.

Rattlin Hornet in Pearl Shad – Hard to beat!

My session started slowly and regrettably, I went back to using my confidence lure – The Hornet in Pearl Shad. Sure enough, within a few casts I had a couple of small fish.

Small, greedy chub on a crankbait

These fish are a great confidence boost, but I knew the larger, older chub would be holding tight to the densest cover and I was desperate to catch it on the Copper colour – it looked so good and so I switched back!

Switching back to Copper – It looks so good!

Larger chub often lie tucked right underneath overhanging branches, areas that are impossible to retrieve a sunken lure from without snagging. My technique involves making a very short, accurate cast upstream of the cover. By leaving the reel bale-arm open and allowing the flow to take the floating lure under the overhanging trees, I can present the bait perfectly into the fish’s sanctuary. Once the lure drifts into the strike zone, I simply snap the bale-arm shut and give the crankbait a few turns. The sudden wake-up of the lure, coupled with its appearance right on their noses, is often too much for a big chub to resist.

I had been working a particularly challenging swim when a cast under a bush on the far bank resulted in a deep, solid thump. The rod bent immediately into a much better fish. The fight was short, intense, and typical of a decent river chub. Eventually, I managed to steer it into the waiting net.

A nice chub taken on the Salmo Rattlin Hornet in Copper

What a fish! It was a cracking chunky chub, thick across the shoulders and possessing the dark, mottled bronze colours of an older specimen. A quick photograph and it was carefully slipped back into the current to power away.

The sun was beginning to dip, casting long shadows across the river, signaling the end of my short session. I left for home very happy, already looking forward to the next time I’m summer chub fishing with crankbaits.