Chub
Squalius cephalus
Chub (Squalius cephalus) is a freshwater fish found in UK waters. Rivers above all — from small streams to big weirpools. Sits under overhanging trees, beside rafts of debris and in the crease beside fast water. Whether you can keep one depends on local rules — check before you do.
- Max length
- 60 cm
- Max weight
- 4 kg
- Water
- Freshwater
- How often
- Common
Updated
What it looks like
A thick, powerful, cylindrical fish with large dark-edged scales, a broad head and a notably large mouth with white-rimmed lips. The dorsal and anal fins are convex — curved outward — which is the quickest separation from dace.
Chub are famously spooky: one heavy footfall on the bank and a shoal will vanish. They are also omnivorous to the point of comedy, taking bread, meat, worms, slugs and small fish with equal enthusiasm.
How to catch one
Bait
Bread, cheesepaste, lobworm, luncheon meat, or lures for bigger fish.
Rig
Straightforward link-leger with a short hooklink, or free-lined bread under a tree.
When
Any time, but dusk is exceptional. In winter, the middle of a mild afternoon.
Where
Cover. If there is a snag, a raft or an overhanging bush, fish it before you fish open water.
Season: All year. Chub are one of the few species that feed reliably in cold, clear winter rivers.
Easy to confuse with
dace
Dace are much smaller and slimmer, with concave fins and no white lips.
Roach
Roach are slab-sided and silver, with a small downturned mouth.
Questions anglers ask
- Why are chub so hard to approach?
- They live in clear shallow rivers where overhead threat is constant. Keep low, keep back from the bank and cast upstream where you can.
- What is the best chub bait?
- Bread is the classic — cheap, visible and takes fish all year. Cheesepaste is the traditional winter answer.
