One bait which is worth trying is chicken liver. Produces a lot of smell and chubs love it. Nice european catfish bait as well. Other species shall also take it. It is a bit soft, so you must be carefull how you handle it. But it works.

I used to catch a lot of chub (and eels) in coloured water using shin of beef which stays on the hook well but it was in the days when butchers would give you shin for the dog.

__________________
“There is no more lovely country than Monmouthshire in early spring. Nowhere do the larks sing quite so passionately, as if somehow inspired by the Welsh themselves. There is a blackbird on every thorn and a cock chaffinch, a twink as they call him there, on every bush...... It moved me profoundly. I had been spared to see another spring, and I thank God for it.”

Oliver Kite
“A Spring Day on the Usk”
A Fisherman’s Diary

It is not bread or maggot, but as the original question is about killer bait, i guess the most effective big chub bait in my part of the world is most probably a cherry, when there is a season of course. In season, a fresh cherry, normaly fished withouth anything else is the most effective bait. Interesting thing is they are nuts on them even in waters, where there is no way they could come in contact with cherries. Some people also use redcurrent and grapes, but cherries are no.1 when they are available.

Another bait, which has accounted for many big chubs specially in higher water, but can not be used nowdays is a mole cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa).

Anyway nowdays we can not use maggots as well. At least not live ones. We must kill them before fishing.....

Well for me the best summer bait for big chub is freelined crayfish. For winter fishing I would go leger with a nice smelly blue cheese bread paste. However the comments regarding bronze rain sweetcorn and other particles are all correct I guess its like all fishing its to down to venue and conditions...

There's a place on the Wye where wild plum trees overhang the river and guess what! A free-lined whole plum does the business for a few weeks in August. Cast close under the trees with a distinct "plop" as they land bites normally take just seconds.

__________________
“There is no more lovely country than Monmouthshire in early spring. Nowhere do the larks sing quite so passionately, as if somehow inspired by the Welsh themselves. There is a blackbird on every thorn and a cock chaffinch, a twink as they call him there, on every bush...... It moved me profoundly. I had been spared to see another spring, and I thank God for it.”

Oliver Kite
“A Spring Day on the Usk”
A Fisherman’s Diary

Bread, meat, lobworms for me, also large cooked prawns. I would use lobs more but I have to grab sessions when I can at short notice and I'm never organised enough to have lobs available, whereas bread and meat easy from the supermarket, prawns too! Lots of other baits will work but those are my favourites. Most of my chubbing is roving style though, so big baits on light link leger are the norm for me and sort out the bigger fish

__________________

Wow, cherries .......... well I never!

__________________
Carl

http://www.wandlepiscators.net/
http://teiseangling.co.uk/index.htm

TOMORROW THE TRENT COULD BE YOUR FISHERY! When are YOU going to JOIN THE ANGLING TRUST?