My local rivers has a good head of chub and I saw shoals of them today swimming about. What would be the best way to target them

First, wait until the season opens on the 16th

Dry fly, big bushy patterns - daddies, hoppers, etc. They'll take nymphs and lures too, but for my money the dry fly is where the fun is!

Try a popper. You need a strong heart for this. The takes are tremendous.

Frithy

I generally use a big detatched body daddy for them but hoppers work well too. Takes are usually quite agressive but be careful. Chub are really spooky.

On deeper stretches were they're unlikley to rise try a GRHE or a PTN below a big klink, that's worked for me as well.

olive gold head and small ptn everytime but if you can get them on the dry fly its the dogs doobies even had them at last light on a surface lure had three this morning after the brownies ,also took them in the dead of night while after the seatrout they seem to prefer a dovey black and orange ali tube on my stretch of the river [welsh dee]

I managed this fine chap last night whilst prospecting a deep pool with a skated sedge for trout



I've found beetles to be very succesfull also, especially when they're in a group and competitive, plopping a bucktail slow sinking beetle a yard or two infront of them normally induces greed as every one of them darts to intercept it!

Big pike flies will take big chub too, just make sure you use a wire trace if there are pike in your water.

Oh and wait till the 16th before you target them

Cheers,


Graham

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Cheers, I'm not going to fish for them till 16th, but technically could you fly fish for them and say you were after trout?

The close season is there to protect the fish. Technically or not it is breaking the law and shows bad judgement. People do it but they are probably the same people who target trout and grayling in winter and don't have a fishing liscence.

Saying you were fishing for trout in a river dominated by course species doesn't really cut it as an excuse and you'd probably find yourself with an issue if caught.

Catching one by mistake on a trout fishery is of course different.

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

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