Many species of freshwater fish inhabiting our water bodies choose various artificial shelters as their permanent habitat, such as, for example, bridge piles. One of these fish is the well-known chub, which is attracted by the abundance of various foods under these structures. This food appears as a result of the human habit of throwing various leftovers from the bridge. In addition, cars driving across the bridge knock down flying or crush crawling insects, which then also often end up in the river, thrown there by a gust of wind.
Where the fish keep, sooner or later a fisherman appears, so many chub hunting enthusiasts successfully catch this fish directly from road bridges. As a rule, it is possible to successfully fish a chub if the height of the structure above the water does not exceed 50 meters. The high altitude makes it difficult to observe the bite, as well as to extract the fish from its native element and then deliver it to the bridge.
The legislation does not prohibit fishing from automobile bridges, however, you should not lose your head even with very intense biting, since swinging a rod can inadvertently hit a person passing on the bridge. In addition, to move from one side of the bridge to the other, you must first make sure that there are no passing cars. It is generally not recommended to use this facility for fishing if there are no footpaths on it.
Tackle for catching chub from the bridge
The chub is caught from the bridge by lowering the nozzle downstream, or holding it in one place near the piles. If you catch the first method, then the bait is floated until it disappears from the field of view, after which it is returned back. As practice shows, most of the bites occur either immediately after the bait touches the water, or a couple of meters after swimming.
They catch this fish from the bridge, using for this purpose a spinning rod up to 3 meters long, although, of course, no one forbids taking longer rods, the main thing is that the fisherman is comfortable.
An important role in this method of fishing is played by the rigidity of the rod, because the caught fish weighing a pound or more must be lifted sometimes by a couple of tens of meters. The reel must also match the rod. Lightweight reel models will not last long with heavy use in bridge fishing conditions. Of course, everyone chooses the fishing line depending on the weight of the fish he expects. For catching chubs up to a pound, it is quite enough to equip the rod with a line of 0, 25-0, 3 mm. If a larger specimen comes across, then it must be taken out by first swiping it to the shore, and then pulled to the shore (if the dimensions of the bridge and coastal vegetation allow). As for the hooks, it is better to take small tees. They will not only securely hold the fish, but also fix the bait well, which may be attacked by the chub more than once. A tee of 7-12 numbers will quite cope with this task. If the fisherman wants the bait to stay on the surface of the reservoir, then you should not choose a large tee, since it will carry the nozzle under the water with its weight. In the case when the bait does not hold well on the water and tends to sink all the time, you can hold it with a slight line tension. Some anglers use foam balls to keep the bait on the water, but this can be bad for the bite.
Active bite time
The chub, like other fish, is sensitive to pressure drops, water transparency and a number of other factors that are not always subject to humans. Chub zhor begins in the morning and evening, reaching its climax at sunrise and sunset. The chub marks the beginning of morning and evening hunting with strong blows on the water. On cloudy days, fish eating may start earlier and end later than usual.
In those places where the chub is rarely caught, it can actively feed all day. Where fishermen constantly hunt for him, the fish behave much more cautiously and are not so active.
Development of a section of the river near the bridge
There are places with a weak current behind the piles of the bridge. It is there that the chub often keeps, reacting to the fall of the bait. Sometimes it happens that the bait is just falling into the water, and the fish is already rapidly rising up to meet it. This, of course, does not always happen, most often, the bait floats on the surface or slowly sinks, but there is still no bite. In this situation, you can play with the bait to encourage the fish to take action. The technique of such a game is as follows. With the help of a fishing line, you need to tug the bait on the water several times, creating the illusion of a fluttering insect. After that, we give the bait the opportunity to lie on the surface of the water or slowly lower it under the water.
Piles located directly under the bridge can become a place for further search for fish. Fish can often stand under them, but it is not always possible to throw a nozzle into this place. It will definitely not be possible to play with the bait, therefore, in the absence of a bite, it can be slowly immersed in the water and, if the angler is sure that there are no snags and protruding reinforcement at the bottom, then to the very bottom.
One of the options for fishing from a bridge will be a gradual exploration of a section of the river, by moving along this engineering structure, and lowering the nozzle under the bridge every couple of meters, rafting it while it is in sight. Trying to take the bait as far under the bridge as possible, you do not need to get carried away so as not to drop the rod or fall off yourself.
Fishing from old piles and flooded logs
As the traffic intensity increased, the road network developed, old bridges were rebuilt, instead of wooden bridges, concrete ones were built. Therefore, often, next to the piles of a new design, you can find the remains of wooden or also concrete piles of its predecessor. These remains often become the place of constant presence of the chub. Flocks of fry standing in such places are constantly exposed to rapid attacks of this fish. If there is sufficient depth, the chub attacks from below, if not very deeply, then from the shelter, immediately grabbing the victim, but not stunning it like the asp.
The chub, being in ambush, hides between the piles or behind them, waiting for the unwary fry. To catch the fish lurking in this place, the bait is floated between the piles and stopped for a while. Then, in the absence of a bite, they float a little further and stop again.
The bridge is a place for collecting debris carried by the current. Often this debris is logs stuck between the piles and then soaked in water, sinking to the bottom. This is especially typical for reservoirs, along which timber rafting was carried out. After a flood, part of the bottom debris is carried away by the current, and part of it changes its position, so there is nothing surprising if the topography at the bottom of the river periodically changes. The chub, in such places heaped with logs, is kept between the trunks, or under them, if the position of the logs allows. Knowing the location of such blockages, the bait is dipped into the water directly above them, imitating a fallen insect by the game. Or the bait is lowered to the bottom, playing above its surface.
Jet fishing
In addition to quiet areas with a slow current, there are also areas under the bridge where the current is strong enough. The chub can be near such a stream, waiting for an insect that has got into it or for a weakened and randomly spinning fry. You can catch a chub on a stream by lowering an insect bait into it, which will itself twitch and flutter in the stream of water.
Rafting bait downstream
It happens that the chub spins next to the bridge, up and down the stream, giving out itself with strong blows on the water, but it does not go under the bridge itself. In this case, it is worth trying to lower the bait downstream (upward, of course, it will not work), a few tens of meters. The rafting is carried out while we can observe the bait. In this case, it depends on how good the fisherman’s vision is, although, of course, you can take binoculars, then this will allow you to descend to 70 or even 100 meters, if the nozzle does not go under water.
The bait fusion is made as follows. Having given it to the will of the current, the fisherman sets off the fishing line. The bait, swimming with the current, slightly goes under the water, so after 10 meters, the line is held a little, pressing with your finger. The nozzle, once again coming to the surface, begins to play in the stream of water. After holding for some time on the surface, you need to re-melt the nozzle half a meter downstream and again hold it. Having done this two or three times, let the bait go freely with the current for another 10-15 meters. The distance of such a “bait” swim depends on the depth of the reservoir in this area and the presence of grass on it. With decreasing depth, the distance to which the descent is carried out also decreases. The bait, going downstream, can be delivered to the islets of aquatic vegetation, to the snags sticking out of the water. Having brought the bait to such a place, you need to stop it and hold it for a while so that it plays in a stream of water. Then the line must be released a little so that the bait goes under the water. Then return the nozzle to the surface again, slightly tightening the line. By acting in this way, the angler provokes the chub to attack the bait, leaving his shelter.
Chub quite often stands in places where the current swirls, forming funnels on the surface of the water. The fish prefers to be near the bottom or in the water column, watching the food going down. To catch a chub, the nozzle is thrown directly into the funnel. The bite is determined visually, by its disappearance from the surface and the breaker of water at the place of its previous location. The chub usually sinks with the prey to the depth, pulling the line and forcing the tip of the rod to shake.
How to get fish out of the water
Fish tired after playing do not need to be pulled up immediately. Having brought it to the bridge, you need to raise it and, without completely removing it from the native element, give it a breath of air. The fish then calms down. If the chub continues to flutter, then the likelihood of its breakdown when pulled out increases significantly. After the chub has taken a breath of air, you need to raise the fish a meter from the water surface and walk across the bridge towards the coast. So, if the fish breaks off, it will fall on the shore.
If you are lucky enough to pick up a large specimen, then it is not recommended to pull it out of the water. If fishing is carried out together, then you need to bring the fish to the shore, where the partner will take it with his hands or a landing net. In the absence of a partner, you need to take the fish out into shallow water, half out of the water and, putting the reel on the brake, fix the rod on the bridge, then go down and take the fish yourself.
Chub lures
Many different types of baits are used to catch this fish. Often, in order to exclude the bite of small fish, focusing directly on the “large”, anglers put a large bait on the hooks. Of the natural baits, the most attractive for fish are crustaceans (Chafer), locusts, large grasshoppers. The beetle is good as bait, but this insect is usually caught during its mass flight. The fish has much more respect for large grasshoppers, which can be gathered in abundance on a cool morning on a mown meadow. Grasshoppers at this time of day are not particularly mobile and allow themselves to be caught. Also, catching this insect can be successfully practiced in the daytime next to the railway on embankments, and in the heat – on asphalt roads.
It should be noted that for some reason the chub does not really like it if the long hind legs of the grasshopper are torn off, so you should not disfigure the insect, but put it on the hook as it is.
It is better to store captured grasshoppers in a plastic bottle with holes made in it. You need to put some grass in the bottle and put the container with grasshoppers on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for safety. If the grasshoppers, for a number of reasons, did not live up to the day of fishing, then they can also be caught on non-living ones. You just need to play with them on the surface of the water. Grasshoppers are even frozen in the freezer, where they are stored and remain attractive to the chub. This insect is planted on two hooks of the tee, piercing the body with them. In addition to the chub, the ide, roach, small catfish and bream are well caught on the grasshopper from the bridge.