We had great chub-related text in our mind. Then winter prolonged, after that Sava river rised to the sky, spawning time came later and so on. In period that was rich with big bites in past years, we caught only a few small fish. That´s why ve have a story about chub in a hot summer, when water level is on its minimum and water is clear and almost boiling. Not great conditions for chub, or any other fishing, but we decided to give it a try. First we tried to catch some chub with crankbaits. Chub from Sava absolutely adore loud crankbaits. But not when water is boiling. Some of our friends used twitchbaits when fishing for chub, but I really didn´t need to. Till this year.
Magic number for Sava river´s chub is 50 cm. So that´s what we were targeting. First one came as a bonus fish while we were catching asp. He took Duo Realis Minnow. Big chub strikes lure with great strenght. This one hanged himself on rear treble. Hook penetrated so shallow I was lucky I got him out. He took a lure above a gravel transition to the deep.
In next few fishing trips we were looking for similar places. Sava was on its minimum water level so it wasn´t problem to wade and then from islands cast toward shore, where nice chusb were hidden between cover, or resting in a shade of a tree. In a places like that, especialy if water is slow, it´s not easy to fool a chub. But it can be done. Presentation of a twitch wobbler depends on a a speed of river flow. If it´s faster, I twitch it slower and more gentle than I do in slow current when casting for chub. In slow water I really like to use sharp twitches, its pretty much only way to provoke a strike from big, fat chub. Once you find best way to work certain wobbler, and presentation that attracts bites, you´re fine for the rest of your life.
If you wade thru Sava these days, you will find deeper parts of river too, of course. Parts like that I like to work with mid-running wobblers, like Rapala Tail Dancer, or 6-7 cm long Ugly Duckling. Presentation is copied from trout fishing. I like to stand downstream and cast upstream in a fan pattern. Strikes are usually at the end of the deep, and trully are strikes. My buddy Tihomir likes to work dephts with metal blade he makes, with nice results as well.
At the end, it is tricky to be outside when sun is up high. Especially on the water, when it hits you from above as well as from under, as a reflection from water surface. I myself got sunstroke couple of times, not a nicest feeling, trust me. Bigger chub work better later in the afternoon, so-and-so.
