CHUB : AND A METHOD OF CHUBBING. 6l 



In no way whatever does winter angling attract the " butterfly 

 fisherman " ; its appeal is solely to the hardiest and most en- 

 thusiastic of sportsmen. Consequently, the men one meets on the 

 river-bank at this season are, every one of them, keen anglers ; and, 

 incidentally, sincere admirers of Nature. For the true lover of 

 Nature is he for whom the countryside has charms even when its 

 trees are skeletons and its flowers have fallen and decayed. 



II. 



A noble fish neither handsome nor ugly distinguished by its 

 powerful, headlong rush when first hooked ; a fish with a broad 

 back and head, big leathery mouth and large scales ; a frequenter 

 of waters that flow over sand and gravel ; a lover of rapid streams, 

 quieter eddies, and deep holes ; a riser to the fly, though a taker of 

 multifarious lures ; cunning, keen-sighted, and timid such is 

 the chub. 



Among the rivers in which this fish has its haunts, pride of 

 place must be given to the Hampshire Avon, which steadily yields, 

 season after season, chub of exceptional size. Other famous chub 

 waters are the Thames, Kennet, Loddon, Colne, Lea, Great Ouse, 

 Little Ouse, Herefordshire Wye, and the Trent. Some of the 

 Yorkshire rivers contain many large chub, as also do portions of the 

 Derbyshire Derwent notably between Ambergate and Helper. 

 This fish is also found in several of the streams of Scotland, whilst 

 it thrives considerably in parts of Wales. 



Concerning the most notable chub that have been captured on 

 rod and line, mention might be made of specimens of 81b. 4oz., ylb. 

 6Joz., 7lb. 5oz., ylb. 2oz., and ylb. from the Hampshire Avon, the 

 first of these being the record chub taken by fair angling. From the 

 Thames have been taken monsters of ylb. 4oz. and ylb. 102. 



Small chub are frequently mistaken for dace by the inex- 

 perienced angler. The former fish may be distinguished by its 

 broader head, larger mouth, and the convexity of its anal fin ; in 

 the dace this fin, which is the one on the underpart nearest the tail, 

 is concave, and lacks the reddish tint that is present in all fins of 



