TDAFPS Season's Best Chub: 4lb 6oz caught by M Harvey
Classification: Leuciscus cepaalus, family Cyprinidae
Habitat: Chub are normally found in rivers and streams. They have also been stocked in lakes where they seem to thrive
Coloration: The back is bronze or slate grey giving way to silver gold sides and white under parts. The pelvic and anal fins are orange red, the dorsal and tail fins, blue grey
Size: Chub commonly reach a weight of 2-2.5 kg (4-4-5-5 lb)
Description: Thick-bodied with a large head and huge toothless mouth the chub is a wary fish. Much of its life is spent skulking among the roots of trees at the water's edge or between thick weed beds and it rarely ventures out into open water. Chub arc omniver-ous but prefer to feed on small fish, crayfish and caddis larvae. They also wait under overhanging trees where they intercept fallen insects and berries. It is found in most English river systems, selected Scottish rivers and many parts of Europe. Spawning occurs in late spring, the fish gathering on fast gravelly shallows to shed their eggs on streamer weed and the roots of bank side trees. Like most fish, chub are to a degree cannibalistic, eating young fish of their own kind. Despite having toothless jaws, chub have extremely strong throat teeth (pharyngeal teeth). These are used to crush and grind up tough items. Izaak Walton, whose book The Complete Angler was published in 1853, called the chub by its old English name of Chavander.
