By Rodney Hsu

During the early months of summer when the Fraser River remains high due to spring freshet, fishing can be terrible at times. Most of the sportfish that we often chase after do not emerge until late summer and early autumn, and the elusive chinooks can be hard to catch in this silty river. Your opportunities are limited, but not eliminated. One particular species, salmon anglers regard them as pests, since they school in the hundreds, stealing bar anglers' roe that awaits for a salmon. Despite their small size that will rarely raise an angler's eyebrow, peamouth chub can still be an exciting opportunity that some may want to give it a try.

It is not the size of the fish that drives people to fish for peamouth chubs, but the availability of the fish. Chubs are especially popular among kids who are still in the learning phase of fishing. No kid would have the patience and attention span to sit or stand for five hours and wait for a large salmon to bite. Often parents make the mistakes by introducing big fish to kids instead of showing them the grassroots of fishing. It is certainly no fun struggling to reel in your first fish that is almost as big as you. What would be fun is to able to see a delicate bite on the rod tip and trying to hook the fish. The accomplishment of hooking a fish by yourself is always big, no matter how big the fish is. With some good timing and basic local knowledge, this type of fishing can be done successfully by anyone. It can be done on a regular occasion, as often as playing basketball in front of the house if you live by a river.

Peamouth chubs are small, therefore they probably don't fight, right? I like to disagree to that. Surely they are no salmon, but they are no gumboots either. With the appropriate tackle, one will really appreciate what they have to offer. On average, chubs are between 6 to 10 inches in length, weighing between 200 to 300 grams, almost as large as the rainbow trout that are stocked in lakes around the Lower Mainland. The fishing line, rod, reel, hooks and weight that you choose should reflect the size of the fish. It would be ridiculous to use a drift rod and a large foam float when fishing for them. An ultralight spinning rod between 6 to 8 feet in length that ranges in the 1 to 4lb class is ideal. This is accompanied by a small spinning reel such as Shimano FX1000 that is fitted with 2 or 4lb line. Using slightly heavier line is for security purposes, because it is not uncommon to hook into a large bull trout or pikeminnow when fishing for chubs. The size of your hook should correspond to the fish's mouth. Like most of the other minnow species, peamouth chubs have a mouth that resembles a goldfish. For those who have pet goldfish in their aquarium, they would notice goldfish have a relatively small mouth that suck in and puff out the food when eating. I recommend hooks that are between size 12 and size 16, depending on how alert the fish are.

There are two methods that you can fish for chubs, they are bottom fishing and float fishing. When bottom fishing, your rig can be as simple as tying a hook on a line and pinching a small split shot above the hook. This works ideally in still water. When fishing in waters that have a slight current, I prefer to tie a 1oz weight at the end of the line, with a 10cm leader connected to the main line around 15cm above the weight. The larger weight anchors on the bottom, and your bait will suspend just above the bottom where chubs are found. Float fishing is effective when fishing in shallow waters near shore. Try to use the smallest float that you can find as the bites are very delicate. There are many bait that you can use, most will work very effectively if the fish are around. Bait that you may want to try include worms, dough, bread, shrimps. Chubs are not picky, in the past I have even hooked the odd fish on chocolate! Dough is inexpensive, yet effective. To make them, mix some flour with water until dough is formed. It is wise to add in some flavour to attract the fish. Flavours that you may want to try out include curry, shrimp powder, peanut butter and cheese.

When fishing, continues to move until you find the fish. If you do not get any bite for a long time, then it is obvious there are no fish. Generally, if one fish is caught, you will encounter many. This makes it exciting, as all of us are always looking for nonstop action when fishing.

Although they are plentiful, they are not ideal for eating. These fish are extremely bony, therefore they are seldom fished. Chub fishing in the Fraser will continue to improve until late September. Give it a go, it may be a good way to spend your warm summer evenings!