Chub (fish)

“ On the basis of head-depth alone, separation of the two subspecies is possible in specimens larger than 40 mm. Similar results were obtained by using the regression of postorbital length on standard length, and could have been obtained by using other proportional measurements.
[pg 334] NATURAL HISTORY Habitat
The species inhabits alkaline streams with shifting sand bottoms where the waterlevel fluctuates considerably with heavy rains and melting snow. The flathead chub is found in silty water and often is the predominant species in streams that have high turbidity. ”

“ A Cockchafer with his wings cut off is also a very good bait for large Chub. When rivers are frozen, you may catch Chub by breaking a hole in the ice, the fish will come to the aperture for air, and, perceiving the bait, take it—your line need not extend to the depth of more than a yard. Observe that your paste balls are of consistency sufficient to adhere firmly to your hook, which should not be larger than a small May-fly hook, or two No. 3 fly hooks tied firmly together are much better. ”

“ The chub does not afford the angler so much diversion as the trout, from being so dull a fish on the hook, and when once struck becoming soon tired; but he bites so eagerly, that, when he takes the bait, his jaws are heard to chop like those of the dog, and having a very wide leather mouth, and his teeth in his throat, there is little danger of his breaking hold ”

“ The Chub, called by some a Cheven, by others a Villain, is a Fish of no rare Meat; however, is good for a young Angler, and is thus to be taken: Bait your hook with a Grass-hopper, find the Hole where he lies, accompanied in a hot day, with twenty or more, floating almost on the very superficies of the Water; choose which you think best, and fairest, and drop your Hook some two foot before him, and he will bite at it greedily, and cannot break hold with his Leather Mouth; let him play and tire, lest you break your Line. If you cannot get a Grass-hopper, then any Worm, or Fly you will. ”

“ C. cephalus.—The chub is a good aquarium fish. It is shy, but grows familiar under good treatment. Insects sooner attract it than any other food. Mr. Jesse says, that those in his vivarium throw off all reserve at the sight of a cockchafer, which they devour with eagerness.
Among the Acanthopterygii, or the spiny-finned fishes of Cuvier's arrangement, the only one suited to the fresh-water tank, is the noble perch, Percidæ. These are bold and dignified, and their decisive markings make them attractive in a general collection. They require plenty of room, or they soon show signs of exhaustion ”

“ The chub will take a grub, wasps, maggots, paste of fine new bread worked in the hand, and tinged with vermilion, to make it look like salmon-roe; but the best bait for bottom or float-fishing for the chub is new Cheshire cheese, worked with the crumb of a new roll, or the pith from the backbone of an ox. In baiting with the cheese, put a round lump the size of a cherry on a large hook, so as to cover the bend, and some way up the shank; fish six inches from the bottom, or in cold weather the bait may lie on the ground. ”

“ The CHUB Is, according to the Artedian and Linnæan system, a species of Cyprinus, and is called by the French the Vilian and Testard, and was called by the ancient Romans Squalus. The resorts of this fish are easily found; being generally holes over-shaded by trees; and on a hot day, they may be seen in great numbers, floating almost on the surface of the water. For the table they are very poor fish, full of bones. They afford much entertainment to the angler, and are easily caught. ”

“ Tied thus, it will kill not only every chub in a pool (if you give the survivors a quarter of an hour wherein to recover from their horror at their last friend’s fate) , but also, here and there, very large trout.
Another slur upon the noble sport of chub fishing is the fact of his not being worth eating—a fact which, in the true sportsman’s eyes, will go for nothing. But though the man who can buy fresh soles and salmon may despise chub, there are those who do not. ”

“ The sucker is a fish found in all the fresh waters of the Northern States, it is usually caught with angleworm bait, and in the winter, fishing through the ice, it is more easily caught than any other. The carp is a comparatively recent importation from Europe, and is now found in most of the Eastern waters, as well as in California and Oregon. It haunts muddy waters. The chub, honeyhead, or river-chub is widely distributed in fresh waters, and may easily be caught by means of the same rod and tackle that is used for black bass. The grayling affords exceptionally fine sport. ”

“ They do not grow to be bass or pike or sunfishes or anything else but minnows. Some of the minnows, however, are comparatively large. Two of these are the Creek Chub (Fig. 80) , and the Shiner (Fig. 80) . The chub is the king of the small brooks, being often the largest and most voracious fish found in such streams. His common diet probably consists of insects and worms, but if very hungry he does not object to eating a smaller fish. During the spawning season, which is springtime, the male chub has sharp, horny tubercles or spines developed upon the snout. ”

“ The best manner of fishing for them is thus: prepare a very strong rod of sufficient length; fix a grashopper to the hook; place yourself so as not to be perceived by the fish, and drop in the bait about two feet from the place where a Chub lies; if he does not see the angler, he rarely fails biting, and is taken directly; but he is so strong a fish, that he should be taken out carefully, after a great deal of play, otherwise the tackle will be in danger; a beetle, or any large fly, will answer the purpose in the place of a grashopper ”

“ The squaw fish, also, will take the fly sometimes, but more often the minnow or grasshopper; its flesh is white and tasteless. It is a large-mouthed fish greatly resembling the chub and attaining about the same size. Both chub and squaw fish are great devourers of fry. In the Shuswap Lake, by trolling in deep water with a lead attached, a large grey char with pink spots can be caught, running up to perhaps 20lb., and being usually known as the lake trout or great lake trout; it takes a spoon, but is very sluggish, and does not give any real sport. The Indians catch these fish. ”

“ Coarse fish, such as chub and roach, may be laid in an earthen pot in the shade, and will soon be fly-blown. When the gentles are of a proper size (but not before) , put some oatmeal and bran to them, and in two days they will be well scoured and fit to fish with, in about four more they become hard, assume a pale red colour, and soon after change to flies. The red ones should not be thrown away, as frequently roach and dace take these with a white one in preference to all other baits. ”

“ It will be found that many fish, especially chub and dace, can be caught much better at this season by flies, either natural or artificial, than by the usual float and shot system.
A common house fly, used either on the top of the water or sunk by a single shot, will be found very effective, both for these fish and for roach, rudd, and bleak. Chub will take any large insect readily, if it is presented to them in an artistic manner—that is, in such a way that they can see little of either tackle or angler. ”

“ One of the better fish for the table, and profitable to raise in a pond covering not less than half an acre. Chub, being a very prolific little fish, may be kept in the same pond as food for the black bass and other large fish. They are very fond of them. Minnows are the best bait for these fish, though they will bite a trolling hook of any ordinary kind. You may raise them as given for the trout above, or allow them to deposite their eggs in spawn beds of their own selection in their pond. They will do well in water less pure than is demanded for the trout. ”

“ A grass-hopper, a humble bee, a cockchafer, and a white moth, have all been used with success on hot evenings in July and August for taking very large chub, but these baits are of no use unless the fish are known to run heavy. When the angler fishes thus he must keep quite out of sight, taking care not to throw his shadow on the water, which would scare the fish. He should keep behind the trees bordering the river bank, and let his bait drop gently on the water in the eddy of the stream where the largest fish always lie. ”

“ No fish, therefore, will better teach the beginner the good old lesson, ‘not to frighten a fish before you have tired him.’
For flies—chub will rise greedily at any large palmers, the larger and rougher the better. A red and a grizzled hackle will always take them; but the best fly of all is an imitation of the black beetle—the ‘undertaker’ of the London shops. He, too, can hardly be too large, and should be made of a fat body of black wool, with the metallic black feather of a cock’s tail wrapped loosely over it. ”

“ A chub, if he is a good-sized fellow, is a fish worth catching, even for people who have been fishing for trout. One big chub will make a meal for a small family.
But let us follow the creek and see what new developments we shall discover. To be sure, you may say that following up a stream from its very source involves a great deal of walking; but I can answer with certainty that a great deal of walking is a very easy thing—in books! ”

“ The supposition that these fish have crossed the continental divide, as it were, overland, serves the double purpose of explaining the presence of the trout, and the absence of the chub, sucker and white-fish of the Snake River from Yellowstone Lake. The latter are feeble fish at best, and generally display a preference for the quiet waters of the deeper pools where they feed near the bottom and with little exertion. Neither the chub, sucker nor white-fish possesses enough hardihood to undertake so precarious a journey nor sufficient vitality to survive it. ”

“ In America the various kinds of chub, sucker, dace, shiner, &c. are little esteemed and are regarded as spoils for the youthful angler only, or as baits for the better fish in which the continent is so rich. ”

“ The Chub always liking their fly tied large, the Dace and Roach preferring theirs small.
A rod well-chosen and well-balanced is of course of the first necessity to your success. To speak again from my own experience, I found an inexpensive light Greenheart made by Hancock, a delightful rod in every respect and with this my first ventures both with trout and coarse fish were made. ”

“ In ponds fed by a rivulet they grow to a large size.
To fish for chub at the bottom, you should have a stout long rod, a strong line (and if you use a reel, you will be the better able to fish under bushes) , with two yards or more of the best silkworm gut at bottom; a hook proportionate to the bait used; a swan-quill float; and the line so shotted, eight or ten inches from the hook, as to sink the float to a quarter of an inch above the surface. The same groundbait is to be used as for carp. The best baits are greaves, cheese paste, or the tail end of a well-scoured lob-worm. ”

“ It is quite needless to give a list of the natural flies which are likely to prove serviceable to the fisherman, because he has only to look for those which at the time are tempting the fish, and then to endeavour to find them on the banks, and at once to try their powers. In the case of chub, however, he will find grasshoppers and humble-bees more useful than any of the flies, and yet they are neither of them often seen upon the waters, and may be considered exceptional cases. ”

“ Place the fish on a hot dish, strain the sauce over, and garnish with the mushrooms (heated in sauce) , fried roe, and sippets of toast.
Time.—About 1 hour. Average Cost, 2s. 3d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from November to March.
Note.—This fish can be boiled plain, and served with parsley and butter sauce. Chub, char, dace and roach may be cooked in the same manner as the above.
The Chub (Fr. chabot) resembles the carp, but is somewhat longer. It is found in most English rivers ”

“ None of these fish feed well in winter.
Roach, Rudd, Dace, Chub.—The next group of Cyprinidae consists of fish which will take a bait similar to those already mentioned and also a fly. The sizes which limit the ordinary angler's aspirations are roach about 2 ℔, rudd about 21/2 ℔, dace about 1 ℔ and chub about 5 ℔. There are instances of individuals heavier than this, one or two roach and many rudd of over 3 ℔ being on record, while dace have been caught up to 1 ℔ 6 oz., and chub of over 7 ℔ are not unknown. ”

“ They are commonly found on the beach, where they are called “mermaids’ purses.” If you find a fresh one and open it, you may discover a miniature Skate inside.
Killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) Stout, olive-green fish Rounded tail
The “Chub,” well known to fishermen, can live for a day covered only with a layer of damp seaweed. ”

“ They will hook a fish, or for the matter of that, get fast into almost anything, much quicker than large hooks: they penetrate sooner, hold very fast, and pierce the lips of such fish as trout, perch, chub, barbel, carp, when a large hook would not. ”

“ The species prob [pg 326] ably attains its greatest abundance in the Missouri Basin, but it is scarce or absent in tributaries north and east of the Missouri mainstream, in the South Platte Basin, and in the central part of the Platte River in Nebraska. The flathead chub is unknown in the Mississippi Basin above the mouth of the Missouri River, and in the Ohio River Basin above its mouth. ”