Chub

Where it lives

Chub inhabit medium to large rivers throughout Europe and into Western Asia, from the Pyrenees to the Caucasus. They prefer flowing water with overhanging cover — undercut banks, fallen trees, and bridges — and tolerate a wide range of conditions including warm, slightly polluted urban rivers.

How to recognise it

A heavy-bodied fish with a broad, blunt head and an outsized mouth. Flanks are silvery to brassy with dark-edged scales giving a faint diamond pattern. Lower fins are tinged orange-pink. Mature chub have a slight golden cast; the dorsal and anal fin margins are convex.

Diet & behavior

Chub eat almost anything — insects, crayfish, small fish, frogs, berries, and even chunks of bread. They cruise under cover at midday and forage actively at dawn and dusk. Spawning is in spring on shallow gravel riffles. They are exceptionally wary in clear water.

Fisheries & Conservation

Globally Least Concern. A classic English river quarry, taken on everything from cheese paste and bread crust to lures and flies.