Justin McCann is a carp catching machine who seems to catch wherever he fishes; with some notable captures too. Recently Justin returned from a week long session on the Mainline-run Dream Lakes 2 in France, where during the week he shared in a haul of 49 carp to 48lb, using our 3-B boilies with matching 3-B groundbait. A very notable achievement for a lake that is run and fed by Mainline!

Justin is very much ‘Old School’ when it comes to carp fishing but with a modern take on bait which again, make him a valuable asset to our team.

Age: 41

Occupation:  engineer

Angling Questions

Lakes: Farlows ( where I learnt my trade over a 5 year period), Horton Church Lakes, Savay, Car Park, North Lake, Match Lake, Mets Lake, Nutty Lane (rock hard, 1 full season for 1 bite!) St. George’s, my current 1 for this season but I can’t divulge.

Species of fish: Not many I’m afraid as I’ve been carp fishing for nearly 30 years but Mirror 48lb 12oz, common 41lb 6oz, Tench 9lb 4oz, Perch 2lb 8oz. I’m trying to stay away from the carp now to learn about river fishing but will still keep my hand from time to time for HBC purposes.

Top tips: Don’t be afraid to do your own thing, learn as much as you can about the water & fish you’re targeting

3 words about HBC: Meticulous, dependable, inspired.

Food on the bank: Hotdog & peanut butter sarnies!

Memorable fish: As a carp angler I done the double – a brace of forties in the same session (mirror & common)

Remember there is no such thing as a wonder or miracle bait that will instantly catch you massive fish, as some other companies would have you believe, but a good bait which The Hookbait Company pride itself on making after years of testing & tweaking to get it perfect, in the hands of a competent angler DOES give them a definite edge! Just look at the fish which have been caught using the wide range available as well as bespoke bait (my choice) from The Hook Bait Company.

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Iain Nairn did me the honour of becoming my very first consultant way back in 2008 and has been instrumental in promoting the effectiveness of 3-B with his jaw-dropping run of big chub and specimen barbel from his beloved Dorset Stour. ‘Chub God’ has kindly penned a few lines about his early chub years.

My early years chub fishing on the upper Dorset Stour were a hit and miss affair to say the least, usually ledgering bread with a cage feeder. Then one day I hooked and landed a chub 19” long which was a big fish for me in those days. It was from that point on my passion for chub fishing was ignited and I knew I just had to catch more chub, and bigger ones at that. I turned my attention to the free stretches of the river, and with some success my ambition grew and Throop was next on my hit list.

Throop gave me my first ‘six’ and after a couple of years I met a guy called Rupert Morrell who was as keen as I was and had a passion for the Hampshire Avon. A partnership was formed and we have remained friends for many years. Throop was the starting point, fishing mainly maggot feeder or float, and after sorting the feeder rig it became a devastating tool. We also fished the Avon of which Ruperts’ knowledge was boundless. Some huge chub were being caught from the middle reaches of the Stour so this was the next focus of our next challenge.

Using mainly boilies and paste as chub baits we caught some huge fish, giving us both personal bests with Rupert bagging a chub of 7lb 11oz and me not far behind with one of 7lb 10oz. Great times indeed. I joined the chub study group and became club secretary after a few seasons. Not long after, Darren McCann joined the group and he also used boilies for chub and I found out he was manufacturing them.

Darren asked me if I wanted to field test his baits but Trigga boilies from Nutrabaits were my preferred choice. I was reluctant to change for fear my catch rate would suffer, how wrong could I have been! Initially starting with River Secret the big chub took a liking for them from the off, but after a year or so Darren developed 3-B. This bait now forms the mainstay of my chub fishing, switching to matching paste come autumn and winter. The only times these are not used is in prolonged cold spells, such as the arctic conditions we have experienced in recent winters, when trotted maggots are my choice of bait.

When the river is in full flood and coloured then my cheese paste is used, although 3-B paste will work as well but I love trotting and making my own cheese paste.

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