What does a chub eat?

Possibly yes.

But I believe they are very bony and earthy tasting

Yes, you can eat freshwater Chub. They are very bony, but with a little effort, they can produce steak fry-like fillets that taste really good when fried:

Ingredients:

Chub fillets, eggs, milk,oil, and corn meal mix.

Take a couple of eggs, whisk them in a bowl with a little bit of milk to thin. Then put the fillet in the egg drip, covering both sides. After dipping it in egg, put the fillet in some corn meal (dry) Be sure to coat boat sides. Salt and pepper to taste.

Then drop the fillets in some hot veg. oil until golden brown.