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Canal Antics


Rusty

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Kennet & Avon Canal, Newbury, Friday 12th March 2010

 

A strange day today, in some ways in might have been better if I hadn’t gone.

 

The original plan was to have an early start on the canal tomorrow in pursuit of Perch. Unexpectedly, I was able to take today off so I thought a dry run might be a good idea to give me a head start tomorrow.

 

I haven’t fished this bit before but I knew there was next to no flow so the centrepin was packed away and the fixed spool reel dusted off, the plan was to floatfish lobs staying mobile until I came across the fish.

 

I couldn’t get there for the ideal time but the day was mild and overcast so I thought it still worth a go. On arrival I was faced with the same problem I always have on canals, where to start? My watercraft skills aren’t sufficiently developed (i.e. they’re crap) to recognise the more subtle productive swims so when fishing canals I inevitably start at one end and work my way down. I came across reed lined banks and overhanging trees which I guess are features but the water itself was just characterless.

 

I had some success in a lock cut dropping the lob down right next to the sides, this tactic produced five small Perch none of which needed the landing net. Lock cuts are generally acknowledged to be good places for small Perch, the ones that feed all day irrespective of conditions. What I was really after was a Perch swim holding something a bit bigger, they didn’t have to be huge fish but if I could find them I’d know what to look for in future.

 

It wasn’t to be I’m afraid, I tried reeds, trees everything the textbooks quote but caught nothing. Eventually I popped over to the Kennet and tried trotting a lob there, this only reaffirmed my thoughts that a centrepin is the only tool for the job when trotting so after half an hour I headed home.

 

So a day which was supposed to help & enthuse me has had the opposite effect, I still wouldn’t know where to start so probably won’t go tomorrow. Instead I’ll plan for a full day trotting on the exchange water on Sunday. I’ll take my cooking device, mess tin and kettle so I can eat like a Lord and spend the last day of this season by running water.

 

Very much looking forward to it.

 

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