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canal fishing tips


metalhead1360

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hi again

im going fishing to the canal tomorrow, could any give me some tips please, iv been fishing there about 7 or 8 times now and only caught 1 fish. i dont really see what im doing wrong iv have my float about 50cm to 1m away from the hook, iv tried sweetcorn, bread, luncheon meat and maggots and yes i do bait up around the float, im also using a size 11 barbless hook and a match fishing rod with 6lb line on it. the one thing that that annoys me is i see them swim right past my float.

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It all depends on the canal, but to give you an idea of how differently it might be fished, my typical opening gambit for a canal would be a single maggot on a size 20 hook with a 1lb hooklength. To me, it seems that you are fishing far, far too heavy. Of course if you are after big fish, that's a different matter.

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hi again

im going fishing to the canal tomorrow, could any give me some tips please, iv been fishing there about 7 or 8 times now and only caught 1 fish. i dont really see what im doing wrong iv have my float about 50cm to 1m away from the hook, iv tried sweetcorn, bread, luncheon meat and maggots and yes i do bait up around the float, im also using a size 11 barbless hook and a match fishing rod with 6lb line on it. the one thing that that annoys me is i see them swim right past my float.

 

You say you have your float set "50cms to 1m away from the hook".

How deep is the spot you're fishing? Do you plumb it to find out?

Have you any shot between the float and the hook?

If so, how big, and how are they spaced?

 

I can only go with the canals in my area, but, (as Steve says) your set up is much too heavy, and I doubt you would have caught even one fish using it around here.

 

Watch what happens to your free offerings, and try to make your hook bait act similar to them, and end up in the same place.

 

John.

Angling is more than just catching fish, if it wasn't it would just be called 'catching'......... John

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i dont really see what im doing wrong iv have my float about 50cm to 1m away from the hook, iv tried sweetcorn, bread, luncheon meat and maggots and yes i do bait up around the float, im also using a size 11 barbless hook and a match fishing rod with 6lb line on it.

Hi,

1. "I have my float about 50cm to 1m away from the hook"

Have you plumbed the depth so that you can fish on the bottom or just above the bottom? or are you just guessing the depth?

Starting off just tripping the bottom or a fraction above the bottom is usually a good place to start for silver fish or a couple of inches over depth for tench or bream.

 

2. "iv tried sweetcorn, bread, luncheon meat and maggots and yes i do bait up around the float"

Feed little and often and decide what line you are going to feed (far bank, far shelf, middle, or near shelf) and dont spread your feed all over your swim as you will spread your fish too thinly.

Usually loose fed bait is all you need but if you are using groundbait then use a cloud type groundbait sparingly unless you are after Bream or Tench; and follow the mixing instructions on the packet or it may be too stodgey, lumpy and sticky.

 

3. "im also using a size 11 barbless hook and a match fishing rod with 6lb line on it".

As you are using a match rod then I can assume you are not after big carp so 6lb line is far too heavy; a reel line of between 2.5lb and 4lb would be more suitable with a hook size between 20 up to size 14 (size 18 being a good compromise) which is ready tied to a hooklength of around 2lbs to 3.5lbs. Hook size to match the bait size.

 

General: Ask around quietly amongst other succesful anglers who will normally be willing to answer your questions and put you right as to which swims generally produce well (choose anglers who are catching well else you may choose another inexperienced angler) also your local tackleshop is normally a good source of info. or ask away on this forum if you need more info.

 

Good luck and tight lines

BB

 

NB. Dont forget to let us know how you get on.

Edited by BoldBear

Happiness is Fish shaped (it used to be woman shaped but the wife is getting on a bit now)

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On the subject of canal fishing, what is the best way to combat undertow? Fishing deeper than required/heavier float?

 

I'll be fishing between Frimley Lodge and Ash Lock on the Basingstoke canal. Saw 4 carp yesterday by Mytchett Lake, 1 this morning along with loads of bream, roach and perch (all quite small) on the surface together when cycling passed.

Is there a reason they do this? I've seen exactly the same behaviour over the years at different spots, usually in June/July.

James

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On the subject of canal fishing, what is the best way to combat undertow? Fishing deeper than required/heavier float?

 

I'll be fishing between Frimley Lodge and Ash Lock on the Basingstoke canal. Saw 4 carp yesterday by Mytchett Lake, 1 this morning along with loads of bream, roach and perch (all quite small) on the surface together when cycling passed.

Is there a reason they do this? I've seen exactly the same behaviour over the years at different spots, usually in June/July.

 

 

If I'm fishing a canal with a fair amount of undertow, I will either link-ledger or fish a much larger float than normal, maybe 6" or so over-depth but still with small hook and lighter hooklength.

 

As for fish on the surface yeasterday, I was fishing the Bridgewater at Runcorn and saw pretty much the same thing, although there was a lot of road traffic. However, the water was flat calm and didn't look very oxygenated, even by the sluice at the head of the canal, there were 6lb+ bream topping. - I know they were 6lbers - I had 4 of them! I had either roach or small perch at a rate of a fish per cast, and managed to lose a decent carp after it straightened a size 20 hook 10 minutes into a decent scrap.

 

For what it's worth, roach were regularly topping, so too were some decent sized perch, although I suspect they were marauding after the roach.

 

Fishing from under one of the bridges out about 2 rod lengths into the sunshine, I had what I can only describe as the biggest bag-up of my life. A brilliant day's fishing all in all.

Edited by Alan Stubbs

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thanks everyone, the shot between the float and hook is usually a AAA or a BB and is usually around 3 to 4 inch away from the hook, ill give it a try using a different kind of line, iv been around asking people and they say the canal is 2ft to 5ft deep, so i think im fishing on the bottom, and really im fishing for anything, i went today and still had no luck (before i read this post) im gonna try again tomorrow. your not allowed to use groundbait in the canal that i fish on, i heard that a bit of bread with some marmite is good bait, theres also a big ass carp in the canal too about 15inch long. anyways ill give it another go tomorrow, and thanks again everyone

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For the grass carp, fishing a cherry tomato under a float might well give you some excitement. On the hook and poke several small holes in the skin to let out some juice and smell.

 

I'm not even sure you have cherry tomatos available though. The are full grown at a size larger than a grape and smaller than a golf ball.

" My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!" - Harry Truman, 33rd US President

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I'm not even sure you have cherry tomatos available though. The are full grown at a size larger than a grape and smaller than a golf ball.

 

 

Oh yes we do, Newt. I've had so many of the damned things lately, I reckon they're tinting my skin!

 

You've given me some ideas for my carp fishing, too.

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thanks everyone, the shot between the float and hook is usually a AAA or a BB and is usually around 3 to 4 inch away from the hook, ill give it a try using a different kind of line, iv been around asking people and they say the canal is 2ft to 5ft deep, so i think im fishing on the bottom, and really im fishing for anything, i went today and still had no luck (before i read this post) im gonna try again tomorrow. your not allowed to use groundbait in the canal that i fish on, i heard that a bit of bread with some marmite is good bait, theres also a big ass carp in the canal too about 15inch long. anyways ill give it another go tomorrow, and thanks again everyone

 

AAA or BB are extremely heavy weights for canal fishing, if there's little or no flow.

 

I fish a canal with marginal flow rates and use a 4lb mainline and 1.5 - 2lb hooklengths. Even if there's a breeze running, the heaviest float I use takes only 4 x No.4 shot. I put 3 x No.4 shot around the float - 1 above the float and 2 below it, I then space around 6-8 number 8 and 10 shot like shirt buttons down the line with the last shot about 6" from the hook. This seems to leave aroung 1cm of the tip showing.

 

If you can't use groundbait, loose feed some hemp and a few grains of sweetcorn every couple of minutes. If using maggots, throw about 6 every minute or so. If you're fishing two rods, make sure you have at least 4 areas you're loose-baiting so you have a choice of swims to rotate between.

 

Good luck.

Alan

Edited by Alan Stubbs

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