canal fishing

[lancslass]

Hi All...Can anyone tell me the "best" way to catch fish on the canal at this time of the year. I went today and it was dismal There are roach, perch, tench and bream in (somewhere!)

 

Thanks

lancslass

[frodo_uk]

I'll be watching the replys here with avid interest as i would like to just the same thing

[nigelnibbles]

dont know if this helps, 2 of us fished the canel at hanley, stoke on trent last weekend,(dont know what its called, was visiting friends) ledgering with worm did not even produce a bite, but when we float fished just above the bottom, as near to the reeds on the far bank as we could get, we had some nice perch, friend used maggot and had 4 perch, i fished worm and had 5 perch, all in the 1lb-1.5lb range. hope this helps you

[*Ant*]

Look for residential boats and fish with your baits as close to these as possible. At this time of year these boats will be heated and even a small increase in water temp below these boats can attract the fish. Look for the smoke from the solid fuel and you'll increase your chances.

Overhanging trees and bushes on the far bank are allways good areas to target especially if you can see overhanging berry bushes. If you're fishing into the evening as the temperature drops try fishing the central track as fish can head to the deaper areas in cold water, canal bream will more often than not be found here.

[Cartman]

As it gets colder,bread punch fished over a small

amount of liquidised bread (as fine as poss)will

catch roach and skimmers.Fish the boat channel

with a slow sinking bait.Also try the bottom of

the far ledge with chopped worm for perch and one or two skimmers.Also worth a try are pinkies and

squats,just don't put too much in.Remember,you can't take it out if you over-feed!

Scale your tackle right down and take your time.

Northern canals can be hard work at this time of

the year,but if you are careful you will catch.

Best of luck.

[AndyM]

I had a bash on my local canal on Saturday, without a bite for the first hour, but by playing around with the shotting patterns found the roach were taking a slow sinking bait just off the bottom (bulk shot around the float with 4x no8's dotted down the line stopping 12in from hook). Single floro pinkie on a 22 hook was the most successful bait over the top of abit of groundbait/hemp/caster down the centre channel, (golfball size fed every 20-30mins). I did catch up against the farside reeds as well, but these were much smaller fish.

[Chris the Fish]

LL - It depends on what your after.

 

Tench - the best way ive found is to pre-bait with castor/hemp mix in a likely looking margin for a couple of days. (and dont listen to those that say that tench are summer fish, they still eat in the winter, and its not really winter yet, temps are still in double figures)

 

as for bream, i look for wider parts, sort of holding areas where they can get deep, however, if you are fishing the 'bream highway' (ie between 2 locks/pools) go into the central channel with brown crumb and again, i find caster/worm/red maggies work well.

 

as for the redfin/skimmers - punch/hemp/maggies on the drop in shallower water work well for me round these here parts.

 

this is from my own experience of leicester canal which is about 15m wide and 5ft deep on average. it has marginal weed covering most of the banks near and far.

 

alternatively, get out the washing line with a beast of a rod and go piking.

 

enjoy.

 

ctf

[lancslass]

Thanks for all the information, its helped a lot. I fish on the Rochdale canal, there are no mored boats only narrowboats that come along. There is overhanging trees and reed beds though. Its only shallow about 2ft at the near bank and about 5ft in the middle..

 

Tight lines

Jean

[Cartman]

Why not pay a visit to Rochdale Angling Centre

and ask them for some advice? I am sure they will

be more than happy to help.

[Gaz51]

As the weather is getting worse and temperatures are dropping, it is now time to fish finer.

Bait presentation needs to be fine tuned to fool these wary fish.

Reduce the terminal tackle. Fish fine lines and small hooks. Balance this with smaller bait and you may well be more successful.

 

Size 22 fine wire hooks, 1lb hooklengths are the order of the day.

Pinkies, squatts, breadpunch as hookbait.

If pole fishing, a light slim bristled float will amplify the shy bites.

Likewise, if fishing the waggler, go for a small insert float shot as precisely as possible.

 

Hope it helps.