Desperate times demand desperate measures- it'd been three weeks since I'd last fished, and a combination of work pressure, family commitments and preparing for my American fishing roadtrip had conspired to keep me from the bank. With no immediate prospect of the time constraints relenting there was only one thing for it: a night sleeping in the spare bedroom so as not to awaken my wife at an unholy hour, alarm set for 5:30am and a brief spinning trip before work.
By 6:00 I was threading the line through the rings of my spinning rod on a blustery, drizzling and downright cold morning- so cold I elected to wear my winter thermal suit.
One of the many reasons that fishing is superior to golf is that while golf has been described as "a good walk ruined", spin-fishing is a good walk enhanced, and so I set off on my enhanced walk.
The section of canal I spin fish has not been prolific for me (14 perch from 8 trips), but has the joint advantage of (i) being free fishing, and (ii) being close enough for brief "smash and grab" fishing escapades. The perch have never been large, but it's a pleasant stroll and a diverting form of fishing and so, if taken on its own terms and with realistic expectations , challenging, thought-provoking and a lot of fun.
I started off in my "banker" swim on my "banker" lure- fishing under a bridge where my son and I have caught several perch, using a Rublex Ondex, but today to no avail. I moved spot and in my second swim had a "follow" and then a tentative "pluck" from a small perch (I saw the fish, all of 2 ounces, a momentary flash of dark stripes and erect spikey dorsal) right under my feet. I persevered in the same swim, eventually changing the Ondex for a small Panther Martin spinner, and then for an even smaller silver and red spotted spinner, but failed to induce any further interest.
I wandered up and down, trying a few more spots before returning to the swim where I'd had the follow, and then, finally, to the bridge, "chopping and changing" spinners, but- again- without luck.
By 8:05 am I was back home, sat at my desk and ready to begin another day of church-related activity. Did I regret the early start as a result of my blank? Not a bit of it. In many ways an hour and a half's spinning on a not particularly productive stretch of canal is much more of a challenge than most of the other fishing that I engage in and provides plenty of puzzles to fuel the piscatorial brain cells. I'll certainly be back for more, it's a style of fishing that fits nicely with my work and family patterns, costs nothing and gets me scratching my head and thinking. I'm toying with the idea of getting into drop-shotting and proper ultra-lite fishing for these perch .... now that really will be fun!
My son with a canal perch from a previous session when the stripey quarry were proving more co-operative.
My son with a canal perch from a previous session when the stripey quarry were proving more co-operative.
No comments:
Post a Comment