The lure of the canal

What a difference a week makes. Seven days ago, on the mildest day of the year to date, Pete and I shared a brace of pike apiece, a further three threw Pete's hooks, and it seemed as though we'd "cracked it". Today, on a much colder day, with the air temperature never rising above 2.5 and spending most of the morning hovering around zero, we blanked without so much as a follow. The water was the colour of thick pea soup, and despite throwing, plugs, spinnerbaits and soft plastics into the canal we knew, pretty quickly, that the likeliest outcome for the day would be us getting, as the Americans call it, "skunked".

 

But, despite all that, I love fishing the canal in a way I would once never have thought possible. Prior to moving to Leicestershire and discovering the Grand Union, canals were at the bottom of my hierarchy of water types, occupying a place even lower than the oft derided "commercials". I'd always assumed that they were almost uniformly, dirty, urban, covered in graffiti and the hang out of layabouts, drunks and drug users and fished only by grim faced matchmen catching stunted fish using bloodworm or joker on the pole. There are- doubtless- stretches of the Grand Union which conform to that image, but the stretches I fish are rural, quiet and attractive and contain a good head of predators.

 

 

Now, it would be a mistake to think that because there are a good head of pike and perch (and some zander) that they're easy to catch. They're not. Or at least, if they are easy to catch, I'm often making hard work of catching them! It's rare to actually blank, but the reward for a couple of hours of lure fishing is often just 3 or 4 perch of about 4 ounces each, and the pike are mostly modestly sized specimens, like the one pictured above. With miles of towpath available, locating fish is half the battle, and while the obvious spots, the locks, bridges and vertical structures are productive, it can be hard knowing which swims to fish and which to walk past when time is limited, as for me it usually is.

 

 

With over 2200 miles of navigable canal in the United Kingdom, these once great industrial highways now exist almost solely  for leisure purposes, and although this means sharing the towpath with hikers, dog walkers and (sometimes frankly moronic and dangerous) cyclists, and the water with pleasure craft and (equally often moronic) canoeist's there seems to usually be a friendly spirit of bonhomie and "live and let live" about the various categories of person enjoying the watery surroundings and I've grown to love the sight of colourfully painted barges- especially when they're moored, sheltering fish and not churning up my swim! After years of neglect and pollution the Canal and River Trust and armies of volunteers have done a magnificent job in cleaning up our canal system, and the demise of the canals to the once burgeoning railways has, in the fullness of time, proved to be angling's gain.

I'm aware that if I'm to really master the canal I'm going to need to "up my game". To broaden my skill base and gain confidence in drop-shotting and jigging, the latter of which I'm sure would be the key to catching zander on a regular basis. I'm also going to need to keep exploring, not just sticking to the same old areas that have proved productive in the past. In addition (with the exception of scratching around for half an hour to catch a few livebaits) I've only floatfished the canal once in the three years I've been fishing it, which is a definite oversight - to catch a nice perch on a floatfished worm, red maggot or prawn has to feature on this year's "to do" list. Pike have fallen to livebait and to a variety of lures, but I've yet to experiment with deadbaits on the canal, and so there are lots of projects yet to be undertaken. I suspect that this year, as last, with the exception of a couple of months in high summer when carp fishing (in its most casual form) will distract my attention, the main focus of this year will be the predatory species of the Grand Union Canal. So many puzzles to solve, so many miles of towpath to walk ... why did it take me half a lifetime to discover the joys of canal fishing? To use a word that fits well with my vocation, when it comes to canal angling I'm well and truly a "convert."

 

 

 

 

A good start in "Pike Alley"

Good things, so the aphorism tells us, come to those who wait, and the wait to wet my first line of 2015 had lasted over three weeks. At the time it felt, if not unbearable certainly irritating, but as things transpired was probably very fortuitous. With today being the mildest day for ages the stage was set for Pete and I to spend the morning and early afternoon in pursuit of pike. We elected to fish an area Pete discovered for us recently, and which we already (or at least, I do) refer to as "Pike Alley". The first time we stumbled on it we were only there for 10 minutes at the end of a session, but in that 10 minutes Pete landed a pike of about 8 or 9 pounds. Last week, he sneaked a cheeky little hour long session at "Pike Alley" on his lunch-break and landed a fish of around 5 pounds, and today we were back and meaning business. We decided on a two pronged attack, with livebait and lures, which meant that the first job was for someone to catch the livebaits.

 

 

As is often the case in winter, catching the livebaits proved harder than catching the pike, but a few small fish were procured, as well as this nice bonus perch which was returned straight to the water, having been deemed far too big and handsome to be used as bait.

 

Pete was the first into a pike, the float hesitantly standing up from its flat position and bobbing erratically before moving away. The result was this nice fish, which had obviously been laying up on the bottom relatively recently as it had lice on its flank, which were removed before it was returned to the water.

 

 

I was the next to catch, with the livebait once again producing the goods. A similar run saw a slightly smaller pike join us on the bank to be admired, photographed and then let loose to devour more roach and perch ...... or more likely to sulk in protest at its capture.

 

 

After the second pike things quietened down, and- in honour of the new season, Pete and I enjoyed sampling an example of Cuba's best export produce; I take my lead in this matter from the great Baptist preacher of the Victorian era, CH Spurgeon who once declared that he liked "to smoke a cigar to the glory of God". Amen to that.

Cigars finished, Pete went off to catch some more livebait and I decided to try spinning. Earlier in the session we'd tried a variety of plugs and rubber lures, but with no success, so I opted to go for a large spinner, a Rublex Ondex in a size 6. Ten minutes later and I was playing a fish clearly much larger than anything else we'd connected with on the day. A very spirited fight eventually resulted in the biggest fish of the day being engulfed in the landing net, a fish which brought the needle on the scales round to 14 pounds exactly once the scales had been zeroed to the weight of the net. To say that I was pleased would be an understatement; the nature of pike fishing is that you have to wade through numerous jacks for every better fish, which makes any pike over 10 pounds, to my eyes, a very special creature.

 

 

 Pete decided to join the fun, and had three pike come off his hooks (including one that looked to be a double), before successfully landing the smallest pike of the day, a game little jack of a couple of pounds which took a liking to his Ondex.

All told, with mild weather, co-operative pike and good company it was a great way for me to begin my 2015 campaign .................. guess where Pete and I are planning to be next Monday? Esox you have been warned!



Fireside Fishing and a plan coming together

 I haven't wet a line or wielded a rod since December (although plans are afoot for a couple of trips to the canal in the next few days), but that doesn't mean that I've been altogether inactive, or unproductive. In fact, I've been pretty busy, and a plan is very much coming together. Regular readers of this blog will know that I and my friend Stewart Bloor, fellow angler and fellow Christian minister have been plotting and planning for a while to set up a Christian fishing network, website, Facebook page and Youtube channel, and we're now just weeks from launching. The logo sits at the top of this page (you saw it here first), and the website, which will include a lively forum for debate, discussion and sharing about "all things fishing", with sections for different angling disciplines ( carp, barbel, pike, pleasure angling, sea and game fishing all have their own areas), along with a bragging board for member's photo's, a growing range of instructional articles and video's and some faith based content, is in its final stages of testing. Here's a cheeky peek at the homepage ....

 

 

As well as providing an online home for Christian anglers, and a place for fishermen who might be tentatively exploring some of the bigger questions of life, there are also plans to set up and connect a network of local fishing clubs run from churches, and to hold fishing days, charity fundraising events and also weekend "retreats" that'll include fishing, camping, camaraderie and opportunities for reflection and sharing of faith.

 

Along with me and Stewart are a couple of other forum leaders who are keen anglers and active in the churches they attend, as well as a well known angling journalist who is lending his help and support to the project.

 

For me the launch of the group will be the culmination of a dream I've harboured for some time, and an opportunity to integrate my faith with my fishing, and to use my fishing not only as a way of recharging my batteries and pursuing an outdoor passion that I've had for over 30 years, but also as a vehicle for mission and ministry. Here I am being interviewed about the group while in America when it was in its earliest stages of planning and invention:

 

 

 

So, we're nearly there, watch out for more details in the Angling press over the coming weeks. But for now it's back to the fireside to make some pop-up traces for deadbaiting .... the canal and its pike are beckoning me, and I can't ignore them forever.



End of year fishing report

So, with my "busy time" approaching, yesterday's session was my last of 2014, a fishing year bookended by blanks, and that contained a lot of fun and the usual combination of minor successes and failures, fish caught, fish lost and angling puzzles to continue to mull over. It was predominantly a story of two venues, The Grand Union Canal and a pond I'll refer to as "The Carp Lake", and both were responsible for good days and what we sometimes euphemistically refer to as "challenging days."

 

 

The canal was the scene of a number of short sessions lure fishing for perch and pike. Normally early morning affairs, occasionally solo affairs, but more usually in the company of Pete, or on a couple of occasions my son, these provided the opportunity to engage in one of the most enjoyable forms of angling: mobile lure fishing. Travelling light and targeting likely spots, the canal provided us with plenty of perch and the occasional pike, some good fish but no giants. As well as the old dependables, the Ondex and Aglia's, we also tentatively experimented with dropshotting and ultra light lures, experiments, no doubt, to be continued next year.

 

 

 

 

The Carp Lake was the scene of a month of (by my standards) intensive fishing, with five sessions, including an overnighter fitted in to four weeks. Fishing with my son, Pete or Roger, a steady stream of carp fell to a mixture of modern carp fishing techniques, my son and I tending to opt for PVA bagging while Pete's preferred option was the Method. As with the canal, fish were plentiful, and the carp here fight hard, but all were of a modest size, with most fish being high singles.
 

 

 

 

As well as the inevitable commons and mirrors, one late summer session also saw Pete's hair rigged pellets fool not only the intended carp, but also an unexpected brace of quality crucians. Although I suspect it'll take a fair bit to separate my son from his favoured PVA bags or Pete from his method feeders, my intention next year is to fish for the carp predominantly floatfishing the margins and using a centrepin.

The highlight of the season was being accompanied by my son on his first ever night fishing trip, and introducing him to the sounds and sights of a carp lake as dusk gives way to darkness.

In all, an enjoyable year's fishing, the pioneering excitement provided as new sections of the Canal were scouted out, explored and fished, and a return to carp angling after an absence of a couple of years. The one regret would be that I float-fished far less than I would have liked, an oversight to be corrected next year. With the last few sessions of the year seeing few fish caught, I suspect if one of my schoolteachers from back in the day were to write a report on my exploits it would probably read "Jon has tried hard, but failed to maintain his early promise."
Never mind ...... there's always next year.

Last session blues

Today's final session of 2014 was a reminder of two things- stillwater fish are much easier to catch in warm weather than cold, and winter angling can be cruel. For me, fishing in the colder months is like smoking cigarettes - more of an addiction than a pleasure. This morning as I climbed into the car to get my quick three hour fix the car temperature gauge cheerfully informed me that the air temperature was a full 2 degrees, and the weather forecast on the car radio didn't suggest it was going to get that much warmer, either.

Knowing that bites would be at a premium, I decided to go small (size 20 hook and single maggot), with half a pint of maggots and half a pint of castors as bait. As I arrived at the lake the sky had a pretty pinkish tinge, which quickly faded to wolf coat grey. I set up with one of Ian Lewis' (Ian Lewis handmade floats) Norfolk reed wagglers, and began feeding a swim just off the edge of some dead reedbeds.

I was fishing with Pete, my regular fishing companion, who decided to double his chances by fishing a swimfeeder tucked in close to an overhanging tree with maggot as bait, as well as a waggler. In the event Pete had the only bite of the whole three hours that we fished together. Fortunately he connected with the fishy culprit, the result being the carp pictured below.

 

 

After the allocated three hours were up I needed to return to work for an afternoon meeting, followed by a running a training session for the village primary school football team that I coach before taking the first (of many!) carol services this month. My fishing season, which has almost entirely comprised of very short sessions, has lost momentum in recent weeks, with the abundant pike and perch of the spring months from the canal, and the summer's carp giving way to a disappointing winter in which Pete has almost permanently had the "Indian sign" over me.

Pete stayed on for another two and a half hours after my departure, and added this handsome perch to his catch, on what was a gruelling winter session, and- almost certainly for us- the angling swansong of 2014.

 

 

But here's the funny thing: while this morning's session may have been about as pleasant as a bad case of amoebic dysentery, and notwithstanding the fact that January and February may prove even colder and harder to find fish, I can't wait till my next session ........... do they do the equivalent of nicotine patches for fishing? ......... this addiction is getting ridiculous.

The friendly fisherman

There's a shop specialising in predator angling equipment that goes by the name of "The Friendly Fisherman", presumably a reference to its proprietor in the hope that describing him thus will lead to anglers wanting to patronise his store. I once knew of a tattoo artist who was known as "Gentle Graham", which again- if my experiences of being inked are anything to go by- would have been good for his business, too. I've ordered online from the aforementioned angling store, and found them to be efficient and prompt, but having never met the owner I can't comment on the veracity or otherwise of the shop's name. However, my experiences on the river bank and lakeside have led me to believe that there's some truth in Walton's ideal of the "brotherhood of the angle", and certainly friendships have enhanced my fishing days.

 

The picture above is of me fishing a few years back with my two brothers, with whom I've shared many an angling adventure. They endure as angling friends to this day, and although these days we only actually fish together rarely due to geographical proximity, our telephone conversations tend to revolve around fishing, as does the conversation whenever we meet up.

 

 

 Although some see fishing as a lonely, solo activity for quiet taciturn types who shun the company of others, my own preference is, wherever possible, to share my fishing sessions with one or two likeminded friends. In my Plymouth days Mark (above), Rob, Ben, Jonathan (then teenagers) and Joe (pictured below, and the godfather of my son) were my companions. Joe was great for comedy value, perennially tangled, breaking things or falling in, the young lads were tenacious in their pursuit of fish, permanently changing swims and tactics, and Mark was always good for a leisurely conversation, almost always accompanied by a few fish.

 

 

These days my main fishing partners are Pete (who's figured in a number of posts on this blog) and my 14 year old son, along with a supporting cast of occasional angling companions: Roger (below), Louie and Craig. All the anglers mentioned have been members of churches I've worked in, and it's great on the bank to relate to them not as "the Vicar", but just as a fellow angler and friend.

 

 

The internet has further opened the possibilities for making angling a social affair. Through Facebook groups and forums I feel as though I "know" anglers all over the country, and the internet has led to me getting to know and fish with Stewart Bloor, inveterate blogger, fellow Christian minister and well known angler, and also journeying to the States to meet and fish with friends I'd initially met on line, one result of which is a friendship with a top American rod builder who'll shortly be commencing work on a custom lure rod for me.

 

The archetype of an angler may revolve around the stereotype of an unsociable, sad, old man, but while I'm undoubtedly getting older (a recent experiment with a beard was curtailed after a few days, owing to the amount of white or grey hair that was covering my face) the way I practice my fishing means I'm anything but "sad" or "lonely".  The "brotherhood of the angle" still holding true Centuries after Walton and Cotton departed this life for a better.



Angling on the box

 

When it comes to a bunch of anglers discussing fishing TV shows the collective noun must be either "a whinge" or "a dissatisfaction" ...... it seems as though- with the exception of "A Passion for Angling, which is universally acclaimed as the best angling program ever- that there's always something to moan about. Which, I think, is a shame, and particularly short-sighted.

 

Take the latest series of "Crabtree". To some split cane traditionalists it's not Crabtree enough, despite the use of centrepins and handmade floats as well as carbon and method feeders, while perhaps for others there's not enough "action"- too much beautiful scenery and mist rising from the water, as if such a thing were possible. I actually think that, although not perfect, it's actually pretty darn good.

 

And maybe that's the problem. While we're all aware that we ourselves are from perfect (either as anglers or as people!) we demand an unrealistic level of perfection from angling TV producers. I'd argue that, in an age when there are so many competing interests and distractions, and where the average age of anglers is increasing and less people are fishing that almost all TV publicity is good publicity, even if it's coming from the much maligned Robson Green (except for when he's doing really dumb or inexcusable stuff like bow hunting for carp!) He's grown as a presenter, and the combination of travel and angling is always going to draw an audience, and I know of lots of non-anglers who watch it, enjoy it and are beginning to wonder if angling might not be something that they'd enjoy. Sure, he's not everyone's "cup of tea" and he's sometimes been badly advised, but on balance I'd call it a net gain.

 

 

 

I can remember some very "low production values" angling TV from my childhood and youth. There was "Hooked" which, if nothing else, convinced me that match fishing doesn't make great viewing (but I still watched it every week after school), an effort called "Go Fishing" presented by Jack Charlton (great centre-back, average angler, mediocre presenter) which had a very jaunty theme tune, and even further back a series called "The Fishing Race", which included the then-famous specimen hunter Jim Gibbinson and included such highlights as the Welsh rugby legend Gareth Edwards getting "hammered" in the bar on a ferry to Sweden for a fishing trip and some guy fishing in an aquarium for a piranha! None of it classic TV, but I lapped it up nonetheless.

 

 

John Wilson took the long-running series genre to new heights in the 80's and 90's, and introduced the compelling mixture of adventure travel and angling that now seems to be a staple of angling programming, whether Paul Young, Jeremy Wade or poor old Robson. His infectious laugh and "personality angler" profile paved the way for successors such as Matt Hayes. Perhaps the best (and worst) thing that ever happened for angling on TV was Hugh Mile's beautiful "Passion for Angling" series; best because it set standards of camera work, story telling and enchantment that have never been surpassed, and worst because everything (even Hugh's own later project "Catching the impossible") have been damned with faint praise by comparison. The relationship between Chris Yates and Bob James (affectionate but with a slight edge of bickering) was akin to many a longstanding marriage, and somehow four programs using the narrative device of the seasons seemed to sum up all that's good in angling.
 

My own favourite angling programs have been the aforementioned "Passion for Angling" and also the "Compleat Angler" series presented by Rae Borras and the actor Geoffrey Palmer in which modern angling trips were juxtaposed with readings from "The Compleat Angler" in a winsome homage to Walton.

 

I guess that if there's a message amid these nostalgic ramblings through angling's history on British TV, it's that we anglers, as a community, are far too quick to criticise and too slow to recognise a good thing. The more angling that there is on TV, the higher the profile, and the higher the profile the more newcomers we'll attract to the sport. We need to be less tribal ("I only watch carp fishing, mate" or "one struggles to watch anything that features carbon rods, don't you know") and to welcome (and watch) and enjoy whatever scraps the commissioning editors throw at us.
 

..... and wouldn't it just be great if someone could digitally rework Jack Hargreaves' fishing slots on "Out of Town" - that'd really be worth setting the TV to record.