canal fishing

[tommy710]

Im new to fishing and wondered if anyone has any tips for me i have limited tackle and no pole ive not had much luck so far and would appreciate any tips ,the cnal is the leeds and liverpool canal near wigan and ive been using as small a float as i can,how do i know how deep to fish,(at this pont id be happy to catch a tadpole).
help a guy out im ready for throwing myself in.

[BoldBear]

A BEGINERS GUIDE TO FISHING AN AVERAGE SIZED CANAL WITH A FLOAT ROD

This is only meant as a guide as each canal stretch has it’s different characteristics and fish population but it should be a good guide of where to start.

Target Fish:
Roach/Rudd/Dace/Gudgeon/Perch/Bream/Chub (from an ounce or less up to around 3lbs)

The Rod and Reel
A decent Match/Float rod allows the angler to fish at much further distances than a Pole such as the wide areas which barges use to turn round; Or tight up against the far bank on slightly wider stretches.

A match rod can be fished when it is windy with the line sunk below the surface with a couple of turns of the handle with the tip sunk below the surface, or a quick upward thrust of the tip after the float lands.

Rod: 12 or 13ft Light waggler/match rod.
Reel: Small to medium fixed spool reel or closed face reel.
Reel Line: 2lb to 3.5lb (Note: Ensure that your reel spool is full to within a couple of mm of the spool rim otherwise it will restrict your casting ability.)
Hook length: 1lb to 3lb.

Floats for use with Match Rods.
A ‘Canal Grey’ or ‘Onion’ or ‘straight waggler’ or ‘Stillwater Blue’ - 2BB to 3AA depending on the strength and direction of the wind and the width of the canal you are fishing.

Hooks and hooklengths
Hooks: size 24, 22 or 20 or 18 depending on the bait size i.e. 24 & 22 for Squatt, 20 for Pinkies or 18 for Maggot.
Note: ‘Pinkies’ are roughly half the size of Maggots and ‘Squatts’ are roughly half the size of Pinkies.

If you tie your own hooklengths then don’t make them too short as it will not give enough stretch to absorb any sudden shocks a decent fish may give during the fight and make sure that any dust shot which is attatched to the hooklength is not pinched on too tight; therebye creating weak spots.

Typical Shotting Patterns to use with a waggler on a Canal.
Remember that the shotting that is marked on a float is just an approximation of the total weight needed to cock it and not the actual size of shot you should use for example. A 3BB waggler would typically be shotted with a no8 ‘tell tale’ shot nearest the hook, 2 No.6 shot at just over half depth and the remaining shot bunched around the base of the float. (see diagram below).



This shotting pattern has two main advantages in use on a shallowish water like a canal:

• After the float has landed, the 2 no.6s at half depth will sink fairly quickly but the remaining line will sink behind it more slowly giving a more natural sinking effect.
  
• If required this shotting pattern would allow the float to fly ahead of the hook and allow the float to be cast tight up against the far bank or a bed of water lilies. However to do this you would need to refrain from feathering your line with your fingers as your float lands which would slow the float down in flight and result in the hook flying ahead of the float and getting tangled on the far bank or lillies.

The Shotting Conversion chart below may be of help when shotting your floats.



When and Where to Fish
Early Mornings are usually the best time to catch decent fish before the barges have really started to chug through and stir up the bottom too much; or late evenings when the barges have started to berth for the night..

Try looking for features to fish next to like lock overflow streams as they rejoin the canal below the lock; I know a few of these on the Grand Union Canal where huge Chub reside.

Other places to try are: where streams enter the canal or under overhanging bushes or rows of far bank trees as these are also big fish holding spots where Chub, Carp and large Roach often spend there days picking off insects and caterpillars as the drop into the water and are safe from any wandering barges. Also there are large Perch who are camoflaged in the dappled light.

It is a good Idea to plumb the depths of your swim so that you know where the near and far shelves are and their relevant depths as this is important if you want to get the best from your swim.

The following diagram shows the different catching zones on an average Canal:



Fishing Tight against the far bank:
This is a good place to find Chub which patrol tight against the far bank and also a good place for Carp browsing along the edge.

Either use a light leger or use floats like a canal grey or an onion or a dart and shot it so that in flight the float will fly ahead of the hooklength with 80% of the shot up under the float with a couple of dust shot further down starting at just over half depth.; don’t be tempted to feather your line as it lands or the hooklength will start to go forward before the float has landed and will tangle on the far bank.

Fishing On the top or bottom of the far shelf:
Quality Roach shoals can often be found here and if you fish fairly fine and keep feeding small amounts of feed (hemp, Casters, or Maggots) at regular intervals you can get them feeding well.

Bream shoals normally move along the bottom of the far shelf or in the centre channel like herds of cattle
mopping up any food they can find;
A good groundbait designed for Bream is usually a must if you want to stop them in one place rather than moving on.

Fishing On the bottom of the near shelf:
You sometimes find shoals of good Perch moving along the bottom of the near shelf hunting for small gudgeon and minnows. Sometimes in a match you can see one angler catching one then the next angler and so on as the shoal moves along the bank.
If you see this then don’t hesitate to empty half a pint of maggots or more in front of you because you may be able to keep them in front of you long enough to catch a few big ones. Shoals of Perch are usually made up with similar sized Perch so if you hook a large one then theres a chance that there are several others of a similar size nearbye.

If you are going to try fishing your local Canal then I hope this has been of some help to you.

Tight Lines

Keith (BoldBear)

[tommy710]

wow,cheers dude i didnt expect a reply at all to be honest,never mind one as informative as that,im gonna print that off and memorise it lol.
thanks for all the info dude ill let you know how i get on.

[Dubbed Squirrel]

Excellent post BB, Nice.




Peter

[BoldBear]

I enjoyed answering your query Tommy, hope it has helped you catch more on your canal.

don't forget to let us know how you get on.

Keith (BoldBear)

[tommy710]

BB you will now be refered to on this forum (and by the canal bank) as GOD.
WE CAUGHT SOME FISH YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.
granted they wasnt massive but they was bigger than the ones we caught before you posted (IE NONE) but they did us just fine,our biggest was a bream (we think) no idea off the weight but it filled the top of my basket which made us feel like quint from jaws,and weve had a shitload of little ones roach.perch etc.(but we was made up with em)the only thing we do struggle with is casting to the far bank which we cant seem to manage,weve done as you said and weve changed our gut(3ilb line) and made sure the spool is full so theres no drag and weve made sure that it isnt tied to tight,but the middle of the canal is about our limit
The other thing we struggle with is the depth as weve no pole we have no idea how to plumb the depth so where never sure how far to put our float from the hook,your diagrams where great but where not sure how to apply them to the depth,and if we go to deep all we seem to catch is crap from the bottom of the canal,weve already had loads of cans and bottles,an old blanket trees and half a bike,(where hoping to get the rest of it soon so we can get it up and running and use it to save us walking down with all our tackle).
But weve had a blast,thanks again BB (aka GOD) well keep trying and any more tips would be great.
cheers

[bobspoons]

I love the Leeds Liverpool Canal and used to fish the Kirkstall section years ago.

For depth, a good idea is to google "Plumbing depth" which will give you an idea on how to plumb a depth. The basic principle is to have a big weight on the bottom and your float adjustable and quite low, when you cast to your desired spot the weight will drag the float under and it will dissapear. Reel in and move the float up a bit, then re-cast. Keep doing this until the float doesnt dissapear, which means the weight is sat on the bottom but not pulling down the float, so you then know the depth.
The weights for this tend to be cheap and have a bit of cork on the bottom for your hook. Makes a bit of a series of splashes doing this Some think it scares of fish, others think it attracts fish as the crud is displaced on the bottom. Either way you will know the depth for next time (make a note) even with the slight variences of canal bed.

For casting out further, other people may be able to help with better advice, but for me 2 things would help. Firstly, practice on technique and the casts will go further. Secondly, if you dont get much extra distance, then think about a slightly bigger float, which in turn will need a bit more extra weight, and thus the extra weight giving a better chance of further cast.
I would say though that my experience of this particular canal (albeit it the Kirkstall bit) is that the profile is similar to the one shown above on the diagram and so doesnt matter a lot which side of the canal you are on, as its a mirror image. So if you pick your spot carefully, you can stick to your own side of the canal rather than the far bank.
The two things I used to look for were 1: weeds (food source for fish) and 2: overhanging trees (dropping stuff, food into the water for fish and insect magnets)
So really I wouldnt bother too much about which side of the bank, just pick your spot carefully and in that canal I have caught some of my best catches only a few feet away from the bank (I must add Im not a good angler).

Hope some of this might help, I dont know a lot about angling but I do love that canal.

All the best

Alex ( BobSpoons )

[tommy710]

thanks for the tips dude keep em coming.

[tommy710]

Your test your depth info worked a treat dude cheers,weve given up on the canal for a bit as weve been having a lot more luck on a local pond,is canal fishing harder than ponnds or am i fishing in the wrong place (or just shit ha)
Thankls again though for all the info its helped
cheers

[Maddison_Twatter]

Good to see you catching from bbs advice, well done