Bream for the blackness

After deciding to give the perch on the cut a break, I focused my attention on the bream that I have heard come out to feed once the boats have stopped moving. With this in mind I ventured to the canal.
I arrived at about 7 with my attention being to feed the swim before 8 when the boats should have stooped moving. I soaked up some 2mm fish meal pellets and added some hemp and a few casters. I was convinced I had made a good job of this and by 8 I thought my prebaiting was safe for the evening, so I added starlight s to my pole floats and settled in for the sun to go down. I had set up two rods both with very similar rigs, centre pins and float rods with pole floats on. My aim was to fish bread punch over the baited area lying on by about 3 inches to prevent tow.

As I felt settled I could not believe it when a bloody boat appeared at about 8.30, as far as was aware boats have an 8 o'clock curfew on their motors??? Not only did it appear it turned around over my prebaited area......all good plans and all! I did make very obvious glances at my watch to the boat people...but not even a simple sorry! In last few weeks I have witnessed some very intersting acts by narrow boat users, including tipping the contents of thier wood burner (ash etc) straight into the canal, throwing their washing up water in, and one of the very best urinating directly in to the canal....

Anyway rant over, After the canal had settles I introduced a small amount of feed an sat it out. I was very pleased when my starlight bobbed then sank away and I was into a fish. I have never fished at night before and found it very interesting fighting a fish in the dark. A nice looking bream surfaced and was soon in the net. A fish of 2lb 14oz.

It took a while before it happen again, this tome the fish ripped line from my pin....interesting! After a very spirited fight a larger bream surfaced, I really did not think it was bream to be honest. These fish fight so much more than the ones that are in still waters. This fish scaled 4lb 10oz...a nice fish for the cut!

The next bite came almost straight away, again taking line I was into another better fish. a differetn looking bream, in fact it was almost green. Though a bit bashed up it was still a nice fish. Scaling 3lb 15oz.

I finished fishing at 10.45 and was happy to have bagged 3 fish for over 10lbs. The one thing that I did notice was their tails, an commericals the bream tails are alot smaller than these!

Will definately try this again, I really enjoyed the different sounds from the canal in the dark.

Commercial Capers..

With having a little bit of time on my hands I decided to venture to a local commercial fishery and have a play. I have recently got hold of a new long float rod, a Preston 15/17ft. Having not used a long rod before I thought a commercial would be a good place to see what sort of action the rod has and also what its like to fish with in general. I set up the rod with a pole float (garbolino Dc13 1g) with an olivette and a couple of droppers to a size 16 G point pellet hook.

I was really surprised when I plumbed up to find that the pool that I was on only had a depth of about 4ft, bit gutted at this but I had set up my gear so could not be bothered to move.

I had soaked some 2mm pellets and made up some fish meal groundbait, introducing this into my swim at about 5 metres.
I baited the hook with a 4mm expander and put my first cast out. Straight away my float sunk and the tip bent nicely, a small skimmer of about 8 oz was first in. This trend continued for the next 20 mins with a regular ball of groundbait, followed by 4-5 bream. In the first hour I probably landed 30 fish, all of which ranged from 6oz to 2lb.

This was until my float popped out of the water and I struck into a fish that took line straight away...no bream!

This was when I realised that using a long rod though very enjoyable is not really the tool for bagging zoo creatures. The action is brilliant as it has a through progressive flex that absorbs all of the kicks from the fish, but it does feel like you are towing a plastic bag in a river, and takes probably twice as long to land the fish. The fish that caused this was a mirror carp of around 8lb, a very grey fish, which may have have some ghostly heritage.

I thought that this would have messed the swim up but it had not, again the bream were back....not that I minded them but after probably 50 they were getting I hate to say this but boring?

As the light started to fall the swim changed allot with tail patterns swirling and brown clouds appearing...yes the bigger fish had moved in. To cut alot of hard fights short I had a total of 12 carp in the last 2 hours, at this point the skimmers were gratefully received as a break to the arm wrenching carp. The largest carp weighed in at 12lb 8oz and the others ranged between 6 and 10 lb. I have put some of the pictures below as I was getting fed up with getting off my box tho photograph them...lazy old git!

Largest of the carp at 12lb 8oz

Amongst the bream and carp, I had a very welcome bonus first for the challenge. A crucian carp of 2lb 1oz, though I am sure there are bigger in there it got me a grateful 45%! If fact I actually lost a much larger fish when the hook pulled, due to me giving it to much pressure whilst some of the local "burberry boys" were watching me. ...bugger!

(Incidentally they sat a couple of pegs down from me for the whole time, behind buzzers shouting at each other and saying that there was no fish in lake...interesting)

Pretty pixie at 2lb 10z

The pictures do not do this little fella justice but I did what I could.

By the end of session I had roughly caught around 60lb of bream and silvers, over 100lb of carp and my bonus little pixie!

Not bad for a play on the new bit of kit!

Evening back on the cut.

On monday evening after doing some housework, I decided to nip back to the cut and have another pop at trying to catch a larger perch. After having a few nice fish and a couple of Zander I called it a day. I had a net of perch which went to 8lb 6oz.

Few of the larger pose for a piccy. Though I have enjoyed fishing the canal for perch I have now made the decision to target some different species...what next?? I am also planning to visit some local fisheries that have perch but are not really targeted by many. Might also start thinking of tincas and bramas soon?? Tight Lines

Can not get out of the terrible twos!!!

Having missed my regular dose of canal I felt that I had to get my hit on Sunday. I have heard of very good silvers being taken from the area that myself and Danny have been targeting for predators. With this in mind I set up a light pole rig with bread punch being my approach fished over liquidised bread. It was my intention to fish for a few hours to see if any silvers came my way, then after I had bagged up on them focus on the preds that may have followed them in....all good plans and all!

Well after fishing hard for three hours my float had not even dipped through the interest of a fish! So I decided to introduce so pinkies and a little choppy to an area to my left. Hoping to get the perch feeding. Soon my chubber bobbed then dived under, a perch of 1lb 3oz was quickly netted, a fat little lady. I then had a surprise as a roach took my boat of about 8oz...all day on the bread with nothing then a silver on the pinkie! Soon after I lost a Zander on the worm, but it soon returned as they always seem to do, a fish of just over 2lb's, it always surprises me how large Zander can be but weigh very little. I forgot agian to take a photo!

Perch 1lb 3oz

Dan arrived soon after at this point I had very little news. Few small perch with the largest being 1lb 3oz, a Zander and a roach...not exactly bagging time. Ironically at this point the barge that was next to me moved and left the stretch free from my water going friends. This I feel had a big impact on the fishing, as immediately the fishing improved with a perch of just under 2lb's taking the worm very soon after. Then a few more of around a pound followed.

Another perch of just under 2!!!

As the evening grew closer we decided that we would split and fish different areas, using the walkers to send messages to each other of record breaking fish!

After an hour I had banked 5 perch over a pound but nothing of real size, the largest being agian just under 2lbs.

Another perch of just under 2!!!

This was until my chubber buried and i was into a much better fish. This was a bigger fish...but how big?

On the unhooking mat it looked very good..perhaps a pb? I could not believe what it weighed! When Dan came over I got him to check the fish..he was impressed by it size, as I knew he had bagged a fish of 2lb 6oz it was interesting to see his reaction. He as I thought it was a big un...and also could not believe it only weighed bag on 2lb!!!! Gutted!

This photo really does not do this fish justice..buit only 2lb!

Must have been a male fish as it was very thin and empty, if it was female I feel that it would have been considerably heavier....my quest goes on!!