ADVANCED POLE FISHING90

TACTICS Big Fish From Canals

If you want to bag big fish, you’ll need to head to your localcommercial fishery, right? Well, not necessarily, asLeicester-based matchman Nick Edwards reveals –just minutes from his front door…

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ANGLER PROFILE

NICKEDWARDSAge: 40 odd!Team: ‘For hire’Sponsors: NonePole used: Daiwa TournamentProfessional 16mFloat: 0.2g Preston InnovationsTyson 4Line: 5.5lb Silstar Match Team fished straightthrough to the hookHook: Size 15 Kamasan B711Shotting: Bulk of No11s with three No11 droppersspaced evenly below

GRAND UNION CANALLocation: Crow Mills, South Wigston, LeicestershireTickets: Controlled by Wigston Angling Society. Daytickets are £3, season tickets £16Restrictions: None that we know of!Nearest tackle shop: All Seasons Angling on 0116782440Directions: Leave the M1 at junction 21 taking theA5460 to Leicester. Branch left and at theroundabout, take the first exit onto the A563(signposted Outer Ring Road). Go through the trafficlights and at the next roundabout take the fifth exitonto the B5366 for South Wigston. In South Wigstonturn left at the mini-roundabout and then turn intoLandsdowne Grove. Turn left at the T-Junction andthe Crow Mills carp park is on your right.Contact: Mick Holohan on 07762 566986

VENUE FACT FILE

Nic

k’s

Ligh

t Te

nch

Rig

0.2g PrestonInnovations Tyson 4

Bulk of No11s

Three No11 droppers

Size 15 Kamasan B711

5.5lb line direct

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TACTICS Big Fish From Canals

There’s no doubting that over the lastdecade the influx of commercialfisheries has changed the way we

fish. There’s now a saturated market ofheavy-duty pole tackle, including the polesthemselves, elastics, bushes, bungs, floats,line and hooks. Even baits have beendesigned to help us land more big fish. It’s called evolution, or should that berevolution? Whatever your thoughts,there’s no doubt that commercial fisherieshave had a positive impact and many of usnow want to catch big fish wherever wego… and plenty of them. That’s the reasonthousands of us head for our local carppond every weekend. However, as Leicesterangler Nick Edwards is keen to point out,why do anglers have to visit man-madefisheries to catch a netful of big fish?Although many of us assume that the twogo hand in hand, nothing could be furtherfrom the truth. It’s time that we all realisedthat being blinkered is making us miss outon the bigger picture. Read on, becauseyou’re about to find out from Nick whatyou’ve been missing out on...

Canals have been in their own stateof evolution since anglers left the

towpath in favour of landscaped gravelpaths. Although the bread-and-butter

small fish that canals are renowned for arestill present in huge numbers, it’s theexplosion of big fish like bream, tench andcarp that have taken a firm hold on manystretches throughout the country.To show us the quality of sport that youcan expect from canals these days, I’vebrought the APF cameras to a stretchcalled Crow Mills, in South Wigston,which is situated on the south side of

Leicester. It’s typical of any canal in thecountry; 14

metres to 15metres

wide,withreedsand

bushes lining the far bank and six feet ofwater in the middle of the boat track. Inother words, it’s tailor-made for the poleangle.

The real beauty of this stretch, though,and it has to be the same throughout thecountry, is that if you’re a commercial-fishery ‘junkie’, you can turn up for aproper canal session without having toalter your kit in any way! So, withoutfurther ado, let’s discover what you canexpect and, more importantly, how toapproach these new-look canals.

Selecting the right float is just asimportant on canals as it is on acommercial fishery. Carp patterns will beperfect and those pellet or meat rigs thatyou’ve got for fishing tight to islands, or inthe margins of your local carp pool, will bespot on. Floats need to be robust andcapable of presenting big baits overdepth.As long as they meet these criteria theywill be perfect. Carbon or fibre-stemmedpatterns, with either a thick plastic or canebristle, are what you need and for fishingon top of the shelf a 4x14 is the largest

that you’ll need.Because you’re fishing close to

snags, there’s every chance thatyour float will be in them

at some point. If itisn’t up to the job,it will get smashed

to pieces! I’ve tworigs assembled today

and both feature 0.2gPreston carp floats, which

ADVANCED POLE FISHING92

HOOKING WORMS

Step ONEGrab a lobworm and cut it in half, ready forhooking. The tail is often the best bit.

Step TWONick uses strong, wide-gaped hooks for fishingworms to cope with powerful, big fish.

Step THREEThread the point down into the worm’s body sothat the hook sits inside.

Step FOUROnce the hook is far enough down the body, pushthe hook point so that it’s visible.

‘‘

This tench couldn’tresist the allure of alobworm.

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ADVANCED POLE FISHING94

TACTICS Big Fish From Canals

are as durable as they come. One rig is alight set-up (5.5lb Silstar direct to thehook) for fishing pellets and corn and theother is for fishing the worm with0.16mm line straight through to a size 12hook.

Fishing so close to snags, there’s reallyno point messing around with elastics thatare too light. You have to be in control of afish the moment it’s hooked; otherwise youcan kiss the fish and your rig goodbye! Idon’t mess around where elastics areconcerned in this type of swim. For fishingnext to the sunken bush I’m using blackHydrolastic, which will give me the controland power needed to pull tench away fromthe snags. Although they can go to 5lbplus along this stretch, they average 3lband a fish of that size still has the power tosnag you up within seconds. Another trickof mine is to set the rig so that I’m onlyfishing an inch or two overdepth. Thishelps me to detect bites quicker than whenfishing further overdepth, which delaysbite registration.

On my other rig, which is for use in my

back-up swim, I’m using grey Hydrolastic.This is lighter than the black but itmatches my lighter rig and still has thepower to pull tench away from the reedbed.

Shotting patterns are simple and bothrigs feature a bulk of No11s with threeNo11 droppers below. You have to use alittle common sense when it comes tobaits. Pellets and meat may well dominatecatches on your local carp pool, and youmight even catch loads of tench on them,

but canal fish are different. On commercialfisheries, many of the fish have been bredin stock ponds and have been reared onpellets. Once they’re introduced into thefishery, meat and pellets form a big part oftheir diet. The fish are wild on canals, so,for best results, you need to use morenatural baits like worms, casters and

WHERE TO FISH?

Area 1Bottom Of The Near ShelfAlmost all canals have a boat channel down themiddle, where the water is at its deepest. Thisslopes up as it nears the near and far banks andthe area where it starts to shallow is great fortargeting fish. The base of the near shelf is typicallyfound at four or five metres, so you need to plumbaround carefully until you find where the depthlevels off. Here, you can expect to catch skimmers,perch, roach and, occasionally, bigger fish such astench, carp and bream.

Area 2Bottom Of The Far ShelfThis is similar to area one but this is the spotwhere the canal begins to slope upwardstowards the far bank. It’s a great area for bigfish and you can expect to catch more big fishhere. Bream and skimmers, in particular, likethis area and, if boat traffic isn’t too heavy,they will really get their heads down in thisdeep water.

Black Hydrolasticwill cope with

big fish.

Strong line isessential.Strong line isessential.

Area 3The Far ShelfThis is where those lumps are most likely to show up. The far bank offers avariety of big-fish sanctuaries and cover, and reed beds, overhanging branchesand lily pads are just the features you’re looking for. This is where you’re mostlikely to find big tench, carp, bream, perch and roach.

I’ve decided to concentrate on fishing on top of the far shelf. I’m after tenchand I know that they like to live in the cover so I need to fish close to the snagsto catch them. Rather than feeding a single swim, I’m going to feed one in frontof me, next to the sunken branches, and a second to my left in front the reedbed. Feeding two areas will give me the opportunity to alternate swims, which isessential when your main catching area needs to be rested.

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maggots. That’s not to say that baits suchas pellets won’t work. I always have baitslike pellets and corn with me for use on thehook. However, feeding these baits isn’tproductive, although they can workwonders when used as changed baits andfished on the hook over the top of thenatural feed.

This could be different on heavily fishedstretches where the fish have become usedto artificial baits and now recognise themas part of their diet. This is where you haveto do your homework but as a general rule,natural offerings are a much safer bet.

I’m feeding my main line with choppedlobworms, casters and red maggots.Chopped worm is arguably ‘the’ bait fortargeting big fish on canals and its realadvantage is that it isn’t selective – allspecies are attracted to it. Casters areexcellent for holding fish in the swim andI also like to feed a few red maggots,which will start to bury themselves inthe silt and encourage the fish to have agood root around for food.

failed, but you have to hook themcorrectly or you’ll miss too many bites. So, that’s the theory out of the way buthow has it all turned out? One look at thecatch shot will tell you that canals areback with a bang. In just four hoursfishing, I’ve landed 10 tench – includingthree on 10mm Soft Hooker Pellets!It’s been a brilliant session,although I had to transformmy fishless back-up swiminto a second chopped-worm swim to keep the fishcoming. The ploy worked a

ADVANCED POLE FISHING 95

treat and I’ve landed four tench from thisarea during the last hour to boost the bagfrom impressive to awesome… even if I dosay so myself !

With rigs and tackle normally associatedwith commercial venues, it’s now possibleto get among the big fish on canals.Somehow, a big bag of ‘wild’ fish feels all

the more sweeter. Why don’t you give ita go?

My back-up swim is going to be mainlyfed with sweetcorn and a mix of crushedhemp. This is another little trick of mineand the crushed hemp has been soakedovernight in the water used to cookhempseed. The following morning, youshould have a milky, hemp soup thatproduces an awesome cloud in the waterand is a brilliant fish attractor.

It almost goes without saying, butcupping in all your feed is crucial, so don’teven entertain the thought of introducingit in any other way!

It’s much easier to experiment withhook baits because, unlike loose feed, youcan take out what you put in. It’s always agood idea to bring a good selection withyou and I’m having success usingDynamite Baits’ Soft Hooker Pellets fishedover the top of the chopped worm.However, I’ve also tried feeding pellets onthis canal, without much success!

Other hookers include sweetcorn,casters and maggots, but I’m keen to pointout that one hook bait eclipses everythingelse – half a lobworm! This bait hasaccounted for, perhaps, more than 80 percent of the tench I’ve caught here. It willcatch you fish when everything else has

“CUPPING IN ALLYOUR FEED IS

CRUCIAL, SO DON’TENTERTAIN

INTRODUCING IT INANY OTHER WAY.”

‘‘

Howzat! Ten bigtench from a canal

on commercialtactics.

Howzat! Ten bigtench from a canal

on commercialtactics.

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