It’s working really well for me at the moment, in the sense that I can do an hour on the canal at first light, and then get on with the rest of the busy day.
Today’s start, as you can see from the lead image, was a frosty one. Bore da. Mae’n oer heddiw. That’s Welsh, by the way, and it means good morning, it’s cold today.
Before I scraped the windshield, I wrote the words and took a photograph for The New Saints’ social media platforms. I thought I’d use it on here as well.
Although it was very cold and the puddles alongside the canal itself were frozen, nevertheless the water temperature was up.
Yesterday’s reading of 8C was replaced by a rise that saw the thermometer register 8.4C. This is why I consider water temperature a key factor, especially at this time of the year.
If you were going just on what your eyes told you, you’d see frost everywhere, the car frozen to the point where you had to force the door to open it, and you may be tempted to roll over and go back to sleep.
However, knowing how water temperature works, what I saw as I looked outside this morning didn’t bother me.
Mind you, I’d have gone anyway. After all, as long as your bait’s in the water then you have a chance.
No perch today but roach rescued the day. I was once again next to brickwork and was fishing just inches from the bank in the deeper water, relatively speaking, of course, as it is the canal.
I fished with a Greys G Lite spinning rod (4-8lb) and a Shimano DL2500FA reel.
Maxima Chameleon 4lb line went straight through to a Drennan Super Specialist size 16 hook.
The hook length was created by a 5mm bead and a size 6 shot. The lead was a 1/4 ounce bomb.
I fed brown crumb and mixed maggots and the fish were caught on two red maggots.