Not all habits are bad ones. Getting up early each morning for an hour on the canal is most definitely a positive path to keep walking.
On arrival at the towpath though, I wasn’t particularly thrilled at the colour of the water. Following heavy local rain over the last few days, it was a deathly grey.
Experience tells me that when it’s this colour, I struggle. However, I still remained positive that I would be able to catch something.
Fishing the boat channel, I baited the swim with sloppy brown crumb and a few mixed maggots. After a few extremely light taps on the rod, I struck into a good fish.
Although the clarity of the water wasn’t good, due to it being heavy with sediment, the fish came to the upper layer as I brought it towards the net.
It was a bream of about 3lb and very welcome indeed. Well, it would have been, had it not slipped the hook.
I knew I wouldn’t get too many opportunities to bank something, so when I struck into a second fish, some time later, I was very thankful.
Then, like the bream, it benefited from a hook-pull. On this occasion though, I was looking at a perch that was 2lb plus.
Surprisingly, I did have numerous enquiries during the session, but they were all the most gentle of movements on the tip.
It encouraged me though and my usual one hour stretched to two. I was absolutely determined that I was not going home fish-less.
Then, although it was a much smaller fish than the two I had lost, I eventually landed a perch.
That was it, mission accomplished, and I packed away and headed back to the car.
I even had a telephone call from my wife while walking back, wondering if I had decided to go on a long session, as she was going shopping and was checking my plans.
I told her that I was so focused on getting a fish, I wasn’t leaving until I had one. She laughed. She knows me.
I fished with a Greys G Lite spinning rod (4-8lb) and a Shimano DL2500FA reel.
Maxima Chameleon 4lb reel line went straight through and the hook length was created by a 5mm bead and a size 6 shot.
The lead was a 1/4 ounce bomb.
Double red maggot was fished on a Drennan Super Specialist size 16 hook.
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