Early Sunday Morning - A Quick Visit to the Canal

I had a small window of opportunity yesterday so headed down to the industrial section of the canal just along from Wigan Pier. With only a couple of hours to fish from first light I thought I would give float fished bread a try on the spot that had produced roach to half a pound on previous visits. I threw in a couple of handfuls of mashed bread and tackled up my old Sealey Octopus cane rod with a trusty Mitchell 300A and 3lb line straight through to a size 12 hook under an old cane and cork antenna.
A couple of swift bites came in the first few casts but I failed to hit them. The third bite came and I connected with a feisty fish which turned out to be a chub of around 8 ounces. My first canal chub and a splendid looking fellow he was too.

All was quiet for an hour or so before the next bite produced a roach of 6 ounces.

By now I was playing the last cast game. I was on the fourth last cast when my final bite came. A bigger and stronger fish gave a couple of spirited dashes around mid canal before finally coming to the net. My first roach/bream hybrid and it tipped the scales at 12 ounces and refused to lie still for a photograph.

It was a shame to leave as I think the swim was coming to life. However, it's yet more proof that the 

canal really is a water with potential and contains fish in excellent condition. With luck I will be back later in the week