Between Two Pubs

Fishing wasn't part of the plan for today. The weather had promised to be wild and wet so I thought a day indoors was on the cards with maybe more decorating to pass the time. However, by nine o'clock I 'd realised it wasn't quite the day I'd expected. There was no rain lashing against the windows, the wind was blowing a bit but the sun was out, so I thought I'd head down to the canal for a couple of hours.
This new spontaneous approach is becoming quite a habit. It's a ten minute walk down the hill to the canal which means that short sessions of a few hours or so are worth doing. I think I'm also buoyed by the confidence I have in my ability to catch at the moment. The presence of the shoal of roach in my current banker swim means that all thoughts of a blank are erased from my mind and there's an optimism about each session that is rarely misplaced.
I set up just along from the Whitecross Inn with my trusty Sealey Octofloat and a battered, yet fully functional, Mitchell 300. There's a bit of a swell on the canal but it's coming and going with the gusts of wind. A large antenna seems the best choice today although I'm a bit concerned about my ability to spot bites given the choppy surface.
A piece of flake does the trick and after a couple of casts I'm into my first fish, a pretty roach of a couple of ounces.  The city clocks chime away for 10am and the sun is still out. However, I'm sat in the shade and soon become aware of the wind chill factor as the gusts seem to be increasing in strength. It really is a case of making sure everything is put away or firmly held down. I can't let go of the rod for fear of it being blown off the rest. In fact the gusts are becoming so strong that the rod is actually bending with the force being exerted on it. I'm also having to strike back into the wind which seems to be taking a lot or the power out of it meaning lots of missed bites.
I persevere and my reward is a couple more small roach. An hour has passed and the slightly out of sync chiming of the clocks begins again. There's been one or two dodgy moments where the gusts of wind have been so strong it's felt as though I will be blown from my stool at any moment. My fingers are freezing as the old mill building is blocking the sun so I decide to move along the towpath towards the basins in search of a warmer spot.

to my right

As luck would have it the only sunny area I can find is just between the stern of this narrowboat and the start of the tables outside the Waterwitch canal side pub.
I sort myself out and put in some ground bait I've made from old bread and cheap Weetabix style cereal. Given the still exposed nature of the swim I decide to bait an area around a rod length out and cast out with a large piece of flake as bait. Somewhat predictably the sun goes in but the wind drops a bit so I take a couple of photos.

to my left

My first bite is a really positive, no messing about pull that takes the float straight under. I'm into a heavy feeling fish that puts a good bend in the rod and I play it carefully to the surface and the waiting net. It's a bream of around a pound and a half. Not a bad start.
There's a real difference here to the previous spot. Back there the bait barely has time to sink before it's attacked by the roach whereas here it's a much more leisurely affair and subsequently slower more positive bites that are far easier to hit.
I bump off the next fish, experiencing the brief sensation of something quite large before it's gone.


Feeling excited by the move and a bit warmer in the sun I have a quick cup of tea before adding a couple more small balls of ground bait to the swim and casting out again. It's not long before I get another great bite and I'm into a strong almost dead weight. I feel it kick away so I give some line as the fish heads off to my left into the centre of the canal. The fish is determined and is using its weight to good effect. The strength of the wind against the raised rod seems to be adding to the power of the fish so I continue to play it with great care. Just then the narrowboat begins to shift on its mooring ropes heading into the swim. Thankfully the rope tightens and it comes to a halt. I'm glad the fish has chosen to go to the left as I've no idea how I would have managed playing it around the boat. Gradually I win the battle. I know it's a bream and sure enough a large shiny slab of a fish breaks the surface before making another dive for freedom. That's its fight over and when it next surfaces I slide the net under it.
I've never been a great fan of bream but I have to say this is a beautiful looking fish that is absolutely scale and fin perfect. It also appears to be the biggest one I've ever caught. I scrabble around and find the camera and scales. The wind catches the plastic bags these are in and off they sail into the canal ( luckily I retrieve them after releasing the fish ).
The bream takes the scales to 3lb 4oz which is a new personal best and with the exception of the pike last time, my biggest fish from the canal. I do my best with the photo given the wind and time constraints before resting and releasing the fish.

 

 

 

After a couple more casts and a giant wind caused tangle I decide to call it a day. I'm glad I moved today even though it was out of the desire to be more comfortable rather than from an angling point of view. Maybe the 'towpath expert' I met last time was right about the basin area. Time will tell as I feel a return trip will be in order very soon. I'd really like to catch a perch so will bring lots of worms and some prawns with me next time as well as the ever reliable bread because who knows how big the bream are here and maybe the roach too...