Well with the start of my Easter leave period it was time to
forget about work for a few weeks and focus back on my fishing (something I
have been unable to do for the past couple of month)
Not looking to fish a match I either had the choice of local
commercial waters, Shearwater reservoir or the Kennet & Avon Canal.
After a bit of too and throwing I decided that I would nip down the canal for
the day to blow off the cob webs. With near enough 6-7 miles of canal to fish
due to being a member of Pewsey District Angling Association I opted for Pewsey
Wharf due to the ease of getting there and a parking space which is close to the
bank side.
Having never fished it before thought it would be a good
place to go and see how it fished.
Having arrived at about 9 in the morning with just some
punch, pinkies and groundbait it soon became apparent with the water having
plenty of colour that the punch would be out of the question and I didn’t see it playing a major part of the
day to temp many fish.
I opted for 3 lines in total 1 short, 1 down the centre of
the canal and 1 at 13 ½ meters across. On plumbing up I noticed there wasn’t
the define track you normally got down the centre of the canal with it being
nearly 4-4 ½ ft all the way across, it was also towing through at a steady pace
bringing with it plenty of surface leaves, twigs and shrubs add to the fact
that the warf can get busy with boat traffic I was having second thoughts on if
this was a good idea or not, but still I was here now so of I went.
The first line I set up a Tubertini Stix 4x12 to fish punch
short (with the water being a chocolate colour I knew this could be hit or miss
but thought I maybe able to mug a few fish whilst my other lines settled.
My main line was Browning Cenex 0.08mm to a 4inch 0.06mm
hooklength with a positive shotting of a bulk and 2 droppers. Hook pattern for
nearly 90% of my canal fishing was a B511 size 22.
My centre line consisted of 2 rigs one was a Tubertini 4x14 set up exactly the same way as my short
line. The 2nd rig was a Tubertini Concord 4x14 which would be used
for when the canal started towing through giving me more control over the float
and presentation as I could hold it back.
My 13 ½ meter line consisted of a Tubertini Concord float
again this time in a 4x12 with a spread out bulk, I later changed to a Dardun
slim 4x12 later on in the day. This line would be purely a groundbait and
pinkie line and this is where I intended on catching most of my fish depending
of the boat traffic.
My Groundbait consisted of 50/50 mix of Browning Champion Choice Gardons
and Canal, giving it a nice colour and sweetish smell but with not to much feed contained with in it.
Having got everything ready I fed all my lines and went
straight for the short line, after a fruitless 30-45 minutes with no bites I
shifted to my centre line. After a slow run of fish and trying both rigs
adjusting the depth up and down as well as the shotting pattern I was stumped,
2 hours in and I had single figures to show for it, there wasn’t much boat
traffic and there were plenty of fish showing over the far side so plan C came
out and it was to concentrate on the far bank and see if anything became of it.
I fed another 2 golf ball sized balls of groundbait. What I
like to do as well is push my thumb into the ball so it creates a whole this
gives me the option of filling the void with pinkies then plugging the gap up
then least I know my all my bait is getting to the bottom and not being
intercepted half way down.
With my Tubertini Concord float over at on the far side it
didn’t take long for it to shot under and a better stamp fish was in the net.
This carried on for a while and I was steadily putting a few fish in the net
and was well into double figures. With the afternoon approaching and the sun
moving it was getting difficult to see the float tip due to it being fine and
dotted down. This is where my new Dardum slim 4x12 float came in. A thicker
more visible tip allowed me to see the float perfect. Having only just got hold
of these floats I was keen to give them a go. It proved to be stable and well
balanced and considering they are handmade there seems to be a lot of thought
and time put into these. A steady design yet strong and sensitive. With the
change of float I started adding more fish into the net before the float shot
under and number 4 elastic was flying out the top kit. After careful and nervy
fight I managed to net a Bream/hybrid to just over 2lb, Result!!
After a run of 4-6 fish I noticed I was having to constantly
top up my feed with groundbait and pinkie to keep the fish there and biting. By
now I had 40-50 fish. Once again the float shot under and it wasn’t long before
a nice 1lb skimmer was in the net (I was hoping this would carry on as the
smaller stamp were still weight builders with the odd bonus fishing making an
appearance)
It wasn’t to be after a boat came through crashing into the
far bank vegetation and then revving the living hell out of its motor to get unstuck,
that had just sent every fish packing down the canal and away from the noise
and disturbance. I soldiered on for another half hour with no luck and decided
to call it a day. On looking in my net I must have put together 6-7lb worth of
fish maybe a bit more. Overall not a bad day considering the boat traffic and
the conditions on the canal with all the floating debris towing through. What
looked like turning into a slow day changed into some what a steady day with a
few bonus fish.
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