The Film - the Truth of the Matter

The feedback on the Big Canal Roach video has been very encouraging. So much so that we're about to set-out on the next escapade, but, before so doing, I must right a wrong.

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The making of this project was underpinned by two key rules that Eric and I set before we started that were strangely coincidentally cast in stone for both of us:

~ First and foremost - no product placement (even though my compadre is irritated in the extreme that we consequently did not state the hook or bread makes!).

~ If the quality we sought couldn't be achieved, or it seemed insufficiently engaging to us and our Guinea pigs, we wouldn't proceed.

It would be an ordinary angler, going fishing. 

What doesn't come across in the film, because it is primarily about the quality of roach to be found in predator-affected canals, is where the inspiration came from to pursue this ongoing venture chasing pound plus fish, and that must be put right immediately. 

Long suffering readers of The Flannel will know that, without any doubt the most accomplished and inventive coarse angling blogger yet, Jeff Hatt, was the first to prophesise that local zander affected canals were capable of producing roach of 2lbs.

This claim would seem wild and fanciful were it not for the fact that Jeff, his blogging keyboard and glow-tip floats now hung-up for the foreseeable future, could back it up with hard evidence of fish snared in the depths of winter at just a fraction below the magical weight. 

We made contact and started to collaborate to the point at which we shared an online spreadsheet populated with our big roach catches to see whether, over time, any unforeseen patterns might emerge. 

Sadly, not too long after this, Jeff lost the urge after life got in the way of his fishing, although his blog is thankfully still there as a resource of wise words for the angler looking to make sense of a situation. 

For me though this brief meeting of minds has been unquantifiable in its importance, with the basis of the method we depict and describe coming from Jeff's inspirational words.

It was he who re-resurrected the lift bite method Fred J Taylor had already previously brought to prominence from even older sources in more classic situations, including pursuit of Estate Lake tench, and applied it to canals at a time when match anglers were still reeling from their decline due to the advent of a lack of small fish and continuing growth only of the relatively few fish remaining.

Coupled with that favourite chalk stream specimen roach bait, bread flake, it proved an unbeatable combination that was and continues to be the best big roach method due to its crudity making it counterintuitively supersensitive. 

When Jeff's writing via the Idlers Quest portal first influenced my thinking I had caught 4 or 5 one pound plus roach from canals, all pre-1995. I'd returned to angling around 2011 with no purpose and no goal. I was going through the motions of fishing in a match style without the matches and it was inevitable that this was unlikely to be sufficiently enthralling to keep me active in the process. 

The experimentation with Jeff's technique was instantly successful with two roach of a pound and a three pound bream all falling to its temptations on the first brief trip attempting a similar approach on the pole. 

Over the following years, subsequently ploughing a lone gongoozling furrow, the method and, particularly, the feeding and hookbait size has been, dare I use the word, refined and various little alternatives have come and gone or occasionally become part of the arsenal of choices to suit circumstances.

However, one thing has remained constant and that is Jeff's influence. I think it's fair to say that barely a session goes by without me thinking back to that collaboration for one reason or another and it's sad to think that what exists may be its whole backcatalogue, but, as I always feel, be it in respect of otters or whatever, we must embrace the change and take on those new challenges with an open mind.

Of course I'm not the only one who wishes Jeff hadn't retired from the angle and it's, never so eloquently, written word at his apparent peak but he's in fine company in taking that route with sportsmen like Lennox Lewis, Nico Rosberg and Pete Sampras all choosing that option as champions in their own fields. 

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So, yes, the film wouldn't have been made at all without Jeff's influence and, as I said to him only yesterday, had he still been active we would undoubtedly have contemplated discussing the prospect of producing a video on this subject with Eric together.

In between Times

Living in the Midlands possibilities for roach of such magnitude as to make one wonder whether it's really worth having another cast, or whether the bewildered state should somehow be embalmed and taken from the bank, are few.

Revisiting Mark Wintle's excellent roach books, it being autumn now, in "Big Roach 2" was to be found a statement by Pete Shadick pronouncing that 2lb river roach are at least 14" from snout to cleft of tail.

Out came the measures and, by deduction using ratios from photographs, the second of my two lifetime two pounders, a canal fish of 2.3+, measured at least 14"

This was of some comfort as, being the doubting sort, even casting aspersions on my own old records, I do sometimes look back at those fish and ask whether a mistake could have been made.

Well not in this case it seems.

Comfort is drawn.

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So, The Boy Wonder "TBW" decides it's a fishing weekend and his favourite location is agreed upon.

The Res has been good to us this year from roach in the frost early-on, through rudd, perch, tench and even a proper crucian but, since the Challenge commenced TBW had not seen a tench to his own rod

The imaginary Golden Maggot would get an airing too

Weapons were chosen for the duel:
TBW - 1 rod - maggot and hemp feeder at 30m
F,F&F - float fished bread at 2 rods out (and a sneaky chopped worm feeder down the inside on the wand)

The level had dropped and colour with it

Standard Custom and Practice ensued...
I catch my biggest fish first cast and TBW casts his rig off and spent the next hour in state of general faffulence

Yes that first throw of the flake and up pops the float to reveal the clutch screaming surge of a 4lbs 5ozs 8drm male tench, but that was that

Total Bloody Womble "TBW" eventually gets into the swing and as per usual proceeds to tease two decent tench of 3.3 and 3.5 with a bigger one lost on his last cast to pluck the total weight prize from my grasp with some excellent counter-attacking. Draw the opposition out and into a sense of security then hit them hard. Perhaps Jurgen Klopp could learn from this boy Womble

Result:
TBW - Total weight 6.8; total species 1; number of fish 2. Points 1
FF&F - Total weight 6.0; total species 2; number of fish 4. points 2
Never in doubt

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My staple water the North Oxford Canal is very poor at present. Few fish, much colour and boat traffic high.

A move to the short length of conjoined Grand Union and Oxford Canals, even with its essential bow to stern flotilla from 8am or so, has been far more productive and a new area of attack has offered surprising all round  quality.

The wind could have been awkward hence the choice of an east-facing bend which was inevitably capable of offering shelter whichever forecast one favoured.

The local farmers were flat-out flattening-out the fields for winter fare. It seems but yesterday that the dust of the harvest clogged the airways but now there is no sign; the reaping, rolling, ploughing, tilling and drilling all complete in perfect linear patterns.

When everything else is failing revert to what you know. In this instance mashed bread and chopped worm. That approach on two rods produced a marvellous catch of just over ten pounds in two hours this very morning.

It was not the overall catch however but the size of the best fish of each species that made the eyes bulge, like Marty Feldman on speed.

The trend of the sequence caught with this approach when bream are present usually goes: bream/hybrids then a roach, or maybe two, then when that dies (by reverting to the worm rig) it's perch and the odd zander.

This morning followed the protocol to the letter with five bronze bream to 2lbs 2ozs followed by the best roach of the campaign yet at a cracking 1.10.0, albeit a fish of two halves with the anterior of a definite two pounder and a posterior that suggested a pounder, then five perch to 1.13.13 plus a zed-let.

That hard fighting roach would sit proudly in the top F,F&F canal roach list and, without checking, probably at around 6th or 7th.

It's 10am now and, the morn only having been sufficiently light 7am, already it's bums on (heated) seats and foot down heading off for a breakfast but not before a triple take as the last of today's many less than immaculate narrowboats chugged through...two years since we'd spoken I'd estimate...and there he was, a little changed by the passage of that time. Duncan, a good former angler, now operating on the dark surface of the water - with the odd dabble when the mood takes no doubt.

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The Bloggers Challenge is at an odd stage.

Many of the summer species are tabled and those that passed many of us by, largely those of flowing water, are not feeding due to a lack of rain.

For my part then it's purely a case of enjoying the fishing with no particular target other than whatever occurs, or at least for now.

The Worm has Turned

These past few weeks, trips to the Highlands notwithstanding, I have been trialling a new lob worm method to try to enable the use of whole large worms while attempting to eliminate, or at the very least reduce, the problem of missed bites either due to the hook being in one place on the worm and the fish being in another or indeed the problem of the worm simply tangling the rig up and leaving the hook central to a clump of earthworm flesh

Why it has taken quite this long to think of it I am not sure. Maybe because I have been preoccupied with bread for so long and worm/dead bait fishing has very much been the also-ran method, who knows

Anyway, as the impending summer started to dawn on me and the winter methods perhaps lost their gloss a little, with increased canal boat traffic, I wanted to make more of this simple but undoubtedly effective bait

I came to thinking about an old Tony Miles rig, akin to sea fishing, which uses hooks tied to the main line off bottom with the rod pointed at the sky and a lead on the deck. Helicopter rig style but without the hook links. It was pretty much the most crude rig I have ever used but it has helped in weedy situations where the lead could be cast into gaps and the rod held high allowing worms to dangle into those ‘mid’-water gaps for feeding fish to see their movement

I had tried a watered-down version on the canal but with little success and very little can be caught well off bottom on the canal when it comes to big fish at the best of times, so that clearly wasn’t the solution

Fiddling about tying short hook links for helicopter rigs for tench gave me the idea, I had an image of a great long ‘hair’ tail with another hook tied to it. Obviously I had to retie the bottom one first to then tie the top one but this gave me two hooks about 3 to 4 inches apart and I could hang the head of the lob on the top one and the tail on the end hook such that, if set correctly, it would appear that the worm was rising-up out of the silt head first and straining to get up into the water. I have been holding the lobs on crimped-barb hooks with dark red rubber maggots to enhance the appearance rather like the old red wool on the trebles of spinners

Of course as soon as I come-up with the idea I Google it to find that someone is already marketing them for trout fishing with worms in various patterns although the hook size is not stated

The original idea was to maximise the zander and perch pulling potential. Most of my larger canal perch have come either to a whole worm cut to leach the fluids on a size 6 to 10 hook or one a whole lob cut into two or three sections on a similar hook, the latter being a successful way of avoiding the issue raised above but not good at preventing the wrap over of the hook point we are all so familiar with

Following the theme, thus far I have generally used two size 8 specimen hooks and over three or four trips as yet the results have been, well, odd. Or maybe simply surprising.
Very few canal fish species outside the usual two predators have I taken on worms over the last couple of years and yet, presenting the bait in this way, that has all immediately changed, though admittedly I have been fishing the GUC rather than the NOXC I’ve frequented more in the past

Trip 1: Bronze bream 3lbs, 1.12. Perch 10ozs. Zander 5ozs.

Trip 2: Perch 1.6, 1lb. Zander 4ozs. 1 signal crayfish!

Trip 3: Silver bream 1.3, 1.7. Eel 9ozs.

The two silver bream one recent evening from close to a lock gate were completely unexpected as I don’t think I have taken one on anything other than bread…ever.

I am going to keep pursuing the method, trying finely snipping to release fluids and injecting air for more attraction to see what effect that might have.

The Stillwater interest has continued while also absorbing information on forthcoming river options nearby in the process.

The search took me to an unusual, small, deep venue this weekend that had a jumbled mix of species. In fact if The Fishing Race still existed in pursuit of ‘the golden maggot’ then this would surely be a good starter. First perch then roach, bronze bream, rudd, mirror carp, tench and common carp. All were susceptible to maggots and rubber baits over a carpet of hemp.

3.13 bream

First up the little roach and perch (too little!) were keen to intercept the double maggot hookbaits but, after heavier feeding, slowly they lost interest and the bites that ensued included a surprise 3.13 bronze bream and a 2lbs-odd mirror carp.

Next day the maggots remained in the fridge and a few fish were taken on rubber offerings of various shapes and sizes including a mirror of 9.6, a small common, a little tench and then there was  the one that got away...naturally, we all have to have one.
Once bites had subsided over the previous days' topped-up feed the worm rig sprang to mind

It has long fascinated me how an apparently dead swim can be brought back to life by something real; something, well, writhing (sorry mother)

Suddenly the dormant situation was transformed...immediately bites occurred and a ‘certain’ ten pounds-odd catch was boosted, first by a quality perch of 2.4 and then a bigger carp at 12.12. Other ‘tiddler’ bites occurred but it was enough to demonstrate, again, that a logical change away from contemporary thinking and back to the past should not be ignored. The humble, and whole, lobworm had turned the catch that would not be settled for into a twenty-eight pound catch. A p.b. carp (I’m not a carp angler), my biggest fish ever (I’m not that kind of big fish hunter) and a 2017-best perch. All by a simple change to a juicy natural active hookbait.

So, to add to the previous list:

[Trip 4 (stillwater): Perch 2.4 and 3ozs, Mirror carp 12.12].

The future is in the past.

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BLOGGERS CHALLENGE 2017-18
Top 5 to Date:

George Burton 340
Brian Roberts 280
Daniel Everitt 274
James Denison 259
Russell Hilton 258

I thought I'd publish this while it lasts! No one has yet targeted small species though. That could radically change the situation

Silver Scaled Springtime Shocker

At this time of year a tench-like weakness overcomes one of the less common of our canal species.

It's oversized eye seeks out the bread and maggot of anglers' provision; it fights in a frantic manner reminiscent of the crucian carp yet passes most anglers by as 'another skimmer'.

The Silver Bream is one of my favourite of fishes, in fact if a giant roach gives me palpitations on a scale of 10/10 a silver of similar proportions would certainly score 8 or 9.

Strangely they only get caught in any numbers in late spring. Tench-like indeed

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They have been showing well in the past few sessions on both Oxford and Grand Union Canals and any fish over a pound is a specimen equivalent to a roach of around one pound eight ounces. Sean Dowling ('Off the Oche, Down the River') has recently taken them to one pound fourteen, a true specimen, and yesterday evening, for the second time in two weeks, pound plus fish have fallen to the f,f&f hookbait just as it was barely possible to see the float at dusk.

Maybe, like the Zander, those big eyes suggest nocturnal or perhaps crepuscular feeding habits. Why would they evolve in that way otherwise?

Yesterday's fish caused some excitement overseen by HonGenSec on a visit to a swim he should have frequented but the tables were turned in comedy style.

It went like this:

F: "Are you there yet?" (Thinking I'd go and watch for a bit to surprise him)

H: "I'll be leaving in 30 mins"
I drive to venue but get there first...then deciding to fish for the last hour and a half of daylight and set-up to test the new perch/zed method again on a second rod, together with the usual bread rod.

H: "Too much to do. I won't be going now".

F: "Oh! I've just cast in".

H: "Okay, I'll come down"

On arrival -

F: "Did you bring your stuff?"

H: "No, I'll just watch"

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The session itself was surprisingly hectic but, with a boat going through as I walked to the spot and contemplating turning round just 50 yards away but then abandoning manoeuvres and ploughing the far shelf for good measure, the prospects appeared somewhat slim.

Yes it's narrowboat rental time. Imagine being sent out to drive a bus on the road with just a few minutes tuition.

While not rushing to cast in, as the milky complexion that filled the watercourse fell back into black tea, bread mash was fed heavily. With an hour only ahead, there was little point taking it gently. Specimen or bust it was.

The worm rig sat 5 yards to the right. It's upgrade intended to avoid wasps and zedlets by presenting whole lobworms in a more definite manner to avoid inevitable failed strikes when the fish has simply got hold of a hookless loose end of the bait.

A silver bream of around five ounces started the ball rolling followed by hybrids and more silver's of up to ten ounces.

Then a surging run on the worm and a heartily scrapping perch of 1.6 was followed by another of a pound before death by crustacean descended on both lines of attack.

Signal crayfish abound in most of the places I fish on both Oxford and Grand Union canals. Their presence given away by silly little runs and dips and dodges of the float. Very unusally is one connected with but three were this time and all suitably dispatched according to the law.

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A massive swarm of midges glowed like orange fireflies in the, all but horizontal, setting beams of the source of life through an historic bridge arch to my left.

And so it went quiet.

Darkness descended.

HonGenSec said his goodbyes and as he turned to go a raging lift bite on bread and a good scrapper was on. "Hybrid!", we both exclaimed. No, a really good silver bream and both combined excitement and astonishment on my part.

On the scales it plunged the proverbial needle to just a tad under one pound eleven.

Immediately I declared it a p.b. but, driving back, I started to have doubts, rightly so as, checking 'the book' at chez nous, it was bettered by a 1.11.8 Grand Union fish last year.

A cracker nevertheless and an Oxford Canal best at the very least.

With luck these beauties will continue to offer themselves up for a few more days but there can certainly be no better time to pursue them than late May into early June.

So How's it been Going?

So how has it been Going?

Three weeks into the challenge today and the starting tactic of filling some common stillwater & canal species in before June 16th is underway.

The main target has been stillwater fish as it's not something I've done much of in the past.

Any points scored on such venues are a bonus but the water has only just crept up to the sort of temperatures associated with catching a few fish and thus good days can be often followed by bad.

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Writing, I sit canalside, the breeze keeping the fingers moving searching for a degree of warmth. The glowing dome of the zed alarm wiggles like a florescent catwalk model in the flow of lock water.

Earlier it was exciting.

Fish came to bread and worms regularly resulting in the springtime early morning catch of around ten pounds.

The aim was a good hybrid, to 'up' the bream figures and also find some big perch.

Only the bream played ball but the fish are spawned out; battered, beaten and bruised now. The three pounder having shed at least 5ozs earlier this month.

Skylark serenade on all sides here though and whether the plan works or fails there is pleasure to be had. Indeed with the tackle neatly and firmly tucked, zipped and tied away I continue to sit. The gentle throb of the tenth approaching narrowboat contrasting an urgent, flickering sunlit ripple on the rushy bend.

Manky flotsam adorns the once uninterrupted clear surface, but that's why we're here. If the wind blows the blossom petals, twigs, ripped vegetation and crisp packet debris here then fish will be below, gleaning what nourishment they can from the propeller-scoured base of this murky water snake.

The species count is impressive given the oftdays simplicity of the approach.

Warburton's best dragging roach, silver bream and bronze bream into instant feeding activity; and worms with a trialled new perch and zander tactic slowly producing both species (in tiny sizes!) and two good bream, best just a stickleback over three pounds, the other shedding the hook of a size most commonly observed at sea.

Today the Grand Union was chosen despite being the first boat-intensified day of the little darlings' school break.

It was inevitable the session would be short.

It's now 09.30 and already the early bath & prospect of bacon beckons. Sat waiting for the remnants of the action to dry from the crusting mesh, contemplation of the traffic begins. Numerous vessels have passed and always the compulsory, every man for himself, throttle-happy nematode amongst them. It's only to be expected.

Meanwhile the sedge warbler has rattled, trilled and squeaked-out his incessant song from various perches. The sun has risen and the heat now bakes the knees through long-since superfluous waterproofs.

So the upshot is a few more bream points and likewise for perch but the latter can wait until winter.

The pursuit of summer fish that cannot be relied upon in the winter must now prevail.
Carp, crucians, Stillwater bream, rudd, etc. These must be the quarry, together with those odd species that I never fish for but are nonetheless listed and relevant in the challenge.

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The stillwater tench campaign has been a reasonable success given the paucity of local options for  big fish, by that I'm thinking 7lbs or more.

Around twenty have been banked, the best this cracker of a female at 6.4

but outdone in the beauty stakes by an earlier 4.13 just two days ago.

No comparison.

Among the above fish came a complimentary roach just under a pound and a half which was very welcome, and we'll aim to beat next winter, together with decent rudd and perch, but both stand to be usurped, with any luck, later in the year too.

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The biggest challenge though will surely be the summer river period. A situation I naturally associate with small fish of many species.

THAT will need to change.

BIG CANAL ROACH or HUGE CANAL ROACH?

Notice the title has been upgraded from 'Big'

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Way back in the dusty and rusty old days of this blog the scaly subject of the likely maximum size of canal roach was broached.

At the time dear old Jeff Hatt & I figured that two pounders must currently exist locally, we live 13 miles apart by road, based on our collective experiences. Jeff's with hard won, deep winter, whole lobworm-suckered fish of up to a few drams under the magic weight and my own with sheer numbers of pound plus fish.

At the time we both felt the North Oxford Canal offered the greatest chance of that fish. Zander infested, otter plundered and historically supportive of fish over a pound, even thirty years ago, with a good depth and with the small fish constantly cropped leaving the survivors to grow, and grow fat. A stock of roach well over a pound and approaching two was introduced from a trout reservoir decades ago and their progeny must form these contemporary shoals.

Since that time things have moved on to the point, and I would never have believed I would say this, where it is now possible to catch a fish well over a pound to order if conditions are right. How much over is down to dedication, knowing the water and it's foibles, and luck.

Three September's back Jeff considered a fish I took of 2.3.10 was the biggest authenticated canal roach ever but immediately this was usurped by one over 2lbs 4ozs from the Gloucester Canal.

The research Jeff put into historic roach records, taking him into waters that even the likes of Mark Everard and Mark Wintle knew little of, was as extensive as one would expect of the blogfather of angling, but it threw-up very little in the way of authenticated catches. That's not to say there haven't been any in the past of course, there will have been, harvesting it and squeezing the pips from the fruit however is another matter.

Plenty of stories - zero science.

Even the now legendary Albert Oldfield stories are not beyond reproach it seems and, generally speaking, when it comes to questions like, "...but did he weight it?", mist descends over the tumbleweed

I came across a mounted fish on eBay a couple of years ago, labelled as from New Bradwell canal, Milton Keynes to you and I, which from memory was supposed to have been two pounds, eight ounces. My memory may mislead me there but it was certainly in excess of the 2.4 recent best. The fish however would come with no certificate and lacked authentification by anyone who knew the circumstances of capture.

It is surely inevitable that larger, heavier canal fish must exist but there are obstacles to their capture and surely the greatest of these is a dearth of potential captors. One usually feels an extensive rutiloid furrow is being ploughed armed only with a Billy Lane ducker.

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It is against this backdrop that news of big roach is a welcome surprise but always received with an element of doubt. Most anglers catch roach but a good proportion would not weigh a fish. There could be a number of reasons as to why but these aren't particularly relevant here.

So when a reliably informed bankside contact advised that a big canal fish had been taken nearby it could not initially be ignored. He showed me a photograph on his phone that looked convincing enough as often one's immediate impression on seeing such images is one of rejection.

I had to know more. A little detective work via The Lady Burton's Facebook account brought me into contact with it's tamer, one Jack Williams, a tackle shop worker, who just fancied a late hour by the canal until dusk.

A blend of pole float tactics on rod and line was Jack's favoured method feeding maggots in the boat channel and fishing two on an eighteen hook. Apart from the pole float a fairly standard approach one might say.

On this length of canal though a session's success can hinge on that one sudden bite and sure enough the only indication of interest in this visit produced the goods in, first the strength, and then the shape of a rod-bending roach of mind-bending proportions (we came close to getting Uri Geller in there!).

Once in the net...wonderment.

But how big?...and was it big or HUGE?

The trusty lightweight dial scales came to the rescue and, incredibly, the needle twizzled round to a massive two pounds, six ounces.

To my mind, and let's face it there aren't many others out there with an interest in such matters, on the face of it comfortably the biggest authenticated roach ever from an English canal.

And this is what the trophy shot looked like...

Jack and I entered into some brief correspondence during which it was decided he would check the accuracy of his scales and we would endeavour to work out the length of the fish.

Many times the impact on fish size attributable to offline marinas has entered and crashed around in my psyche. There are many in this part of the world...more I suspect than anywhere else.

To produce, now proven, multiple roach over 2lbs, hybrids over four and bream, the peak size of which are not yet fathomed, but clearly also over four pounds, from what is a plain, narrow canal with little respite for its stocks from weekend and holiday boats...no, this cannot be chance. The coincidence of these safe and plentiful offline growing-lakes has an influence without a doubt.

Sadly Jack's scales showed a six ounce disparity and now languish awaiting refuse collection day but that should not cause us to underplay the fact that this was a two pound roach. To my mind a genuine fish of a lifetime and a truly marvellous fish from such an unlikely source, the humble cut, and, yes, a HUGE roach, without doubt.

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So how big do they go then?

Wouldn't it be awful if someone told us?

The mystery is all.

FLOAT OR FLIGHT?

Since drawing a 'that'll do for now' line under a suitably satisfying big canal roach campaign the inspiration to write had waned with the slipping focus and lack of direction associated with the close season.

Attention has now turned, more by accident than invention, to a smaller but reliable local reservoir offering good fish across a range of species. Carp 30lbs plus, Tench over 6lbs, Rudd over 1lb, Roach to 2lbs, Perch over 2lbs, Pike to double figures and Crucians to at least high 2lbs.

There is an additional bonus of these waters and that is migrating bird life and so whether to float fish or enjoy the flight of incoming migrants before producing this flannel was the potential conundrum.

But no!

Armed with bite alarms rather than quiver tips or float rods both could be targeted; well, until a bite came of course! Mind you my concentration did lapse to a passing common sandpiper while I was playing a fish at one point.

Is he a birder who fishes or an angler who birdwatches? The crunch would come when a rarity appeared at the same time as a bite. I'm pretty confident the bite would win but, once hooked, that fish would be played on autopilot for sure.

I've fished the Res a number of times in this spell including all four mornings over the bank holiday period and have been completely mesmerised by the quality of fishing and the ever-changing birdlife at this peak migration time.

Sand and house Martins, swallows and all three breeding wagtails, including two of the most stunningly brightly coloured of british birds, the yellow wagtail, together with the aforementioned sandpiper and increasing warbler species numbers, including the (hardly common) lesser whitethroat, all made those slack spells between bites as fascinating as could be.

Shrews argued in their shrill almost inaudible way beneath the rocks and anglers, birders and dog owners passed every few minutes, many of whom kindly shared the time of day for an engaging minute or two.

Feeding the swim each trip made sure of early bites the next day as the fish got used to food being there.

The quality of fish for a venue that is not widely known outside the local area is very surprising and over that ten day period or so, with the The Boy Wonder also on the case on two occasions, we managed the following little list of maximum species sizes:
Perch 1.2.5
Rudd 12ozs
RoachXrudd hybrid 1.4.8
Tench 5.2.0
RoachXbream hybrid 1.6.0

The highlight however was a roach of 1.10.13 which, with gargantuan incredulossity, was caught again the next day at 1.10.3! Followed a week later by one of 1.8.10 amid news of a two pounder a few days ago.

TBW would disagree however....for him a tench would do nicely thank you, to add to his winter first of the species of 2lbs or so.

Naturally, in keeping with his 'anything you can do' nature, he breaks that p.b. with a fish of 2.14 only to follow it with one of 4.9 a few minutes later. I'm really beginning think I should not encourage him further and perhaps buy him a subscription for Macrame Online. (Why would ANYBODY do macrame? It doesn't even look good).

So the Res is serving a purpose and giving us a few clues for the rapidly upcoming Bloggers' Challenge 2017/18 at the same time.

Speaking of which...

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Dear old over-pressured Russell (new blog, new job and all) has created the self-calculating spreadsheet to include the three new smaller species. A WhatsApp group for more immediate sharing in the excitement of captures is under preparation and thus we are requesting last orders for a place in the stalls on the start line come 00.01hrs on May 1st. Don't be shy, it's just a bit of fun.

Please see the previous f,f&f post for further details, which will also take you to Russ's blog to register. Bear in mind you don't need to be a blogger as long as you know one!

All entrants will be contacted with necessary detail this week.

It stands to be an epic campaign!

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Chance encounter...
Bumped into Eric Weight author of "Artificial Lite" blog and talented photographer, and his angling mate Pete, this week. Chewing the fat bankside we covered various unfathomable subjects including the fact that the vast online angling video library that is YouTube does nothing to help those who don't get a bite within 'X' minutes. As Eric put it, "None of the films show you that do then". "Because no one would watch them", was added.

Watch this space.

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Meanwhile the bankside grapevine brings news of a new possible biggest ever canal roach in the form of a 2lbs 6ozs bejewelled beast from the zander-improved Grand Union very close to where much of the FF&F winter challenge was undertaken. The captor is sending me some information and so I will update this news in the next post.

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Chance encounter two/too:
Same Res., same result.

I bump into a fellow Warks blogger. This time Daniel Everitt, "The Lure of Angling", who was his usual deep-theoried, impeccably-enthused self, in pursuit of float-fished tench...until he relented and the feeder rods came out of the car. Anyway, the rest is a tale for him to tell in his own time.

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Some unbelievable migrants to another local reservoir these past few days also...

Black-winged stilts. A bird in the flamingo class for the impossibly evolved...and severely beautiful, elegant creatures they are too. Let's hope they stay

BLOGGERS' CHALLENGE 2017-18

  

 

Yes, it's back...and so is Russell (link below)

Starting, perfectly bisecting the close season, at 00.01hrs on May 1st the 2017-18 Bloggers' Challenge is on!!

The 2015-16 challenge proved a really enjoyable added dimension to the season. The prospect of chasing 19 species across three different venue types for three, or was it four?, virtual winners badges certainly kept me alert for the whole period (very unusual!); albeit I took it a bit too seriously in those last few weeks, imagined I had a fortnight yet to go, fell off the metaphorical precipice when Russell advised I was wrong and spent the next 6 weeks in an institution; but other than that it was a hoot.

For newcomers contemplating a go, first and foremost you don't need to author a blog, you simply need your blogging mate to publish pics of your catches and thereby verify that you are an honourable human being, thus underwriting the validity of your catch with the integrity of Lloyd's of London.

Otherwise it's straightforward...

● Russell will create access to the score sheet for you via Google Drive before May 1st.

● Get yourself a set of mini-lightweight kitchen scales from the supermarket for those otherwise unweighable fish, from gudgeon to bleak.

● Post a photo of your fish.

● Then add it to the score sheet and see your points magically appear (it's beyond me, but trust me it works!).

So what's the point of the points?
Well, the idea is your best fish of each species is given a score as a percentage of the 2015 record weight  and the spreadsheet keeps track of this across the (this time) 22 species and has 3 tabs - river/drain, stillwater and canal. You could gain an extra 10 points if your fish is the biggest of the species on that water type across all entrants

There are therefore four challenges in one with river, lake, canal and overall 'titles' to go at. You can pick and choose to suit your preferences or just go all-out for everything.

There are no prizes, no sponsorship deal, no Sky TV coverage and certainly no naughty ladies involved so it's a proper, honourable, truly amateur event in the old-fashioned sense...and great fun.

Last time James (link below) walked away with pretty much every category so the gauntlet is laid down for us all to change that as he has already registered to take part this time but more than that it's an opportunity to organise your season to make the most of it and target a few p.b's along the way.

Some excellent fish were taken last time including some of the smaller species and I cannot begin to estimate how many p.b's fell during the challenge but it was good number and included the above 4.9 eel from the Oxford Canal.

Please follow the link to Russell's new blog below where you can register by inputting your details to the contact widget on the left hand side to take part. He will enter everyone about a week before we commence in readiness.

https://russellhiltonfishing.blogspot.co.uk/

https://jamesthespecimenhunter.blogspot.co.uk/

Personally I cannot wait for it to start and running it each alternate year is ideal as annually would be a bit much. It's really nice to have the contrast of a relaxing year sandwiched between the year-long challenges. 

I do hope you can join us and wish you every success if you do!

BIG CANAL ROACH and the WINTER CHALLENGE - An Update and Summary.

When big canal roach first became the object of the new found angling affections some four years ago the old match fishing bread punch methods had initially been employed but it needed something more selective as the prospect of racing to catch three or four pounds of middlin' fish on the pole had lost its gloss long before.

Larger baits helped although the white crumb feed still meant smaller fish would whittle the bait down until it fitted their sub-hookbait-sized mouths.

The same pole floats used all those years ago happened to be perfect with their long cane tips and body-down shape allowing good bite detection and sufficient bulk shotting to enable the traditional, Fred J Taylor type, lift bite method to be employed for unbeatable sensitivity.

Then research into roach fishing history suggested mashed bread might be the answer as feed. What appealed about that was the likelihood that smaller fish might be choked-off by it. This proved generally to be true and in, perhaps naive, pursuit of the option on canals even the crusts were mashed to a degree ensuring offerings of sufficient bulk to interest and hold a shoal of passing pound-plus fish could at least provide enough of a lull in their ritualistic activities to pluck one or two from the midst of the shoal before they collectively continued their instinctive wanderings.

This certainly worked and soon it became apparent that the target fish could be extracted before the rest were either spooked or simply drifted past.

There were issues with the pole though. The scale of the hook-bait determined the hook size needed to be 16, or 14 in coloured warm weather water, and to sink this hook in on the the strike required reasonably strong pole elastic (for roach on canals) at around no.6. There was an issue here though in that the fish could then go berserk in the feeding zone on the strike.

Others were using rod and line but initially to the, then unflinching, indoctrinated match fishing mind, this could never be as good...until the certainty dawned that presentation couldn't be any worse, as the method was so indelicate as not to require a pole to present it. This was something if a breakthrough in many respects:

- less kit to carry

- the prospect if roving

- no cold hands in heavy early frosts

- no handling a wet pole in the rain

But, most importantly, the ability to strike and draw fish immediately from the shoal combined with benefits in the more inaccurate approach, which enabled the idea of spreading feed more widely to form. Whereas a match angler will be looking to concentrate the fish by feeding tightly this was no longer necessary as often only one fish would be expected and so it helped the prospect of multiple catches resulting in the fed bait being thrown in a metre diameter ring rather than all in one spot.

At this point the peak size was 1lb 4ozs and the average of those over a pound was, unsurprisingly, a touch above 1.2

I knew that bigger average sized fish were being taken on whole lobworms in the depths of winter but with sessions of around two hours available early mornings the thought of sitting freezing awaiting one bite, or no bites, that might easily be missed, was no choice at all. More action was required than that!

One morning in winter a risk was taken, but it was no risk really, if it went wrong it was only one swim and session wasted, and another peg could always be tried. Three or four handfuls of mash were introduced at the outset. Enough to render a winter match peg stone dead with immediate effect....but it worked. Not only was it successful in producing more target fish it also increased the average size to 1.5.10 and the ceiling rose to over one and a half pounds, then further topped by what at the time seemed a freak/fluke fish of a minnow under two pounds four in 2013. I say a fluke because it was fully ten ounces bigger than the next best.

During this whole period the hookbait size was a 15 to 20mm punch but with the advent if greater initial feed quantities came the realisation that a bait that cut out pretty much all fish below the twelve ounce mark would not be detrimental in any way and would undoubtedly pick out the real target, being the biggest fish in the swim. 

Nowadays the hookbait varies from 20mm diameter upwards and is doubled-over and hooked through the thick outer curve created, such that the hook is subsumed within the floating glob of soggy bread in the water.

Bites usually come within about fifteen minutes, sometimes as long as 45, but if it is necessary to wait that long another peg has usually already been primed for the move.

A concerted effort over the past winter has resulted in 27 one pound-plus roach from the Grand Union and Oxford canals, taking the total since returning to the angling fold, and since this particular obsession commenced, to well over 100.

 

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WINTER 2016/17 BIG ROACH CHALLENGE - Top 10:

 

1.15.5
1.9.11*
1.7.6
1.7.3*
1.7.0*
1.6.8*
1.6.8*
1.6.3*
1.5.13*
1.5.3* 
 

Others: 1.4.10, 1.4.6, 1.4.6, 1.4.2, 1.3.6, 1.3.6*, 1.3.0, 1.3.0, 1.3.0*, 1.2.5, 1.2.5*, 1.1.14, 1.1.10, 1.1.10*, 1.1.10*, 1.0.10, 1.0.8.

[GUC unless *NOXC]

 

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All-time F, F & F Canal Top 10 Roach:

2.3.10*

1.15.5
1.13.0*
1.11.8
1.9.11*
1.9.11*
1.9.4*
1.8.5*
1.8.5*
1.7.6

So what does this show?

- Firstly that canals with an established zander presence have the capacity to be some of the best big roach waters outside the pits and lakes of established specimen repute. 

- Tiny hooks, fine lines and careful feeding are not the way to consistently catch the very biggest roach on canals.

- That there is no substitute for experience, research and implementation in achieving a goal and then extending the boundaries of possibility.

- That the quantity of big roach present is staggering, having only once knowingly caught the same fish twice.

- It is possible to have multiple catches of four and five fish over a pound in one short session.

- 99% of these fish have been caught within 20 minutes of home.

 

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F, F & F - THE NEXT GENERATION(?)
 

TBW has generally had a tenancy to seek perch on worms and so last weekend he decided it was high time he had a go for his first pound-plus canal roach.

From my own efforts over the previous fortnight it was clear they were 'avin' it and as the weather had remained steady the likelihood was there.

In the 1st swim we both fished either side of the feed zone, our unfathomably large flake torn from a medium slice wafting three inches off bottom, floats set to burst through the surface when dear old geriatric rutilus lifted it's head and dislodged the anchor shot.

Could he get a bite? Four fish to yours truly for no valid reason whatsoever including one at 1.3.6 and a surprise rudd. Then his float tows off and a 4 ounce roach is swung to hand!

An old fish with loose scales, this one

Swim 2 had caused me a nightmare a week prior. Ten bites, 2 fish...but they were there and three of 'em had somehow been bumped-off the hook...biorhythm imbalance or something.

It went much the same, 2 lost fish, both good ones but unseen, and then, after a boat had reduced the perhaps over-clarity of the water a touch, he was in.

A deft playing of the fish on his new rod and centrepin, and, with no hiccoughs at all, it lay sparkling in the net, TBW'S teeth to match.

1.2.10, target well and truly hit and last bite of the morning as the boat traffic grew heavier.

It's not often one catches the target first time but this boy has the knack. I think this is the third time; 3lb chub, 2lb perch, now a pound roach!

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FOOTNOTE:

For those wondering (we hope there are many!), Russell and I are due to make a detailed announcement on the Bloggers, Challenge in the next week or so in plenty of time for a May 1st start.

 

A Climate of Uncertainty

 

The local climate in the period since Christmas has been so changeable as to make it almost impossible at times to select a suitable location for a few fish. Not so much gradual global warming as continuing local chaos.

 

The Avon & Leam; Grand Union & Oxford canals and various stillwaters could all have all been on the agenda but for a variety of reasons there have been times when none of these were likely to work-out favourably.

 

Ice, rain, wind direction, clear water, fluctuating temperatures, etc., detrimentally influenced each in different ways.

 

Under such circumstances one tends to seek comfort in what one knows best. Usually canals, in these instants.

 

Anyone who follows these ramblings will realise that in the world of F, F & F eliciting a bite against the odds is of considerably greater value than a guarantee of, for instance, a net full of tame carp from a sold(not to say souled)-out mud puddle.

 

In stillwater terms it has become increasingly difficult to find naturalised ponds, lakes and reservoirs. Largely a result of the glint of gold that continues to sparkle in eye of certain water owners as lead by CRT.

 

A couple of birding trips resulted in a very active long-tailed duck and a couple of pairs of red-crested pochard of note. Which, on the one hand, brightened the intermittent angling consternation but, far more importantly, made for a very enjoyable change while The Dog descended this year with his First Lady for a few very happy days indeed

 

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In the immediate aftermath of the festivities, mild, calm conditions prevailed and fish were relatively easy to fool, albeit at their own somewhat steady speed, and to find roach freely topping at dawn at my current reservoir-side haunt put them under potential threat. Catches of between 3 and 8 pounds-odd of fish that peaked at one pound four ounces with a smattering of perch eased the depressingly unbearable burden of being off work for a few days quite nicely.



Roach to 1.4.2

 The GUC managed to cough-up a nice zander of over 3.5lbs, with proportionately the biggest tail you ever did see, when partly frozen. This was highly likely another p.b. (had the scales not been in the garage!) but that will never be confirmed. Following this the combined GUC & Oxford canals produced a 2lb bream and a roach immediately after thawing on a particularly hard birthday session.

 

 

 

The birds have been affected too and as this is being written, long-tailed and blue tits, goldcrest and blackbird devour fat balls, winter flies and fallen apples out of the window, beyond the bridge. Grey squirrel chase and tumble through ivy and hazel while a robin serenades longingly, yet with a hint of resignation, into the still moist air. All dreaming of the hectic spring to come one might surmise.

 

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SATURDAY

 

Today though, the onset of mild weather again lead us back to the canal feeder lake that had offered-forth festive gifts of 5 tench to 5.9, 20-odd roach to 1lb+ and smaller perch two weeks ago.

 

It was a risk.

 

It would have been frozen yesterday morning but the likelihood of increased temperatures, cloud & fog meant low light levels and consequently roach in the sought-after bracket of 1lb+ would be possible...if they fed.

 

The method settled-on over those previous sessions is to fish two rods, one at 25-45m and the other at 60m and while the furthest of those has resulted in the most bites and fish all of the pound plus roach have fallen at around 25 to 30m.

 

The second roach today was 1.1.14 and an hour or so later a slightly larger version at 1.4.2. A total catch of 8lbs 5ozs comprising 13 fish including 3 perch for good measure was the bag and the confirmation that the bigger roach were closer-in helped in taking-up HonGenSec's idea to fish the float into dark. In fact, had it not been foggy that would have been the method of choice this very day.

 

The two biggest roach on top

Tomorrow it is then!

 

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SUNDAY

 

Arriving at 2.45 to set-up and get some bait trickling into ten feet of slightly tinged water before dark, the atmosphere had that feel of impending rain about it as the clouds dragged their heels over the broad tree-scattered landscape to the south-west.

 

The water was calm without a ripple to spoil it other than the tufted duck. A group of six that motored inwards with unstinting confidence at each blast of maggots, and out again once realising that the bait had gone by the time they would have arrived.

 

HonGenSec had started when we arrived, as is the norm, but pursued a similar method.

The Boy Wonder was to stick with the tried and trusted at 30m.

There is little to add other than despite this list from TBW's necessaries being at home - rods, landing net handle, head-torch - he stole my spare rod and took a 2lb tench (his first) from water just over 4degC while HGS and I blanked with aplomb.

 

 Kids! (Again)

A barn owl shrieked early evening and remained unseen but it's certainly back to Plan A next time.

 

Tomorrow it wasn't. However, if you don't ask the question...

 

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SUMMARY

 

The roach in the venue seem very likely go bigger than 1.4. Bigger fish top occasionally, although it is possible they are hybrids as two have been taken 1.8 in this brief period since mid-December but there are another couple of areas to try, as well as The Stillwater to revisit when conditions seem right.

 

Hope, motivated by good advice and that essential slice of luck, does not shirk from springing eternal and there is plenty of the winter to go at yet

 

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AND FINALLY

 

 I would very much like to mark the sad passing of Tony Miles with just a few words.

 

I did not know Tony well though I had met and exchanged emails with him a number of times in the past two or three years but he was clearly a very open, amiable man with a huge wealth of angling knowledge that he was keen to commit to print in books, blogs and various publications in order to help others.

 

It is always an immeasurably great loss when such giants of any sport take their knowledge with them and, while he could never convey all of the nuances of his chosen path to his contemporaries and effectual descendants in angling, we can all be thankful that much of his knowledge is not lost through his so eloquently articulated writings.

 

Certain angling names trip off the tongue in a hallowed cluster:

Richard Walker, Ivan Marks, Chris Yates, and Co. Tony Miles unquestionably falls in that same echelon. Humble yet ground-breaking anglers all.