Use commercial gear to catch big canal fish
Fish a commercial with a bag of pellets and couple of tins of corn and you’ll get a bite every chuck.
But did you know that you can use these baits and the tackle that goes with them to enjoy some great canal action too?
Preston Innovations angler Graham West knows only too well the effectiveness of a commercial approach and this week he shares his secret so that you, too, can get the most from your local ‘cut’.
Swim choice
“Swims that are home to lots of cover are the places to head for at this time of year as the shoals try to seek cover from boat traffic.
“The fish will rarely venture from under these areas so you need to get your tactics right if
you want to draw them to the edge of the snags where they can be caught.
“I will feed two swims of equal depth. One pot of corn and pellets with a handful of fishmeal groundbait on top over each area will be enough to get things going.
“When it comes to topping up, you can either add a small quantity after every fish or a big pot every now and then to reinvigorate things. Try both.
“Banded hard pellets, expanders and corn are all effective hookbaits, with pellets the better option if small fish are proving to be a nuisance.”
Take no prisoners
“Extracting fish from their snaggy home can pose a challenge, but there is a technique to it. The biggest error that people make is striking when they get a bite.
“This creates all sorts of problems, the first being that if you miss the bite your rig all too often gets caught up in the branches.
“Applying pressure with a harsh strike will also cause a big fish to bolt immediately, and you can guess in which direction that fish will head.
“As soon as I get a bite I ship my pole back quickly, without striking. If you are using the right tackle this will lead to the fish being out of the snag before it realises what’s happening, and that significantly increases your chances of landing it.”
Heavy gear
“It’s all well and good getting the bite, but you need to make sure that the fish ends up in the net, and that means fishing really heavy.
“The first thing to do is make sure your pole is up to taking the pressure of heavy elastics, lines and hooks. Elastic is hollow, and rated around No17 or even No19, depending on how snaggy it is. The rig is made up of 0.21mm mainline to a 0.19mm hooklength and a strong size 14 or 16 hook.”
