Huge trout banked...from a canal!
This large brown trout caught from a canal in Yorkshire is likely to go down as one of the most surprising catches of the season.
The impressive game fish was landed by Jamie Brearley, who was deadbaiting for pike on his local Wakefield Canal, and was just packing up his kit to head for home when his bite alarm sounded.
“I’ve been fishing the canal every week for nearly three months,” he told us,
“and this was the first bite I’ve had!”
“I’m absolutely chuffed to bits with the fish, though, which I reckon weighed around 8lb. All that time, effort and resilience certainly paid off!”
Jamie Brearley’s impressive canal trout fell to a deadbait
Huge canal perch in the snow - Nick Wright
“IT WAS a very cold day down my local canal. However, after seeing someone feeding bread to the ducks, I suspected that there might be a few bait fish in the area, and some larger predators.
“I had a few casts with my lure before feeling a heavy thud on the rod. The fish fought deep, and I expected it to be a pike. But then I saw this huge perch, and when it hit the net, I couldn’t believe it.
“I’ve had big perch before, but this was something else! Sadly, I was on my own and had to ask a dog walker for a pic, so it’s not the best shot – but it’s a fish I don’t think I’ll ever top!”
Nick Wright’s 5lb 1oz perch fell to a Texas-rigged Z-Man Goat lure
Stunning canal pike strikes at dawn - George Sparkes
“AN HOUR before sunrise I arrived at my local Louth Canal and, with the water having a nice chocolate colour and a bit of a flow to it, I was confident of a few bites.
“Just before sunrise I dropped in my popped-up lamprey head on a running rig and sat back to enjoy the dawn surroundings, but was interrupted half-an hour later by my screaming bite alarm.
“I struck the rod and hit into a pike that I knew was a decent size, because for 10 minutes it fought hard and wouldn’t budge from the bottom.
“Finally it surfaced and revealed its beautiful colours, but the nerves set in, as this was a pike I really didn’t want to lose.
“On my first attempt at netting it, the fish decided to jump and motor back down the canal and I thought I might have lost her, but with a little persuasion she was soon back in front of me and heading towards the net.
“At 22lb 3oz it wasn’t the biggest fish I’ve caught, but it’s one of the prettiest, and the best of nine landed that day.”
George Sparkes and his 22lb 3oz canal pike
Canal carp is one-in-a-million - Josh Cooper
“While walking my dogs along the local canal I spotted some carp next to a lock. Over the next two weeks I threw in handfuls of pellets and crushed boilies to the area with the plan to fish it on a Friday after work.
“I got settled into my swim for 6pm and cast two PVA bag rigs containing the same feed mixture of pellets and boilies, alongside CC Moore Pacific Tuna wafters.
“At 2am I awoke to a screaming alarm and ran to the rod barefoot because I couldn’t get my shoes on quickly enough! After a minute I got him up to the surface and got a peep of his white head.
“I thought I’d caught a ghost carp, but when I’d got him in the net I saw the rest of his golden body and white tail. I’ve looked online and can’t a find another fish like it – it’s certainly a one-in-a-million catch.”
Josh Cooper and his half ghost/half common carp
Canal angling on the up!
THE NATION’S canals witnessed a surge in popularity among anglers following lockdown, it was revealed this week.
The Canal and River Trust (CRT) said that since sport resumed on May 13, there had been a significant rise in fresh faces lining the banks and a 30 per cent year-on-year hike in sales of tickets for the Canal Pairs Championships qualifiers and Waterway Wanderers fishing permits.
The CRT’s National Fisheries and Angling Manager John Ellis said:
“It’s fantastic to see families and people of all ages taking an interest in canal fishing again and rediscovering what they have to offer. Many want to fish as close to home as possible and canals are perfect for this.
“The Canal Pairs Champs could see in excess of 200 participating anglers – which is a rarity in this arm of the sport. It’s an exciting time for canal fishing.”
The Angling Trust’s Let’s Fish campaign, which helps get families into fishing on canals for the very first time, is also now back up and running. Log onto the CRT’s website to book a free Let’s Fish session.
More anglers are heading to the nation’s canals
Clonking canal fish the roach of a lifetime! - Jag Bains
“The fishing on the Wolverhampton Canal has been quite difficult of late but during a recent session I caught the roach of a lifetime weighing 2lb 4oz.
“I was fishing a carp rod down the edge with boilies for carp, but while I was waiting for a bite I decided to have a bit of fun with a float and a tub of maggots.
“Five hours had passed and I only had a small perch to show when all of a sudden my float buried and I was into a fish, which at first I thought was a bream.
“My mate Micky was with me by this point and he helped net it, before shouting that it was a massive roach! I posted my catch on Facebook and after just a few days it’s had more than 1,600 likes!”
Jag Bains and his 2lb 4oz canal roach
Canal marinas a haven for big perch
BEST mates Silviu Stoica and Tiberius Cautis have revealed the pulling-power of canal marinas after they banked a flurry of big perch during their latest outing.
By working 7cm paddle-tail shads slow across the bottom, the pair managed to bank several perch to just under 3lb.
Silviu told Angling Times:
“We’ve been on a constant chase in the cold and rain this winter for a perch hotspot and luckily we found that marinas on the Grand Union Canal can be a very good shelter for these big-bellied fish!
“On this occasion the perch were absolutely smashing the lures and they each put up an excellent scrap.”