A trip to the canal

My location for a few hours

With a week off work, I was determined to fit in a fishing trip. Apart from a failed tench mission a few weeks ago, it's been a quiet on the angling front. A new job, a pregnant wife and a host of other things have pushed fishing way down the pecking order. With all this mind, I decided that I would rather catch and stay busy than sit it out for one larger specimen and this mindset took me to the Birmingham-Worcester canal near Droitwich.

 It's been a few years since I last fished the canal in this style. Armed with some brown crumb and a £1 worth of maggots, I then took my pole out of its bag for the first time in years. I plumbed up to fish the bottom of the far shelf and then started fishing just after 4pm. Bites were slow to begin with and I lost a few fish due to being a bit rusty. However after about an hour the fishing became

Roach and what, I wonder?

incredibly easy with a fish every minute or so.This lasted for about 40 mins before sport tailed off again. Majority of the catch was made up of perch although roach, a couple of hybrids and gudgeon including a 2oz specimen also made an appearance. On the subject of the hybrids - they certainly contained some roach but their upturned lip made me question their true make up. They weren't bream-like in their appearance so any suggestions would be welcomed in the comments box.

I called an end to the session at 7.30 having lost count at 50-odd fish. Although none of the fish were big, it was an enjoyable way to spend a few hours on a deserted and peaceful stretch of the canal. As June approaches then my attention will begin to turn towards the opening of the river season. Meanwhile I cannot let a spring pass without a tench or two so my next trip will have them as my quarry.

A cracking 2oz gudgeon

The final catch