MEET PIGEON, MY PET PIKE - Pike on the Staffs/Worcs Canal (Winter fishing. Series 1: Episode 4)



Click play to watch video. Includes: Making pike groundbait - Not revealing locations to others - Pike float fishing set-up.

 

 

  

With the rivers rising and coloured, my decision to target pike saw the options limited to stillwaters. Up for a challenge, I narrowed that down to the Staffs/Worcs Canal. Certainly the stretches I fish are not noted for pike, in fact many anglers still maintain that they're not in there. They are, but not in numbers. That's the challenge.

Neat and tidy tackle box

I love float-fishing for pike, there's something exciting about a motionless piece of plastic suddenly coming alive. A tremble, tremor and bob, followed by movement across the surface before finally disappearing has to be one of the most enjoyable ways of fishing. As you can see from my tackle box, I've got a selection always at hand.

The first fish of the week

 

You can see the first session of the week in the video and I was absolutely thrilled to catch a fish for the camera. I say in the video that it is only a small one but as I got it on the mat I realised it was bigger than I thought. It was quite a long fish and not lean, so healthy enough, even though it had some gill deformity on one side. I recognised it as a previous-caught fish, so its appetite is fine.

The Staffs/Worcs Canal in December

 

With the alarm on my phone set for three consecutive early-morning starts, I was back on the canal the very next morning at first-light. With heavy, overnight SW rain having affected the water, the temperature was up 0.5C. A good box to tick, but one that in itself is not guaranteed to put fish on the bank. The four-hour session produced a blank.

A repeat capture

 

The following day, following colder winds and rain, the water was down a full 1C over the previous morning. I'm a great believer though, in the obvious fact, that you never catch sitting at home. My faith was rewarded when, after a brief but determined battle, I banked the second fish of the week. On the net I recognised it as the same fish caught two days before - and previously.

Pigeon on the mat

Definitely my pet pike, I posted on my angling Facebook page, inviting people to name it for the blog. There were some really funny replies. I let my wife pick a winner and she went for Jason Butler's Pigeon - because it keeps coming back. I quite liked Ben Hervey-Murray's suggestion of Nigella, and his reasons why, but it was all in Mrs B's hands, so Pigeon it is. (Published December 28 2013)

 

(Blog entry 546)

Visit my angling website HERE updated every Saturday since 2003

 

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION - Carp overnighter on a commercial (Winter fishing. Series 1: Episode 3)

 

Click play to watch video. Includes: The importance of confidence - Getting your baits in the right place - A look at my baits and dips.

 



I'm an ordained minister and it surprises quite a few people that I fish - it certainly creates a lot of curiosity. This time round it was the turn of a TV company to show interest. So, with a day's filming coming up with a fellow piscatorial pastor, I decided to pay a visit to the venue first. It's been a while since I've fished there, and with it being down a series of lanes, I wanted to get the directions right.

 

The venue I fished

 

 

Of course, I first got permission to do the filming, and so would like to thank the Kinver Freeliners committee for that. Although the venue is a typical commercial (dug and stocked), it isn't run as a day-ticket, instead it is just for club members. It's not going to turn up monsters, but at this time of the year any fish is welcome. And commercial-type venues often oblige when others don't.

 

The first carp on the bank

 

 

My pre-TV session is the one on the video, so you can check out all the details there. With strong northerly winds coming in, a falling temperature meant it was always going to be a challenge. So it was great to get the first one on the bank just as dusk was thinking about putting in an appearance. I ended up with a few more fish, but the sleet in the early hours was the kiss of death.

 

Small, but stunning colours

 

The return visit was with Ben Cooper, the cameraman, and Rev Jon Barrett, the vicar from Leicestershire. We fished with contrasting methods, Jon with maggots on the float after anything that came along and me on an all-or-nothing mission after a decent carp.

 

Lights, camera, action

 

 

Jon had gudgeon, perch and a small common. I had one run that unfortunately ended up with a hook-pull. As the filming was just to produce a short trailer though it wasn't an issue. The plan is that once Ben produces it, the production company will try and get a commission. My attitude is that if it does come off, great. But if not, it won't be a problem at all, it was still an enjoyable experience.

 

The one that got away

 

 

As well as the fishing, we also filmed at a local church. The parish of Great Witley has a fantastic building for the local community. And the churchwarden, Dr Rick Warner, who showed us around, works for the Angling Trust, so we had a few things in common. It was a very enjoyable day, made longer (in the nicest way) by the fact that Jon had stayed over at my house the evening before and we chatted until the early hours. Not to mention the early start. But all good. (Published December 21 2013)

 

Visit my angling website HERE 

 

(Blog entry 545)

 

IN IT TO WIN IT - Black Country canal chub (Winter fishing. Series 1: Episode 2)

Click play to watch video. Includes: Hair-rigging for big chub - Groundbait and bait approach - What thermometer do I use - Water temperature pointers.

 



If you've watched this week's video then you'll be aware of how I connected with the chub on my local canal. Of course you hear lots of stories, but one thing I realised many years ago is that there's a lot of 'wild goose' chasing going on in the angling network. Rumours and the fishing world go hand-in-hand.

The opening chub of the week

 

My chub fishing this week was made up of short afternoon sessions. I fish a lot, but because I have loads of other stuff in my life, I can't fish twenty-fours every single day of the week. Not that I would want to really, for me angling is a passion not an obsession. I do actually fish most days, certainly mid-week, but shorter sessions.

 

Another decent chub

 

On my first outing, which you can see in the video, I caught four chub for the camera. I added a fifth right at the end after I had finished filming. Back the next day, the water temperature had tumbled from 9.2C to 7.9C. I still caught though, my first just as a lady jogger came past.

 

Return not eat

 

She asked me if I was going to eat it, which led to a conversation where I was able to talk about fish welfare and conservation. As anglers we are all ambassadors, and any opportunity we have with the general public to promote fishing in a positive way should be grasped and taken.

 

I even caught a small roach on a size 6 hook

 

The remaining sessions saw water temperatures continue to tumble, in fact I ended the week at 4.8C, which is a pretty dramatic fall from what it was at the beginning, almost 50% to be precise. Consequently, the fishing got tougher, but in-it-to-win-it I still managed a few fish. I cover temperature in the video, especially the importance of trend.

A chub from the final session

Switching from the boilie approach at the start of the week to bread, I even caught a small roach - with a big chunk on a size 6 hook. In spite of the drop in temperature affecting the fishing, I still enjoyed it. Ultimately, that's what it's all about. Even if you're catching big fish, but not enjoying it, then it's time to re-evaluate. (Published December 14 2013)

 

 

Visit my angling website HERE - updated every Saturday since 2003.

 

(Blog entry 544)

YOU CAN ONLY CATCH WHAT'S IN THERE - Early winter day-time carp fishing (Winter fishing. Series 1: Episode 1)



 

 

 Click play to watch video. Includes: The advantages of early winter fishing - Thinking through your bait approach - The importance of confidence within the framework of realism.

 

 

I can't believe it's December already, although actually I can, as whoever coined the phrase 'time flies' wasn't joking. As far as my angling is concerned we're now into winter, as I divide the twelve months into four seasons, with December through February the one that says goodbye to autumn and leads into spring.

 

The pool I fished this week

 

The opening session of the blog is the one that you can see in this week's video. Therefore I won't go into the details of the outing as it's all there to watch. I did enjoy it though, and considering the water temperature was as its lowest since last April, I was happy to catch three fish.

 

A carp from the opening session

 



They weren't monsters, but it's not a big fish venue, and you can only catch what's in there. Sometimes, when the going is slow, it's a result to just bank anything. If you watch the video I hope you enjoy it, it's the first in a series of winter fishing sessions. Why not subscribe to the channel and don't forget to use the social media 'share' button on the video. Thanks if you do.

 

 

Another fish from the pool



 

In fact, from this week my weekly blog undergoes a bit of a remodel. I've switched from Wordpress as the host to Blogger, mainly because it's part of the Google family and therefore works more fluently with YouTube. And with a video forming the main thrust of the blog it's easier to link that in, so each week there will be 'words and pictures', but also a video that you can view. I'm often playing around with format, the most important thing though is that the blog is always there, and has been every week for over ten years.

 

Watching and waiting

 

I intended to start a brand-new channel for the new series of videos, but a few 'technical' problems meant it was difficult to tie everything in. So after a while I just deleted it and went back to the original one. It wasn't an issue, anyway it was a shame to lose my million plus views and four-figure subscribers and start all over again. So if you were one of the people that viewed/subscribed to the new channel, that's why it's not there.

 

On the bank and on the mat

 

Back to the fishing, I did another return visit to the venue featured in the video. With the temperature still on the fall, I was again happy to catch carp. The place in question is a good winter pool and that's important, certainly when the water begins to cool. Some places do fish better than others in winter and it's good to have that knowledge, even if it's just somewhere to go and catch when the going gets tough. I also had an outing on the local canal, catching a chub and a small common, so overall not too bad. (Published December 6 2013)

 

Visit my angling website HERE - Updated every Saturday since 2003.

(Blog entry 543)