Friday, 19th October, I partook in a short session on our local canal, the Staffs-Worcs, on a stretch controlled by the Wolverhampton Angling Association at Awbridge Farm, near Wombourne in a swim previously unfished by myself. As canals go, it’s pretty standard really…
I had intended to go pike fishing – and had intended to fish during the fortnight between the last trip and this one but weather and other things interfered with my plans – and on this occasion Liz wanted the car for work and I was due at a fishing talk on the evening ….
… and so needed to put tackle/bait away, bath/shower, and eat before heading off there. In the end compromise was the answer … off to the canal from 0700-1200, home by 1300, take Liz to work at 1330 (and she’d get bus home at 2000), do my errands as above, and then head off to the event at 1900 picking up a friend along the way… back home by midnight hopefully as I’d a busy day ahead.
Anyway, got to the canal at around 0645 – still too dark to fish but allowed time to walk to the swim and prepare the rods and sundries and so I was ready for when it was light enough to cast out the float. And discovered a boo-boo… I’d left a 2+ pint bag of dead/comatose maggots I’d intended to use for feeding at home… I did have about 1/3rd pint of fresh maggots that I’d set aside for on the hook and a tub of dendro worms though and so I did manage to last out the session by feeding sparingly throughout.
I started on the float using 4lb line, size 12 hook attached directly under a 2AA reed waggler float set so the bait and tell-tale shot just tripped bottom to hold against the slight drift that existed…. and fished the centre channel.
By 0930 I’d had 4 (very) small daddy ruffe and so switched to my quiver tip rod for about an hour (4lb line/12 hook/dendro) fishing just off the far bank on to the downward slope … a few nudges but after an hour of nothing forthcoming I switched back to the float rod, casting where I’d ledgered for half an hour. One missed bite later I switched back to the original centre channel swim with maggot for the final hour and managed a couple of (very) small gudgeon.
The canal had been quiet boatwise until around 1000/1015 and then about 6 or 7 boats passed – 3 of them in convoy and were small boats that together looked like a normal houseboat that had been chopped in to 3 sections LOL.
Anyway, water temps continued to show a small decline as seen in the data below…
Plans: Liz and I are hoping to have a lure session on Monday 22nd on a 100 acre reservoir that the club has shared rights to the fishing on. We’ve not been there or seen it yet but we’ll have a wander with the rods and look it over for future possibilities…. but won’t be an early start as I have a doctor’s appointment to attend beforehand at 0850 that day.
WATER TEMPS:
Min: 11.5’C
Max: 12.1’C
stevetheangler 
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