stevetheangler

Saturday, 11th January 2020, I decided to spend a couple of hours on the Staffs-Worcs Canal, lure fishing between Swindon (a small village in Staffordshire, not the Wiltshire one) and Botterham Lock, Wombourne. It was a general thing I wanted to do (lure fish the canal) but the actual venue/stretch was decided really by access – although it must be said it is a stretch I’ve fished in the chosen manner several times before and thus not really a ‘second best’ option. The choice being made as I didn’t have access to the car as Liz works on Saturdays and has an early start on her shift so has first call on it… so I needed a venue accessible by public transport and which Swindon has the easiest access to by the means … and the bus also covers the area at the opposite end stretch I was to fish so getting back home was also catered for. Basically, 2 buses each way (home->city bus station to change bus->venue and vice versa) and about 40 minutes travelling time although there is an extra 10-15 minutes wait for the bus at changeover time to be added to the total.

So, I set off from home at around 0800 armed with my 8’6” Ron Thompson (10-30g) spinning rod and reel loaded with 15lb mono and a 9” wire lure trace, a small compartmented box of lures of various types from small jellies, small rubber shad bodies, bar spinners, etc, my flask of coffee and a 22” landing net to be used in conjunction with my Korum 2.5 metre Snapper Cult telescopic landing net pole (Xmas present – fantastic for this sort of job – very light and 4-sections compact down to 60cm to carry and comes with a strap to attach to a bag or carry over the shoulder…

Arrival at the canal and first casts were made just after 0900… starting with a small bristly worm like jelly lure on an offset hook…

And so I worked my way along the canal up to Botterham Lock…

Now, to get the bus home I needed to walk the next half a mile of canal above Botterham Lock but I couldn’t fish it (despite it looking really ‘fishy’ – more so than the BAA section I fished actually – more far bank growth over the water) as the water is on the Wolverhampton AA card. AND I had tried to get a WAA card a few days beforehand but the young lad who was serving on his own in the tackle at the time couldn’t locate them and when he rang the shop owner it seemed that they may have been locked away in a safe box to which he had no access at the time … However, following my session on this day, and with a bit of time to play with before Liz was due home from work, I detoured my journey home to visit said tackle shop again and, after a bit of a search again (it appeared the tickets had been moved elsewhere) tickets were located and one was duly purchased ready for next the next outing…

BTW…. both the BAA and WAA cards are good value…

The BAA card for £30 (concessionary, normally £40) gives access to good lengths of the Staffs-Worcs Canal a stretch of the Worcs Stour and several stretches of the Middle Severn locally … and further afield a number of pools, further canal options (Birm-Worcs Canal, Coventry Canal, Trent & Mersey Canal, etc)  Lower Severn, Warks Avon, River Lugg, River Teme, etc. See: https://www.baa.uk.com/

The WAA card (£10 concession, £20 adult) allows fishing locally on several stretches of both the Staffs-Worcs Canal and the Shropshire Union Canals…. See: http://wolverhamptonaa.co.uk/

OK … so posting this now … but I have already completed Session 4 – Patshull Pool, a pike fishing session which I did yesterday… SO… Did he catch? Did he not catch? There’s only one way to find out …. and will be available very shortly and free to read!! LOL!

Best wishes to all….