In my last blog post I touched on canal hybrids and how I always consider them to be a bonus whatever their size. What I didn't mention was that they actually do grow to a very decent size in the Grand Western. It's funny how there are generally accepted weights for most species whereby we define them as "specimen"; a 2lb roach, 20lb pike, and so on. Well, I wonder, what is a specimen hybrid?
Recently - ready for the new season in fact - I've been setting myself some 'specimen' targets of my own. Bearing in mind the waters that I fish are generally in Devon and into West Somerset, and almost exclusively on natural venues, my targets might not be specimens everywhere, but they will certainly provide enough of a challenge for me. I set my target for a roach/bream hybrid at 3lb, and today, after work, I was lucky enough to catch one of that exact weight.
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I've had a couple of bigger ones before. A 3lb 11oz fish on New Year's Day this year being my personal best, but big hybrids are so rare that I don't see a four pounder as a very attainable target, so three pound it is. I just didn't expect to get one so soon. They're not easily targeted and usually turn up whilst bream or tench fishing, as was the case today. Just aswell, as the tench continue to frustrate, and even though I saw a few swimming about today, I could only persuade one to take my hookbait.
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The evening started with a dozen or so boldly coloured perch on worms fished just over a marginal weedbed, and finished with a modest bream on corn. The successful bait for the big hybrid was a cocktail of sweetcorn and red maggots, with the pole being the perfect tool for feeding and presenting baits between gaps in the weed.
