Apologies to all those who were getting used to reasonably regular updates on this blog, but there was little to report after several blanks in search of another Tidal Exe carp. All short sessions of around three hours in length, but disappointing nonetheless. Despite the thrill of that first carp, even short sessions were demoralising without a bite.
As a result, the new campaign is all about having fun. I'm going on a species hunt. There are no rules and no deadlines. The only objective is to keep it interesting and try a variation of angling styles and locations. It's easy to turn up at a number of fisheries and catch up to a dozen different species but that would be a little boring so if it doesn't seem fun or at least a little challenging, I won't bother.
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First up, I wanted to catch a bleak. It was after all the first species of fish I ever caught. They're a bit thinner on the ground round these parts than in the South East, but the Taunton to Bridgwater Canal holds a viable population. Freelined fluoro pinkies on a size 20 hook to 0.08 hooklength sorted half a dozen out, including a couple with red-edged fins that I thought were possible hybrids of some sort? I always reckon that hybridisation takes place in far more fish species than those we generally accept, i.e., roach, rudd and common bream. Indeed, I had a fish which I'm sure was a cross between a silver bream and a rudd. A hybrid I come across frequently in this cut, coincidentally.
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Fishing from a brick wall into clear water reminded me of a childhood spent on the Lee Navigation, where my friends and I would head for a swim known as "The Concrete", which, if anyone knows it, was adjacent to where the canal passes under a footbridge into the Swan & Pike Pool at Enfield Lock. Just like back then, I could see the roach and silver bream as they passed over light coloured patches of canal bed to intercept the loosefed pinkies. The only difference was that on the Lee you'd catch as many perch as anything else, but here, on a stretch near Creech St Michael, there are far fewer to compete with the roach, and a very good head of silver bream.
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I will create a page to keep track of this ongoing challenge, to include bleak and silver bream after today's 45 minute dabble. There wasn't time to get photographs of everything, so the roach will have to wait. I will probably target them on a river, rather than a canal. By the end, there should hopefully be an interesting index of species on this blog.
As a result, the new campaign is all about having fun. I'm going on a species hunt. There are no rules and no deadlines. The only objective is to keep it interesting and try a variation of angling styles and locations. It's easy to turn up at a number of fisheries and catch up to a dozen different species but that would be a little boring so if it doesn't seem fun or at least a little challenging, I won't bother.
First up, I wanted to catch a bleak. It was after all the first species of fish I ever caught. They're a bit thinner on the ground round these parts than in the South East, but the Taunton to Bridgwater Canal holds a viable population. Freelined fluoro pinkies on a size 20 hook to 0.08 hooklength sorted half a dozen out, including a couple with red-edged fins that I thought were possible hybrids of some sort? I always reckon that hybridisation takes place in far more fish species than those we generally accept, i.e., roach, rudd and common bream. Indeed, I had a fish which I'm sure was a cross between a silver bream and a rudd. A hybrid I come across frequently in this cut, coincidentally.
Fishing from a brick wall into clear water reminded me of a childhood spent on the Lee Navigation, where my friends and I would head for a swim known as "The Concrete", which, if anyone knows it, was adjacent to where the canal passes under a footbridge into the Swan & Pike Pool at Enfield Lock. Just like back then, I could see the roach and silver bream as they passed over light coloured patches of canal bed to intercept the loosefed pinkies. The only difference was that on the Lee you'd catch as many perch as anything else, but here, on a stretch near Creech St Michael, there are far fewer to compete with the roach, and a very good head of silver bream.
I will create a page to keep track of this ongoing challenge, to include bleak and silver bream after today's 45 minute dabble. There wasn't time to get photographs of everything, so the roach will have to wait. I will probably target them on a river, rather than a canal. By the end, there should hopefully be an interesting index of species on this blog.
