Av Y'ad Owt?
Tales of fishing in the frozen North, with occasional forays further afield.
Tales of fishing in the frozen North, with occasional forays further afield.
Up The Junction
Posted 29-03-2010 at 21:27 by Sean Meeghan
Tags perch, sean meeghan
Not too far from where I live the earth is flat. It is a place of huge skies, roaring winds and far horizons. It's just to the right of Doncaster looking North. These northern fens don't quite have the cachet of their southern cousins, but they can offer fishing just as good.
Caught in the no-mans land between the end of the river season and the start of the trout season Pete, Martin and I decided to seek refuge in the great industrial canals of the region.
The flat plane of the landscape demands straight lines and the New Junction canal delivers, scribing an arrow straight line almost due North between Tanker Bay and Heck. These canals throw up some huge perch so we grabbed a sack of worms, chose a bridge at random and went fishing.
It was a beatiful day with pale blue skies and clouds etched polariod sharp. The wind rejoiced in the lack of resistance and roared across the flat landscape buffeting us playfully about the ears. Luckily it was a Southwesterly and low, scrubby trees took much of the force allowing us to fish in comfort.
I'm going through a traditionalist phase at the moment and our chosen method suited this down to a tee, allowing me to set up the Flick Em and the Wizard to lay-on worms along the margins of the canal. I plumbed the depth, plonked in a couple of small dropper loads of chop, swung the bait out and relaxed in the sunshine.
I started to get indications immediately, but fish are fickle feeders at this time of the year and it was a while before I had a positive bite. The float sailed away, I waited a moment and struck into thin air. Half an hour later a similar bite saw me connect with a fish and after a short battle a perch of around half a pound bristled in my net.
Unfortunately this wasn't the first of many and a frustrating afternoon saw me catch a fish of a similar size and lose a better one when the hook pulled. Pete and Martin didn't fare any better, but we can feel the potential for bigger fish and we'll be back.
Total Comments 4
Comments
-
This bleak and exposed landscape must seem like a tropical paradise after the last six months!
I went to a comfy little commercial half an hour's drive away (to get away from the NorwichvLeeds frenzy). Wagglered maggot for thirty or so 6 - 8oz roach and a rudd - bliss.
Nice song title.
AndyPosted 30-03-2010 at 08:16 by Skoda
-
Once again Sean, a well presented and well written blog with some nice clear pictures.
I would have been tempted to try the Feeder though on Canals that wide, or does that method not fair well on them stretches?Posted 31-03-2010 at 19:26 by Stealph Viper
-
Funnily enough Stealph we were discussing that in the car on the way home. We were probably missing a trick by just fishing the near margin and the feeder across to the far bank might be the way to go.Posted 06-04-2010 at 15:55 by Sean Meeghan
-
Sean you'll have to journey to the cultivated side of the Pennines and join Spiders and I after some real perch!!! Mind you, bet you don't have to work out a rhythm to allow for the boat a minute at peak times.
We do dabble with t'worm over here but the signals enjoy it so most of our decent perch this winter have come on spinner or plastic.
Great pictures...explaining why my old maternal ancestors left the Doncastrian wastes for the picturesque Durham coalfieldsPosted 02-05-2010 at 17:38 by Poshpaul (Angling Trust and PaSC)
