It would be worth taking out a year's subscription to one of the magazines, as this will give you a steady diet of useful advice and give you a chance to put it into practice between issues. Improve your Coarse Fishing or some of the David Hall titles are good. As far as canals go, they tend to be fished a lot and the fish can be quite canny. You need to be looking at what the match anglers do. As a general rule, everything (tackle/line strengths, baiting, etc.) needs to be scaled down from the techniques you would use on lakes or stillwaters. A pole, if you don't already have one, is a good investment if you intend to fish canals regularly. Method of striking needs thought. It depends on flow, wind, line strength and species, among other things. For example, if you're fishing for soft-mouthed skimmers on the local cut with an 0.08 bottom, you need to lift into the fish or risk cracking off/pulling the hook out. On the other hand, you need to strike hard if you're trotting at distance on a river in a wind and have to pick up a large bow in the line. You need to read as much and widely as you can. Good luck.