Finally some fishing!

Its been a few weeks that I have returned back to the UK now and I have been aching to go fishing, but couldn't do so as I was kept busy by other things that needed my attention.. Yesterday though, I got my rod licence in my hands and having already signed up for the Lancaster canal fishery membership, I was off back to my old jaunts.. I chose my UL dropshoting gear as I was gonna be targeting perch. The weather was fair with no wind and temperature around 6 C.
I started with a Sworming Hornet Dropshot fish head and a slim 3" soft bait and after only a couple casts I had a fish on! It was only a small jack but very welcome nonetheless..

Full of dead leaves..

The little jack

Lure mounted on dropshot fish head.

Unfortunately this was not the positive sign I thought, as after the little jack I couldn't get any more bites. I changed lure to an LFT Live baby shad and after moving along the canal, managed to get a few tentative bites which I missed as I reacted too fast. A couple casts later and I got a little perch..

This was proving a tough session with the fish being extremely finicky and scattered throughout the area I was fishing. More over I saw no signs of hunting activity or fry.
The sun was going down and after another change of lure to a Jackall super pin tail, I got a proper bite and after a short tussle I brought a better perch up.

Seems to have been on a diet..

I had to wrap the session up as I had some obligations but I didn't mind as I didn't blank and I will be coming back very soon..
I was very surprised with the lack of more and bigger fish but I think that they haven't yet settled to the 'winter mode', meaning shoaling up and frequenting only a few areas with usually deeper water.
The finicky bites may mean that I will have to experiment with other lures and presentations but that's what I love about lure fishing!

Thanks for reading and all the best for the winter season!


Gear used:
Rod: Awa Shima Qlite spin, 1-5g, 2.40m
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: Toray Bottom Attacker Fluorocarbon, 3lbs
Rig: dropshot
lure: various

A nice mixed bag.

Today I just wanted perch no matter what.. ! So I visited the Galgate marina where I had nice perch previously and the place seemed just right to throw a better one as well.. Arriving around 14:00 the weather was mild and overcast, and the water stained with about a foot of visibility.
I could already see the signs of spring as there was lots of bubbles and silverfish around, and knew that predators wouldn't be far behind.. Wanting to test again if the perch would react negatively to the light Knot2Kinky dropshot rig  (they do somewhat on less turbid parts of the canal) I tied it on with an 8cm DAM Power Devil Stick and started casting near the moored barges on the other side.. I was getting some tentative bites but fish didn't follow through.. After I had covered a wide area and thinking that the presentation may be too "loud", I tried my go-to lure, a 2.25" LFT live baby shad on a conventional dropshot rig with 2 SSG shots and after a nice cast between some boats, I got a sharp tug and the line came back loose...Damn pike! Straight away I reverted to the previous rig and put on the LFT shad.. I recasted at the same spot and got hit straight away. After a spirited fight I landed a pretty jack that I believe it could be the same fish!

greedy jack!

After the jack I got no more bites and decided to move back towards my starting point in order to see if it was the presentation or just the lure that put the fish off. I casted near some piling and got some perch-like bites and after setting the hook I got my first perch of the day.. A few more followed and I even managed to catch (and miss) a couple at my feet. Which is why I always work my lures until they get out of water.

I managed to snag my last K2K rig and tied another conventional rig, again using the LFT baby shad.. It was almost sunset and a nice cast shaw the lure land just next to a barge and within a few retrieves of the handle I was onto something better that fought hard near the bottom. It was a nice plumb perch that was promptly landed and even though I had no scales, in comparison with my shoe (size10.5)! she must have been pushing 700gr.. A very nice end to my fishing session...

Thanks for reading and tight lines!

Gear used:
Rod: Awa Shima Qlite spin, 1-5g, 2.40m
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: Toray BAWO Superhard Upgrade Fluorocarbon, 3.9lbs
Rig: various dropshot
Lure: 2.25" LFT Live Baby shad (pink)

A pleasant surprise...

Today the weather was somewhat milder and overcast, and I really wanted to fish Glasson Dock again... So we set off at around 14:00 and were on the spot soon after. There was a chilly wind but conditions seemed promising. I started with my UL Knot2Kinky Dropshot rig and a 3.5" LFT Live Magic shad in golden Shiner colour while I made an LRF style dropshot rig for my girlfriend with a 1.5" Big Bite Panfish minnow in pearl/chartreuse and a single SSG shot at the end. We got fishing and being impressed by the depth of the place, expected bites to come fast.. But they didn't...!
After a while we moved to a place where the canal enters the dock and found an angler there, he told me that he had a couple fish around 5lbs but the weed was a real problem and affected the presentation.. Fishing around there, we soon had the same problem and thus kept moving to find a clear patch. All this time we didn't get a single hit and it seemed unusual as the place was screaming fish. Deciding to change my presentation, first to a weedless dropshot and then to just simple dropshot tied to the mainline with a 2.25" LFT live baby shad (as I was thinking that the fish might prefer a scaled down/finer presentation and wanting to locate where/if there were any perch around) we kept moving towards a bridge and trying next to some moored barges.. Suddenly I felt a sharp tug on the line, then some weight and lifting the rod another tug and the line went light.. Pike... I reverted back to the 3.5" swimbait on the Knot2kinky rig, but nothing happened.
Reaching the bridge I was mostly trying out some retrieves than actually fishing and had almost forgotten about my girl until I heard her shout, and turning my head I saw her holding her rod bent in half! For a second we both thought it was a snag, until it started moving.. It was a nice fish that was taking line against the drag at an alarming rate, while I was trying to explain to her that reeling in continuously wont do any good! I quickly got the rod at my hands,
(I wanted that fish!) and tried to play it softly on the UL gear.. After a few runs it surfaced and it was a nice jack but I was almost sure that we would loose it any moment since my girl was just using 3lbs fluorocarbon and no trace.. I tried to get it in the net as fast as possible but the fish had other ideas and kept diving.. Three dives later I got it in the net and banked a lovely jack-pike that was definitely worth all the effort!



The hook at the lips!

A lucky angler!

Although it would seem very surprising for a fish of this size to be caught on a 1.5" lure, I have come to the conclusion that especially at this time of the year and at pressured waters, pike of good size can be taken (or even show preference) to smaller lures and finesse presentations. And it really is great fun fighting these fish on the UL gear! It should be noted though that if there are a lot of jacks the trace is indispensable, and even more so on lures with trebles.

Thanks for reading and tight lines!

Equipment used.

A)

Rod: Awa Shima Qlite spin, 1-5g, 2.40m
Reel: Mitchell Mag Pro 1000
Mainline: Toray BAWO Superhard Upgrade Fluorocarbon, 3.9lbs
Rig: various
Lure: various

B)
Rod: Daiwa Procyon, 6.6",1/32-1/8oz
Reel: Shimano Nexave 1000fd
Mainline: Berkley Nanofil 0.06mm and Sunline Siglon Fluorocarbon 3lbs leader
Rig: dropshot with one SSG
Hook: Size 6 Owner Mosquito
Lure: Big Bite Panfish minnow,1.5" Pearl/chartreuse.

New stretch and circle hooks on dropshot test.

Today the weather was mild and since I had found a nice looking stretch of the canal on google maps, I didn't think twice and was off fishing! I bought some new softbaits and some circle hooks that I wanted to try them on the dropshot for perch.. The area is a marina on the Lancaster canal and when I arrived it did indeed look very fishy... First problem was the lack of parking space but after some maneuvering I managed to park my Punto in a way that it wouldn't bother anybody.. Second problem (potentially) was the state of the water.. After two weeks of bad weather the level was high and visibility was bad (30cm aprox). I expected the fishing to be slow and near the bottom, as the fish would probably need a few more days of settled conditions to feed confidently.. Thus I shortened the distance of the sinker to the lure (20cm from usual 35cm aprox) and started fishing as close to the barges and the dock as I could..

the state of the water.

After working a large area without a touch I reached a corner of the marina and casting inches from the canal edge I got the first nibble and letting the softbait to fall I connected to the first little perch of the session.. As soon as I caught the fish from its jaw the hook came free, something that I should have taken as a warning... After the little perch I recast to the same area and got three more fish on, only for them to get free from the hook shortly after! The last one within inches from the bank and a good one as well... I didn't set the hook in any fish as you are not meant to when using circle hooks but as soon I reverted back to mosquito hooks I didn't loose any fish.


the only one that stayed on the circle hook.

I kept fishing and walking but after moving to an area with no bites, I went back to where I caught the first one. Trying different baits and slowing the speed even more, I managed to find some more fish. Most were small  and I noticed that they wanted very slow presentation (slight twitches) and minimal resistance with long pauses. Nearing dusk, I managed a better fish of about a pound, that gave a good account of itself on the UL spinning gear...

Overall the fishing was slow and hard work with the fish not really in an aggressive hunting mood, but managing to catch some fish after a couple blanks is always good! I don't think I will continue using circle hooks on my dropshot though..
The best baits today were the LFT live baby shad 2.25" and lunker City fin-s fish 2".
Soon I'm going to try and fish for pike on a modified dropshot rig, incorporating a trace and cant wait to land some pike on the UL gear..

Thanks for reading.

Perch on the Lancaster canal.

After moving from the Lakes, I didn't have much time for fishing due to my work, but since I moved again to Lancashire now, I have found plenty of time to go fishing... After a bit of searching on google Earth and the web in general, I noted that the Lancaster canal seemed very promising... So one day I got my mate Derek for a reconnaissance mission..(!) We found an area that the canal widens and holds moored barges with a good depth. The weather was relatively mild, after a couple weeks of freezing temperatures and was due to get worse again... I have encountered this again when fishing and have noted that the fish get really active immediately before and upto the coming of a cold front... Looking at the water we were amazed at the amount of activity, as fry was jumping and fleeing all over the place. This is quite common during the warmer months, but in the middle of winter quite surprising.

Derek on the stretch mentioned.

We fished many styles and lures (jigging, crankbaits, spinners) but only caught fish on the dropshot,
with the best baits being: the LFT live baby shad, Umiushi worm, Jackall super pin tail, Ima trilobite and Tiemco PDL super fin tail. I fished on the ultralight gear comprising of Awa shima Q lite spin, 2.40m, 1-5g rod and Mitchell mag pro 1000 reel. The fish were caught as expected near the barges and the walls of the canal and also from among the snags in the deeper areas. Their sizes being from 100g to about 700g.

Unfortunatelly that day we got two attacks from pike that easily managed to cut the 3lb fluoro but using a korda wide gape barbless hook I hope that they will get rid of it easily...
Since that day I have been regularly visiting the canal and have managed to get a few fish every time.. I have also modified my dropshot rig using thicker fluorocarbon and got some pike as well.
An important note is that many fish have been precaught and mishandled at times, something that shows the fishing pressure at that stretch and the need for better handling skills among anglers..
At times when the water was very cold and miserable weather, the trick of substituting the sinker for a hookless pilker seems to give a couple fish when all else fail...

More reports to come and thanks for reading...