The Final Frontier - A guide to fishing canals for carp
by Kieron Axten.

Part two.

Will boats interfere with my fishing?

Anglers hate boats…. fish don't!

Boats are just a part of the everyday environment to a carp, and much like they can home in on spods and feeders hitting the water they can also appreciate a noisy boat churning up all the natural food. In the winter months water can become very clear and fish are more reluctant to feed. A boat or two going through can be just what is needed to kick things back into life.

That's not to say that they aren't scared of a moving boat, or else we would have a lot of dead carp floating around. I once watched a carp of around 12lbs drift into the bank by my feet as a barge passed by, then sloped casually back off into the depths. With this in mind it stands to reason that wide bends and bays away from boat traffic are more likely to be visited by carp during busy hours.

Marinas and boatyards can be excellent areas for carp. The picture left was taken over the side of my brother's boat in a busy spot on The Grand Union canal, where the fish have become so accustomed to boats and humans that they can sometimes be hand fed!

The only real problem with boats is picking up your line, which can also be avoided most of the time by using long lead core leaders and one or more heavy back leads. If you politely greet a driver with a wave and a smile he or she will normally slow down a little for you.

Another serious problem comes when you are playing a carp and there's a barge coming. This has only actually happened to me once and I was a little bit annoyed to say the least, as the propellers of the boat sheered my line and my long awaited prize was lost forever.

If barges make your blood boil then winter might be the best time for you, and can be a very good time if you find the right areas. Which I believe may be the thickest silt you can find, which is not that hard on the canal. Here food and cover is still in abundance after most plant and water born life has diminished. Look out for bloodworm or other foodstuff on any debris you bring in.

Of course night fishing should avoid boats altogether, and to be honest is the best chance of some serious fishing. You can put some freebies out without the fear of them being washed away by boats and the flow of locks opening, and the fish will move and feed more freely.

I also like to have boats nearby for security if I am on my own. I have found boaties very chatty and always willing to make me a cup of tea or a sandwich. I have a brother who lives on a boat and on occasion it has been the ultimate bivvy for me.

What bait should I use?

You might well think that more traditional baits like sweet corn, tigers, maggots etc. would be more productive since they are more established. Too bloody right they are productive! If you want to catch every fish in the cut that is? If ever there was a reason to use boilies, the canal is it.

It is not a hard and fast rule that you must prebait a swim to catch canal carp, but a few pounds of boilies in your favourite spots as boat traffic has ceased will certainly do no harm. I don't believe in over doing things though. If my theories are right, you will be catering for the resident fish in a limited area and a mountain of bait does not necessarily mean a mountain of fish. Mass baiting tactics are better suited to pressured fish that need reassurance.

I have known people fish the same spot on the canal for weeks on end, piling the bait in and catching very few fish. Why try and bring the mountain to Mohammed when you can bring Mohammed to the mountain? These are practically virgin waters and uneducated fish, so you don't need to make things harder and more expensive for yourself. Find them first and keep things simple.

A good nutritional and attractive bait will work from the off with little or no introduction. I have often caught on single hook baits even in winter. I can highly recommend something like Solar's Club Mix with Squid and Octopus Koi Rearer and Anchovy, as available ready rolled from The Tackle Box. This really is superb instant bait and will catch fish whether it's established or not.

If you don't fancy fishmeals for the winter, I find Nash scopex ready mades soaked in Condensed Milk Supasense Oil Palatent absolutely spot on.

 

Will I need any special tackle?

Obviously you may need to scale down your tackle as much as you can, as walking distances may well be more than you are used to. Things like using a quiver instead of a holdall or using a brolly instead of a bivvy can all help, but the one item I would
not be without is my carp porter.

Although I have no special rod setup for my canal fishing, the ideal outfit would consist of 11 ft rods with quite a soft action for hit and hold situations accompanied by smallish reels such as Shimano 6010s, as no great casting distances will be required.

I recommend using a braided sinking main line such as Fox Submerge accompanied by a strong nylon leader such as 20lb Amnesia. The reason for this is that you may on occasion want to walk a bait a hundred or so yards from your swim, this is often a good tactic as bank side disturbance will be minimised. The braid will give you better bite registration at this range and allow better control of the fish. The nylon leader is essential to absorb some of the carps power and avoid hook pulls and damaged fish
mouths.

A useful tool to own is a roach pole with a tipper on for dropping your lead under bushes and things if need be.

A good thing about the far bank usually only being an underarm cast away is that you can see it at night with as little as a head torch.

Fishing your rods parallel to the towpath is often required due to limited bank space. I use either a goal post setup or separate Solar bank sticks.

As for terminal tackle, I mostly use simple strong nylon hook links in conjunction with Korda safety clips and dumpy pears and Big Fish Adventure camo' lead core leaders. This is an ideal silt rig and by altering the size of lead and length of hooklink, you can decide how deep into the silt you actually want to fish.

If I am doing a night I will not bother with pop ups at all, but in the day when boats are disturbing all sorts of rubbish I prefer pop ups such as the excellent Perfect Pop-ups from Solar.

Is it worth the effort?

Okay so there are down sides, the annoying boats, the walkers, the kids on bikes, the security factor, the potentially long walks, limited room on the towpath and the smell of dog s**t on your fishing kit!

Our canals are amongst the oldest and most established and sometimes picturesque venues in the country. Fishing permits are incredibly cheap, rules are very lax and fish stocks are normally plentiful and varied.

Unlike fishing your usual venue where you know the biggest resident's name, weight and shoe size, when you sit behind your rods on the canal you just don't know what might be lurking in the depths. The anticipation is amazing!

I recently caught this immaculate personal best common of 26lb 10oz from the canal and although I have caught fish to over 30lb elsewhere, it meant more to me by far. A rarely caught (if ever) genuine, homegrown English big carp.

Go on…. put some mystery back into your fishing and get yourself down the cut.

K. Axten
kieron@axtens.com

Great article Kie and what an 'awesome' fish that common is! I know just what this fish meant to Kieron - he phoned me at 6am in the morning to tell me about it! I was happy for him but I'm not too sure what my wife thought!!! Fletch (Angling Lines Editor).

Did you miss Part 1 - if so click here.