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Bridgewater Canal

Chasing Perch On The Worm Dropshot

23rd November 2020 by Mike Duddy

While I have an ambition to improve my perch pb this winter, I’m not really that bothered if I achieve it or not. I just care about being out on the bank with a fishing rod in my hand, and having a bit of fun with my friends.

So with lock down 2 in full swing, I’m still doing my bit, working mostly from home, minding my own business and only fishing very locally.

I can’t get much more local than Heaton Park lake, and my local canals and I’ve snatched a few late afternoons off work to try my luck.

Heaton Park Boating Lake is a venue that’s always intrigued me. I have fished it on and off since the mid 1970s and sadly its a pale shadow of its former glory. It used to have specimen roach and perch, but in recent years these have been plundered by the cormorant invasion and only the bream and carp are surviving in any numbers. I had a session on there a couple of years ago, with expert lure angler Ant Glascoe Jnr (its a local venue for him too where he spent many a youthfull hour) and we struggled to find any perch. I think we had 4 smallish perch between us in a 3 hour session. I had two 1 hour sessions recently and blanked on both occasions. A very sad state of affairs – a great venue ruined by the black plague. Maybe it fishes better in warmer weather, so I’m not going to give up on it just yet despite my two blank visits last week..

A couple of hours on Heaton Park Boating Lake… blankety blank.
The park locks its gates at dusk — its like playing Russian Roulette fishing into the evening … will I be able to get out of the gates before they lock up or will I have to climb the fence

Last weekend I had a free pass from Mrs Fishing Fiend for a few hours late each afternoon. I spent the first afternoon on the Bridgewater Canal, first near Monton Lighthouse, and then a little further towards the Trafford Centre at Peel Green. I didn’t have any success at either location 🙁 and again – there were cormorant working the canal while we were fishing. Is it any wonder I didn’t get a sniff of a fish. I’ve fished both of these spots in summer months and always been able to catch plenty of fish — a different story now the water temperature has dropped.

Only 35 miles from the sea, the guy who built this was expecting global warming and rising sea levels to come faster than the rest of us.
We had a try casting near the boats, but again nothing. No fish, and cormorants working nearby.

On Sunday afternoon, Phil and I decided to have a try on the Rochdale Canal, I fancied having a go in the City Centre of Manchester, but Phil persuaded me to head a little further north and try the canal at Slattocks. Again, only a couple of miles from home, and an old stomping ground of mine over the years. The canal up here has produced some great fish of different species over the years, pike, perch, roach etc. I know this bit of canal well and we hopeful of a few fish. Unfortunately for me and Phil, quite a few other anglers had the same idea, and we counted well over a dozen other anglers out predator fishing, and another half dozen sat on boxes fishing maggots and bread for silvers. Its great to see so many anglers out – but not so great to know that they had already fished through the areas we were hoping to catch some fish from.

Undeterred, we cracked on, walked a mile or so without any action and then found a shoal of small perch lurking in the oxygenated waters of a sluice/race pool below a lock.

These perch were crafty little robbers, nicking our worms without grabbing the hooks. We had great fun striking and missing half a dozen times before catching a fish. At least it made us forget about the cold as neither of us had realised before setting out that temperatures had really dropped and we weren’t dressed for the cold.

Despite trying a few likely fish holding spots, and getting our worms nicked at a few of them we could only catch in the one spot, and the small perch there soon got wise to us after each of us had caught half a dozen of them. The light was dropping, as was the temperature and with was a relief and a welcome to get back to the car and a bit of warmth.

No idea where I will get to this coming week, other than its going to be within 5 miles of home.

A chilly late afternoon.
We tried all the likely spots

If you’ve had any winter success on any of these venues please let me know in the comments section I always interested in other anglers success on local waters

 

 

Filed Under: Bridgewater Canal, canal fishing, drop shotting, Dropshot, Heaton Park, Perch, Rochdale Canal Tagged With: blank, Bridgewater Canal, Dropshot, Heaton Park, Perch, Rochdale Canal, Worm

Fishing Cures The Blues

26th October 2020 by Mike Duddy

I’ve been feeling a bit fed up recently, drowning under a mountain of paperwork and red tape in the office, unable to get out much doing the things I enjoy.

What better way of beating the blues than going out with your friends and catching a few fish.

They don’t have to be monsters to be worthy, and fishing certainly cures the blues.

Have a watch of the latest vid, and have a read below.

Last Tuesday evening, the football match I was planning to attend was called off at short notice (non-league), and rather than sit indoors watching rubbish on Netflix, we decided to head over to Wallasey Docks to see if we could tempt anything other than pin Whiting after dark…. sadly we couldn’t. I’ve heard reports of a wide variety of fish species coming from this venue, but for me its only whiting, whiting and more whiting.

Then as Greater Manchester Tier 3 lockdown has come into force we have decided to stay local, and hit two locations on our local canals the Bridgewater and the Rochdale. Both venues hold some  good  fish, but its a numbers game,as there is plenty of small stuff that will try to get to  your baits first.

We caught a crazy little jack pike on the Rochdale, and had a whole bunch of small perch on the Bridgewater, all fished on drop shotted dendrobena worms.

My biggest perch is only about a pound and a half, caught many many years back on the Rochdale Canal at Slattocks, and maybe now lockdown has been imposed – its time I spent a little time trying to beat this rather paltry pb.

Wallasey Docks at dusk – Whiting soup
A typical Bridgewater Canal Perch – there are much bigger ones lurking I’ve yet to find them
Slums of the future?? I feel sorry for people living in these little city centre rabbit hutches ,, bright and shiny when new, but already showing signs of ageing and neglect by their management companies — but if I lived there, I’d have a spot permanently pre-baited.
I parked on Hulme Hall Lane (free) and then just fished the 300 yards in the direction of Castlefield Basins,,, it was a busy session
I parked on a road called “The Causeway” and then fished up the canal towards the lock gates behind Lees Brewery. This is a great section of canal that can throw up good fish of all species (as well as micro pike)

Over the next few weeks, I have a number of local venues that I intend to try out to see if they hold big perch — once I’ve gone through my little list – I will take on the advice that I’ve been given by a few friends and hit the tried and tested perch spots in Manchester…I could just cut out the trying and go straight to them, but its more fun finding your own fish !

Filed Under: Bridgewater Canal, canal fishing, Perch, Pike, Rochdale Canal, Salford Quays, Whiting Tagged With: Drop Shotting, LRF, Perch, Pike, wallasey docks, Whiting, Worm

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