Canal Carp - Delving a Pot of Gold

As it was such a warm day yesterday I thought I'd have a crack at some carp that have been reported out of a notorious local canal peg over the summer months. The towpath grapevine throws up these tales from time to time but as I threaded my way back from the succulent bunches of sweet grapes I was being fed by those who had only heard of these carp and eventually found my way all the way down to the root of the vine and the actual captor, the top weight fish had shrunk somewhat, from twenty five pounds to eighteen and the quantity too. It turned out that he has had eight fish over eight trips since May, not ten fish in two or three over the last weeks ...

However, I thought this was still good going for a canal and suggested a twenty might be on the cards through luck or hard work.

I decided that luck was best. I do like carp fishing but not that much that I'll sit out for hours on end in hope of a single run when the run will probably be from the low double that will be there rather than a twenty pounder that might well not. So, as usual with my canal fishing, it would be a number of comfortable three or four hour sessions and not a series of itchy and at this time of the year, freezing cold overnighters.

Bait was corn and fished on a running lead. I thought that I'd see what kind of bites a running lead would buy and if I had only short aborted runs then I'd go over to fixed leads immediately. The baits were cast and the ground bait laid and I sat back to watch the gongoozlers go by.

At about the hour mark I had a short aborted run that I thought might have been a line bite but the bobbin didn't fall back even an inch ( they are heavy enough to) and when I pulled it back I knew that the slight resistance meant that I'd had a proper pickup. Fixed leads next then...

It rained on and off but I missed the worst of it thankfully as being loath to cart one the mile long walk that was necessary to get there, I had no brolly with me. The gongoozlers went by and came back again - I took a load of photos of the luminous light against the black clouds - I threw sticks for the dog - the gongoozlers went by and came back again - I threw sticks for the gongoozlers and took photos of the luminous dog against the ...

Good grief, carp fishing is boring...!

I sat there till dark but nothing whatsoever happened. The bobbins swang and one of the alarms who's batteries were dying fast made the occasional sick beep as a piece of drifting muck caught the line, but nothing happened. Nothing.... I'd forgotten just how much of a nutcase you have to be to want to endure the kinds of fishing where there's probably only the chance of one period of frantic madness in twenty four hours or more to enliven things.

Then again, never having tried for let alone caught a canal carp, I might just give it another go or two. That single aborted run was enough to convince me that it might be worthwhile, but without it I'd very much doubt it.