Far Bank Bagging in the basin
Rising water levels and cooling temperatures always encourage fish to enter marinas at this time of year. So why are so few of us fishing them? Dom Garnett isn’t complaining as he visits the Exeter Canal…
WE’VE probably all got a fishing location, if not several, that we haven’t visited in a long while. We might pass it dozens of times with vague thoughts that we must give it another go some time.
Exactly this thought crossed my mind when the wife announced there was a mum-and-baby class close to Exeter Canal Basin. Could a couple of hours be enough? It seemed silly not to try.
It must be five years since I tried the basin, although I’ve walked past it often. I cannot recall the last time I saw any regular coarse angler fishing there in all that time! Mind you, the same is true for most of the canal – the odd lure or carp angler and that’s it, with literally hundreds of intriguing swims that are never tried!
Have we become too lazy to walk? Are we too afraid of a challenge, now that commercial fisheries offer such consistency? Who can say? I suspect that inadequate parking might have something to do with it, along with the fact that many of us don’t enjoy sharing our precious hours off with cyclists and paddlers.
I set up in a sheltered corner where I’d seen silvers topping. With time limited, I fancied keeping it simple with one up-in-the-water rig and one deeper set-up on the pole. I’d forgotten how deep it was – even close in I found an astonishing 16ft-plus!
For the first half-hour I didn’t need to fish at half that, however, as a hungry pack of roach devoured my maggots. To make things even more colourful I had two fantastic, orange-flecked golden rudd – the Exeter Canal has always produced some of these little gems since I was a kid.
The rain then set in, but the session got more and more interesting. At one stage, a 4oz perch kept me constant company, swimming near the keepnet and following every silver fish in, even those the same size as him.
Next came a noisy pack of kids on kayaks. I might have cursed their din at first, but it seemed to have no ill effects on the fishing. Trying full depth, some lovely pristine roach arrived right in amid the hubbub.
Even a patch of heavier rain turned out to be a blessing, as it meant the wife and nipper took shelter, giving me an extra halfhour, by which time I had a tidy net. Excellent, cheap sport, and it won’t be another five years before I try the basin again!