The Towpath Angler
Our monthly look at the angling scene
LAST month I reported on the recently held meeting of the Canal & River Trust Members Council where the agenda had included the development of water transfer schemes using the waterways.
While mulling over what issues I might choose to cover in this article I, quite spookily, found that back in November 2017 I made reference to the use of water transfer schemes and the potential risks involved regarding the spreading of various invasive non-native species (INNS).
Having sat through the really interesting presentation at council and then, just last week, a specially convened virtual group meeting looking at the subject I, unfortunately, still have some serious reservations about these risks. Of course technology has moved on significantly, even since 2017, so controls should be much more reliable and also we are all far more aware of some of the INNS issues than we perhaps were.
That said we should not become complacent. It would be so easy to unknowingly move a signal crayfish, killer shrimp or just one piece of floating pennywort. Clearly using the network to move water round the proverbial ‘grid’ makes absolute sense but every precaution must be taken.
Towpath ‘traffic’
One or two people who saw my October article and, in particular, my mentioning the now excessive amounts of cycling and the increasing examples of antisocial behaviour on our towpaths raised at the council meeting have said just how pleased they are that something is, at long last, going to be done.
While it may be argued that there are hot spots and that the majority of the network is fine, I think that only demonstrates just how little is actually known about towpath ‘traffic’. I am aware that – pardon the pun – people are talking with their feet. Indeed I know of a walking for health group, which includes people in their 80s, whose members have voted never to plan walks along our local canal for the foreseeable future.
The stats may show that towpath visitor numbers are holding up, even increasing, but they hide the fact that this is probably due to the increase in the cycling activity at the expense of the more traditional towpath users who are now staying away.
New venues
All the big national events are now over for the year, culminating in the final of the AT/CRT Canal Pairs Championship. The event went extremely well and was a credit to everyone involved. Needless to say focus has already switched to 2022 where a great deal of the usual up front work has already been done.
With any luck we will see the emergence of one or two new venues which is good all round. As always though, choice of venues is limited to those venues with good and safe access. It is something which must be addressed by the fishery owners if we wish to see more and more viable venues on the list.
While I say that all the big national events are complete I must mention that, in fact, October traditionally sees the start of winter leagues. Some anglers say this is where the real fishing starts and finishes. Without doubt it takes a truly dedicated angler to sit for five hours on a January Sunday for possibly just a couple of bites.
I fished plenty of these back in the day but, being honest, it has lost its appeal as I have got older. I still fish through the winter but when it suits me rather than because I am committed.
Currently some rivers are fishing really well. Indeed I spoke with one of my club members at the weekend who said he had just completed a late week off work and spent the whole time fishing different sections of the Trent. He had caught countless barbel, the biggest being 13lb, along with lots of roach.
That said the fishing was, by no means, consistent along the river. On two visits he only caught three small fish. I understand the tried and trusted canals are producing steadily and probably will until we have the first frosts. Stillwaters have been harder than they may otherwise have been due to the amount of cold rain in the recent weeks.
Personally I still have not been able to fish much other than weekend club events. I notched up a second last week but then was well down the list yesterday when I also ended up being as wet as I have ever been after continuous torrential rain for almost the whole morning. I ‘sussed’ things too late in the match to make any impact. As I have said in the past match fishing is like life itself insofar as making the right decisions at the right time is crucial.
Tight lines