The Towpath Angler Our monthly look at the angling scene
THINGS were relatively quiet pre-Christmas and over the new year. That said, I was still involved in a number of virtual meetings, particularly with Angling Trust competitions. I have to say the team worked tremendously well again throughout 2021 and deserve a big thank you from all anglers.
Indeed one of my wishes for 2022 was that volunteers across the whole sporting spectrum should get the acknowledgment they deserve and suffer a lot less hostility from some of those keyboard warriors we know ‘live’ on social media but, all too often, know absolutely nothing about how to manage an organisation or event.
I know of three good people who withdrew their services last year from their chosen sport totally because of the incessant and often very hurtful messaging from certain individuals. This was not always totally personal but more generally about the job that the volunteers and their colleagues were doing. Of course when you try and put these individuals behind the proverbial ‘eight ball’ and challenge them to get involved they never have the time or the commitment.
Locally there has been plenty going on. I have had loads of meetings about access, parking and water management issues in recent weeks with more to come after new year. On my club’s section of my local canal the Canal & River Trust has, very kindly, replaced some of the old platforms. These will not just allow fishing once again here after several years but, very importantly, allow anglers to sit further off the actual towpath in a much safer position.
One problem that will need resolving during the coming months is the increasing number of overstaying boats on our local canals. I remarked on this last month following a discussion at the Fisheries & Angling Advisory Group. It does seem as though some boaters have moored up, often using unmarked mooring spikes, and simply hunkered down for the winter.
I always encourage bailiffs to report these overstayers direct to CRT and similarly any non-anglers who take the trouble to tell me but I am aware that the enforcement strand within CRT is not, perhaps, what it should be numbers-wise so response times may not be too swift.
One thing I have noticed as I wandered the towpaths over Christmas is the amount of debris etc. on the ground adjacent to some of these craft; bicycle frames, shopping trolleys, broken chairs and piles of wood to name but a few. It certainly does not make for pleasant walking.
Winter mode
Competition-wise, preparations for 2022, as you would expect, are pretty much complete. Indeed we have already put some flesh on the bones for 2023. As far as AT Divisional National Championships go both will, almost certainly, be on canals. This is because Angling Trust operates a rotational system for these events alternating between a river, a conventional canal and a large canal/Fenland drain. This maintains plenty of variety and prevents a team of specialists on one type of venue winning every year.
That said, there is a saying that ‘the cream always rises to the top’ and so even with this system these events, involving up to 50 teams, regularly see the real A-list teams finishing there or thereabouts.
Fishing, generally, has been quite hard in recent weeks and shows no sign of picking up anytime soon. In fact 2021, as a whole, was not the best fishing year on record. We had a long, cold, wet spring and a short summer and autumn. I firmly believe some fish never actually spawned and, as a result, were unsettled throughout the year.
Of course we are now all in winter mode and anglers are mostly fishing for bites pretty much every time they turn out. Personally I am still not fishing all that often but I seem to be seeing more anglers ‘blank’ this year than for some time. However as is usually the case one angler will sit down right on the shoal and catch all day.
So if you do fancy going out for a few hours look for the signs; for example an area where the water is more coloured or if you see a fish topping before setting your gear down. Talking to anglers on the bank it does seem that the old winter staple bait, punched bread, is more successful than most baits at this time.
Stay safe and tight lines.