Autumn and winter can be a great time to fish canals. As during the warmer months, stocks tend to spread out, but once the leaves begin to fall from the trees fish tend to group up tightly.
One of the best places to fish is in the city and town centres. These urbanised areas are often warmer than the surrounding countryside, which can attract fish. They are also more likely to have structures like bridges and weirs, which can provide cover for fish.
If you can find a shoal of roach or perch, you could be in for a busy day's fishing. However, it's important to remember that these fish are often wary, so you need to be careful not to spook them.
THE BEST FISHING POLES ARE ESSENTIAL ITEMS OF KIT FOR FISHING CANALS.
Prime the swim
At the start of the session, introduce three small balls of groundbait into your swim. These balls should contain very few particles, focusing on creating a small scent trail in the water.
From there, switch to loose feeding little and often. Use the catapult to launch six or seven casters into the water every two minutes or so is a good starting point, you may need to up the frequency or decrease the frequency dependent on how the fish respond. This continuous stream of bait will keep the fish interested and encourage them to feed.
THE RIGHT GROUNDBAIT MIX COULD BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CATCHING AND BLANKING.
A rig to rule them all
A wire stem and rugby ball-shaped body float is perfect for presenting a bait on the canal 4x12 or 0.2g is ideal, if the tow is strong step up to a 4x14 or 0.3g float. Shot the rig with a bulk of tapered No11s over the bottom third, this will control the fall and help catch fish on the drop. Use a 0.08mm fluorocarbon hooklength to a size 18 fine wire hook to complete the setup.
SELECTING THE RIGHT POLE FLOAT IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF POLE FISHING.
Outsmart the tow
To ensure you're fishing accurately, pick a marker on the opposite bank and aim to land your bait there every time, this is essential as lock gates can create a gentle current that can slowly drags your bait downstream, and the fish may follow it. Therefore by reintroducing bait in the same spot regularly should keep the fish in the area.
This gentle tow may mean that bites come below where you feed, this could be up to a metre or two, but don't be tempted to start feeding where the bites come from as the tow will carry the bait and will drag the fish away from the peg.
ONE OF THE BEST FISHING SEATBOXES WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH A COMFORTABLE PLATFORM TO FISH FROM.
Elastic choice is key
Small silver fish are likely to be the main catch, but there is always a chance you might hook a bream, perch, or tench. To make sure you can land these bigger fish, use a soft but strong elastic like Preston Innovations No 5 Slip elastic. This will give you the power to land a bigger fish, while still being gentle enough not to bump the smaller ones.
SEE OUR GUIDE TO THE BEST POLE FISHING ELASTICS TO HELP YOU SELECT THE RIGHT ELASTIC.
