fantasticmrfox

Mate, that's all ready a great help, only ever time I've fished the canal was spinning for jack's in London somewhere, so I don't have a clue on canal fishing. To hear that what I have guessed is a good choice will work from someone with more experience than I have fishing canals is a great help thank you! Should be taking the missus with me so maybe I can get her into fishing by landing a few perch or roach, I guess a lot of it is down to locating the fish, same as fishing a small pond or a huge pit! If anyone has fished this stretch and could provide a bit more information I'd greatly appreciate it

Hi all! I've been thinking of hitting the grand union canal, between Daventry near Drayton Reservoir and Weedon, with a spinner, a few small rattling plugs, my feeder rod and spinner rod and some maggots and bread. I can't find out anything about this stretch on the internet and wondered if anyone on here has any experience with this stretch of the canal. who run's it? will I need to purchase a day ticket from anywhere or is it one of the stretches that are currently free to fish? What species of fish does it hold? I was thinking of going for small pike and perch predominantly, but the chance of a tench, bream, chub etc would be nice if they're in there... are there any areas that stick out in peoples minds that are productive areas in this stretch, or any features common to canals that hold fish? As bait goes, am I correct in thinking maggots and bread are the main winners? how well do boilies fish on canals, should a take some with me? what about corn and luncheon meat? As I've not done much in the way of canal fishing in the past, any general advice, or any advice specific to the area would be greatly appreciated!

All right mate, sorry its taken me so long to reply, laptop charger when up the creek, only just got a replacement. I'd say the biggest was mid double, around 14 - 15lb, lost my cheap naff scales last time I was at Drayton, must have forgot to put them back in my bag, so couldn't weigh them lol.. Was a nice place to fish, and the carp I caught were all beautiful looking common's, just a mission to get too! Going to be investing in a greys prodigy tackle base rucksack, box and unhooking mat. should help me move my gear around a bit better, its a better use of space lol, as well as a new set of scales. Well, my missus will be, my birthday and Christmas coming up

How big where the carp? Should of left one rod out on mean incase a catfish came along Also, don't you do night fishing to fish and not sleep? You can sleep when you get home ROFL!! you cheeky get lol! true, I did say that didn't I, however after that journey I was knackered, I had to get some shut eye, on reflection I wish I had left one rod out all night, but sleep deprivation got the better of me lol!

well, only a quick summary as I am in an internet cafe because my laptops up the creek! Went Tuesday morning, until mid morning Wednesday.. Turned up at 8 after the mother of all nightmare journeys, had to take the bus as I have no car and the walk to and from the bus stops near killed me. Didn't get a rod out until 9 as the first thing I wanted was a cuppa and a chill out, and to have a look around the lake. Decided to fish facing the wind on the north bank, swim 4 i believe. chose not to fish to the usual features, island, pump and lillies right out in front of me as i thought they would be the most pressured areas, instead i decided to bait up a small area in front of my swim around 10 - 15 ft out to about 35-40 ft out, and set my quivertip and one ledger on that, one close to the bank on the front of my patch and the other at the back of the patch. baited up with hemp, halibut pellets and a few loose boilies of different sizes colours and flavours... with pineapple single on one rod and pinapple with pop up on the other. not bites at all until around 5, i brought my quivertip in and changed to spicy spam and had my first fish landed after about 45 minutes, so i changed both rods to spam in the last of the daylight hours and had 3 more fish out. as night fell I packed the quivertip away and set up my second ledger for the night, changed both rods back to pineapple snowman with pop up and retired to the tent for some sleep, 45 minutes later and I was woken by a screamer, pulled in another carp, cast that rod back out and before i had even finished setting my alarm it went off again, as soon as that was landed and returned my second rod went! after that fish I decided to pull both rods in and get some much needed kip. woke again at 5 and sent the rods back out, all was dead until about 30mins before i started packing up, where i caught the worlds smallest bream, but my first ever on luncheon meat.. all in all a great trip, beautiful fishery but wont be going again until i have a car, as the journey was a nightmare!!

Lol! On a serious note though, I get more excited on the build up to a session than I do Christmas, Easter, Anniversary and Birthday all put together, unless of course I am getting new tackle/gear and know about it before hand! Then I actually look forward to the said event, be it Christmas, birthday or whatever!

Me too, However the tins of corn were brought for another lake, but the 3 times I went, I forgot the tin opener.... probably wont use both of them, or even all of one, but I'll take them anyway lol!! I was going to get more hemp, but didn't have the cash on me at the time... I'll get a few kilos of unprepared stuff from a pet shop along with a few kilos of other particles when I'm a bit more flush! Still reckon I'm in for a fairly good session anyway! I guess I'll find out Tuesday... Am I sad for being all packed up and ready all ready??

Definitely the best. Stood the test of time, so I see no reason to change. I have never had a Kryston braid or coated braid give way on me, and their putty is also the best www.kryston.com Only just started using putty, and got the kryston stuff, it's ace! Seem like a great company, looks like the kryston braid is a winner on this thread I agree, I've got spools of kryston braid in my tackle box that have been there for YEARS! and they're still going strong, however I've not used many other braids, and never coated so I wouldn't know which is best... I do feel however that its a case of better the devil you know... I also use their putty and wouldn't use anything else, had it in my box for a fair few years now, It went all hard, but 30 seconds over the stove sorted that and its just like new! don't know how many other putties would last like that :/

Just phoned the bailiff who was very helpful indeed! 24 hour ticket is £15, but he is allowing me to fish a bit more than that.. I'm going on Tuesday morning, until Wednesday afternoon... Extremely excited, just brought some more bait, Nash 15mm pineapple boilies with Sonubaits 10mm pineapple pop-ups, a tin of hemp, 2 tins of corn and 3 tins of luncheon meat, which I will spice up in search of some of the resident Cat's! oh, and a new bite alarm as 2 of mine are broken, so I can fish 2 rods overnight... should be a good session, looking forward to it very much!

I know this is a very old thread, but thought it better to use this one than start another!! has anybody fished it recently? I'm hoping to do a nighter there soon, but have never been before, does anyone know how much a night ticket is? I've searched the net but can only find the price for a day ticket. I need to know how much before I get there, as I'm very tight for cash at the moment, and as I'm going by bus, I don't want to take my tent, lots of food and water and my stove if I can only afford a day ticket.. any help much appreciated

Does anyone know of any angling clubs, season ticket waters or syndicates in Northamptonshire or Warwickshire? I'm looking for a water, or couple of waters where I can fish when it suits me, where I can night fish and where I can enjoy the scenery. somewhere I have to "work" for the fish, and learn a lot in the process. somewhere I'll have a good chance of catching my first twenty, or even a thirty! somewhere not over stocked, with proper features and good sources of natural foods, somewhere that will provide a good challenge! somewhere where the anglers who fish it are friendly and willing to help, not the usual plebs with attitude problems you find a lot on day ticket waters! I'm not looking to join until the beginning of next season, because I'll need to save, and get some more gear to make overnighters more comfortable. I don't mind spending good money on this place, if it will provide what I need it too, but I don't want it to break the bank either!

just watched a video on youtube mate, never seen one of those before, looks good in principle, would you then twitch it back like a normal feeder once it has emptied? I've used the rod once at Drayton a bout a week or so ago, using a cage feeder and maggot as a hook bait, and had quite a good session. http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=51562&highlight= catch report, rod review and pictures on there... I'll have to get a set of those, looks like they'll be good in the winter.. I've only ever used method and cage feeders before, will be good to try something new thanks for the tip mate

I know that post wasn't really aimed my way but towards the original poster, however I don't fish for a new PB, I fish because I love the peace and quiet, I enjoy playing fish of all sizes, I enjoy being out of the house and away from the rat race. the new PB is just a milestone along my journey and is an added bonus!

awesome! I'll have to try those out next time my hook link ends up twisting all over its self! Thanks

I will do mate! if I blank again I'll get laughed off the forum though lol! my response will either be in the Drayton reservoir thread, or hopefully, in a new one in the catch report section

If I land anything lol! I am heading to a runs water though, fortunate enough to live a 45 minute walk or a short bus ride away from one if I play my card right with my new feeder rod I should do all right!!

do these to tips also work with mono?

great question, I too would like to hear an answer to this one, as my rig's tend to tangle and all sorts!! as a guess I would say stiff flouro's and coated braids, however I've never used them and don't have the money to experiment with them just yet!!! Really looking forward to hearing the more experienced advise as to how they get around this problem!

Can indeed! I'm still hunting for my first 20 also! but with a PB of 10 I'd be more than happy with an 11, 12 lol! If I'm honest, i can't remember the weight of my PB, it was caught about 10 years ago and I've not fished much since until this season! I think it's somewhere around the 18 mark, but I'm not certain, so I've started from scratch this season! still yet to land anything lol! maybe tomorrow will prove to be my lucky day

oh OK, I don't know Dorset very well, so I can't really help you there, sorry! As for keeping the missus happy, I don't bother, I find living with her more fun when she's annoyed, so I go out of my way to irritate her but then I am an evil git like that Where ever you go Saturday, have fun!! Best of luck with your new PB

whereabouts in the UK are you located, and how far are you willing to travel? Also are you able to make it a mid-week session, as most of the day ticket waters with the sort of fish you're after get very busy on the weekends, and as a result tend to slow down a bit, so you're better off going mid week when it all calms down a little.

well, got back from Drayton after going for an hour and a half, didn't catch anything but it was nice to feel how the rods cast and get a feel for them.. My accuracy was shocking!! took me 35 minutes to get the hang of casting to the same spot, or there about's.. by that time I had gone through half a kilo of ground bait lol! as I was only there for an hour and a half, the bailiff didn't charge me, which was decent of him, and because of that I can afford to go all day tomorrow only problem so far, I didn't encounter until I got to the bank, set up using my middle test curve (2oz) and when I got halfway down the tip section I came across an eyelet that was blocked off, hadn't been drilled out properly, meaning I couldn't use that tip and had to use the heaviest I have! when I got home, i checked the other rod, which I hadn't unpacked yet (they were buy one get one free, so I chose 2 feeder rod's) and that rod's 2oz tip also had one eyelet blocked off, the same eye on the same strength tip, can't see that being coincidence, must me a problem with the manufacturing process.. Anyway, I've emailed TotalFishingGear and explained this to them, and i am awaiting a reply... Shame really, that's the only thing that has let down an otherwise faultless service! The rod's are still great value for money, are EXTREMELY light compared to any other rod's I have used recently, feel beautiful to cast and reel in and otherwise seem great build quality! Lets just hope the after sales team are as good as the rest of the service

good advice mate, but there aint many snags in there, its basically a bowl with sand bottom and a moored boat and a few buoys, so snagging up is highly unlikely, however today I will be fishing 8lb mainline with 7lb hook link with a cage feeder, and the middleweight tip, 2oz. thank's mate, I guess I'd be better off taking one with me when I go and seeing if they match up. thank's for the advice, I'll be going somewhere with nice roach and perch as the weather gets colder, and some carp fishing too, as I've never fished in winter, good to know i have a good all round rod

Rod's arrived today!! only ordered them yesterday and all though I opted for next day delivery, I didn't expect them to come on a Saturday! Don't think I can wait for my new reels and line to arrive, might just grab an old reel and a few bits of tackle and head down to Drayton tonight for a few hours!! Then I'll have an excuse to go again when my reels arrive AWESOME! well happy with them so far, had a look and they look and feel fantastic, seem like great value for money, however they came with 1.5oz 2oz and 2.5oz tip's, instead of the suggested 2 3 and 4oz tips, and they're push in tip's, the ones I all ready have are screw in! Will all push in tip's fit or are they different sizes depending on the rod you have? My spod and marker rod's look like they will handle being used as pike rods also, which is great! saves me buying pike rods when I don't do much pike fishing!! Well happy at the moment! I feel all my Christmases have come at once :D

Brilliant! thank's mate! I'll try all this once my deliveries have arrived!! hopefully it'll all be this week, but I'm not fishing the weekend, OTT busy, so it may be beginning of next week. I'll post back here, or hopefully the catch reports section and let you know how I got on and how well I implemented your advice Feel like a kid at Christmas I'm that Damn excited!! :D