Canal fishing (and Hello)

[Suilven]

As this is my first post here, first a Hello. I've just started taking fishing seriously this year in my late 30s after learning the basics in my youth. Before May this year I'd not wet a line in 20 years. I've been going through a rough patch in life but finding fishing rewarding and a great way to de stress and sort my head out.

Being from central Scotland I started with trotting worms and chucking fluff for trout, but this year has been so warm it's been challenging. In the summer I started going to Orchill Coarse Loch near Gleneagles which has given me the bug for coarse fishing. Me and my other half now frequent the place at weekends catching some nice carp.



I've also been poking around the Dumfries and Galloway area. On one free loch we caught about 30 Perch this size on wet trout flies, of all things, biggest either of us have seen yet.



So with the trout season pretty much done and money getting you less hours of daylight coarse fishing we are looking at the Canals near us, namely the Forth & Clyde and Union canals.

We've had a go but results have been spotty so I'm wondering if anyone can give some advice on how best to go about it?

I love catching silvers and perch on light tackle so will focus on them rather than the pike for the moment.

Can anyone recommend some good areas? Should I be ground baiting, and what with? What depths or features should I look for? Does the canal switch off when it gets cold or will I still catch?

Any other advice or recommended venues gratefully received.

Cheers and tight lines.

 

[Dave Spence]

Welcome to the forum mate, that's a cracking catch of perch. You will be swamped with advice on here mate; they're a good bunch but can be merciless with the P..s taking.

 

[rudd]

Thats a nice colourfull clear water Perch.
TBH sitting by any water static in winter can be very slow and unrewarding at times.
My advice, get your self an ultralite jigging/dropshotting/LRF rod between o.5g to 7g casting weight, 1000 size reel loaded with 6 lb braid, some flurocarbon, some jigs, small lures, drop shot kits and some light weight wire trace.
You can then walk the canals searching for Perch, keeping warm and cover alot of water by keeping active.
The set up is also perfect for Perch fishing Lochs and for Light Rock Fishing off the miles of Scottish coastline.

Rockfish rod review

 

[Suilven]

Welcome to the forum mate, that's a cracking catch of perch. You will be swamped with advice on here mate; they're a good bunch but can be merciless with the P..s taking.

Cheers Dave.

Thats a nice colourfull clear water Perch.
TBH sitting by any water static in winter can be very slow and unrewarding at times.
My advice, get your self an ultralite jigging/dropshotting/LRF rod between o.5g to 7g casting weight, 1000 size reel loaded with 6 lb braid, some flurocarbon, some jigs, small lures, drop shot kits and some light weight wire trace.
You can then walk the canals searching for Perch, keeping warm and cover alot of water by keeping active.
The set up is also perfect for Perch fishing Lochs and for Light Rock Fishing off the miles of Scottish coastline.

Rockfish rod review

Thanks. I haven't heard of drop shotting but it looks useful, especially to solve the problem I have with lures in that I never feel I'm fishing them deep enough. And staying on my feet searching water is right up my street.

I know this is sacreligious but I use one of my fly rods, a 10ft #7 with a long double handed extension and fixed spool reel to do most of my float fishing. It just flicks out a light float so well that I have become really comfortable with it, yet it has a bit of backbone if I get into a bigger fish. It also means I can bring along a small fly reel and couple of flies for when I fancy a change - that's how I ended up with those perch.

Would this also work for drop shotting, to save me carrying another rod?

 

[Dave Spence]

I don't see why not, try it and see; you may have unleashed the next craze

 

[Pompous git]

Hello good afternoon and welcome.

 

[Dave Spence]

Hi Pomp, why aren't you out fishing?

 

[Markywhizz]

Welcome to the forum buddy.

 

[The Landlord]

Welcome pal. Never read anything about Scottish canals before so can't really offer any advice.

 

[Brian the Fish]

Welcome to the site Suilven.