Autumn or Winter?.

With the increasingly mild autumnal and winter weather of recent years, it’s getting hard to decide just when those spinning and lure rods first get an airing from the garage.

We have around the Black Country loads of venues full of pike, perch and chub, species that are more than willing to chase a small spinner, spoon or plug and on cold frosty mornings I can’t think of a more enjoyable way of catching a few fish and keeping mobile and warm.

The canals around Brierley Hill, Stourbridge and Wombourne, hold some huge chub to 5lbs, that can be targeted in this way, a short six foot lure rod and a collection of plugs and spinners are all you need to take a few specimens from all the likely looking spots as you walk along the towpath.

Try alongside boats, locks and overhanging trees, they are the most likely to produce takes from fish hiding beneath the cover. Move the rod tip from side to side as you slowly retrieve, to inject a little more movement into the lure, this fools those bigger fish into striking at what they think is an easy meal.

Use wire traces on all lure rigs, as the potential for pike to bite through standard mono is always present, better to have wire traces to be on the safe side.

Match Scene.

Plenty of local match anglers making the news recently. Fishery manager Mal Watson, Daiwa Gordon League, had two wins on the trot at Moorlands Farm on his favourite chopped worm and caster combination.

Mal took the Wednesdays open with a good 67-4-0, but on the Saturday event he obliterated a top class field with an incredible 224-8-0, on the same method, very rare to take over 200lbs of fish in an October match!

Wordsley's Gary Farmer, Fosters, has started his winter river campaign in fine form taking the latest SAF river Severn match with 11-2-0, consisting of barbel to pellet feeder.

Stourbridge based, Carl Jones, Maver, booked his place in the Maver Classic final with a top weight of 95-10-0 in the latest qualifier for next spring’s big money event. Carl took F1 carp with pellet at 10 mtrs.

Ed Warren, Maver Midlands, almost doubled the second placed anglers weight, at the second round of the AT Team Champs, Shropshire Division at Heronbrook Fishery. Local chef Ed fried the opposition, with 81-0-0.

Licence Dodging.

Two anglers recently received two year bans for being caught fishing without a rod licence, both had previous cautions, they now face the threat of jail if caught fishing in the next twenty four months.

The fines and sentences have increased alarmingly for licence dodging in the last few years, it’s really not worth the risk especially as a year long licence fee represents such good value for money.

A PB For TC!

Not often I plug my own fishing exploits, but a 12 year search for a chub over 5lbs came to an end last week.

I took the 5-6-0 fish legering cheesepaste from a rapidly rising river Severn, below Worcester.

My personal best chub took a bit of landing, with first of all a branch and then weed tangling the line as I played it to the bank.

As anglers we all have our goals, whether it’s match wins, or specimen sized fish, these targets all add to the interest and often in the middle of a freezing cold February day, they are the only thing that keeps us out fishing in all weathers.

Fishery Form.

Hunnington Fishery Halesowen.

Carp to 17lbs, from the Coot Pool are being taken on worm and caster combinations, multiple pieces of worm on the hook are taking the bigger fish.

Kingfisher Pool, is still fishing well despite the up and downs of the weather, on milder days fish are caught closer in.

The Mallard Pool is still providing good mixed catches, maggots and corn are the top baits at the moment.

The Hunnington Club is in the market for a few new members, the club winter league starts next week.

Info:07887 845098 Solhampton Fishery Stourport.

Autumn has been good so far, with match weights holding up well in all types of weather conditions.

Worm and caster and pellet and corn are taking those larger fish where as maggots tend to bring bites galore from the smaller ones.

Solhampton’s man in form at the moment is Starlets Veteran member, Alan Ryan, using his pellet fished close in method, Alan has begun adding match wins regularly to the placings of the last few weeks.

The Dragonfly Pool has had an extension added, with an extra 10 pegs now available for match bookings.

Mike Warner from Droitwich took a 16lbs common carp from the Duck Pool last week, on pineapple flavoured sweetcorn.

Info: 01299 828074 Shatterford Fishery Kidderminster.

Shatterford has been the most consistent of the big fish fisheries and there are still specimen fish being taken despite the ups and downs of the weather.

Colin Miles travelled all the way from Caerphilly in Wales to break the venues carp record, with a fish of 40-12-0, taken on a shellfish boilie.

Ben Holmes from Stourbrdge had a 20-0-0 carp from Masters Pool and Anthony Withey from Sedgley took four carp to 17lbs, from Erics Pool.

Info: 01299 861597 Rivers and Canals.

The Autumn leaf falls have been hampering river fishing with huge amounts flowing down the rivers, both on and below the surface, keeps rods high in their rests to avoid the worst of the debris.

There has been some very good catches of barbel from Bridgnorth to Worcester, pellet feeders with halibut pellets on the hook, are the best baits.

The Wye is in fine form with big catches of chub around Hereford, the Wye is one river that fishes well even with extra water on, but be very careful of those steep banks.

Local canals are all producing; we really are spoilt for choice in the Black Country, Wombourne for chub and the Merry Hill Centre for bream, are worth a visit.