Some rain overnight has raised levels somewhat and introduced some colour and possibly more today.
Not that it has much relevance to us at the moment.    Those working  on the river report very little evidence of sightings of salmon so far.

                                                        EARLY DAYS CARP FISHING.

I have many fond memories of fishing in my early days when the local canal was just a walk away across a field.  This was the Birmingham/Worcester canal and the location know as the Astwood flight , a collection of small pounds between lock gates used by the barges to climb to the next level above, of which more later.

However a mile or so towards Droitwich was, to us boys anyway, the legendary ‘fiver’.  A section of canal unbroken by locks for five miles or so.  It was here the best fishing was to be had apparently with good numbers of bream and some carp.  Eventually I persuaded my parents I would be safe cycling down the towing path, of which more later, and worth too the price of a ticket to the BAA who owned the fishing right on the towpath side.

Anyway on one of my first trips down there I came across a local angler well known in match fishing circles by the name of Johnny Sherwood.  I knew him quite well and stopped to talk to him,  While doing so I noticed his rod was high in his rod rest and his line was across the canal actually resting on top of the bed of five foot tall rushes that lined the far bank..  I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on so I plucked up my courage and sad. "John, Your line is on the top of those rushes over there”  He replied “Yes I know”.  “Are you snagged up or something” I said.  H e laughed and said “ no it's ok” and then proceeded to enlighten me.

The bed of rushes on the far bank stretched out into the canal five or six feet from the far bank and it was in there he said the carp spent much of their time and rarely came out.  His method was to attach a good firm piece of crust, dip it in the water to give some weight and with no other weight on his line whatsoever cast onto the rushes and allowed the bait to fall down onto the surface inside the rush bed.  There was no line resting on the water or anything to make the carp suspicious of the bait.  When they take it he said strike firmly and try and pull them out into open water before they get their heads down.

Well that was it.  I spent the rest of the summer down there and saw many a sunrise and dawn chorus I can tell you.  It was exciting fishing.  After making the cast all would be quiet for quite some time, often a long time, but now and then the rush stems would move  deep in the rush bed as the  carp moved between them almost sensing the bread was there somewhere.   You could trace its progress through the moving rush stems right up to and under the bait.  All went still and one could almost sense the carp under the crust weighing up whether or not it was okay to take it.   Mostly they did, often with an audibly suck and now was the time to strike, gain as much line as you could and pull the fish into open water. One could use stout line as the fish never saw it and often one would win the tug of war and the fight was on to keep the fish out of the rush bed.  Sometime the fish won and well and truly snagged you and you had to break off.

It was exciting fishing actually being able to watch what was happening and when the take would come.  The fish were wild carp, slip torpedoes of power so unlike the gross bulging bellied, boilie sodden carp mostly on offer today  The fish were not big in modern terms.probably between four and ten pounds but great little fighters.

The weather always seemed fine back then with the air full of butterflies, damsel and dragon flies . The grasses alive with slow worms and grass snakes and the one I remember most as the sun got to work were the sound of grasshoppers all day long.  Where are the grasshoppers now ?  I can’t recall when I last saw or heard one.  A lot has changed from back then, sadly not much of it for the better.

Although the carp were small in comparison to those in Redmire pool and other lakes and the capture of the then record carp of 44lbs by Richard Walker which we as youngsters read about so often In Angling Times, I never went on to pursue carp in other locations.  Today’s carp fishing has nothing much to do with real fishing in my opinion.

Stroll out of the bivvie when the buzzer goes off, walk down to the rods where the fish is already self hooked, pick up the rod and wind it in.  Probably been caught loads of times before and known by name.  Not for me. That’s not fishing in my opinion. I feel I enjoyed my type of fishing much more   Good days.!!