Diary of an average angler

Arrival time: 09.30
Weather: Cloudy bright with increasing cloud. No wind to start with but freshening to a light breeze.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano match rod, Rapidex II 2400 centrepin, 6lb line, 3.5lb pre-tied Drennan hook length to size 16.
Baits: Maggots & corn with hemp feed.
Fish: Some small perch and a couple of roach/rudd.

Having ignored the local drains for years because of the difficulty of access, a chance look at a Facebook page alerted me to a venue where it wasn't necessary to risk the steep overgrown banks, and where there was parking. Just outside of March the local club has built gravel platforms and access steps that, while still needing a bit of care, have made access to the water immeasurably more friendly. It's the first time I've fished one of these drains so it was very much a learning exercise.

I went with what I would call 'canal gear', a 14ft match rod and a light 3.5lb hook length to a fine wire 16 hook. After talking to other anglers later, I was to discover that there was a good head of tench and large bream shoals. If I had hooked a tench on my tackle the likelihood I would have got it in is probably close to zero. So basically I hadn't come well prepared.

I was in an isolated location and initially there were no other anglers on the stretch. It soon became apparent that fishing light with maggots was going to attract small perch, and this was main catch during the session. A small roach and an even smaller rudd were the only variations. But the setting was superb and I really enjoyed the fact that anything could have turned up, these wild drains being the exact opposite of stocked lakes and ponds.

Towards the end of the session there was some excitement when a pike grabbed a small perch that I had hooked. At first I didn't know what I had hooked, other than it was more powerful than what I had caught to that time. But the slow dogged movement sort of ruled out a tench, or even a bream, the pike probably not realising that it was attached to my line. Inevitably it ultimately let go of the perch, which fortunately wasn't badly injured.

Soon after this a bailiff arrived and gave me a bit more information about the venue. He confirmed the presence of good tench as well as recounting an occasion when he caught a number of good perch to over 3lbs. It was clear that I would have to take a different approach on any subsequent visits.

Before the bailiff moved on the pike grabbed another small perch and at this point I decided that I was perhaps on a hiding to nothing since it would probably continue doing this, and besides it had almost certainly spooked any better fish in the swim.

As I was packing away another chap arrived who at first asked if he could move into the swim when I left, but then decided on an adjacent one having seen tench bubbles there. Talking with him he said he fished a waggler with two swan shot on the lift method and had taken tench. Interestingly he had only been fishing the stretch for a few weeks and recognised me from my YouTube channel.