STAFFS-WORC CANAL CASTLECROFT 28/3/10

My latest match to report on was a Halesowen A.C match on the staffs-worc canal on our own stretch at Castlecroft nr Wolverhampton. There were 25 booked into the club match and having only fished the stretch once before i was going a bit blind. All the talk was that if the big fish feed you would need to draw the bottom end of the stretch and if they don't the top end could win with bags of small roach as they had done all winter. Talking of winter during all the bad weather we have had this winter we have found a little gem with this stretch, as when all other canals and fishery's have been froze ( i mean up to 5 inches thick ) this stretch has not had one piece ice on it???????. I KID YOU NOT. Weather it is down to the slight tow that the canal has or that it is only about 1 mile away from Compton water treatment plant i don't know? there has been a few matches on here over the last 4 months as you can imagine the only place you could fish without the use of an ice-breaker.
Onto the match itself we were all gathered at the to end of the stretch( by the mermaid pub) ready for the draw, paying pools, having the crack as you do. This weeks mickey taking was pointed at the back of one of the lads rear windows there was a sticker reading ASTON VILLA SUPPORTERS CLUB. ( the day before losing to Chelsea 7-1 ) I cannot print some of the jokes as i was to busy crying with laughter. After we had all stopped laughing i drew out peg 7 and with only a short walk i let the lads with longer walks go first. When i started to walk down the towpath i soon realised i would be in the same area as the last time i fished the stretch, no soon as i got there it was not only the same area but the same peg SHIT. When we first took over the stretch i fished the very first match we had on here and all the weights had come from the bottom end around the bend passed the working men's club on the other side. Weights of 7lb,6lb 2x 5lbs and a few 4's were all down there while us up the top had struggled for bites all day. I had around 2lb that day so i was not very hopeful before the start.
I am not going to go into detail on the rigs i just set up a rig for down the track at 6m for the punch, one for squatt over at 11m, one for caster at 13m down the canal just out of the track to my left and a hemp rig for 13m to my right up on top for the shelf.
To cut a long story short all i could catch on the punch&squatt was very small roach one step up from eyes. I had one fish of 3oz on the caster, never had a bite on the hemp and the highlight of the day was while catching eye's on the squatt i had a bite and struck into a better fish when i got it out i couldn't believe my eyes as i was looking at a funny looking RAINBOW TROUT with like a blue colouring to it when i shouted up to gary on the next peg he said he had already had one and then 1/2 hour later john on the the next peg the other side said he had got one we all had a good laugh about it and said it might have been the same fish? the canal stretch is only about 1 mile away from where it runs alongside POOL HALL coarse/trout fishery i think we might have a few escapees? At the all out stories of chub bags and lots of people hooking and loosing them from the bottom end of the stretch only confirmed what i thought at the start that you would need to draw that end to do any good.
When the scales arrived it was j/b that had had all the chub fun weighing in 25lb odd of them and losing as many, there was a 7lb and 2 x 4lbs as well, my section read 1lb, dnw,3lb 1oz, 1lb 13oz and my 2lb 1oz it was plane to see that all the bonus were all at the other end? Are well still better than a day at work or is it? I don't fish the canals as much as i used to only when we have nothing else on and my partner (chauffeur) stav wants to go. I used to fish them a lot at one time a few years ago but with boats, joggers, bikes, dogs, dog shit and some inner city stretches not safe to go on your own i wonder is it all worth it? Not for me anymore i'm afraid i am not knocking them for the people that enjoy that type of fishing each to there own and all that but not for me no thanks. Well done to J/B for winning the match but roll on the carp pools that's what i say.