The local canal was the very first place I cast a line. We started with cane poles, literally the sort of cane you’d find in the back garden. These were our first rods, set up with a piece of nylon tied to the end and a grayling float or a tiny piece of quill.
There was a chap who lived opposite us called Stan Poole, and he and his son Keith would take me fishing. Stan was a good angler. He’d catch twenty or so small fish every time we went, while I was lucky if I caught one! But that’s where it all began for me and at that time I suppose it was about fishing rather than catching.
Des Taylor with a beautiful canal perch from the Black Country.
The canals represented lovely little parklands amongst all the industry. They also held lots of creatures for us to explore. We used to find great crested and palmate newts, and there was a lot of bird life. We built rafts and dipped nets, and I suppose that’s where my interest in wildlife, bird-watching and fishing all first appeared.
The stretch of our canal had been a busy industrial area and there was still a coal yard being used, but it was very rich with fish. It hadn’t got carp back then, but it had a lot of perch and roach. We struggled at first. Our hooks were too big. To catch a fish, any fish, was an incredible experience! My first-ever catch was a stone loach. Perch came next. The fish weren’t big but we learned a lot about watercraft. There were little basins where the boats would come in that were great for fishing. There were also gas works where there was warm water that would draw the fish in.
The sad bit was that after I got married and left the area, the canal was badly polluted. We used to joke that even rats wouldn’t live there. It was a terrible environment, full of rubbish.
Today, canals are on the way back. The work on them has been fantastic and they’re probably more beautiful now than they’ve ever been. Some of the country canals have incredible views and are almost like rivers. But there’s also real urban beauty when you fish by lock gates or the ironwork of old factories. A lot of the old engineering works and structures have hardly changed at all – back then things were built to last.
Eventually I went back and visited the canal where I first cast a line. It was better than ever! The estate was cleaned up; the bridge was still in good nick; there were reedmace, moorhens, coots and all sorts of insect life. The water was so rich! I went back to that very first spot I ever fished and there I caught perch, roach and lost a good tench.
The canals are now in the best condition they’ve been all my lifetime. They hold a heck of a lot of fish and plenty of big ones too. You wouldn’t believe some of the fish that are in there and the true canal specialists make some terrific catches. In my area alone you’ve got specimen pike and zander. I’ve had big roach, specimen perch and eels to four pounds. You’ve got big canal carp – my mates have had them to over thirty pounds – and it’s strange to think that there’s probably more five-pound chub in the heart of the Black Country than in the River Thames these days.
We’re talking about top, top class fishing. Be in no doubt, when you take a walk or cycle on a canal and you’re half a mile from a bridge, you’re probably trying spots that never get fished. Canals are now very much part of the modern fishing scene. Just about all methods work. You can leger boilies or pole fish, you can try spinning, drop shotting or even trotting in the flows by lock gates.
Make no mistake: nowadays, canals aren’t so tough as they once were. These are beautiful waters with virtually uncaught fish. Once you’ve learned the ways of the canal and where the fish are, you’ll have some fabulous times to either share with your mates or have completely to yourself. So I say – enjoy canals for what they are. These are not commercials where you’ll catch a hundred pounds of carp. These are beautiful places: fabulous fisheries and often virgin fishing.