STORM Callum may have washed out my Saturday salmon fishing plans last week but the subsequent calm was perfect for a short sunny session last Sunday.
The first real cold snap of autumn is a bit of a signal for predators, too. They switch on and start feeding up for the winter.
Stockie rainbows will be feeding hard on fry, the perch are shoaling up and pike are actively chasing prey before it gets too cold.
We set out for a bit of mixed fishing on the canal near the foot of the Campsies, a short trip that would let us cover lots of water with lures but a nice easy walk for my friend’s lad.
It’s easy to take too much gear even for a short session but if you’re adopting a mobile approach, you need to travel light or you won’t travel very far.
A lure rod and reel, a small selection of lures, wire traces, unhooking mat and tools with a long handled landing net . Add some snacks and that’s all you should need for a short session.
Silver fish like roach and small bream tend to shoal up tighter as the temperature drops and hungry pike will move to wherever shoals are, so keep an eye out for small fish topping or breaking the surface and the pike will be nearby.
Fish of the Week
This week’s winner of the £150 Daiwa Fish of the Week is Tam Molloy from Blantyre, Lanarkshire.
Tam and his friend were fishing with Mackerel baits from the rocks at Gatehouse of Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire, when he caught this superb bass.
When there are no signs of baitfish, it’s important to keep moving and don’t ignore fishing right under your feet. Stay well away from the bank until you have fished the nearside margins.
We were fishing a mixture of methods, teaching the wee fella how to fish dropshot for perch while we mixed up levels with plugs and soft lures for pike.
Working along fishing from the near bank to the margins on the far side we were able to cover lots of water pretty effectively.
On a good day, in the right place, a lure will attract a hit in the first few casts.
It’s far better to fish efficiently for a short time than badly over a long stint.
Pike and bigger perch are ambush hunters, built for short bursts of speed so keep an eye out for where they might hold up.
We had our young scout on the lookout for bridges, dying weedbeds, structures and moored boats that should hold predators and he was proving to be an expert feature spotter.
He’d picked up the method and managed to get a lot of bites, caught some perch and even had a pike take one off his line charging off into the depths much to his surprise.
Send your entry to: Fish of the Week, Glasgow Angling centre, Unit 1, Point Retail Park, 29 Saracen Street, Glasgow G22 5HT, or email with a photo and your full address to fotw@fishingmegastore.com
