No problem with the music, Douglas, it's all royalty free. It was operator error I'm afraid. Anyway it's back up there so no harm done. Thanks for the kind words. Eric
I returned to my boyhood vaunts on the backwater near Bedford it used to be lined with anglers now none to be seen used to catch some huge roach on these waters . the banks are now overgrown no one seems to walk these banks anymore watercraft seems to be a thing of the past ; this video is a reflection in that we still have some true wartercraft masters amongst us !
I'm afraid modern angling seems to have become very much the opposite of what you allude to John, but there are still plenty of people out there avoiding the carp frenzy and we suspect it's a growing band. Thanks for your comments
Fantastic video George, I love how the pace of it really encompasses an enjoyable morning on the bank, alone with nature. No fancy rigs, pellets, or carp, just simple baits and the most beautiful of fish :-)
Big roach are beautiful fish. The best looking ones I've seen are the ones in Loch Lomond. Lovely blue sheen and not a mark on them. Anything out of condition doesn't live long in there!
Found this today and what a lovely piece of film work.Thoroughly enjoyed watching it. It conveys the whole specimen ethos about targeting specimen size fish.Will now go and hunt for more content. Well done sir on this video.
As a match angler myself I’ve learnt so much about getting better roach out of a shoal by understanding the habits of the specimens like the ones caught in this video.
Not from Rugby area are you, Ian? Thanks for your comment Ian. In the case of these big canal fish they often appear to be loners once they get above about a pound and a half but I understand what you're saying. It is fascinating. Tight lines.
I am indeed from the Rugby area. You will have to cast (pun intended) your mind back 20 years to remember the last time we went head to head in a match section.
Watford Park (under the bridge to the right) You drew two pegs to my right. I had a few more seed roach than yourself. I’ve always told myself it was a better peg!
Just snippets we've picked up along the way over the years, Lewis. We just hoped it might give one or two anglers the encouragement to have a go for these exceptional fish by leaving the 'pole & pinkies' at home occasionally. Thanks for your interest.
Wonderful video George.. a great insight into the lift bite method, an often overlooked tactic used in recent years,but still highly effective for large canal roach beautifully portrayed in your excellent video. 👏 😊🎣
I'm doing ok thanks George, great to hear from you.. I did contact you on Messenger quite some time ago, but didn't hear back.. I thought maybe you had changed your number.. hope all is good with you too George.. Tight lines, 🎣
What a beautiful and visually stunning video, thanks for sharing. It took me back to being a teenager, in late autumn, fishing hemp and tares on the River Trent at Shardlow catching 1lb Roach and shaking with excitement. I've often walked along the Ashby canal close to home in Leicestershire and wondered if there are any sizeable Roach. I've never actually seen anyone fishing there!
Yes, Tim, there are big roach in the Ashby. Eric has found a few using this same method early in the morning. Well worth a try. Plenty of bream too. Thanks for commenting.
I will do for sure, I've never targeted Roach in the canal during winter, I tend to fish the Dorset Frome usually, but do love the cold frosty still mornings in your video, so I'll try it this winter.
Really liked this video it’s got me biting at the bit to get out and use my Adcocks Ariel reel my dad bought me for my 18th birthday 49yrs ago I usually fish the Coventry Canal between Redlane up to Longford , but plan to venture up to Hawksbury junction as I’ve not fished round there since i was a boy looking forward to seeing more of your videos stay safe Dave
What a fantastic film. I am defiantly going to have a go at using the lift float method . I know there are some huge roach near me and maybe this is just the trick!. Again fantastic watch and great angling eric! -Nathan
@@artificialflight1942 it’s an old pond in Derbyshire, nothing to the size of the roach here I’m sure but growing up we would always get big roach and Rudd, that was a while ago now so I’m sure there’s some nice ones 😁
As an angler desperately trying to distance himself from Carp fishing due to time availability and looking at new species to fish for this film has been a big inspiration,also loved the chub one too.
Loving your videos, just what fishing videos should be, good simple advise & watercraft and not just trying to sell fishing tackle or baits. Most enjoyable keep up the good work 👍🏻and please make many more.
Beautiful video, I fish the canals a far bit now but usually reserve the winter for lure fishing for perch and Zander. I like to challenge myself and fish waggler, bomb, small feeder and pole. Had some great hybrids on the feeder with worm as well as big bream and the odd tench.
Beautiful video. The biggest roach I've ever had out of my local canal wouldn't even top a pound! Great fishing in the summer though for little stuff, but bloody hard going in the winter. I had 30 + roach and perch in 2 and a half/hours in July, but I just don't have the patience to toil through the winter months.
Thank you for your detailed comments Mi Ke. Canals that hold lots of small roach are less likely to hold many, if any, big roach. The levels of predation in these parts cause the roach to grow big as there is less competition for food. Fishing through the winter might require a little bit more patience but, in reality, if nothing has happened within 45 minutes it's wise to move anyway so that tends to keep us entertained. Good luck next time you go!
Thanks for the video.. after watching underwater videos tho it's shown that bread doesn't actually pop up off the deck.. it just lays on the deck and wafts about a bit.. tbh it didn't look to be much different from any bottom bait altho I'm guessing with it being so light it gets sucked up very easily. I'm gonna give bread a go tomoz at the canal as I seem to catch every perch in the canal fishing worm and maggot.. altho I had a nice dace on maggot last time
Thanks for your interesting comment, leafy. We've filmed bread underwater too and, while crust stays buoyant, fluffy flake eventually sinks but how soon depends on a number factors such as the tow on the water, weight of hook/line, type & make of bread, freshness of bread, how its prepped, etc. Regardless, if you leave it out long enough for it to sink, it's still going to behave like a wafter and be easily taken, as you rightly say
sorry to hear about the loss of so many views, that must be extremely frustrating I caught my first roach a few days ago and made a short video, it's a lot of fun, I hope you produce more
Thanks for viewing. Yes we have other planned films in the pipeline but we've been delayed in making the next one for various reasons. We'll get there though!
Great video. I fished canals in my youth, but 30-so years on have recently been looking through my tackle box thinking I'll head back soon for a bit of solitude and hopefully a few decent roach. I'm in east London and wondering if there's anywhere decent on the Grand Union this far down. We were all up in Luton around Slapton back in the day.
I remember Slapton from around 1985 to 1990. Bream and carp on some willow swims, plenty of roach too. There were roach all through the GUC in those days of course. 'Got to be worth a try if you've got some boat traffic and coloured water where you are Gary
The guc, where i am(Hertfordshire) is not very good for roach any more, not many boats,to colour the water,mink,otters, cormorants, and people taking the fish to eat!!!
What great advice, on the K&A today smashed my pb with a 2 lb 4oz Roach. Fishing bread as you have shown, had a couple of good 3/4 lb roach as well. I think I my have overfed as the bites dried up, is it better not to feed after the initial bombing? Or very sparingly. Great day none the less. Thanks a lot Bob. Ps, the rod proved OK to...
Well that's great news indeed Bob. Fish of a lifetime. Any pics? Regarding feed - It's a tough one. The method is geared to catch the biggest roach in the swim so it does often tend to kill it if you feed again in our experience. Usually we'd give it 45 mins without further action and then move. Pleased the rod was ideal too!
Lovely film. I was interested in hearing you say that areas where predators are prevalent are more likely to have large roach. I've reached the same conclusion on my canal, which I've been fishing for 10 years. An old film on youtube called 'turks pond' with Jack Hargreaves addresses this - a given area can only support a certain biomass of fish. In an ecosystem without predators there will be huge numbers of small roach, but where the numbers have been reduced the survivors grow large. They'll also be smart and wary!
@@artificialflight1942 Hi George, I'm on the Birmingham Fazeley canal - the bodymoor heath to Fazeley end. It's a canal that doesn't get a great deal of boat traffic, although a boat passing through on a quiet day can trigger feeding activity I've found. All in all I like the rural canals. Little fished these days, they're mature ecosystems that can throw up specimen fish of all species.
Really enjoy your videos mate, expertly shot and great angling and knowledgeable narration demonstrated within. I hope you plan to grow the channel with more of these in the near future? Current affairs permitting of course. All the best, Sean.
Thanks Sean. Yes we are editing another at present as it happens. There's plenty of material out there to be covered for sure, so, as long as were able to, I'm sure we'll be producing more
@@kevinhogan4409 thanks for your kind comment. On shallow, clear canals traditional bread punch or caster would probably be a more likely approach, if there are big roach there of course. We hope that helps!
What's your thoughts on weight near the hook? I'm currently targeting canal Roach with a few fish of 10-12oz to show for it, I find my canal has alot of tow so I'm having to up my weight to a 0.8g olivette, my hook of choice is a B525 size 16, its the finest gauge wire I'm comfortable with without compromising strength. I just worry that 0.8g will throw the balance of the rig off, brilliant video either way. There's not a lot surrounding such niche campaigns within angling. Its all commercial this feeder that, have a great new year.
I'm assuming you purely have the olivette on the line from the way you describe it? In which case, to fish the method in the film it needs to be about 18" from the hook with a BB shot on the bottom 2-3" from the hook. However, as you imply, this is tricky in a strongly flowing canal, and so letting the rig run with the flow and fishing just off bottom may be better. We tend to use a smaller piece of flake or a large punch then 2 or 3no.8's close to the hook to keep the bait down there. I hope that helps, Connor, but if you need more info, do please message again and thanks for raising the query!
@@artificialflight1942 fully understand that! Well I hope you are well and I wish you tight lines and some bank time this coming year. I'm sure many will agree your videos brought some comfort during hard times these last couple of years. I had not seen this one before... Atb.
yeh its my pleasure good video mate many thanks, i fish the chelmer in essex, some days are good some are bad, but thats fishing, i got a small rib this year and gonna get in some mill pools, happy days and thank you, ps do you wear long johns on days like this ha ha,
Hi Willem, Any cane-tipped waggler will work nicely, doesn't matter what make it is. As for the wellies, I've no idea! They are super light ones and only cost about £30, I think. Thank you for your interest.
Thanks, Jamie. They were usual ebay job-lot bargains! Any Waggler with long cane tip will do the job. We hope it works for you when we're released back into action.
Artificial flight thank you for replying. I’ll keep looking on eBay. I bought some float a few days back, but they were a bit big for roach. Might try the premier floats. Can’t wait to get back on the cut. Tight lines buddy
would you ever believe this , i was once fish off clacton pier, a pigeon landed in the sea next to the gulls, next thing i caught a 2.5 pound roach, honest off clacton pier,
@@catalickconverta6823 Yes, that's why we talk about fishing at dawn. We tend only to fish until one or two boats come through. Quick smash & grab sessions. It's worth a try on your cut maybe?
@@artificialflight1942 yeah thats what ive been doing lately as the early evenings draw in i normally fish well into dark night sticks on the float, gets spookey on the canal when its dark tho i dont like it haha
Hi there Julian, any fine to medium wire hook with an incurved or beak point will do the job in 18 to 14's. Lots of firms produce a pattern like that and we wouldn't say one make is better than another. Thank you for your interest.
@@artificialflight1942 Hello & thanks for the reply - I'm still using some Au LionD`Or spade ends from the 70`s - maybe you remember them !? Pattern 1540 - strong little hooks with an incurve point, probably not as wide in the gape as some modern patterns but I find them Ok for both maggot & punched bread. I think you might find this chap's bread techniques interesting - idlersquest.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-way-with-bread.html I've been using bread more this winter as the bait supply has been tricky, though did get some very good maggots online from Willy Worms. Hope you get out once the ice has thawed! Best wishes.
@@julianmarshall3674... Interesting! I recall using 1219B Au Lion D'or (what a classic name too!) in 28's & 30's, they came in shallow cardboard boxes, in hard winter canal matches until I realised it was just a nominal size and they were actually huge compared to the truly tiny blue Mustad 25's! You might be surprised at the stick-ability and longevity of a modern hook compared to the pre-chemical treatment days but I love the fact you're still using them. The article you referred to was part the bread-fuelled fire that Jeff stoked around that time. We exchanged a good deal of info on the subject of big canal roach. I still have a joint spreadsheet we started trying to identify pointers that might help us. I really ought to bring it right up to date. Thanks for your thoughts, great memories! Here's a bit more reading... floatflightflannel.blogspot.com/2013/05/big-canal-roach-update.html
@@artificialflight1942 Hello again - I can hardly see a size 22 these days! I find just a touch with a smal sharpening stone makes them as sharp as I need. They always seemed to be about one size smaller than a proper old `Redditch scale` hook size so I've even used 1/0`s for big baits. Still frozen up here but must get out before the end of the season! Best wishes Julian
Just found this video and immediately subscribed, was very much a fan of artificial lite series and Eric helped me tremendously over the years via email when I first took up lure fishing. Presume George was his fishing partner in that series as this title is very similar..
Thanks for commenting John. It's a joint venture between Eric and myself, and our respective blogs; his, as you rightly say, on lure angling, mine just general coarse fishing. Strangely we have fished together very little!
Thanks for viewing Hawkman. 'Never seen this but just took a look at a brief clip and will watch more when I have time. We certainly don't want to be paralleling someone else's work but it's nice to be considered worthy of comparison to anything Hugh Miles has done, for sure!
For catching canal roach? Well that depends on the levels of boat traffic and time of year Simon. You can read a bit more about that here if you'd like to: floatflightflannel.blogspot.com/2018/11/lead-to-canal.html Thanks for your message.
It really doesn't matter what make it is John. Just a light match rod of a length to suit the width of the canals you'll be fishing should work nicely. One thing is certain the old canal rods, designed to catch lots of smaller fish, are unsuited to today's big fish.
😊 Well it's a simple traditional method that's very successful, so we really hope lots of people will find it easy after trying it. Thanks for your comment.
No, they can't be eaten. CRT state, "It's illegal to take fish away from the canal under both Environment Agency by-laws and the 1968 Theft Act". Thank you for your question.
This video has been re-uploaded. My apologies if you have been looking for it or have come here expecting new content. eric
I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Any idea why it was removed? Could be the background music... which is very unfortunate if so.
No problem with the music, Douglas, it's all royalty free. It was operator error I'm afraid. Anyway it's back up there so no harm done. Thanks for the kind words. Eric
Enjoyed again, prompted me to give this a go as we are into the right time of year.
@@steveames8286 great stuff. Do let us know how it goes!
Fabulous Roach there
@@MrTone41 some lovely fish in the canals these days. Thanks for viewing.
I returned to my boyhood vaunts on the backwater near Bedford it used to be lined with anglers now none to be seen used to catch some huge roach on these waters . the banks are now overgrown no one seems to walk these banks anymore watercraft seems to be a thing of the past ; this video is a reflection in that we still have some true wartercraft masters amongst us !
I'm afraid modern angling seems to have become very much the opposite of what you allude to John, but there are still plenty of people out there avoiding the carp frenzy and we suspect it's a growing band.
Thanks for your comments
Lovely film , actually led me to 'fishing' out my copy of Canal Fishing by Kenneth Seaman . The Roach chapter brought to life. Thank you.
Is that right, Dave? Great stuff. We must check that one out. Thank you.
Giving this are watch, just as enjoyable.
Glad you find it entertaining, Steve. Thanks for your further comment!
great interesting video
@peterjones5492 Thanks for your kind comment, Peter.
great film mate x
@itssomuchfun8223 Thank you. Pleased you enjoyed it.
Pure Angling joy and no sight of a bite alarm. As close to Mr Crabtree you can get (without the split cane)👏
Funny you should say that Paul...
Fantastic video George, I love how the pace of it really encompasses an enjoyable morning on the bank, alone with nature.
No fancy rigs, pellets, or carp, just simple baits and the most beautiful of fish :-)
Quite right James! Thanks for your thoughts
This was pure delight, and I cant wait for my next canal trip on Sunday, great tips here, thank you for this.
Good luck on Sunday then Clive.
Thanks for dropping by, and we hope it works for you!
This is both beautiful and extremely informative. Excellent
Thanks very much for your interest and kind comment,Tom
@@artificialflight1942 the pleasure is all mine, no thanks are neccesary! You are the one out there making the videos and I thank you
Stunning video. Just the catalyst I need to get to the local water this freezing week. Cheers 👍🏻
Great stuff, hope it goes well John.
Thanks for you comment.
Big roach are beautiful fish. The best looking ones I've seen are the ones in Loch Lomond. Lovely blue sheen and not a mark on them. Anything out of condition doesn't live long in there!
Interesting. Big or little fished venues can produce some immaculate fish for sure!
Fishing the right way with rod and reel 👍
Yes. A bit unusual these days!
Thanks for stopping by Gary.
Found this today and what a lovely piece of film work.Thoroughly enjoyed watching it. It conveys the whole specimen ethos about targeting specimen size fish.Will now go and hunt for more content. Well done sir on this video.
Thanks Neil, glad you enjoyed it.
Never thought of it as specimen hunting as such but, yes, certainly trying to glean the best fish from the swim
As a match angler myself I’ve learnt so much about getting better roach out of a shoal by understanding the habits of the specimens like the ones caught in this video.
Not from Rugby area are you, Ian? Thanks for your comment Ian. In the case of these big canal fish they often appear to be loners once they get above about a pound and a half but I understand what you're saying. It is fascinating. Tight lines.
I am indeed from the Rugby area. You will have to cast (pun intended) your mind back 20 years to remember the last time we went head to head in a match section.
@@ianmills5237 go on then...You mean you remember it? I'm going for onley Lane and a dog discussion?
Watford Park (under the bridge to the right) You drew two pegs to my right. I had a few more seed roach than yourself. I’ve always told myself it was a better peg!
@@ianmills5237 I don't remember catching on hemp there, but my memory is pretty grim tbh.
Used to love fishing there.
Good to hear from you mate
I like your video... calm, clear talking, knowledge... good work.
Pleased you enjoyed it. Thank you for your comments!
Great video this angler knows his stuff
Just snippets we've picked up along the way over the years, Lewis.
We just hoped it might give one or two anglers the encouragement to have a go for these exceptional fish by leaving the 'pole & pinkies' at home occasionally.
Thanks for your interest.
well done sir, great fishing and filming, thank you,
Thank you for your kind words, Dave!
Wonderful video George.. a great insight into the lift bite method, an often overlooked tactic used in recent years,but still highly effective for large canal roach beautifully portrayed in your excellent video. 👏 😊🎣
Thanks for your comment, Gary.
'Long time since we've been in contact.
I hope all is well with you?
I'm doing ok thanks George, great to hear from you.. I did contact you on Messenger quite some time ago, but didn't hear back.. I thought maybe you had changed your number.. hope all is good with you too George.. Tight lines, 🎣
Learnt so much from this ,only 6 pound still works thanks to such a murky canal . Thank you
Glad you found it of use Zoe!
Thanks for your interest
What a beautiful and visually stunning video, thanks for sharing. It took me back to being a teenager, in late autumn, fishing hemp and tares on the River Trent at Shardlow catching 1lb Roach and shaking with excitement. I've often walked along the Ashby canal close to home in Leicestershire and wondered if there are any sizeable Roach. I've never actually seen anyone fishing there!
Yes, Tim, there are big roach in the Ashby. Eric has found a few using this same method early in the morning.
Well worth a try.
Plenty of bream too.
Thanks for commenting.
Great angler who has caught fish I never knew existed.
Hardly great Michael but those fish are there to be caught, especially if your local canal is heavily predated.
Thanks for your comment.
A very informative guide to Canal Roach fishing, I do like the rig! I might try that in Oxford.
Well worth a go! Do let us know how it works out
I will do for sure, I've never targeted Roach in the canal during winter, I tend to fish the Dorset Frome usually, but do love the cold frosty still mornings in your video, so I'll try it this winter.
Wow! amazing video Sir.... thank you....
Thanks for watching, Paul.
We appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Excellent video, watching it has been a great pleasure.
Very pleased you're enjoying them Smiffy!
Thank you
Thank you. Lovely use of Satie too, it works really well
Thank you, one of my favourites. eric
Really liked this video it’s got me biting at the bit to get out and use my Adcocks Ariel reel my dad bought me for my 18th birthday 49yrs ago I usually fish the Coventry Canal between Redlane up to Longford , but plan to venture up to Hawksbury junction as I’ve not fished round there since i was a boy looking forward to seeing more of your videos stay safe Dave
Why not David. Give it a go! So enjoyable to use.
You must've bumped into Jeff Hatt in the past fishing there?
What a fantastic film. I am defiantly going to have a go at using the lift float method . I know there are some huge roach near me and maybe this is just the trick!. Again fantastic watch and great angling eric! -Nathan
Thanks for your kind words Nathan.
Where will you be trying the method?
@@artificialflight1942 it’s an old pond in Derbyshire, nothing to the size of the roach here I’m sure but growing up we would always get big roach and Rudd, that was a while ago now so I’m sure there’s some nice ones 😁
@@recklessnay8000 Good luck!
As an angler desperately trying to distance himself from Carp fishing due to time availability and looking at new species to fish for this film has been a big inspiration,also loved the chub one too.
Great to hear that it's helped Andy...more to come in due course.
Thank for sharing your thoughts.
Nice one,well done you.
Thank you Roger. V generous. We hope you enjoy the other films too.
Loving your videos, just what fishing videos should be, good simple advise & watercraft and not just trying to sell fishing tackle or baits. Most enjoyable keep up the good work 👍🏻and please make many more.
Thank you for your support Ian. It is very welcome and we will be doing more, when we're allowed out!
Beautiful video, I fish the canals a far bit now but usually reserve the winter for lure fishing for perch and Zander.
I like to challenge myself and fish waggler, bomb, small feeder and pole. Had some great hybrids on the feeder with worm as well as big bream and the odd tench.
Yep all those methods work, Dave, for sure.
We just find you get more crayfish issues with legering options, do you find that?
Beautiful video. The biggest roach I've ever had out of my local canal wouldn't even top a pound! Great fishing in the summer though for little stuff, but bloody hard going in the winter. I had 30 + roach and perch in 2 and a half/hours in July, but I just don't have the patience to toil through the winter months.
Thank you for your detailed comments Mi Ke.
Canals that hold lots of small roach are less likely to hold many, if any, big roach. The levels of predation in these parts cause the roach to grow big as there is less competition for food.
Fishing through the winter might require a little bit more patience but, in reality, if nothing has happened within 45 minutes it's wise to move anyway so that tends to keep us entertained.
Good luck next time you go!
very good video,and nice music to go with it thank you
Thanks for viewing and commenting James
Really good video, superb content and quality filming sir
Thank you Steve.
Very welcome comment indeed!
Thanks for the video.. after watching underwater videos tho it's shown that bread doesn't actually pop up off the deck.. it just lays on the deck and wafts about a bit.. tbh it didn't look to be much different from any bottom bait altho I'm guessing with it being so light it gets sucked up very easily. I'm gonna give bread a go tomoz at the canal as I seem to catch every perch in the canal fishing worm and maggot.. altho I had a nice dace on maggot last time
Thanks for your interesting comment, leafy.
We've filmed bread underwater too and, while crust stays buoyant, fluffy flake eventually sinks but how soon depends on a number factors such as the tow on the water, weight of hook/line, type & make of bread, freshness of bread, how its prepped, etc. Regardless, if you leave it out long enough for it to sink, it's still going to behave like a wafter and be easily taken, as you rightly say
sorry to hear about the loss of so many views, that must be extremely frustrating
I caught my first roach a few days ago and made a short video, it's a lot of fun, I hope you produce more
Thanks for viewing.
Yes we have other planned films in the pipeline but we've been delayed in making the next one for various reasons.
We'll get there though!
@@artificialflight1942 you should, I really enjoy this type of fishing film. Very informative and well shot 👌
Lovely film and channel!
Thank you very much!
Great video. I fished canals in my youth, but 30-so years on have recently been looking through my tackle box thinking I'll head back soon for a bit of solitude and hopefully a few decent roach. I'm in east London and wondering if there's anywhere decent on the Grand Union this far down. We were all up in Luton around Slapton back in the day.
I remember Slapton from around 1985 to 1990. Bream and carp on some willow swims, plenty of roach too. There were roach all through the GUC in those days of course. 'Got to be worth a try if you've got some boat traffic and coloured water where you are Gary
The guc, where i am(Hertfordshire) is not very good for roach any more, not many boats,to colour the water,mink,otters, cormorants, and people taking the fish to eat!!!
What great advice, on the K&A today smashed my pb with a 2 lb 4oz Roach. Fishing bread as you have shown, had a couple
of good 3/4 lb roach as well. I think I my have overfed as the bites dried up, is it better not to feed after the initial bombing? Or very sparingly. Great day none the less. Thanks a lot Bob. Ps, the rod proved OK to...
Well that's great news indeed Bob. Fish of a lifetime. Any pics?
Regarding feed - It's a tough one. The method is geared to catch the biggest roach in the swim so it does often tend to kill it if you feed again in our experience. Usually we'd give it 45 mins without further action and then move.
Pleased the rod was ideal too!
Artificial flight Hi George, yes I do have a photo but I can’t seem to pull it down to send to you. I will keep trying. Thanks Bob...
@@fishingfourme Any joy with the pic? Would love to see it Bob.
Lovely film. I was interested in hearing you say that areas where predators are prevalent are more likely to have large roach. I've reached the same conclusion on my canal, which I've been fishing for 10 years. An old film on youtube called 'turks pond' with Jack Hargreaves addresses this - a given area can only support a certain biomass of fish. In an ecosystem without predators there will be huge numbers of small roach, but where the numbers have been reduced the survivors grow large. They'll also be smart and wary!
Yes, I've seen that Roger. Interesting stuff isn't it?
What canal are you on?
@@artificialflight1942 Hi George, I'm on the Birmingham Fazeley canal - the bodymoor heath to Fazeley end. It's a canal that doesn't get a great deal of boat traffic, although a boat passing through on a quiet day can trigger feeding activity I've found. All in all I like the rural canals. Little fished these days, they're mature ecosystems that can throw up specimen fish of all species.
A joy to watch 👏🏻👏🏻
We're pleased it made you happy John. Thanks for dropping by!
When i was a boy about 55years ago I used a Sealey roach rod that was 10ft long split cane. The real was a Youngs of redditch centre pin reel
Lovely memories. Thank you for sharing that.
My first proper rod was a Sealey too. A 12' Aquarius, fibreglass
Really enjoy your videos mate, expertly shot and great angling and knowledgeable narration demonstrated within. I hope you plan to grow the channel with more of these in the near future? Current affairs permitting of course. All the best, Sean.
Thanks Sean.
Yes we are editing another at present as it happens.
There's plenty of material out there to be covered for sure, so, as long as were able to, I'm sure we'll be producing more
Liked before watching!
There's confidence for you!
Thanks Q.
Excellent.
Thank you Steve.
Pleased you enjoyed it, as always.
Excellent video
do you have any tips on shallow canals with little boat traffic, hence clear water. I fish the chesterfield canal.many thanks great video
@@kevinhogan4409 thanks for your kind comment.
On shallow, clear canals traditional bread punch or caster would probably be a more likely approach, if there are big roach there of course. We hope that helps!
What's your thoughts on weight near the hook? I'm currently targeting canal Roach with a few fish of 10-12oz to show for it, I find my canal has alot of tow so I'm having to up my weight to a 0.8g olivette, my hook of choice is a B525 size 16, its the finest gauge wire I'm comfortable with without compromising strength. I just worry that 0.8g will throw the balance of the rig off, brilliant video either way. There's not a lot surrounding such niche campaigns within angling. Its all commercial this feeder that, have a great new year.
I'm assuming you purely have the olivette on the line from the way you describe it?
In which case, to fish the method in the film it needs to be about 18" from the hook with a BB shot on the bottom 2-3" from the hook.
However, as you imply, this is tricky in a strongly flowing canal, and so letting the rig run with the flow and fishing just off bottom may be better.
We tend to use a smaller piece of flake or a large punch then 2 or 3no.8's close to the hook to keep the bait down there.
I hope that helps, Connor, but if you need more info, do please message again and thanks for raising the query!
Beautiful roach. Nothing comes close for me
Can't argue with that Geoff!
Thank you for taking the time
Awesome video.. anything new in the pipeline?
Sadly not Mr Bradshaw. Life and Covid got in the way, but, when the time is right, I'm sure we'll be back at it!
Thanks for asking
@@artificialflight1942 fully understand that! Well I hope you are well and I wish you tight lines and some bank time this coming year. I'm sure many will agree your videos brought some comfort during hard times these last couple of years. I had not seen this one before... Atb.
yeh its my pleasure good video mate many thanks, i fish the chelmer in essex, some days are good some are bad, but thats fishing, i got a small rib this year and gonna get in some mill pools, happy days and thank you, ps do you wear long johns on days like this ha ha,
You bet!!
Great video👍😀🎣 I have two questions first. What kind of float you use. Brand name. And second. What kind of. Wellies you whare.
Hi Willem,
Any cane-tipped waggler will work nicely, doesn't matter what make it is.
As for the wellies, I've no idea!
They are super light ones and only cost about £30, I think.
Thank you for your interest.
Really love the video. Can’t wait to get on the canal. Where did you get those floats. They look great
Thanks, Jamie. They were usual ebay job-lot bargains! Any Waggler with long cane tip will do the job. We hope it works for you when we're released back into action.
Artificial flight thank you for replying. I’ll keep looking on eBay. I bought some float a few days back, but they were a bit big for roach. Might try the premier floats. Can’t wait to get back on the cut. Tight lines buddy
@@boomerfishingshooting4616 for canals 4 to 7ft deep 3 to 5BB will do it nicely
would you ever believe this , i was once fish off clacton pier, a pigeon landed in the sea next to the gulls, next thing i caught a 2.5 pound roach, honest off clacton pier,
!!
honest
hey nice to see you using a center pin,
'Can't beat it in the right circumstances.
Thanks for commenting again Dave.
My local is incridible for fishing but the boats ruin it every time
@@catalickconverta6823 Yes, that's why we talk about fishing at dawn. We tend only to fish until one or two boats come through. Quick smash & grab sessions. It's worth a try on your cut maybe?
@@artificialflight1942 yeah thats what ive been doing lately as the early evenings draw in i normally fish well into dark night sticks on the float, gets spookey on the canal when its dark tho i dont like it haha
@@catalickconverta6823 😉
Legend so annoying trying to find a roach fishing video that isn't the daft pole.
Ah yes, John. A bit of variety does you good!
@@artificialflight1942 I'm not a fan of the pole mate but struggle to find decent roach videos for rod and reel.
@@johngarvey5370 Very true
I thought Peter Fury was after getting into Roach fishing there for a minute
'Totally lost us there mate! 😊
‘What’ ??
Hello, do you think that a 13.00 Drennan Acolyte match rod will be suitable for this stile of fishing? Thanks Bob...
I don't see why not Bob. Especially on wider stretches. Good luck with it!
awesome
Thanks for watching, Chris!
Hypnotic
I think we'll take that as compliment Andy.
Conversely it could have put you in a trance of course?!
Roach/Bream hybrid 16.00 min
Chunky fella's indeed! From memory I think the one at 16.36 was 3lbs 13ozs
I'd be very interested to know the hook pattern you are using - thanks if you can help.
Hi there Julian, any fine to medium wire hook with an incurved or beak point will do the job in 18 to 14's. Lots of firms produce a pattern like that and we wouldn't say one make is better than another.
Thank you for your interest.
@@artificialflight1942 Hello & thanks for the reply - I'm still using some Au LionD`Or spade ends from the 70`s - maybe you remember them !? Pattern 1540 - strong little hooks with an incurve point, probably not as wide in the gape as some modern patterns but I find them Ok for both maggot & punched bread. I think you might find this chap's bread techniques interesting - idlersquest.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-way-with-bread.html
I've been using bread more this winter as the bait supply has been tricky, though did get some very good maggots online from Willy Worms.
Hope you get out once the ice has thawed! Best wishes.
@@julianmarshall3674... Interesting! I recall using 1219B Au Lion D'or (what a classic name too!) in 28's & 30's, they came in shallow cardboard boxes, in hard winter canal matches until I realised it was just a nominal size and they were actually huge compared to the truly tiny blue Mustad 25's!
You might be surprised at the stick-ability and longevity of a modern hook compared to the pre-chemical treatment days but I love the fact you're still using them. The article you referred to was part the bread-fuelled fire that Jeff stoked around that time. We exchanged a good deal of info on the subject of big canal roach. I still have a joint spreadsheet we started trying to identify pointers that might help us. I really ought to bring it right up to date.
Thanks for your thoughts, great memories!
Here's a bit more reading... floatflightflannel.blogspot.com/2013/05/big-canal-roach-update.html
@@artificialflight1942 Hello again - I can hardly see a size 22 these days!
I find just a touch with a smal sharpening stone makes them as sharp as I need. They always seemed to be about one size smaller than a proper old `Redditch scale` hook size so I've even used 1/0`s for big baits.
Still frozen up here but must get out before the end of the season!
Best wishes Julian
Eric Satie as well!
One of my favourites. 😉
Just found this video and immediately subscribed, was very much a fan of artificial lite series and Eric helped me tremendously over the years via email when I first took up lure fishing. Presume George was his fishing partner in that series as this title is very similar..
Thanks for commenting John.
It's a joint venture between Eric and myself, and our respective blogs; his, as you rightly say, on lure angling, mine just general coarse fishing.
Strangely we have fished together very little!
V nice
Thank you
What lb line you using sorry if I missed it? I’m guessing 12-14 size hook? Thanks
3lbs B.S. Mainline. Hook is 14 or 16 to a short length of 2lb fluorocarbon, or lighter when it's gets clear and tough in winter.
We hope that's useful
Sorted now buddy I was using the wrong line your right. Using 7lb line now 3-4g float getting out no problem
Catching the impossible impersonater.
Thanks for viewing Hawkman. 'Never seen this but just took a look at a brief clip and will watch more when I have time.
We certainly don't want to be paralleling someone else's work but it's nice to be considered worthy of comparison to anything Hugh Miles has done, for sure!
pps nice roach,
Good video but the background music was fit for a funeral.
Most of our fishing trips are like funerals tbh!
Thanks for dropping by
After5pm is good
For catching canal roach? Well that depends on the levels of boat traffic and time of year Simon. You can read a bit more about that here if you'd like to:
floatflightflannel.blogspot.com/2018/11/lead-to-canal.html
Thanks for your message.
What make of rod did you settle on
It really doesn't matter what make it is John.
Just a light match rod of a length to suit the width of the canals you'll be fishing should work nicely. One thing is certain the old canal rods, designed to catch lots of smaller fish, are unsuited to today's big fish.
👍
Thank you!
Float rod ?
The make of rod isn't important. You just need a light match rod which are available from a number of tackle firms.
Thanks for asking.
Float fishing is easy you make it look hard lol
😊 Well it's a simple traditional method that's very successful, so we really hope lots of people will find it easy after trying it.
Thanks for your comment.
True , float fishing is easy. . Catching good fish isnt!
are the Roach eaten much, are they good eating? thanks for your reply
No, they can't be eaten.
CRT state, "It's illegal to take fish away from the canal under both Environment Agency by-laws and the 1968 Theft Act".
Thank you for your question.
wich canal is that
North Oxford Canal, Jack
@@artificialflight1942 i go down the canal near football stadium in stoke
@@galaxyjack-ef5wd is that the caldon canal?
@@artificialflight1942 no thretahm and mersley canal
Brill would this work with casters instead of bread? Thanks
It would but casters much better fished very light and on a natural fall through the water Simon.
May be something we could cover in the future!