Big Gudgeon - Attempt No1 (Shropshire Union Canal at Chester)

After finally starting to get to grips with it, I've had to postpone the Grayling fishing for now, as it belatedly dawned on me that I could be fishing out of season for the little rascals while they are spawning....sorry....I got a bit carried away after countless blanks to be finally catching a few.

Technically, I suppose I am trout fishing, but I'll hold my hands up and admit that bumping the world's heaviest bugs along the bottom is more likely to catch a Grayling than a trout. Rather than look a total goon on the net, it's a change of tack today until the river coarse season starts again.

I'm confident that we've got a 50/50 chance of a pb today though, as I'm going for gudgeon, or the freshwater shark as it's known to big fish anglers. I have caught a few hundred over the years but never weighed one, so all I need to do is catch one of the little blighters that is big enough to register on my most sensitive scales. Now, I haven't fished a canal for 15-20 years, so the dust has to be shaken off the old Garbolino Pegasus pole and a couple of new rigs with fine wire size 20 mircobarb hooks and 0.06 bottom to 0.08 are made up on winders before I'm off to Telfords Warehouse basin in Chester, which I scouted out a week ago.

Good couple of hours fishing today but no gudgeon show up for the big party. I didn't manage to get to the bait shop to buy pinkies and squatts, so fished punch over sloppy mixed Van Den Eynde Secret groundbait, in about 2'6" of water. Plenty of Roach; a few skimmers and a bonus Bream of about 1.25lbs. I used to fish punch to avoid Gudgeon when I match fished years ago, so probably a bit of a "Dime bar" tactic employed today when actually trying to catch one, but I did try chopped worm a few times with no joy and really was more interested in getting into the pole again. I'll pick some pinkies up this week and hopefully land a supersized Gudgeon one night after work this week.

Let me know if anyone out there know a good stretch of the canal at Chester as it was good fun today!

Mr Fish