The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Well, I'd like to remember the Stourbridge Canal, near Stewponey. In the late seventies the rural stretch was run by the Kidderminster and District AC, and I was a junior member. Imagine our delight when it was stocked with carp! They were small to begin with, but soon enough, in a matter of a few years or so, we were catching them to high singles.
They were gorgeous carp too: full-scaled fish and real leathers amongst them, and the canal really suited them, having beds of reedmace, canadian pond weed and "cabbages". The water, except when barges came through, was often gin clear, and stalking was both challenging and fun.
The first time I actually caught carp "on the top" was down to a match angler with very poor eyesight. He told me that he had the carp 'taking crust', but he couldn't see well enough to strike them properly. He gave me bread - showed me how to hook it, and I cast out in the swim just above him. I took three very quickly to 3.5lbs, and he kept on missing...
In the end, I became his eyes, telling him when to strike - and he got one too.
He had very thick "bottle-glass" spectacles, and fishing must have been tough for him: but he was a good and generous teacher to me, that day. I must have been 15 at the time.
And he must be of retirement age by now.... Time flies.

F B , that's a nice story ,shows you how good people can be eh . Regards . Woolly Bear .

Woolly Bear wrote:F B , that's a nice story ,shows you how good people can be eh . Regards . Woolly Bear .

Yes, Woolly Bear, - looking back, he was only a young chap in his thirties then, and obviously a good angler, but his eyesight was shocking.
Without him, at that time, although I'd caught a few carp on corn etc, I don't think I would have had the nerve to try floating bread: there was this silly mental barrier about certain baits, you know?
The seventies was the maggots and match era for us, and even corn and worms seemed exotic..
When I got home that day, and told my best friend about it, I don't think he believed me, until we went the following day and both caught carp, on crust.

F . B . Its weird how we all picked up good info off anglers we met but never got to know . One gent I met appeared out the mist early in the morning on about five occasions used to pike fish using two short glass rods and multiplying reels always caught not big fish but was full of enthusiasm told me a lot of good tips , I eventually bought two reels myself . Never forgot that Gent , think he may have passed on now . Nice to hear your story . Regards . Woolly Bear . He always used black spider braid by Millwards on his reels , so did I eventually .