Time to tackle those jobs

 THE weather conditions we are experiencing are not what you would call ideal for fishing - unless of cause you are an Eskimo.

The new year has brought with it some of the coldest weather I have known for 20-odd years, but if you can’t get out fishing then there are still some useful tasks the angler can get stuck in to.

I always used to spend this time of year ensuring that my fishing tackle was in tip-top condition.

How many fish are lost because we don’t look after the most important things such as hooks? Spend some time going through them and any that do look a little on the iffy side bin them. A few grains of rice in hook packets can absorb the moisture and stop hooks getting rusty.

Change all of the line on your reel spools and clean and oil the reels themselves as it will pay off later on in the season.

Check all floats and give those that need it a lick of paint. Check the eyes and bristles on your pole floats and glue where necessary.

Tidy your seat box drawers out and check all of the legs and grease where needed. Check the poles and rods for cracks and the eyes of the rods.

I always find that by putting brown packing tape around the male joints of my poles it ensures that you don’t rub all of the carbon away and it stops the pole from jamming.

It’s mostly common-sense stuff, but we do tend to put this sort of thing off. Now is the time to get stuck in.






TODMORDEN’S match was fished on a cold, frosty day with Town House and Croft Fisheries fished.



Paul Wilkinson took the spoils with his 8lb 11oz catch made up of a solitary carp. Tom Barlow was second with 6lb 14oz, followed by Mick Clegg’s 6lb 13oz and John Deakin with 6lb 12oz.






I HAD a walk up the Rochdale Canal from Broadway right the way through to the Slattocks roundabout and, although there was only the odd angler, I did note that there were pegs around bridges and locks that were free of ice.



I’m not saying you’ll catch a lot, but one angler up near the chicken-run length was catching small roach on fluorescent pinkie. It was surreal as the rest of the canal around was frozen but here he was getting bites almost every put-in.




Venue Guide



Huddersfield Narrow Canal – Most of the canal is iced up with just bridges and locks free, but spinning and deadbaiting for pike might be worth a try.

Rochdale Canal – Small roach at Slattocks. Some free pegs around bridges and locks. Be careful with power lines that run along and over a lot of this canal.

Chadderton Mill lodge – Carp and ide to maggot.

Hollingworth lake – Frozen solid this week.




Diary dates



Every Saturday – Open matches on Meermoor Fisheries.

Every Sunday – Albert Morris open matches on canals throughout the North West. For information contact Albert on 0161 792 2684. £11 all in on the day.

Every other Sunday – Monarch AC members matches on the club water. For further details contact Craig on 07916923890.

Sundays - Chadderton Mill AC winter league matches on Chadderton Mill lodge. For further details contact Lee on 07522 156978.

January 20 – Monarch AC AGM at the Duke of Edinburgh Pub in Royton Precinct. Starts at 8pm. Please note that there is a £5 increase in subs and no new members on the night.