River Nene Up And Running But The Bites Keep On Coming

It was half term week and I had promised my son that I would take him fishing as he hadn't been since September, it had rained a little so I thought we could have a look at the Nene at Stibbington. When we arrived I was a little surprised to see the river was up and running quite hard, this presented me with a couple of problems. The first problem was because I wasn't expecting this I didn't really have suitable tackle with me to deal with the flow, no big Floats or even feeders or feeder rod capable of fishing this. Second problem is my son would have struggled as he has never faced conditions like this even though given the correct tackle I am sure he would have coped, anyway there was a plan B. There is a cut that comes off the river here and looked like the best option for him to catch a few fish so he dropped on the end nearest the mouth and I elected not to bother fishing and to concentrate on coaching him.

With the main river clanking through cut saved the day

Benwick Sports Angling Centre, Soham near Ely

I just thought  that I would take a few minutes to talk about Benwick Sports Tackle shop, although I have looked at their website on a number of occasions I have never visited the store until Monday this week. Having booked the week off work I thought I would pop over and have a look and see what they had to offer, they are located in Soham near Ely and about an hours drive from my home in Peterborough.
They are easy to find based on a small Industrial estate just off the main road and have ample parking available. When I entered the store I was immediately taken with the very well stocked shelves and display racks and everything was very well presented and organised so after suffering poorly stocked Tackle shops back home this was a veritable Aladdin's cave.
I have recently had real issues getting basic items like light grade pole elastic and hooks locally so this was my opportunity to have a bit of a stock up. The thing that really caught my eye though was the range of big wagglers and sliders they had on display and I will be definitely be going back to get my hands on some of them before the summers attack on the Middle Level and Great Ouse Ten Mile Bank as I often fish a slider on these deep venues.
Anyway I ended up spending a few quid but thoroughly enjoyed my visit and would wholeheartedly recommend them to anybody, great stock level, great prices, great service so what are you waiting for have a look for yourself.

http://www.benwick-sports.co.uk/

The Grand Union Canal at Theddingworth - Sunday 13th Feb



Following last weeks visit to the canal and the lack of rain to bring any kind of life to the rivers we decided that the canal was the best option for a few fish. Now I have to admit to being a real fan of the Grand Union Canal in Leicestershire having spent quite a bit of time on it over the last 6 winters. Most times this has been due to the rivers being flooded but this year it is the opposite with low flows and a lack of colour and little in the way of rain. The trouble is that when we do get extra water in the rivers the window of opportunity to fish them is so small because the E.A run them off in 2 or 3 days.

Grand Union Canal Sunday 6th February

With the high winds this weekend and the Nene starting to loose its colour I thought I would head out into Leicestershire for my first visit to the Grand Union Canal this winter. I had a section of canal in mind that would offer us some protection from the very high SW winds, the ground rises up behind you pushing the wind right over the top of the canal so much so that you hardly get a ripple on the water.

Flat calm and the wind was over 25mph