Willsmore Wins On The Canal

Jack Reid
Simon Willsmore's winning catch. Picture courtesy of Bristol Angling Centre (www.bristolangling.com).
Simon Willsmore’s winning catch. Picture courtesy of Bristol Angling Centre.

Simon Willsmore won the latest round of the Basingstoke Canal League with this hard-earned 10lb 10oz catch.

Fishing the stretch at Ash Vale, near Gold Valley Lakes, Simon found himself drawn on an icy Peg 12. Here’s his account of the match:

“It was frozen to start with, so I fed punch at 6m just going up the shelf and managed to catch a quick 1lb of fish here.

“When the ice melted, I refed in the same depth of water, but at 12 metres down the peg to the left, as the angler this way had also caught well early. I caught nine quick skimmers to 10oz here, plus some roach, using a rig with strung-out shot, as they were taking the bait on the drop.

drennan-double-strength-0-083“With an hour to go I refed again,this time at 14 metres in the same depth, and had three more skimmers and some better roach.

“I caught all the fish using a 0.2g pencil float with a size 18 Kamasan B511 hook to 0.08mm Double Strength. My Acolyte Carp pole also coped really well with the icy conditions!”