Boats on canals

[john step]

A recent post from flightliner got me thinking. Over the years one reads of and assumes it is correct that the boats on canals disturb the fish and push them to the far shelf etc. That seems the accepted rule? (PC will know a lot about this on the GU?)
Flight said the boat on a canal muddied the water and the bites started. I have had 3 sessions on a canal recently and that has been my experience. Bites down the centre track where the boat had passed.

I also had barbel on the Tidal by casting directly into the wake of those huge gravel barges that must surely go over the heads of the barbel by only a few feet.

Come to think of it, I recall an article in one of the defunct angling mags by The Countryman(may not be accurate name) about lorries going over a ford and causing disturbance etc on one of the Yorkshire rivers and the barbel loving it and drifting back quickly.

Now I know those boats and canoeists are a pain but apart from spawning beds do you think they actually put fish off?

Any thoughts?

 

[theartist]

I've had 2lb roach on the Severn whilst letting canoes through trotting in their wash, so no they don't scare the fish at all. The canal can be different though sometimes it can help, sometimes it can kill a swim but that's canals for you anyway as they can just switch on and off at the best (or worst) of times. I don't really buy the notion that the fish only go on to the shelves when a boat passes, maybe the bait gets dispersed and the fish follow or the big perch move in for an ambush but that's speculation. The shelves are also clearer when the track gets stirred so the fish can see the bait so that could be another reason bites come there for a while but not down the track, I bet the fish are still there though as the boat isn't going to worry them. Often the boats improve things like you say and some boat owners sometimes kindy offer to colour things up for you but that's not a guarantee, canals are temperamental perhaps due to their design and flow direction changes

 

[peter crabtree]

I hate boats and the people on them. Here in the SE the number of canal boats has increased so much over the last 25 years that whole sections now are nose to tail moorings. Given the high property prices here many have no option but to live on the canal. Then there’s the well off retirees who clog up the water in summer with their shiny new longboats, many having little or no experience at manoeuvring them in tight spots.

On the other hand sometimes in the depths of winter, when the canal is gin clear, a boat through can colour the water for a while and prompt the fish to feed, or kill the swim completely.

One of the worst things is when they see anglers, they think they’re helping by passing as far across as possible, often exactly where we have our lines. Shouts of “Down the middle please” are usually met with blank faces.

I don’t think they put fish off on canals which see a lot of traffic, lock movements can often induce bites as the bait moves with the current, especially roach. The fish don’t have anywhere else to go either so they’re always there somewhere. Obviously far bank features like overhanging bushes are where the fish will take refuge if things get too busy.

 

[Keith M]

I was amazed how many parked barges there were at Lady Capels near Watford when I had a look earlier this year; you used to only see one or two and usually none at all at Lady Capels but as Peter said there are loads of them now parked up nose to tail in some places.

I haven’t fished there for ages now but I remember that the roach and skimmers used to move up the shelf as the barges went past but as soon as the barges had past they moved back into the centre Channel to feed on the food that was being churned up amongst the silt.
And the Chub used to stay up tight to the far bank under the overhanging shrubbery anyway so the boats didn’t affect them that much anyway.

Keith

 

[peterjg]

PC is spot on. The boats go too fast, they just don't care, there is no one to monitor them on the canals or the Thames. Sometimes they slow down as they pass their fellow boat owners who are moored but I have seen them deliberately speed up as they pass anglers - complete cretins! Yes, the boats do colour up the water and this can help but the locks opening and closing is a total pain. The canals were designed for horse drawn boats not turbo charged floating homes! However; fish early or late and there are some superb fish to be caught!

 

[rob48]

If the bottom's heavily silted the colouring of the water will release bloodworm and other natural food and likely induce fish to feed. Roach and bream, and possibly other fish, will lift loose fed particles and other sediment by wafting their tails over it and then turning into the disturbance to pick off what they want to eat.

 

[wetthrough]

I certainly have had occasions where the arrival of boats appeared to start the far shelf off. But, where I usually fish the Bridgewater it lies ~ESE and I'm fishing from the North bank with trees in front. Generally speaking I've had the best fish early morning at the bottom of the near drop off. Whether it's the sun that sends them across or the boats I don't know as the two coincide to a degree. Just to add that the stretch of the Bridgewater I fish has never been what I would call clear even in the depths of winter.

 

[Aknib]

There was an instance some years ago where, iirc, the Chesterfield Canal was being used for matches before the Chub invasion really took off.

Results were generally quite poor and quite by accident of timing a weed cutter had gone through at the beginning of a match and catches improved noticeably, I believe they (the club) then arranged for the weed cutter to go through prior to future matches.

I used to fish it some years ago on and off and I noticed an improvement in sport directly in the wash of a boat, particularly from Tench.

 

[steve2]

The biggest problem I have is with the amount of bank space now given over to moorings. Where I fish there are many areas where we are banned from fishing near or opposite any moored boat. This can mean upto half a mile walk past what were once the best swims.

 

[Richox12]

In my experience if you're catching and a boat comes through fast - worse a number in a short time - it can ruin your peg. However, if you're not catching (blanking) and it's really very hard & clear and a boat comes through it's a godsend and you catch & everyone else catches. In the past on a rock hard clear canal I have put a large weed rake in for several minutes and then started again and caught. Or balled it in with large balls of just leam to colour the water. Both have worked well.

 

[john step]

The biggest problem I have is with the amount of bank space now given over to moorings. Where I fish there are many areas where we are banned from fishing near or opposite any moored boat. This can mean upto half a mile walk past what were once the best swims.

I agree with you however I doubt the general public or the waterways authorities will . I can see the argument that the canals were built for boats albeit cargo.
I bet they collect more cash from boats and the ancillary things like moorings/permits/boat yards than anglers. Those volunteers that restore old locks and canal sections are canal enthusiasts and I doubt many are anglers?

 

[GT56]

Canal fishing when the river is out of action can be a great alternative but I'm afraid you have to accept there will be a Covid induced procession of narrow boats. High speed tow path cyclists, joggers and dog walkers with associated mess/waste.
Unfortunately there's also an increased number of first time boater's and I appreciate every one has to learn but why does it have to be in front of me.

 

[steve2]

I agree with you however I doubt the general public or the waterways authorities will . I can see the argument that the canals were built for boats albeit cargo.
I bet they collect more cash from boats and the ancillary things like moorings/permits/boat yards than anglers. Those volunteers that restore old locks and canal sections are canal enthusiasts and I doubt many are anglers?

Don't know how much the clubs pay for the fishing rights but like you say I don't suppose it any thing like the money raised from boat owners, car parks and other users. I also know that on this waterway most of the work is carried out by volunteers and few if any anglers. I can't remember ever having a club work party on here. Apart from when a few swims are cut out for matches.

 

[S-Kippy]

All of the above and then some.

Apart from the moored boats making it impossible to get in on some canal stretches ( I'd be on the cut more often if not for that,Simon) its the idiots with a coolbox full of beer and swigging from wine bottles racing along with no thought for other users at all that annoy me. Even those that know how to sail a boat do so way too fast and clearly do not give a stuff about the wash they create. The waterborne equivalent of bloody Audi drivers.

As for fish moving onto the shelves I remember chugging along a stretch of the GUC I fished on a barge and seeing not one fish on the far shelf which is where you ( generally) caught from. Not one....make of that what you will. I couldn't work it out then and still wonder about it.

And dont get me started on paddlef*****nboarders.

 

[theartist]

There's actually less boat traffic around this year due to covid.

I've also found boats seem to affect the fishing more on rivers than they do on canals for some reason

If you get one take the piss and speed up or go close etc on purpose, take the boats name as the chances are they will do that to others along the cut. Then when you see a moored boat adrift you can leave a note or tell them who the culprit was. Speeding boats rip up mooring spikes and responsible boat owners hate them.

 

[ian g]

My local canal the Llangollen has loads of boats on ,which means I only really fish it inthe winter .The majority of boat users are fine ,on there its more a volume of traffic issue

 

[108831]

It's an awkward one,as without boat traffic the water would clear and this would lead to heavy weed growth,as more and more humans populate this country,our canals become gridlocked,a bit like our roads...

 

[theartist]

It's an awkward one,as without boat traffic the water would clear and this would lead to heavy weed growth,as more and more humans populate this country,our canals become gridlocked,a bit like our roads...

Due to covid a stretch near me (Boxmoor) got very clear and quite weedy, it actually looked really nice you could see gravel bottom and shoals of roach and skimmers, felt like fishing a chalk stream at times freelining maggot out to them and didn't seem like a canal. I'd actually take a scenario of less boats but we all know it's going to get worse. Trouble is you go for a wander where there's less boats and you end up fishing next to the drug dealers one, then you get lots of bmx's going by, can't win, it's weed either way

 

[GT56]

No shortage of boats on the Trent and Misery canal yesterday. We had continual boat traffic all day, didn't even get the lunchtime lull I was hoping for.

 

[Kevin aka Aethelbald]

Doesn't anyone recognise the irony of complaining about boats on a canal? It's what they were created for, for heaven's sake. Okay, not originally for leisure traffic, but still, without boats there wouldn't have been canals.

I write this as a canoeist (with a BCU license, the cost of which contributes to the upkeep of canals and rivers) and someone who doesn't particularly like motor driven boats on rivers, but as long as they obey the rules and stick to speed limits, I reckon live and let live is the only fair way to look at this.

If you can't accept that canals are there for everyone to enjoy, then fish somewhere that's more beneficial for your blood pressure.