All about fishing

Learn about fishing on

your local canal
 Discover your local canal

Fish, fun and family days out

Canals and rivers are very special places which kids and adults can explore
together any day of the week. Some are found in quiet countryside and At the Canal & River Trust we believe
others run through bustling cities. Wherever they are, canals and rivers are that life is better by water. We are
great places to visit for a few hours or a whole day out. There are lots of fun the charity that protects and brings
things to do there. to life over 2,000 miles of waterways
across England and Wales. We work
with local communities to transform
There are lots of fun things to do there! canals and rivers so you can enjoy
them in all sorts of ways.

Catc Take you k

Did you know that over eight
h your first fish r dog for a wal million people live within just
1km of our waterways? Use the
Feed s some heal s
the duck thy treat
local to you search on our website
to discover which canals and rivers
Spot ife Go for a gentl bike ride
are close to you. You can also use
som e wildl e it to find out about the exciting

Enjo ic Go on a
events and activities that are

y a picn boat trip happening in your area.

Tak show y
e photos to our friends
canalrivertrust.org.uk/local-to-you

See idges an
historic br d buildings

Use this guide

All you have to decide is which canal or river to explore first. to discover how
much fun you can
Always go to a canal or Stay have when you’re
river with an adult and Away fishing and when
remember to stay
From the you get home.
SAFE Edge

2 3
 New to fishing?
Here’s what you need to know to start
fishing on your local canal.

Rod licence Kit

Anyone aged 13 or older must have Go to an angling shop or outdoor retailer for these items:
an Environment Agency rod licence, • Short pole (known as a ‘whip’) or rod and reel
available from 0344 800 5386 • Floats, lines, hooks and weights - ask for a ‘rig for canal fishing’
or www.gov.uk/fishing-licences. • Bait - find out more on page 13
Always carry it, as it gives you the
• Landing net
legal right to use a fishing rod/pole.
If you’re 13-16 years old, the licence
is free. If you’re under 13, you don’t And remember to take:
need a rod licence. • Folding stool/chair to sit on
• Wellies
• Sun hat and sunscreen
Permit
• Cold drink
Always carry a permit which gives
you permission to fish in that
particular place. With our 12-month
Waterways Wanderers permit you Check out our ’Learn to fish’
can enjoy fishing on most canals videos at
canalrivertrust.org.uk/learn-to
in England and Wales. It costs £5 if -fish
you’re 16 or under. Find out more
at canalrivertrust/waterways- Let’s Fish!
wanderers. Many stretches of water Probably the best way to try fishing is to come along to one of
are looked after by angling clubs our Let’s Fish! events. We’ve everything you need - kit, bait,
so you need to buy a permit from rod licence and fishing permit, as well as expert help from
them. Find your local angling club at our coaches. Best of all, it’s free. You’ll be hooked
canalrivertrust.org.uk/fishery-list. before you know it. please replace with “We run
100s of events each year across the country with
help from local angling clubs. Find out more at
canalrivertrust.org.uk/lets-fish
Local angling clubs and tackle Some keen young anglers will go on to compete in
shops are great places to get the Junior Canal Fishing Championships find out more at
help when you’re starting out canalrivertrust.org/fishing

4 5
 The perfect spot

What’s a peg?
It’s the spot on the canal or river
bank where an angler fishes. The
term comes from the practice of
staking out sections of a waterway
Fishing is good here with numbered ‘pegs’ to show
• Just two to three metres from anglers where they were to fish
the towpath bank during a competition. The term has
• Where there are overhanging bushes and stuck and anglers now describe the
trees – most fish like to hide in them place where they most like to fish as
their ‘favourite peg’.
• About one metre from the offside bank
(the opposite side to the towpath) – you’ll
need a rod or long pole to reach this area
What’s a keepnet?
It’s a net placed in the water next to
Fishing is not allowed here the bank where fish are kept after
• In locks or within 25 metres being caught and weighed, before
of a lock or swing bridge being released. Remember to follow
• Within 25 metres of a water point the Angling Trust’s keepnet code.
(i.e. a tap where boaters get their water) Securely peg out your net so that
the rings don’t collapse onto one
• Near overhead powerlines
another and only use it to hold
• Immediately next to moored boats modest numbers of fish for short
• From the offside bank periods of time.
• From a moving boat
• On rivers during the close season
(15 March to 15 June) or on canal sections Weil’s disease
that are Sites of Special Scientific Interest This is a rare, but easily avoidable, infection, which can be caught when
handling fish and wet tackle. Follow these rules:
• Cover cuts and scratches with waterproof plasters
Share the Space • Don’t rub your eyes, nose or mouth when your hands are wet or dirty
rs share the canal
Remember that angle
• Wash your hands as soon as possible once you’ve finished fishing
walkers, runners, and before eating
towpath with boaters,
can all get along fine Remember, if you feel unwell it’s important to visit your doctor.
cyclists and dogs. We
dly to each other.
if we’re polite and frien

6 7
 What will you catch?
Tick the box when you see or catch one. One of them is rare!

Bream Perch
Dark brown or greyish with a high back and It has a greeny-brown back with dark vertical
flattened sides. Usually found in large shoals. Young stripes and with bright orange-red fins.
bream, known as ‘skimmers’, are silvery.

Carp Pike
Dark brown to bronze in colour, they can grow A green and cream coloured fish, which can grow
quite big – as large as a dinner plate. to the size of an adult’s arm. They have a long
snout and a mouth full of sharp teeth.

Chub Roach
Dusky silver with a brown/bronze sheen, they have Silver body with grey-brown to orangey-red fins,
a rounded body, blunt snout and very large mouth. they look similar to Rudd. Like to swim in shoals.
Tend to swim in shoals.

Eel RARE Rudd

A thin fish which can be as long as your arm. Coppery golden body with bright red fins – which is
They are dark green or brown in colour. why people confuse them with roach. Look for their
upturned mouth, as they like to feed at the surface.

Gudgeon Ruffe
A tiny fish that fits in the palm of an adult’s hand. Small, brown, speckled fish with spines on its top fin.
It’s grey to golden in colour with a large head. Once caught, the fish extends its spikey fin and flares
its gill covers. Please take care when handling.

Tench
Olive green body with small red eyes and a
large tail. It’s thought to be the one of the most
rents handsome species. What do you think?
h photos. Ask your pa
We love seeing your fis the ha shtag
l media using
to post them on socia
r
#lifesbetterbywate Photo credits: Jack Perks

8 9
 E
Fascinating fish D
F
Vertebral column Gills Eyes
It’s similar to our Fish breathe with their Fish have no eyelids so
backbone. The gills. As water passes their eyes are always C
muscles which the over the gills, they open. A fish sees
fish needs to swim are absorb the oxygen best at close range
attached to it. which is dissolved in but, because water B
the water and transfer can be cloudy, they
carbon dioxide into also use other senses
Mouth
the water. for finding food and
Fish catch their food escaping predators.
in their mouth. A few A
have teeth. They also
take in water through
the mouth, which
flows over the gills.
Where are we hiding?
Canals are perfect places to catch fish as the water is relatively still and
there are good habitats for the fish. The shape and colour of each species
suits where it lives in the canal and how it feeds.

Which one am I?
Carp I usually find my food on the canal bed but I also like sunbathing at the
surface and sometimes find food up there.
Perch My stripes help me blend in with the reeds so I can ambush small fish.
Pike I wait at the edge of the shelf of the canal and catch
small fish as they swim from the shallows.

Fins Swimbladder Nostrils Roach I’m happy in most areas of the canal.
Fish swing their caudal Like a balloon, it The two nostrils on Rudd I like to eat insects from the surface of the water.
fin (or ‘tail’) from helps the fish to stay its head are not used
Tench I search for my food amongst the silt at the bottom of the canal.
side to side to push buoyant. The fish can for breathing but for
themselves through fill it with air to float smelling. The sense of
the water. The other upwards or release the smell is very important
fins help it steer. air to go down. because it helps fish
find their food and
warns them of danger.
Answers on page 15

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 Caring for our fish Best baits
Match the photos to these tasty-sounding baits.

Fish rescue
Before we drain water from a canal
section to carry out maintenance or
fix lock gates, we have to make sure
A Pinkies
the fish are moved somewhere safe. Named after its colour, the larva of the
A specialist team carefully collects common greenbottle fly is probably the first
all the fish from the canal. We scoop bait you’ll use at our Let’s Fish! events. Good
them up in nets and place them in for catching gudgeon, perch and roach.
large containers full of fresh water. A
few minutes later they are moved to Fish passes B Squatts
a part of the canal full of water while Fish find it difficult to swim through Naturally white, this is the smallest type of
we do the work. obstructions like weirs and culverts. maggot used as fish bait. One of the most
We’re installing special structures popular for canal fishing, it attracts all sorts
in our waterways to help fish move of fish, except pike.
freely upstream and downstream so
Non-native fish
they can reach breeding, nursery or
C Maggots
Some non-native species are The larva of the common bluebottle fly is
damaging the balanced ecosystem feeding grounds.
good for attracting big fish such as bream,
in our canals. It’s illegal to return chub, perch and tench. Available in different
these to the water after they colours: red, yellow, orange, pink and green.
are caught. If unsure, ask an
experienced angler. Find out more D Worms
at canalrivertrust.org/fish-species. Perch love this bait and they’re easy enough
to find in your own garden. Damp mornings
or evenings are good times to collect them.
Catch and return
The fish in the canals belong to the
Canal & River Trust. After you’ve Something fishy E Bread punch
caught one, always put it back. If you see fish behaving oddly or Small white circles ‘punched’ out from a slice
Except for non-native fish of course. are concerned about water quality, of white bread, using a metal tool called a
please call 0800 807060 (England) bread punch. A superb bait for catching roach.
or 03000 653000 (Wales). By telling
experts about a potential problem,
you are helping the fish. Please take home any leftover bread.
Don’t feed it to the ducks as it’s very unhealthy
for them. Any other type of bait can be thrown
into the canal for the fish to enjoy. Answers on page 15

12 13
 Look and listen Test your knowledge
What have you discovered about fishing? The letters in the pink
While you’re relaxing and waiting for the fish to bite, squares spell the name of the most common fish in the canals.
try and spot these creatures. They all enjoy being by
1 2
the canal.
3 4
Bumblebee
The wild flowers and hedges along our canals 5 6

are enjoyed by a range of nectar-feeding insects

including bumblebees.

Butterfly
7
Summer is the best time to see butterflies.
Over 50 different types have been spotted 8
near our waterways.

Dragonfly
This is a brightly coloured insect with a long body
and four wings. When resting, it keeps its wings
Across Down
spread out.
1 A fish that likes to sunbathe 2 A colourful bait often used
at the surface of the canal at Let’s Fish events
Kingfisher 3 Anglers like to record the 4 A tiny, greyish fish
This small blue and orange bird loves catching fish. _____ of the fish they catch 5 Group of fish swimming
Quick as a flash, it dives into the canal and comes 8 Fishing is not allowed together
out holding a fish in its long, slim beak. underneath these 6 Where we store fish safely
before releasing them
7 Where I go to fish (also
Mallard used on a washing-line)
The male mallard has a green head and long, broad
yellow bill while the female is brown. It’s the most
common duck on our canal. Fish _ _ _ _ _

Pond skater Answer below

This long-legged insect has hairs on the bottom of its
feet which helps it walk on the surface of the water.
page 15 Roach
page 13 A. maggots, B. worms, C. pinkies , D. squatts, E. bread punch
page 11 A. perch, B. tench, C. roach, D. pike,, E. carp, F. rudd
Answers
Photo credits: Jack Perks

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 Life’s better by water
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that can give you all the latest news, offers,
events and more fun guides. Sign up at
canalrivertrust.org.uk/newsletter

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