Goldilocks and the three braids.

Up until about seven months ago all my knowledge of braid was related to how it was used in hook links and I can't really claim to be any kind of expert on that either. Since then though I have pretty much used it exclusively as a main line and in doing so I have really developed an idea of what I want from a braid whilst learning that not all braid is equal.

So far I used a few types of braid and in doing so have concluded that although they all essentially do the same thing, they are not all the same in reality. I began with an older version power pro which unlike the new generation of the same stuff was very noisy when reeled across the rod rings. Next came Jig silk from Fox which I love to use on my finesse outfit but is rather prone to wind knots, and wind knots aren't cheap where braid is concerned. Then I came across a good deal on Savage Gear Finezze HD4 braid on-line. My God, the low diameter of this was unbelievable. Apart from the colour which I bought it in that isn't great, only one thing let it down for me and that's the way it beds into itself when you have to pull out a snag or out of a snag.

I have also spent quite a lot of time examining various other braids to try and find one that's just right and I have not been doing too well with that in truth. That was until I by pure chance found a spool of HTO Rockfish ultra braid in a local tackle shop, Specimen Tackle UK, for the paltry price of £10. I'd heard a lot about how good their LRF rods are and given the great value of this line I thought it would be worth a punt.

With two sessions on the cards on consecutive crappy days I decided it might be interesting to actually fish one with what I was currently using and then in between sessions re-spool with the new stuff to see how it compared on the second session.

So firstly I hit the tow path with the Savage Gear Finezze HD4 and given how windy it was I knew this was going to be a real test. It wasn't easy trying to present a lure well with the wind tugging the line around, but I did manage to find a few fish. Firstly, a small zander grabbed one of my favourite Pumpkin paddler grubs right as I bounced it over the nearside marginal shelf.

That was followed by a second smaller zedlet which I tried to hand out and ended up losing. A lot of canal, a few snags and change to an orange kopyto later, I struck into another a really nice thick set zander tight to a boats hull, which went crazy and thrashed round all over the canal before going in the net.

Three hours on the cut and three fish was actually very good going considering how bad the wind was. The braid performed well, but as I knew would be the case, this line is impossible to see on even the shortest cast in the day's dull conditions and every time I put any pressure onto the line to pull from a snag it would take several casts to un-bed the line. This bedding-in issue I am sure is down to the low diameter and profile of the line, both of which combine to let the tightening coils pull in between any below them that aren't under as much tension.

So at home a few hours later I carefully wound the Savage Gear Finezze HD4 onto a spare spool and re-spooled with the HTO Rockfish ultra braid. Straight away I could see it was thicker as the diameter implied on the packaging, but I could also see the lines profile seemed to flatten on the spool which made it lay better on top of itself.

The fact that this new line is a very bright yellow obviously made it easy to see as I cast a clown cannibal shad into the far bank cover. The jig head never got the lure to the bottom before a micro jack hit and I actually saw the line tighten before I felt the fish, which was great.

It was purely down to fairness that I kind of wanted to find a snag, and as I was on a canal it didn't take long before I was towing a large branch across the canal. The braid was tough as they all seem to be, but instead of bedding into itself it seemed to just lay on top as I hoped it might. Then it only took a single cast to check the line would spill off the spool well on the cast before I was off and fishing again.

The canal in this particular area seems to clear really well overnight and that combined with the bright white cannibal shad, was the perfect combination when I found a shoal of small zander loitering in the trench. By covering the same ten square feet of canal from different angles I kept the eager little hunters coming after the lure. On most casts they were chasing the shad and nipping at it, judging from the pulls on the bright yellow braid. Then when one would make a committed grab a quick strike would send pressure down the new braid and catch the culprit in the lip most times. 

It wasn't until the rain started and a trio of rude speeding boaters passed that the sport stalled. Even by changing lures and retrieve I couldn't get any more fish to attack in the now turbid water.

As for the braid I have to say well done to HTO with the Rockfish ultra braid. It performs just as well as all the other braids I have used, but has lays on the spool well, doesn't bed in under pressure and the high visibility not only helps to see what your lure is doing but makes watching hits pure joy. On top of that I never encountered a single wind knot even with the wind in my face all day; all that for only ten quid is a bargain in my books.

I must say that as braid lasts forever I never throw it away. The original power pro I bought I use on a heavy lure outfit for bigger plugs. The Fox Jig silk for all the trouble it gives me remains my favourite braid for super light lure fishing and the Savage Gear Finezze HD4 is being saved for any possible trips to deep reservoirs that might come along in the future, where those super fine braids are key.

In all conditions.

I knew the conditions were going to end up a little peaky this past weekend and in all honesty I was actually kind of up for a little challenge. You see I've been pondering the subject of fishing conditions, even more specifically I've been considering canal conditions.

For those normal and non Gongoozlers amongst us the common British canal has one condition, that being the colour of tea with not too much milk added. For those of us who spend more than what is considered a sensible amount of time looking at canal water we know that there is in fact a myriad of different colours and tones. On most weekends a new hue is revealed and I've discovered so many myself that they now just don't seem shocking any more, I just get on with fishing.

In the past and in most facets of fishing I have taken part in, I have always looked for optimum conditions in which to fish, so as I might increase my chance of capturing my target. For example, I would look towards the river to catch a barbel if it was falling and clearing after being in summer flood. But something I've been thinking of late is that to be truly good at one particular area of fishing you have to be able to make it work in the worst conditions. Using the barbel as an example again, I know an angler who shall remain nameless who has the skills to catch barbel in most conditions and this skill is what makes him arguably one of the most accomplished barbel anglers in the country. 

Now if I lay it on the table and say that I would like to become an accomplished lure angler, it would then be obvious for me to say to become an accomplished lure angler I would have to try and evolve my lure fishing to the point where I can catch in all conditions, no matter how bad they are. So after a little round about explanation I am back to where this all began and found myself actually wanting to go out lure fishing, knowing full and well that the water would be in a bad way and I would be freezing.

Saturday was my first foray and as predicted it was a bit changeable. The canal was carrying some heavy colour and the sky was made up of a bright azure background punctuated by various black clouds which quickly passed over occasionally depositing their contents. I even made the effort to dip my hand in the water and try to detect any difference in temperature. Simply put, it felt cold but it did feel of a similar temp to the air, which at around three to four degrees sounded about right and made me realize it was going to be a big ask to try and interest fish to attack lures.

In my first spot I went all in and began by chucking a three and a half inch wave Tiki grub into a known zander holding area. I'd only made a few casts before it began to rain which quickly turned to hail. Somewhere in the first twenty casts I was sure I felt something grab the lure, but continued casts brought nothing. I then changed to my finesse outfit and dropped down to a tiny one inch oil coloured kyopto. This bought no interest either so I began working along the canal margins where I eventually received a right old thump as a nice perch of a pound or more engulfed my lure. Stupidly thinking this was just the start and I was about to get into them I never bothered getting a picture.

True to form I never got another hit from a single perch. I did however find a school of tiny zander held up against the hull of a barge which I plundered four striplings from. The quickly setting sun urged me to go and check out a second zander holding spot further down the canal as the dusk came in. This time I ran the day out bouncing a fox spiky shad through the trench where I was sure they were holding. Reluctant to move on I kept covering the water and not long before my time ran out a got a hit right at the end of the retrieve. Unluckily the hook didn't quite hold and after a few head shakes, what I suspect was an alright zander got free.

That was it for that session, but considering the terrible water conditions and the dreadful weather above the surface I actually think that four zander, one OK perch and few other bits of various action was a general result when everything was against me.

If I thought that bit of canal was in a state the bit I dropped onto the following morning was horrendous. Barely a couple of inches visibility, full of twigs were the BW had trimmed a load of cover back and largely frozen. If I wanted a test, this was it! Where I would fish was largely dictated by where didn't have ice and luckily there was a few bits where it hadn't encroached.

Not long in on the first spot bouncing a little grub around I picked up a small yet rather angry perch and by repeating the cast god knows how many times, I got hit twice more, neither of which stayed on for long. After thrashing the water to foam in the first ice free spot I moved onto the next. I’ve never really fancied this area but today it was forced on me a by the lack of other water to fish, and I am kind of glad it was. After working it over for half an hour I moved into a savage snag filled area. Only a few casts in I was feeling my lure down to the bottom with a tight line when I felt a definite tug and a quick strike drove the hook home on a particularly pissed off zander.

Then in the last section of ice free canal I again struck into another zander as it nipped a hold of my tiny grub. I say nipped because I get the impression that zander seem to follow the lure and then just nip onto its tail. Whether I hook them seems purely down to how much of the lure is in their mouth. Weirdly after zig-zagging about a bit I am sure the fish just let go of the lure as there was no head shaking that proceeded the lure coming flying out of the water.

Only one area remained to try and that was one I knew would be ice free. The only problem was it was on the end of a bend where all the sticks had collected so the area was in fact reduced by two thirds. I did get on hit right in the margin, but a hit was all it was and no fish was forthcoming

Now, I am going to mark these sessions as a resounding success because of the considerable amount of interest I managed to generate on the light lures when the canals were basically a load of rubbish. Saying that I must say that I find it a little concerning how many fish hit/grabbed/nipped my lure and got off compared to how many I actually hooked and landed. I know I could attribute it to fussy feeding, but I do suspect it could be something else that I will have to watch out for over the coming sessions.