Simply Pole Fishing

 Twente Canal, Lonnekerbrug, Enschede - 28 November 2021

A trip up to the Twente Canal at Lonnekerbrug today to fish opposite the Twente Stadium.

My swim opposite the Twente Stadium with umbrella ready for any small showers.

A really successful combination for me.

The weather is going to be cold but not much rain - just the odd shower is forecast. The wind should be fairly light and where I am fishing has the added protection of a large warehouse behind me.

I have about 250 ml of left over Jokers to use up, so I thought I'd give it a try on the canal. I have used it here before a few years ago, but it was much colder then and I only had a couple of Tommy Ruffe.

Groundbait is half a bag of MVDE Black Earth and a bag of Sonubaits Black Roach. This is mixed up so it sticks in a hard ball. I've added all of the joker, some dead pinkies, casters and hemp.

I added the 250 ml of Joker to the groundbait and mixed it in - I didn't separate it first with leam - then I added some hemp, casters and dead pinkies, and mixed that all in. Then I made up 9 balls - one went in short and the rest with the pole cup at 11.5 m.

For hook bait I have live and dead white pinkies and maggots, casters, worms and of course some Bloodworm.

On the far left the flat bit of bottom was at 11 m - Perfect.

I did a quick check of the swim with the Deeper Sonar Ball and found the bottom to be fairly level. At 11 m there is a slight reduction in depth so I elected to fish at 11.5 m. The depth there was 3.2 m and the water was 10°C,

Believe it or not, this is just 250 ml of Joker. I pay 7 € for 500 ml which usually lasts for 2 sessions in the winter. 100 g of Bloodworm is 5 €.

First rig for today is a 4x16 Preston Chianti, with a bulk and a string of No. 11 Stotz. Kamasan B512 size 18 hook to a Accu Power 0.08 mm hooklength. No. 5 blue original slip elastic in the top section.

Second rig was a 1.25 g Inter Carbon on 0.14 mm Accu Power line to a 0.09 mm bottom and a Kamasan B512 size 16 hook. No. 6 yellow original slip elastic in the top section.

Third rig was a 1 g  AS5  for fishing short at 4.5 m. Main line was again 0.14 mm Accu Power to a 0.10 mm bottom and a size 16 N20 hook. Same elastic as above.

If you use 3 rods - including top kits for poles - you need to have the 3-rod sticker on your VisPas. I was checked by the police today and they checked if I had the 3-rod sticker. They were very helpful and friendly - you get back what you give. We had a nice little chat and then off they went to check the other anglers.

After feeding all my groundbait balls with the pole cup I started short hoping for a few small Perch. I trickled a few dead maggots and a few grains of hemp (noise) over the top every now and again but I just could not buy a bite short - not even a Goby!

In the end they were only interested in double live pinkie.

After about 30 minutes I decided to take a look out on the 11.5 m line. Double Bloodworm on the hook to start. Nothing. Over the next 4 hours I tried different hook baits, swopped between rigs, changed depths, and even cupped in some loose groundbait to try and make a little cloud in the water - nothing was working.

In the end 47 Roach for 3740 grams - I can't complain with that on a cold winters day.

Even the "get out of jail" Pol Vitamo didn't work for me today.

At about 14:00 (I started at 09:11) I had my first bite - a 3 ounce Roach. Then over the next 15 minutes I managed 2 more Roach. Suddenly at 14:30 the Roach arrived in numbers and over the next 90 minutes I had another 44 Roach. The fishing was fantastic. The fish would only take double live pinkies - they had no interest in dead pinkies, Bloodworm or large live or dead maggots. Sometimes the fish just know what they want - the trick is to find out what that is.

I only fed a small ball when the bites slowed a little, but otherwise I was just relying on the initial feed I put down in the morning.

In the end it was a good day. There was one rain shower and at 16:00 I could see more rain clouds heading my way. Although I could have still caught a few more fish I decided to pack away - more than happy with the end result.

The Twente Canal at Lonnekerbrug is a great little venue - and as I showed today, if you persevere you can catch plenty of fish.

Cheers, Steve