| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Callunna
Revolving Grey Blob
3044 Posts
|
|
 Posted -
06/03/2007
:
14:30
|
|
New topic created? Canals: boating; fishing
|
|
| Replies |
| Author |
|
|
Another
Traycle Mine Overseer
6250 Posts
|
|
Posted - 06/03/2007 : 15:44
I love canals and I think its great to see them being used more and more for leisure travel and in some instances commercial haulage. I enjoy the satelliteTVprogrammes "Waterworld" though they tend to concentrate on the midlands system.
There's a short series on ITV on Thursdays called "Locks and Keys" that is focussing now on the Rochdale/ Huddersfield canal and I think this week is at Hebden Bridge.
Another bit of useless information, the Bingley by pass now runs at the side of the canal and the five rise locks are clearly visable.
Best thing of all about canals is they contain FISH and some very nice ones indeed. Dan and I enjoy canal fishing with poles and we know of a real hotspot where there are loads of decent size fish. For a small consideration I might spill the beans.... Nolic
Edited by - Another on 06 March 2007 15:48:44
" I'm a self made man who worships his creator"   |
catgate
|
Posted - 06/03/2007 : 17:06
I have often thought how fortunate it was that a good number of reservoirs over flow into canals, because if it were not for the water then canals would be just rubbish for both boating and fishing.
Every silver lining has a cloud.
|
Another
Traycle Mine Overseer
6250 Posts
|
|
Posted - 06/03/2007 : 18:36
James Brindley et al must have been far sighted building those reservoirs just where they would be most useful for the canal systems and to think they were designed merely to keep fish in so that anglers could gain some pleasure! Nolic
" I'm a self made man who worships his creator" |
Callunna
Revolving Grey Blob
3044 Posts
|
|
Posted - 06/03/2007 : 19:13
Not that I would, cos I'm a veggie, but would you actually EAT the fish you caught, or chuck 'em back in? I'd be slightly concerned about the quality of their environment and what they might absorb during their lifetime. I'd be happy to be proved wrong and that the canals are all very clean nowadays, but there's still oil from engines getting into the watter - or is there? I know nowt about it, really - that's why I'm asking all these daft questions. BTW - I believe the Eurocrats have decreed that red diesel shall not be exempt from tax any longer, so canal boating costs will go up at the end of the year, along with all farm machinery costs (therefore food prices will rise too). |
panbiker
|
Posted - 06/03/2007 : 20:51
The reservoirs that feed into the canal are not there by accident, they are there by design.
All canal systems require some method of keeping the water level to navigable depth. The two reservoirs at Foulridge and Greenfied reservoir at Barrowford are a some of the main feeders for the top length of the Leeds Liverpool canal. Everytime traffic navigates the locks at either Greenberfield in Barlick or down at Barrowford, the water level drops, there has to be some method of replenishing this loss or the canal system would just drain away. The pump house at Greenberfield also feeds water into the top length from Winterburn reservoir. Lower stretches of the canal in both directions all have there own feeder systems to maintain their levels. Excess water in any level is drained off through the overflow sytem also built into the design.
All in all it's a pretty good system which works exceptionally well for the majority of the time, as Nolic says, Mr Brindley and his co-engineers and navigators were quite a forward looking bunch of guys. Their design has stood the test of time and although the majority of the canals are no longer used for their intended purpose they still support a diverse range of business and leisure activities. Not bad for a 250 year old system!
Ian |
catgate
|
Posted - 06/03/2007 : 21:01
quote:
Callunna wrote:
... but there's still oil from engines getting into the watter - or is there? I know nowt about it, really - that's why I'm asking all these daft questions. It is another fortunate accident I think, that the oil from the engines gets into the water. It is one of the things that keeps the fish waterproof and stops them getting wet through and sinking . In the days of horse drawn boats the fishes always congregated under the bridges when it was raining, just so that they kept drier.
I remember hearing of a strange happening in along the canal bank in the days of horse drawn barges. One old bargee could not afford a horse so he had a ass. This ass was going along nicely until it came to a low bridge. As it started to pass under the bridge its ears touched the underside of the bridge. It refused to go any further.
So the bargee got out a hammer and a masons chisel and started cuttinf two grooves into the bridge's underside for the ass's ears.
Just then along came a Mr Plod.
"Hello, hello, hello, whatcher doin then?"
"Well I'm makin grooves fer its ears. Can't yer bl**dy well see?"
"There no need to do that, my man. Just dig some out of the floor."
"How long 'ave you been a copper?"
"Twenty years."
"And yer still a PC?"
"Yes."
"I'm not surprised....It's it's ears that's ter big, yer gurt fool, not its feet."
"
"
Edited by - catgate on 06 March 2007 21:17:46
Every silver lining has a cloud.
|
Another
Traycle Mine Overseer
6250 Posts
|
|
Posted - 06/03/2007 : 21:07
Panny, my post was somewhat tongue in cheek!.
Cally, most of the fish in canals would not be worth eating. I have caught trout in the cut at the Stew Mill when I was a kid and they made good eating. Nolic
" I'm a self made man who worships his creator" |
panbiker
|
Posted - 06/03/2007 : 22:07
I got the drift Nolic, when I was a lad and the rules allowed you to remove fish above regulation size, I always used to take half decent specimens home for my Dad. Trout and Pike were always very welcome, Bream apparently are quite tough with a lot of bone (as you would imagine) the odd Eel was also welcomed. Mind you, my Dad was of the generation that knew what hunger was and would have a go at almost anything, he ate hedghogs, and cat (rooftop rabbit) during the war and said Puffins were a bugger to catch but were worth the effort when you were hungry, he was stationed in Iceland at the time and a bit of a change was welcome from time to time. Puffin is a bit of a delicacy in Iceland, it's their national bird but it does'nt stop them from eating them!
Putrified shark meat is also on the menu up there, now you don't see many of them in the cut!
Edited by - panbiker on 06 March 2007 22:10:25
Ian |
thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt
2021 Posts
|
|
Posted - 06/03/2007 : 23:43
Noted the bit about Red Diesel, Its sad that the price of boating should go up, Could it have anything to with tractors being increasingly used for heavy haulage, or maybe the illegal use of this fuel by certain taxi drivers, not filled at the pumps of course, oh dear me no! Transported to the vehicles in 25 litre containers after being bought at boatyards, or do all these taxi drivers "All" own diesel driven cement mixers.
thomo |
HerbSG
|
Posted - 07/03/2007 : 05:56
On my last trip back I was fascinated with the lock system through Devizes in Wiltshire, 29 locks in like 2 miles, each lock with its own "pond" or reservoir. To look at this from the road it looks like going up a long flight of stairs.
HERB
|
marilyn
|
Posted - 07/03/2007 : 08:10
We have just returned from a house-boat holiday. They are a bit different to your boats.....I shall email Stanley a pic. Ours slept 12 in hotel style accomodation (with ensuite facilities)and even had a spa bath.....those things are pure heaven. No! It doesn't come with staff or pilot! That is half the fun. Even I drove it.....
(only in short bursts.....when Febby had to duck to the loo...)
The fishing was dismal. Only two fish were caught the entire week. One had to be returned to the water as it was a protected species, the other was a Carp and we were legally obliged to kill it (an offence to return it to the water). It wasn't hard to kill.....being a mere three inches long!
get your people to phone my people and we will do lunch...MAZ |
Another
Traycle Mine Overseer
6250 Posts
|
|
Posted - 07/03/2007 : 08:59
Panny, if your dad was stationed in Iceland during the early years of the war and was with the Dukes he would have been pals with my dad.Did he have any tales abouit drinking the local hooch?
We once tried eating a bream caught from Lower Res. at Foulridge - tasted horrible and very muddy though I have seen them for sale in fish markets. Perch are very tasty but very boney. Nolic
" I'm a self made man who worships his creator" |
Callunna
Revolving Grey Blob
3044 Posts
|
|
Posted - 07/03/2007 : 09:18
quote:
it looks like going up a long flight of stairs
... and they're actually called staircase locks! Red diesel derogation is an edict from the EU, not the British government - not sure on what grounds. Maybe a pen pusher hadn't anything to do one Thursday afternoon. Elaine's dad was in the Fleet Air Arm in WWII and was stationed in the Arctic Circle, Iceland and Norway, among other places. He never wanted to talk much about it, like so many servicemen. |
Bruff
|
Posted - 07/03/2007 : 12:19
I like fishing - haven't been for ages mind, but used to go a lot when I lived up in Barlick, and when I popped home. I like fly fishing for trout, and used to fish up at White Moor, where you could take a boat out, and the resevoirs over at Fewston. Me and my dad used to also get up early and drive up to fish at Leyton (?) Resevoir which is well up in N Yorks past Pateley Bridge. We also used to fish the Aire outside of Skipton.
I would always keep some of the trout I caught to eat. I would kill them, and gut them there and then, throwing the guts into the undergrowth where various creatures would see to its disposal. Keep the trout cold and then bring it home and eat it the same day. Lovely.
I've also done a bit of shooting when I was younger. Bagged rabbits and a hare once on common land in Scotland. Again, I ate the things, and gave the guts and the head to the cat. On the same holiday, I fished for mackeral and skate - caught both - and picked mussels from their beds. Basically, the protein on that holiday came free.
I have no problems with hunting for food.
Richard Broughton
|
panbiker
|
Posted - 07/03/2007 : 13:16
Nolic, I have my Dad's diaries for 1940/41, when he was stationed in Iceland. No real mention of the local brew but I'm sure he will have sampled it. He was with the Dukes who, as you know were sent to occupy the island to stop it falling into enemy hands. Dad's battallion built the airfield at Rekjavik. I was always fascinated by the tales he told about the environment and conditions etc and always wanted to visit, my wife Sally organised a visit for me for my 50th, fantastic place.
I have some pics of my Dad and his mates during the war which I intend to put up on the site when I have time. You may spot your Dad in there somewhere.
Sorry this is a bit off topic, I'll post further comments into a more relevant section of the site.
Ian |
Canals: boating; fishing
