In the 1996 Hooked on Scottish series, Paul Young goes coarse fishing on the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal, just outside Kirkintilloch.
He uses a 14-foot rod called a “whip”. The line is fixed to the end, and there is no reel. The hook is tiny, size 24, but the fish are small perch, tench and roach.
Two kinds of maggot are used: normal maggots, and smaller “pinkies”. Some groundbait – bran or bread – is thrown on the surface to attract the fish.
Paul catches a tiny perch, which he throws back in: “I don’t think even the keep-net would take that one”.
His friend Drew catches a few fish, including a 12-ounce tench. Again, this is released “to fight another day”. Tench average around 2lb, but can grow to 6lb.
The canal also has bream, carp and eels.
www.forthandclyde.org.uk/
