Fishing and waterways

The steelhead are a northern species. Probably need to be 500 miles north of here. The rainbow isn't native here either but TWRA (local wildlife agency) has a stocking program in quite a few rivers. Caney Fork is ideal though, it is fed by tail waters from bottom of a large dam. shallow water, wide, when not generating power, a slower constant flow of cold water is maintained from bottom of dam providing really good habitat for them. Trouble is, word has spread any a lot of people head over to get their limit! And by the way, I'm a savage, I use light spinning gear not flys. Like to watch those guys though.

 

Boring fact of the day. Turns out this old swing bridge on the Leeds Liverpool canal is Grade 2 listed.

 

Salford Quays tonight

 

Set of cycling to Chorley Saturday morning at 6:30am, booked train ticket back to Shipley for me and the bike. The towpath was closed at Silsden so I had to detour on the road via Glusburn and up and up and up over Pendle and down to Colne. I didn't enjoy that climb and had to have a pint of Porters (6%) in Spoons Colne to recover along with crappy veg breakfast for carbs.

The difference in Lancs is astonishing, hardly any cyclists out, no families, towpath unkempt, crap in the canal, dereliction everywhere, around Burnley and Blackburn was horrible, mostly the people I saw were clutching high strength beer cans.. There can't be too much to do in those towns, why have they turned there backs on the canal, a great leisure facility?

I was following my cousin about 60 miles out from Leeds and as we approached a road bridge I noticed a pole and angling gear on the canal side, but no fisherman......just as I got there out he popped right in front of me, pissed and probably just had one, it was him or the canal so wallop, down he went, he was younger than me and looked handy so I put in some effort..........

Chorley station "No trains running today" just great, why sell me a ticket for a non existent train? Had to go to Preston and get a train back via Blackburn, Manchester Rd, Burnley, Hebden Bridge, Sowerby Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Halifax, Bradfud, New Pudsey, Bramley, Leeds............might have missed some stations.......

 

Disappointed you didn't mention the condition of the road surfaces whilst on your travels. Absolutely shocking in Lancashire. Not surprising there are fewer cyclists. It either knacker your bike or your body.

 

Around Burnley it was tarmac but ribbed, worse than cobbles, often it'd disappear to just a trail through grass, only near Chorley did it become like the Yorkshire side. Yes, my wrists hurt the next day and my arse was on fire but I was on road bike.

 

Have you cycled around Preston and Garstang? Some nice places round there and roads aren't bad. Trains a bit risky at the moment with Northern rails ongoing implosion.

 

Hope your teeth stayed in!

 

River Dart, Dartmouth.

 

Couple of Altersee in the Salzkammergut

 

Largest of the 73 lakes in the region

• pike
• brown trout
• rainbow trout
• Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus)
• lake char (Salvelinus umbla)
• European eel
• carp
• burbot
• perch
• whitefish

 

Best Pike are found in Lake Hallstat apparently, but Red Bull own the fishing rights