There’s been some good sport on the Midlands canals since they thawed, with the Shropshire Union standing out.

Tony Keeling organised a knock-up match on the High On stretch recently and the AVERAGE weight of silver fish was over 12lb, with two anglers breaking 20lb. Topping the list was Fred Cheetham with a 20-14-0 all-roach catch on hemp, some of them topping 1lb. The stretch is controlled by Izaak Walton AA and you can fish it on a day ticket, if bought in advance from Ian’s Tackle in Penkridge (tel 01785 715744).