hi billy yes there are loads of fish in the ship canal, no your not allowed to fish it only in certain places due to the extreamly high walls and 25ft + depths straight down .No clubs on the water in manchester, right thats all the bad news as for the good news you can fish it at salford quays, with easy access weekends only ( you get a parking ticket weekdays)the warrington end is a different story with lots of access and fishing ,as for fish there is everything except cat fish in there as the irwell turns into the lower ship canal there are rumoured to be barbel in there, but you wont get any info of those fishing it because its all proper secret squirral stuff, you'll have to have a look round yourself to get an idea.