Saturday 16 March 2024

Transient Towpath Trudging - Pt.85 (Canal Zander)

Although I moan a lot about fishing canals, (I moan about lots of things to be honest), well I am 52 years old in November it goes with the territory I suppose. The world has changed so much in the last fourteen years since I've had this blog and certainly not for the better. 

The canals you see, since I've been fishing for zander, those numbers of fish I used to catch have certainly dropped off, no doubt some of that from having anodes stuck up their jacksies from the determination of the canal and rivers trust to get rid of them. 

But the cover too, much of that has been removed in huge quantities and yet I thought they were struggling for money ? I'm sure that money could be spent better elsewhere because ok, remove any that is hindering the boats but why remove the cover that just makes a canal look nice, rather than the baron landscapes they have become more recently. 

Cover provides a haven for these predatory fish you see and much of the time they are laying up not doing a fat lot, well until a deadbait is dropped on their heads and they decide to act on their instinct. They are also scavengers and it's difficult for them to resist any food items that comes their way especially when that food item is fish shaped. 


Canals despite the dog related landmines and the great unwashed provide an angler an option in the closed season which they will do me, not just the zander but other species too. They also offer exercise as well especially when targeting zander where a leapfrogging roving approach is needed to try and find the fish, where a 4 or 5 hour session those 10k steps are ticked off quite easily. 

Now this inaugural trip post closed season was to a local'ish area of canal that seems to be bouncing back if the reports from the like-minded are anything to go by. Not just schoolies either, because a picture shared showed a fish that some weighing scales were definitely required, and made me raise my eyebrows because of that. I knew where it was caught just by seeing the background even though the person that shared the capture has always been happy to share where he fishes and where he catches. 


That why Nic from Avon Angling was here today as well, a bit of a social really with said person being fish catching machine Buffalo Si from river masters. We've fished the same waters for a good while now and often share the towpaths because we have the same mission after all. His results are all there to see on his Youtube channel 👀 

To be honest it took a good while to get the first bite which actually came when I retrieved the float when a boat was coming as it snatched the bait when it came up off the bottom. The canals locally are very turbid indeed most of the time and pike are a rarity so I use 18lb fluorocarbon for hooklinks and thin wire trace if there are pike around.  


Anyway the fishing wasn't exactly prolific so Nic went to a new area to fish which was a ten minute walk away and I stopped in the 'hot spot' with Si talking rubbish. After I had a fish that dropped off I myself went on a rove to where Nic had been fishing.

He managed a couple of zander which was nice and decided that was enough for him and left me to it. The fish didn't seem to be moving around that much hence why trying to find the fish is the key. 


I had a fish drop off within 10 minutes of having the baits out but it didn't take long to get another bite. This one was pulling back much better than the first fish but was actually much shorter in length but full of spawn by the looks it it.

I had another run but didn't connect and by this time I'd fished around 7 hours with not that much to show for it. With a busy day ahead I also decided to make my way back to the car fishing a few spots on the way back. 


And that was my lot, not exactly prolific with Si blanking when I left him but I'm sure they will be crawling up the line when they switch on and realise just who is fishing for them. 😁

I'm sure the cold overnight temperature didn't help our cause because they just didn't seem to be moving much. Still not complaining a few fish caught and always good to catch up with the like-minded. 

Friday 15 March 2024

River Arrow - Bangers and Ballistocardiographs

So it's the 15th of March today when I type this, another closed season where canals comes back in to play and also luckily for me the river Alne where I will target the trout from time to time. It would be rude not too especially when it's so close and those after work sessions come in handy to get that fishing fix.

Zander and other species will be targeted on the canals because I fancy trying for some big Rudd and also some big Roach on the Midlands turbid waterways, and whatever comes along basically.  Some of those sessions will be dedicated Zander sessions and then I'd have a Zander rod out in my peripheral view whilst praying the lift float method will come good with a big silver fish under it.


That's where I'm hoping these Temu specials will come in to their own a nadger bigger than my favorite float the 8g Korum Snapper Float but far more visible. They are foam so the issue I have is often I have retrieving floats from bushes with a hard yank, due to my wayward casting so they might not survive the punishment but I will just have to be more careful won't I.

Hopefully they won't act like a sponge and the dye's run !! but let's see, proof is in the pudding and all that !!!


Anyway for this last session I fancied trying for a chub at a section of the river Arrow I'd been fishing. Quite a handy stretch this and I'd already caught some fish here so the plan was to try and at least get a bend in the rod before having to forget coarse fish on running water for a while.

Now Nic from Avon Angling was on the stretch too and kindly primed some swims as he arrived before me. When I rocked up post work he was downstream somewhere so I decided to start off in a swim where I'd caught fish before, but I'd missed some unmissable bites the last time here. 



What I didn't expect that after the breadflake offering settled to the bottom after feeding some mashed bread within a minute or so after a few rattles on the 1oz tip it pulled round confidently and a fish was on !!!. It felt pretty decent too because with a powerful initial run I was reaching for the drag which was slightly too tight.

The battled continued however after a while it realised the game was up and it decided to grace my landing net. A lovely plump Arrow fish and sure enough "over 4 easily" it went 4lb 12oz in the scales, happy days, a nice fish to end the season.


The rain started to come down rather heavy after that fish, so with it retained in the landing net I went about trying to catch another from the same swim. I spent another half an hour in that swim and managed another chub on luncheon meat this time from a spot around 10 yards to the right of the first fish.

A smaller fish but still in cracking condition, could I catch a 3rd ?

Well sadly not despite spending another half an hour in that swim there was no more bites so I went on the rove and met up with Nic for a natter. He'd been mugged off in a swim missing those 'unmissable' bites and was determined to see what it was. 


The rain by this point had increased in intensity so I went about trying some more swims to trying and winkle out another fish. The ground was sodden and the banks were slippy, this swim in particular that didn't produce was like a mud pit and actually pretty uncomfortable to fish. 

In the end I tried another few swims without even a nibble so headed back up the stretch to see Nic where upon arriving at his swim his tip rattled in to life and I was living his frustration. 👀 Clang, Clang, Clang, pull round and strike in to nothing. 


Fair play to Nic he stuck it out in the rain and in to dusk sadly without success, because I managed one more swim for 10 minutes before deciding the rain got the better of me and that first fish was a cracker so I drove back a happy man.

A washout of a winter to be honest having to make do scratching about rather that fishing how I'd like to fish. Not just for us in the midlands but it seems countrywide too, I managed one two pike sessions that was it, a nightmare. Fingers crossed we get better weather in 3mths time as I'd be glad to see the back of this grim weather. 

Thursday 14 March 2024

Warwickshire Avon - Washouts and Wapenshaws

With my plans kiboshed because Sam was ill and was off school the late morning session wasn't going to happen on the Arrow as I had to wait for the Wife to get back from work. Always the way isn't it, best laid plans and all that what a disappointing end to the river season with the local rivers being a right state again, I should have stayed at work and not taken some of my hard earned annual holiday !!! Still there was always...

....go big or go home 

So gear packed, all ready to go after a cobbled together brunch, hurry up Sarah !! Now go big or go home is a widely used philosophical idea that encourages us to be bold and brave, like with sports or gambling. The idea is that you either win big or lose big, there’s no in-between. The phrase is said to have originated as a sales slogan in the 1990s. A motorcycle parts company in Southern California incorporated the term go big or go home in its packaging for some oversized Harley Davidson pipes.


I could fish in to dusk for this session so I decided to do what I generally don't do very often and that was to fish for one bite from a BIG barbel. Two rods, a comfortable chair (with a lumbar support don't you know 😀) a big piece of meat on one rod, a pungent Vortex Baits boilie on the other. Some goodness grenades to start the swim off ©Buffalo Si and then I'd fish over the top with a feeder full of groundbait and also a PVA bag of pellets on the boilie rod.
 
I rarely target the barbel on the Warwickshire Avon within my stomping ground because well I struggle to endure sitting behind motionless rods on a low stock river. 

Gone are the days where you could rock up at Barford which was once known as 'barbel alley' just down the road from me and catch a few fish especially in to dusk and go home happy. 

Those days were long gone well before even I became a member where I did manage some nice fish including my PB of 12lb and 14oz's which was caught in February 2019. The fish that are still frequenting the Warwickshire Avon  generally are on the larger scale and fish that can obliterate my relatively mediocre PB, hence why when the conditions are favorable ie banging through and well up like it was for today's session, it's worth a dabble for them.  


Now this stretch is only 12 miles away from me and is home to some right old lunkers but they are fished for because of that, they are not stupid these barbel especially when they get to PB breaking size. Luck is a huge part of it and also being there at feeding time which might be such a small window, there is no point trying to guess. 

That's why this type of fishing is not for me despite the rewards !!! if there was larger head of fish I might fish for them more, but for now, the odd session here and there will suffice and more than enough to keeps one's sanity.  


When I arrived there was already 4 cars in the carpark of convenience, not unsurprising as we were all after the same quarry, a barbel. Some familiar faces too so after a natter I got fishing. The river was banging through and after persevering in one swim after an hour I decided to upsticks and move.

Not only was the debris coming doing wiping out one of the rods from time to time it just didn't look like a fish would be feeding in such a turbulent area. So the next swim was only just up from this but a stream that entered it from the inside and the fact the way the river coarse went meant that the water was calmer in nature. Not bubbling and boiling but a nice steady pace to it...



Most of my big barbel have succumbed to overly large chunks of luncheon meat so that went in the swim as did the other rod with a boilie and PVA bag of pellets. This time the swim steady enough to deposit some big goodness filled heavy groundbait balls that would get straight to the bottom and the same mix went in the big feeders.

I felt at least this time the bait was presented properly where as before I didn't have that confidence. Anyway was the hours went by without much happening, the anglers started to disappear one by one, with only a report of one barbel being caught that was around 6 or 7 lb. 


So in the end I was left on my tod to fish in to dusk where hopefully a last gasp bite would bring me some success. There is a good reason why the barbel hang round here because you can park right by where you fish for the first handful of swims such is the convenience, and that means more bait goes in than anywhere else on this stretch.

Sadly not even a chub pull or nibble for me gone dusk, so 5 hours of fishing waiting for that bite that never materialised really did test my patience, especially when Buffalo Si from River Masters, had sent a picture of another massive canal zander he had caught not a million miles away from here, where he had already sacked off the rivers for this season, as had a couple of other anglers I know. Anyway the Arrow beckons where hopefully I can at least catch a chub or something before the season end....
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