The problem is out of the 25 miles or so of canal I've got at my disposal this is on the outer reaches of my patch.
Over 20 minutes door to door....
I’d fished it a few times on my own and with Danny with relatively mediocre results but one early morning session on retrieval of a lure, a Zander surfaced close to the margin and produced a huge boil in the surface and there was no denying the fish that caused it was a very good fish indeed. Sadly it didn’t grace my hook but the suspicions were confirmed there are some good fish here.
It was exhibitionism in full glory, it appeared that it wanted to be seen.
Now talking of exhibitionism a friend of a friend used to live in the canal side cottage just up from where this session is, and one summer evening a couple or three years ago his daughter pointed to a boating couple outside the kitchen window and asked
“Dad, what are they doing ?”
“Err not sure to be honest, best look anyway”
She was astride the paddles, chuff naked as nature intended, he with a professional camera set-up, not a care in the world, ‘hey look at us’
Then there was an incident here last season where a group of elderly teenage girls who were treading the towpath as part of the Prince’s Trust decided to undress and change out of their wet clothes under a bridge just down from where I was fishing whilst sheltering from the rain.
It made a blank day palatable, so I’m not complaining....
Maybe there is something in the air in this part of the world, now before you come to conclusions the reason why I’m back is not for a chance glimpse of a jotter it is because if there was ever a classic stretch of canal where Zander would reside then this would be it, the thick far bank cover goes on for ages and there are holes, cut-outs and overhanging branches that seem to jut out feet from the bank.
Not only that but much like much of the canal network fish feel safe here as foot traffic especially those from anglers is very rare indeed.
For this early morning session I wanted to be get some fishing in before the locks are opened where the water goes from a gentle bouncing off the gates to a full on raging torrent.
It needs to be seen to be believed, it’s about the only time where I’d thought maybe a running set-up would be preferential than the over depth set-up I usually use.
Lure not a problem, just make it a heavy one… >15g’s should do it
Now it was a tough session, I leap frogged the stretch with dead baits and then worked my way back. Nearly two hours without a touch I switched from far margin to near and that ultimately made the difference.
Two schoolies banked and somehow I managed to not connect to a fish after one of the most powerful bites I'd ever had.
Proper submarine stuff with the float properly under for a not insignificant time.
I'm not sure it was a decent fish or an overly aggressive schoolie, who knows but again, this venue has been tough again.
I'm sure if I was closer and fishing it frequently the results would be different, but for the moment, I'm not likely to rush back.
The problem is, I've got so much to go out, and so little time.
On to the next one....
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