Closed Season Canal Zander Quest PT87 – Foolocracy and Freeloaders

I saw something in the press the other day that raised ones eyebrows, apparently a Government think tank proposed that millennials and generation Z’ers should receive a one-time £10,000 ‘citizen’s inheritance’ at age 25 to boost young people’s economic prospects and mend their ‘broken’ link with aging baby boomers.

The findings will be seized on by millennials (born 1981-2000) who believe they have been miscast as spendthrift hedonists who would rather splash out on artisan coffee and slices of avocado on toast than save for a house deposit.

There were ways to try to recover it, but as one never had any financial support and would expect any inheritance from my parents, I hope they have some good way of doing it, because a windfall later in life was one of them.

Now as someone that falls within the generation X, I certainly didn’t have it easy buying my first house, sacrifices were made.

Findus crispy pancakes and Bernard Matthews turkey twizzlers were not consumed out of choice let me tell you.What is shocking, Findus still make them, yes really.

Also the £600 car at the time to get me to work and back that needed to be tinkered with could have easily be replaced by something nicer if I chose to spend the decent deposit ‘I’ managed to save up to get out in to the real world and stand on my own two feet.

When I eventually moved in, a cheapo Argos sofa bed was used for sitting and sleeping and home starter kits of pot, pans and utensils did me for quite a few months before they could be replaced.

£3 quid a day for a Costa coffee, £700 nicker for the latest phone, 2k for that much need holiday in Thailand, and the weekend break in New York and the daily M&S lunch, oh and that £250 quid a month for a new car and £150 quid a night on a night out, yeap times are hard these days.

Just wouldn’t happen when I was in my early 20’s, if you really wanted to get on the housing ladder, you’d quit the whinging, put your head down and just get on with it. It’s surprising just how quick saving will mount up too if you’re spend careful.

So take that plate with your expectations and put down that cap in hand....

Anyway what’s up with renting, ok not for me, but it works for some and especially those who cannot live without their cinnamon dolce lattes and want to maintain their all consuming lifestyles. Luckily my expendable income situation changed for the better so money was a little easier to come by, but I certainly had to make do and be close-fisted for a good while.

Now talking of things on a plate, those probing emails I get asking where I catch my Zander from seem to be more prevalent these days, I’ve said before, errr it ain’t rocket science fishing for Zed’s on the canal. Find canals where they call home and spend the time trudging the poo riddled towpaths like I do. It’s pure bank time and as I spend an obscene amount of time on them, it’s only when you start ploughing through the endless schoolies eventually something half decent will turn up. It takes time too and considering the amount of hours I’ve put in now, I’m still only a gnat’s nadger closer to a 10lber.

So for this session having had average results for this closed season thus far I decided to fish an area I'd only fished a couple of times but I despite it's potential it didn't quite live up to it expectations .My original usual stomping grounds where I’d only fished a few times since the start of the 2018 quest, this area was where my PB of 9lb came from and although the schoolies were on the smaller side, when a large fish would eventually turn it, it was usually a fish over 5lb.

The problem is judging by the catch rate this year and last you could fish 10 or 15 sessions without even a sniff of a 3lber and that’s enough to defeat even the most determined Zed head and last seasons results didn't throw up anything bigger than 4lb if I recall, with its heyday seemingly a distance memory. I'm sure those original lunkers I caught though are still hanging around somewhere, maybe wiser with age and may well be difficult to catch. I need to cast ones net wider hence this session.

If a 10lber doesn't crop up till the rivers open I might for 2019 closed season fish exclusively in this bit of water where I know blanks will be on the cards but a biggy my well be still here, I'm sure of it.

With the water as warm as it is, I’ve certainly found the catch rate decreases as the fish for some reason go off from feeding, so the probability of a decent fish also decreases, doesn't bode well for conclusion of the quest now does it.

The first thing I noticed was just how clear it was here, hmmm, that usually means it will be tough especially with the sun quite bright. It took quite a considerable time to find the first fish, the margins were lacking in features but eventually the float moved and a fish was on. A small skinny schoolie that took a liking to the smelt offering.

Some more roving around and with 3 miles covered, again tight to cover another fish was on, this gave a better scrap and sure enough it was a better fish, still not the stamp I was after but at least not a blank. One more schoolie followed quite quick and after spotting a few carp milling around it was time to call time. I'm getting to know areas that are worth spending more time on, and this probably isn't one of them. However if I do catch a double then certainly carp seem to be calling home here which is encouraging, and canal carp could well be my next challenge.