Closed Season Canal Zander Quest PT97 – Spadgers, Speares and Spitchcocks

After consumption of some fresh pink lady I was feeling pretty good, you see as a result one had a healthy urinary tract and I was feeling fit and vibrant I was ready to another bash at the Zander. You see the in season Asparagus contains high levels of the amino acid asparagine, making it a natural diuretic. So eating more of the spears can help flush excess fluid and salt from your body, which may help prevent urinary tract infections.

Now John from The Two Terriers up at Upwell in West Norfolk kindly supplied some from his recently harvested batch and it was much appreciated, quality the supermarkets could only dream of, a taste unlike any other asparagus I’d tasted recently. Not only a load of pink spears but a handmade Ibiza card and the personal touch, I'm not sure I deserve such attention.

Purple and pink varieties of asparagus in particular are full of anthocyanin’s, which give fruits and veggies their red, blue, and purple hues and have antioxidant effects that can help your body fight damaging free radicals. Although don’t overcook it as you can negate some of its nutritional benefits.

To accompany the pee tainter some Parma ham wrapped cod and a simple poached egg. A good source of vitamin E and a natural aphrodisiac because of vitamin B6 and folate, jobs a good’un.But the list doesn’t end there, can ease a hangover, beats bloating, a rich source of folic acid, vitamin K and a mood booster, yeap it contains high levels of tryptophan. Thumbs up from me and the Wife.

What’s not to like about these seasonal vegetable, there was even a local’ish festival all about it….

Well it’s not happening this year sadly, but Asparafest which took place at Ashdown Farm in Badsey Nr Evesham was a family festival, dare I say it an extreme village fete all about the namesake.

From asparagus eating competitions through to a Zoo of the petting variety. Folk music, Morris dancing, food stalls that have to have at least one dish featuring asparagus, farm & country crafts, barrels of ale.

Asparagus, asparagus and more asparagus all in a chilled family atmosphere it was great, England at its best.

The festival even features Jemima Packington who he is the world’s only ‘asparamancer’, and claims she can see into the future by tossing asparagus into the air and interpreting how the spears land. Some of her previous predictions have come true as well.

Her predictions back in January for 2018 were the following.

• Record number of Royal births. 
• UK will suffer flooding at the start of the year. 
• Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions will occur around the globe. 
• Theresa May will be ousted and Britain will get a new Prime Minister. 
• Oscar success for British films and one particular British actor. 
• Politics will be rocked by a string of scandals. 
• US will bring the world to the brink of serious conflict if successful intervention by the rest of the world cannot be achieved. Watch out for unlikely peacemakers. 
• No major sporting achievements for our national teams. 
• Brexit will cause many countries outside the EU to review their border and immigration policies. 
• The Bitcoin bubble will burst. 
• Major world economies will suffer a downturn but will rally slightly. 
• Resurgence of the book as opposed to cyber libraries and video gaming. 
• More countries around the world will follow the Danish ethos of Hygge – or contentment and wellness of spirit and body. 
• A significant return to family values will be seen. 
• Mick will not complete his Canal Zander Quest !!!

So we'll see, some of them are highly probable I must admit. Let’s hope its back in 2019 as it was a great little festival….

So for the session down at the deep bit it was out with the big guns, yeap, one rod with Lamprey and the other the usual smelt. The Zeds has been off of late, with catch rates down, properly down, so I was hoping a change in scenery and change on bait might be the edge that was needed.

You see the Lamprey oozes blood like a nothing else and maybe some added attraction, a bit like the aftermath of consuming asparagus to a toilet, I was hoping for a little more success as I’ve been having recently.

This area before the water got warm (20.2 degrees C yesterday) has been very productive indeed, so this was a short after work jobbie to try and winkle something out. Like a sparrow I hot footed it down this hallowed ground to get some solitude away from the chaos to where I’m sure there would be a fish or two in the vicinity. The fish activity was beyond ridiculous and after leap frogging a good couple of hundred yards without a bite and witnessing feeding bubbles and a couple of occasions bream existing the water maybe a rod out for bream might take my mind of the motionless floats.

Another Blank !!!!!

Oh well maybe there is next week I suppose. But as suspected the Zeds were not up for feeding or were simply not there. It's been a familiar story to be honest, but hey that's Zander fishing, they cannot be predicted. Now I could have stuck it till way beyond dark but even then there is no guarantee that would give me a bite or two, so it's just one of those things, not much I can do about it.

With the 16th on the countdown I've a couple of sessions left to try and catch a least the target species before the 2018 part of the quest comes to a conclusion.It's getting much tougher I've no doubt about it and yet I had a small glimmer of hope when I stumbled upon the 'deep' bit that saw we right for a four or five sessions.

So where to go next, ? what to do now ? I'll mill it over over a dram and head out somewhere the weekend. They appear to have all but vanished so maybe thinking outside the box is the way to go.