Piscatorial Quagswagging

...the diary of a specialist angler in around the Warwickshire Avon and its tributaries.

Tuesday 21 March 2023

Transient Towpath Trudging - Pt.47

As anglers we all hate losing fish don't we, you see a few days ago you see a zander gave me the middle fin and went back to whatever it was doing probably not even realising I had the net ready, so sadly another to add to the extensive selection. Circle hooks are my main attack these days, they have been for a while for Zander, and you usually know when you have a decent hook hold quite quickly when you first tighten up to the fish once that bite is received.

Zander have always been tricky to hook properly they just have those sort of bony mouths and unlike pike can nibble at the bait rather take the job lot. I felt this fish on for a few seconds but then when it realised it was hooked the first bend of the rod it must have let go of the bait and it was off.

It felt half decent for that split second though and it left a significant wake in the surface only culpable only by a half decent fish. Now I use Sakuma 440's in size 1 and after trial and much error they have certainly improved my hook-ups. Still you still lose fish from time to time though and sadly I never got to see it which is a shame considering how tough I've been finding it.

With spawning on the horizon my theory is those feeding spells will be short and the fish as the water is still cold'sih, are most likely not that eager to get moving so are most likely laying up to keep themselves fit for the upcoming revelries. Always an excuse isn't there, still Soooooo quiet, and so little action but Nic from Avon Angling had been messaging me throughout his session and his outcome for canal zander on two different stretches was very similar indeed. 

So I was back for another go along the same area, this a short session after work in to dusk and a a little beyond to hopefully cross paths with it again. I'm running out of past their best deadbaits so will need to get some more sorted, especially in a couple or three weeks when the water has warmed up a bit and fish are moving more when they do start biting, it's surprising just how fast you can get through them.

 After arriving at the parking area the rain was hammering it down and I did think about sacking it off altogether and head home instead (5 mins) but within 5 minutes it has stopped to almost nothing, so it was out with the rods and out with the wellies. 

The water had coloured up considerably since the last session here so I was hopeful for a bite. 4 swims down and also the lock covered without an indication whatsoever this wasn't looking good again

I decided to stick it out for the last hour in the swim I lost a fish 3 sessions ago and as dusk approached I was watching the right hand float when after half an hour, out of the blue it sharply bobbed and the buried right under the surface in a split second and before I had time to pick up the rod it popped up again a metre closer towards me. 

Certainly not a Zander, an Eel quite possibly, but at least some action. I scaled down that bait to a single whole 3 inch roach and got the float back out. Soon after this a pull on the left hand rod turned in to a proper bite where the float was moving left to right and then stopped and it was headed towards the cover over at the far side. 

I wound in to the fish and felt some tiny resistance and assume pulled the bait out of its mouth. A small schoolie most likely which fits as a friend of a friend had caught some here recently.

A pull on the right hand float again didn't develop in to a bite, however with all this action I thought I was on for a fish and a blank avoider. But with the torch now illuminating the floats and the rain started up again the swim went dead, proper dead.

So after 10 minutes past curfew time I left the damp quagmire with ones tail between my legs again. So 4 sessions, 4 blanks, I'm starting to lose the will !!!!

On to the next one !!!!

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