Transient Towpath Trudging - Pt.69

Not a great start to this reccy session you see on-route to the canal a few miles away out from nowhere a deer, a proper one too, came from my left at considerable speed right in front of my car.

Thankfully I've still got reactions of a fighter pilot because miraculously that audible thud I was expecting never came. Being light the Jimny stops very well and I assume the deer almost hit a stationary car. I could just see it out of rear view mirror where after wriggling around on its back with spindly legs in the air it managed to right itself and went legged it back to where it came from. 

I stopped the car at a safe position went to see I could see it but I couldn't and then looked over my car and apart from a tiny witness mark on a newly cleaned car, there was no damage whatsoever. A lucky escape for the both of us. !!!

For this short session I wanted to check out a newly dredged bit of the local canal which at one time was home to one of my biggest Zander of 9'b on the nose. During lockdown you realise just how shallow this canal is when it went clear because of the lack of boats. Some small carp made an appearance too so with the weather warming up, were there any showing ?

I'd leapfrog some cover for those Zander that reside he, well I say that, I've not caught one here in ages now and it's largely been off my radar because of it. There is plenty of cover near and far bank though so with Bream Bay being given a Duncan Goodhew by the canal and rivers trust I fancy trying somewhere new to get my whatever comes along fix.

So two deadbait rods with roach and like I said where I'd move from bits of cover to bits of cover and then to see if there were any fish showing. I forgot just how nice this stretch is in full bloom but after fishing the whole length of the cover without a nibble or a fish topping looks can be deceiving. 

After heading up past the cover over by some reeds some there were signs of bream feeding judging by the bubbles, and then when one rolled in the middle of the track that only confirmed it. 

So I've earmarked this area for a future session to see if I'm missing anything. There is a nice straggly bush here that provides some cover for fish and then one of the deadbaits was picked up and dropped after being dragged a foot or so I thought I was on for some action.

Sadly not, because despite the water being just shy of a tropical 18 degrees that was the only action I got. The dredging had seemed to increase the depth in the track but in the main it hasn't really made any difference.

It's still walkable from one side of the canal to the other I reckon, but then it still holds some big fish, well it did anyway. There wasn't any boats during my session here which was late evening and to be honest it wasn't as coloured as it usually is so maybe that was the issue for lack of Zander action. Oh well there is always the next time !!!