Transient Towpath Trudging - Pt.82

Now whenever we go to an Indian restaurant and ask for "desi style please" it basically means pepped up from the usual clientele to more home style from the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent,. 

Basically a curry which is more flavoursome due to the extra spices, extra chillies and the copious amounts of garlic. 

The Sikh friends that enjoyed this offering I've known for 30 years which is mad really, because I dread to think how many we've had over that time, and it certainly doesn't seem like 30 years to be honest. 

It all started when we found a 'desi' pub in Coventry that used to provide some work lunchtime refreshment where a nice pint was enjoyed with proper Indian food and made a change from the humdrum where not just the seasoned pub goers found it comfortable.  

That pub is now student accommodation I believe because, well, that seems to be the normal these days in good old Coventry and surrounding areas where land grab is happening in a massive scale, build build build, and bugger the infrastructure I go to MIRA in Nuneaton every week and I'm amazed at the amount of houses are going up there to add to the A5 gridlock, I thought Leamington and Warwick was bad enough.  

Good Effort Sam Newey !!

Anyway to the fishing storm Babet dumped a load of rain overnight and the local rivers were only going one was and that was UP !!! Standing water, grid locked roads, some schools shut  !!! thankfully I was working from home so was largely sheltered from it but I needed that fishing fix after a rather testing time at work. I dread to think how much raw sewage has gone in to the rivers because of the aftermath. 

So it was down to the canal forthwith, to be honest I didn't have much choice. So a float rod with bread as bait and also a small roach out for a potential Zander that often frequent these turbid waters. 

I'm rather spoilt as an angler in these quarters when the rivers are unfishable, and especially when they throw up some nice fish from time to time, such as 9lb Zander, big old roach, massive hybrids, nice chunky bream and the elusive carp, it provides the intrigue I need in my fishing. 

These canals are hardly fished either where I can go weeks and weeks in the closed season without seeing another angler. Well apart from Nic from Avon Angling and good'old Buffalo Si who puts the effort in like no other angler I know. That's why it seems a little half arsed my short sessions, but what works for me I say. 

Now you wouldn't know there is a little brook under there only a couple of metres wide that hold some lovely wild trout would you. But yes on-route to the chosen section of canal if it was bad here then it would be even worse at the chosen stretch where the same brook is yards from the towpath, hmmmm, a change of plan then.

The road looked passable but I turned the car around and headed to an area that hopefully would be ok. To be honest it's not the best area and I hardly fish it these days. I didn't catch some nice roach and hybrids in one stretch though so that was the decision made. 

Sooooo after parking up and getting the gear I headed to the towpath which was underwater itself. The water a creamy coffee colour caused from the overflow from the local tiny brook which again has burst it banks. Once past the wellie testing path luckily it wasn't that bad however it's a good 10 minute walk to get to the area I wanted to fish.

As I turned the corner I spotted two cormorants that were in the water almost exactly where I wanted to fish, brilliant !!! I've mentioned on this blog I've not seen that many up until a couple of months ago where now I'm starting to see them more and more.

I fed some groundbait and cast a deadbait over to the far side and fished bread on the hook. That swim did absolutely nothing for forty odd minutes so with my restless legs I went on the rove. This time I found a swim where the extra water on hadn't changed the colour dramatically like it had everywhere else. again same tactics and same result, not a sausage !!!

I retraced my steps and went back to the first swim where after lowering the small piece of bread in to the swim I was getting indications on the long sensitive pole float straight away. At one point the float was being dragged a good few inches however not enough to actually strike at.

The culprit revealed itself at one stage though with a fish no bigger than a couple of inches launched itself clear of the water. A size 20 hook and a maggot might have been the better choice but not exactly the stamp of fish I was after. I stuck it out in that swim for another half an hour to try and give the roach deadbait a good outing to try and snare a Zander, but that was unhindered as well. 

The turmoil of all the extra water on and the change of colour may well have put the fish off, and no matter what swim I fish the outcome was probably going to be the same sadly. So that was that, back to the canals with a blank. Oh well steps covered and some much needed fresh air and it was pleasantly mild. Shame the Avon was unfishable as I bet the barbel were on the munch.