Transient Towpath Trudging - Pt.127 (Zedlets & K2-18b)

I took Ben to Mcdonalds the other day and there was a table of kids 10 strong all on their phones swiping and fixated on their  phones, hardly saying a word to to each other, conversation is oldschool it seems, DEAD !!

Now I know COVID hit the GENZ hard but it really was an eyeopener on what the future holds. 👀

I could be time blog readers, once upon a twitchy time on the banks of a sleepy English river, Mick the founder of the legendary Piscatorial Quagswagging Blog sat beneath a mossy willow, nursing a flask of tea and watching his float with the meditative patience of a monk.

But something had changed.

You see the banks, once a sanctuary of silence and float-staring serenity, had become a circus of bleeping chaos. 

Anglers lined up like festival-goers, armed with rods that cost more than Mick’s old Metro Gti, and bite alarms that lit up like disco balls at the faintest whiff of a breeze.

“Oi Mick, you seen my latest catch? Got it on TikTok used a trending sound and everything!” shouted a lad down the bank, wearing joggers tighter than his attention span.

Mick gave a slow, solemn nod, barely blinking as his float trembled then bobbed then dipped. He struck with grace, landing a fine roach. But no one noticed. They were too busy syncing their casts to social media algorithms.

Back at home, Mick stared at the stars one evening, his battered floats lined up like trophies on the mantel. “If no one wants to watch floats anymore…” he whispered, pulling on his smiley-face bucket hat, “...maybe I need to cast off somewhere they still do.”

So he did what any sane, slightly weathered, bearded float-enthusiast would do: He built a rocket. Not just any rocket the Piscatorial Quagswagging Express a converted Blue Origin craft now powered by nostalgia and Champion Beer.

As Earth grew smaller in the porthole, Mick gave a floaty wave. Below, the entire planet was blanketed in a shimmering TikTok logo, like a plastic sheet covering a once-vibrant painting. The alarms still beeped faintly in the background. Inside the cockpit, Mick clutched a fistful of handcrafted floats, gave a thumbs up to no one in particular, and muttered, “Back in my day, a bite meant something…”

And with that, he turned his gaze to K2-18b.

He’d heard there were no alarms up there.

Just silence.

And maybe, just maybe… a bite worth watching.

Anyway back on earth I had Zander to catch so luckily for me 5 mins away I can be on the canal towpath where some reside. Now Buffalo Si messaged me the other day and said the cash strapped Canal & River Trust had taken to the cover like something out of the chainsaw massacre and he wasn't wrong.

That thick cover that wasn't hindering the boats btw all hacked back and much of it removed completely and from past experience that hinders the fishing and when it's low as it is now, and less boat movement because of the knackered lock not far away, it was going to be tough.

There was a lure angler on the stretch and he seemed surprised when after about 10 minutes I was playing a zedlet with eyes clearly bigger than its belly. But a fish is a fish after all and at least I hadn't blanked.

That was the peak though because I had to get on my toes to try and find the fish. I leapfrogged that length of canal with no more bites so I retraced my steps and decided to fish the opposite direction where in the past I've had a 9lber and also a fish of 8lb 10oz. That was a while ago mind you and I hardly fish it now because it is certainly harder to get any bites.

I gave it a good go and ticked off 14k steps in the process but the one and only bite came at the start of the session. At least a black lab was enjoying itself but there was no way I'd be swimming in these waters, me well the fishing was pants but at least the fitbit was happy.

As I type this I should be out fishing somewhere but I woke up at 6.00am ready to go but had no urge to go whatsoever so went back to sleep for a couple of hours and had a lie in instead. With the Easter weekend here I will get out somewhere but for now it's toast and marmalade.