Closed Season Canal Zander Quest PT94 – Stonkers and Stench-trenches

Down the hill, through the ever steepening cutting, the containment and claustrophobic feeling on the rise, the towpath narrowing, the banks getting higher, eventually the swim is sought. One big problem though, sometimes the smell here can be overpowering, hydrogen sulfide the most likely culprit, but no obvious signs of its source. Maybe a nearby septic tank with a leak, an overflowing drain, a trumping cow, who knows, but it stinks I tell thee.

The other weekend Sam managed 10 minutes before he wanted to move from it last time, which is a shame because it’s an area that produces some decent Zander from time to time, I’m talking proper’uns , not the prepubescent plebeians.

Luckily for this session Sam,

“We won’t be fishing in the stinky swim” “we are fishing an area much much further away”

“Rrrrrrrrrhhhhhhh, is it a long walk…?”

“Errrrr, whose carrying all the tackle….?”

“Oh yeah”

I’d stumbled upon a carp hideout you see, but not only that it was an area that looked like it had some Zed potential. Some nice looking section of cover where the carp were occasionally revealing themselves when they transitioned from one area to the next. I managed to catch the runt of the litter, which looked like it had more surgery than Katie Price if that is at all possible. The fish were not that big to be fair, but to try and entertain a 7 year old on a canal is seemingly getting harder and harder, so much so, I am having to use creative licence in order to make the fishing more appealing for the little scallywag.

We were in pursuit of a canal carp I spotted here you see, a carp of brobdingnagian proportions that needed to be ‘seen to be believed’. So for this session it was a bit of double dipping, so in the quiver, a floater rod, and also bolt-rig and zander set-ups to at least try and winkle something out. Sam even had his float set-up with some maggots we had to use it, that lot, should in theory, get us a bite. I’d a big tub of sweetcorn, hemp and small feed pellets that were a little past their best, so I’d feed a few marginal swims as well to try and get fish feeding to allow them to give the game away.

Well best laid plans and all that, because after catching a small perch quite quickly and a dropped take on the carp rod it was clear after the third boat went through we were wasting our time. We decided to move to a couple of oxygenated areas to try to at least catch a Zander but after watching a motionless float for a while and bored kid starting to dip the landing net it was time to call it a day.

Now Sam doesn't want to fish canals anymore he wants to wait till we can fish the rivers, so I've a few last carpet bombing sessions to try and get back on the Zander track. So I've a session planned with Nic next week and then a few session planned where I'm sure there is a big fish still lurking.