The Close Season Zander Quest Pt.113 – Hop Merchants and Hybrid Harbourers

A couple of days earlier our paths would have crossed and the towpath shared, for the chase of the predator, those sounds of solitude.

The double dipping likeminded, his a session worthy of note, my session poor in comparison, a couple of small Zander and a pike quickly forgotten. This area has always been on ones radar because it’s a stretch that looks like it could well harbour something special.

A lunker, a drag tester !!!!

There is a reason for that, a smaller baitfish biomass unlike in many other places I fish which are usually bream gobstoppers or hybrid harbourers. Now for this early morning trip out I fancied a bit of a change, in-fact a bit of change from just fishing for preds myself.

So a mixture of liquidised bread and groundbait for some feed, a float rod and bread on the hook. The thought being attract the pole dancers the paying clients will come , and maybe I could bank a nice roach in the process….

….and who doesn’t like a nice Roach !!!!

So an unfamiliar float to watch this time but also in one’s eye line under a float fished overdepth, a smelt or a small dead Roach which would be alternated throughout the quick session. A peripheral trap for a Zander or a Pike set well before the killing zone to pick up a fish waiting in the wings, a cheapskate with moths in his wallet.

I usually travel with little more than a couple of rods, a landing net and a recently acquired Ridge Monkey Bait Bucket that contains all my essential bit of tackle and bait required for the session. I like to travel light and rover, it’s the way I fish for Zander, you need to cover as water as possible.

To be fair despite the session being a bit alien to me as for the most part I’d be stuck to one spot, apart from the additional rod, I could fit everything in the bucket, which can also make do a seat to rest ones legs if necessary.

So anyway, back to the short session, how did I do ?

Well it was a very cold start indeed, 2 or 3 degrees with the mist hanging on till the sun properly got hold. I got to the intended swim and after seeing a couple of topping roach I was quite hopeful of a good morning, but it ended up being the opposite.

A very tough session indeed, I bumped a roach off with 10 minutes of putting the float out but no more bites materialised oddly. It looked perfect as well, but just goes to show, when they are not interested not a huge amount you can do. After nearly two hours without much doing I decided to go on the rove to try and find the fish.

Sure enough a banker swim produced a nice dark Zander within ten minutes of the float being out so at least not a blank. Two more swims fished with bread and dead, not a touch.

Then the sun came out, and yet, you guessed it, I wasting my time.

Still, the solitude and scenery was enjoyable even if the fishing was hard going.