Transient Towpath Trudging - Pt.89

So where to go, what to do ? tramp alley, carp corner, bream bay ? I fancied doing some float fishing for bream, roach etc but I was still undersided where to go. Nic messaged with with his whereabouts for the weekend and he also fancied the carp corner area because it often throws up some nie fish.

Often I say, because it can be hit and miss, because us anglers tend to forget the rubbish and mediocre sessions and only really think about those trips out that result in some nice fish.

I arrived just after 6.30am and Nic was already about to move because there was nothing doing in his first swims. There were signs of fish activity but nothing that pointed to fish feeding. I had a go in my normal area that was like a mud pit and might lead to trench foot if I stayed any length of time.

Now it's much shallower in the main this canal and the water temperature was 9.2 degrees so plenty of time to warm up in my experiences because sport can be slow when the rivers close. 

Talking about warming up, the wind was cold especially when I moved to bream bay because the lack of action. It is much more open here and the wind was howling making it uncomfortable to fish really despite being wrapped up.   

Now bream bay is a patch on its former self because a considerable amount of cover was removed here last year and the stretch is baron of the nearside features that existed here that seem to help hold the fish. All of that is no gone with only reeds on the far side giving the fish any sanctuary really. 

I spent a good hour in that swim without a nibble and after trying a couple of areas I'd had Zander from before this was just one of those days. Still some fresh air which is always  

Nic had already gone by this time managing a "microscopic perch" because he was finding it tough as well in often a productive area. With a boat heading my way I got on the rove and decided to fish a few of the lock mouths on the way back to the car. 

Those didn't produce either and by this time the sun was shining right on the canal and I knew no matter what I tried I was unlikely to catch anything. I tried maggot, bread and worm for this session and only one tiny indication anything was actually in the swims I fished.

So a blank for me sadly but then like I said, not entirely unexpected for this time of year. I'd imagine a another 3 or 4 weeks will make all of the difference. So I might stick to the dedicated zander sessions for a while and then give the canals a go for other species when it warms up a bit. It's a strange time of year as well with the fish thinking about spawning, they are often sluggish I've noticed because of that, probably to conserve energy I'd imagine. 

Oh and not even a bite on the zander rod either, nada, zilch, nothing !!!