Transient Towpath Trudging - Pt.111 (Canal Zander)

On-route to visiting my Mum from working from MIRA for the day, I drove past the 'THE LAND OF GIANTS' which is Europe’s newest and only, Jurassic & Ice Age themed event touring the UK for 2024! (This was the grounds of Maxstoke Castle' Apparently the experience is the only one of its kind to showcase giant beasts from both periods of time, the Jurassic / Triassic era and the Ice Age  Era'.

'THE LAND OF GIANTS is a must-see family edutainment attraction, a highly educational and entertaining Jurassic and Ice age walk-through experience, aimed at family audiences. 

Featuring over 50 impressive installations of animatronic dinosaurs and Ice Age beasts with moving parts. 

Visitors will explore the gardens and parklands and uncover epic life-sized replica dinosaurs and Ice Age beasts, including everybody’s favourites such as T-Rex, Triceratops, Woolly Mammoths and Smilodons. Each beast has robotic moving body parts, which includes heads moving, bodies breathing, arms and tails moving, eyes blinking and jaws opening wide with realistic roaring sound effects. Making for a truly awesome walk-through experience!'

Well, errrr ok I saw the dinosaurs from the road (in-fact I did the previous week and wondered what the heck was going on), but the rain had caused havoc during the day with many of the local roads flooded (The Alne put an extra 2m of water on in 24 hours) which had clearly put the public from visiting. There was a few cars in the car-park which to be honest could have been from the street vendors that all appeared to be closed. 

There was a guy that looked slumped in his chair sheltering under his gazebo who presumingly was meant to be checking bags and tickets from the crowds that were expected. Rain puts people off, and thankfully even the lycra clad middle aged tyre distressers were non existent this journey but this rain had been biblical to be fair, even the T-Rex was holding an umbrella FFS. 

Anyway after seeing my mum for a while I did think about going fishing because it had eased off but to be honest I'm lacking a little motivation at the minute, so I decided to go out a couple of days later after watching Luke Litter win the PDC (where it was £9 a pint apparently 😲) instead where hopefully I'd try and winkle out a Zander from this usually productive stretch. This area is harbouring some decent Zander currently would a decent one turn up ? 

Well to be honest a good hour and half nothing whatsoever which could mean that the fish have dispersed post spawning, or as it was in the middle of the day they might not have been in a feeding mood.

In the end I decided to upsticks and take a look at an area where blog reader Nick had spotted some carp. It was a reasonably humid with the sun coming out intermittently so a good time to see if there was any mooching about to be fair.

After a natter to a couple of anglers who were struggling for bites on worm and maggot with only a couple of perch caught I was bankside by the rather feature filled area. I tried two swims with the Zander baits but nothing and I didn't see any carp either, but they don't show themselves that easily on the canal so not unexpected. It looked a little like 'carp corner', so no reason why they wouldn't like it here, it's the sort of place that just looks good for them to be harbouring up.

In the end I retraced my steps on the way back to the car and leapfrogged cover after cover where eventually after 3 hours or so I must have dropped the bait on a Zanders nose as I had a bite within a few minutes of it going out.

Only a schoolie though sadly but at least I didn't blank, anyway I was hoping that wouldn't be alone down there but that was the only bite I had from that swim, and another 3 or so after that. Hard going I must admit but that's Zander fishing for you, fortunes can change with the flick of a finger.