Transient Towpath Trudging - Pt.106 (Canal Carp & Bream)

This area of canal hasn't been that good of late, I'm not sure why either because I've had some decent success over the years I've been fishing it but with the weather being nice and a small window of fishing opportunity, I fancied trying something a little different than what I've been doing of late.

I caught a carp along this stretch and with the sun going to be high in the sky, I was hoping I could spot some, and if I did, give them a go with surface bread, which was the eventual downfall of one particular carp that just didn't seem to be interesting in taking my bait, no matter how I tried to fish for it. 

If I couldn't see the carp I'd also fish the pellet waggler tight to some reeds over at the far side which I'd never done before up till now, despite catching some nice canal fish that way in the past. I'd been fishing the track and also the nearside reeds and those bigger fish just hadn't been showing up for me for some reason. 

There was a slight hurdle in my plan though and that was the fact that my adopted local pub had Bass on cask and it would stupid to not to have a thirst quencher prior to some fishing, because I know it wouldn't be available after the weekend with only 88 pints being in a keg, and Bass is easy drinking.

Bass beer (the red triangle is the oldest trademark in the UK, the landlord Danny tells me) has a top fermenting yeast that is fermented at a warmer temperature for 3–5 consecutive days. This process also allows for the beer to have a more fruity and robust flavor. It is because of the hops and the malts that the beer is brewed with a slightly burnt aroma and a full body flavor. 

Now up until the 18th century, beers in England were mostly deep brown or black in color, however as malting technology improved, so did the ability to control the intensity of roast and flavor. Some of the defining characteristics of the more paler ales are the clear yellow look of the beer with a half an inch to an inch of head when it is poured into a glass, or for me I look for those more copper red brown. They are usually to my palate rather than those more modern overly hoppy IPA's we get this days. 

Anyway after the nice pint which I managed to get free, because after a natter with Danny, I completely forgot to pay for it until I was half way down it, so shouted Danny who was milling around outside messing around with air rifle (yes really), and he said "Oh well, don't worry about it, have one on me" !!)

Bonus !!!

Anyway back to the task in hand after  I caught a bream within half an hour of getting there that took some bread tight to some reeds, I noticed that the carp was milling around by another clump of reeds, and was sunning itself basking in the lovely weather.

Not a huge fish, but certainly worth targeting, however like all canal carp, very very spooky indeed and despite managing to get some bread right on its nose a couple of times, it was do an about turn and go completely the other way 😑. 

I figured out its patrol route and positioned some bread in a perfect spot hoping when it came back it would take it, but no, this time it completely ignored it. I was surprised how much of the canal it covered when I spooked it and at one point I'd followed it down the canal a good 200 yards or so. Very frustrating and in the end I ran out of time sadly. On a positive note at least I know there is still carp in carp corner, I just need to be in the right time and the right place like I was last time I caught a canal carp, fingers crossed !!

Transient Towpath Trudging - Pt.105 (Canal Zander & Pike)

As a lover of Indian food a mate of mine said do you fancy the 'Desi Pub'  Soho Tavern in Hampton in Arden for a change, yeah why not !! it worked out well because after visiting my mum after work it's only 10 minutes or so by car. 

It would usually take 5 minutes but with the HS2 skirting past the 'village' the temporary traffic lights over the lovely river blythe scuppered that, as did the large white arrow once you got past that to give way to the oncoming traffic, which at 5.30pm there was a land train of cars, oh well at least you could watch the planes overhead landing and taking off from Birmingham airport. 📢 I managed to safely get to the 17th century White Lion for a couple of pints of Otter after struggling to find parking due to the businesses success, Phippo and I headed down to the Soho Tavern to try and get a seat. 

It was extremely busy you see, even at a relatively early midweek 6.30pm however luckily we managed to get a table overlooking the lovely garden and open countryside, wondering if judging by the car parked at the entrance whether we were about to get fleeced.

The demographic of Hampton-In-Arden changed quite considerably in this establishment but that is usually a good sign that the food is authentic. With so many staff the service was very good but that's where it ended, the food came out stupidly fast almost like they wanted those turn over of table and the food well, very average indeed really. 

This boneless sizzling platter enough for 3 (£22 quid) and a post meal doggy bag contained fish pakora, prawns, chicken tikka and shish kebab over a bed onions. Nice enough but it needed pepping up with chilli sauce, as it didn't tingle the palate. A scoop full of Phippo's child portion sized curry with the garlic naan, that was average at best as well. Oh well you live and learn don't you, we won't be rushing back, the lime and soda was top notch mind you, we should have stayed in the pub and had the pie and chips, that looked great 🤣

Anyway this after work session to keep up the 10k steps a day I decided to head down to an area of canal that is throwing up some nice fish at the moment. Fish big enough to rival the 'Hallowed' albeit ten minutes to drive to get there rather than 35 minutes, which means these last minute adhoc sessions are ideal to try and snare a monster from the canal.

I've managed Zander up to 8lb 9oz from here and there has been much bigger ones caught up to 13lb for the like-minded, which is mad really because I've fished this area on and off for years, without much success, but it shows that things can change year on year.

Anyway I had a small schoolie on the bank within 10 minutes fishing tight to cover so I thought I'd be on for some good sport but how wrong was I. Whilst I was fishing, Nic from Avon Angling was filling me on a session he was having on a canal marina, where he'd finished on around 100lb of fish with countless bream, tench, rudd and even a 12lb pike.

We'd always wondered what was harbouring in these big marinas and now we know first hand, literally fish soup. If I didn't have the wife and kids in tow, I could probably make retirement work and spend my last days moored up on a narrowboat.  

For me though cover after cover the big Zander just didn't seem to be showing and after another schoolie after about 2 hours of fishing I decided to head to a new area, where bait fish usually show up headed towards sundown.

After positioning the deadbaits tight to some overhanging cover it looked good for a bite because the cover was so dense but a good twenty minutes or so nada, so I decided to try the next bit of cover along. I reeled in the right rod and a pike came from the depths and made a grab for the bait in the middle of the track where it made a huge splash but missed the bait. I left the rod alone though and within a few seconds the float was off down the canal so I tightened up to the circle hook. A decent fight I must admit with a few powerful runs but eventually it was safely in the net. 

A long lean fish that went 10lb 8oz on the scales so a decent pike from the canal. Its head was ridiculously big so I feel sorry for the fish that have to encounter that !! After that fish I tried a few more spots but again those bigger Zander were just not showing.

I could have stayed much longer but in the end I decided I had my quota and ended the session on the double figure pike. With a month left to the rivers are open again it's gone surprisingly quick if I'm honest. Still plenty of sessions left on the canals though and thankfully I've been enjoying my time on them. 

Transient Towpath Trudging - Pt.107 (Bread and Zander)

I’ve always wondered why the canals I fish are devoid of anglers because there are some nice fish to catch and there is that mystery in fishing which is lacking in fishing a commercial for example. You have so much of it to explore that there isn’t the issue that if there is a rare example that there is another angler present, solitude is a mere 5-minute walk away.

The local stretches to me are alive at the moment with everything waking up from its slumber. The fish are spawning or have spawned and those bream especially are on the munch and are there to be caught.

The flora and fauna is also growing so fast you can almost see it grow if you stare at in long enough, so that means they are a pleasant place to spend time next to, especially when you are getting bites.

For this early morning roving session, I fancied exploring an area that won’t have ay narrowboats navigating its waters for a good while because of a lock gate is having to replaced. It’s a month away from the new river season and I would be surprised if it’s fixed by then, so time to fill one’s boots.

So a predator rod with a roach deadbait and my small guru pellet waggler set-up where I’d fish some bread tight to some reeds. The float is made from foam so with a large shot anchored a couple of inches from the hook it’s easily castable and the set-up is super sensitive. Some sloppy bread is fed once the bread is in position and that clouds up the water.

Anyway what I didn’t expect was that on-route to the area to fish was another angler who was already fishing !! I was there a 6.30am and he’d been there at dawn. He’d managed some perch and also some bream fishing close in from the bank using maggots. Because of the lack of boats the water is now starting to clear with a good foot or so of visibility.

Whilst I was having a natter the amount of fish activity was quite incredible really with bubbles galore in much of the swim. So I needed to go and catch some fish of my own didn’t I. I headed up to the very top of the area I wanted to fish which was a good 40 minutes walk, and then I’d work my way down.

Anyway, as I was nearing the area, what the hell, yes another angler who had just set-up his gear. Unheard of in these quarters but then the weather was glorious I’m sure that helped. 

He was floating fishing with maggots as well and he also had a sleeper rod out with a pellet for something more likely to put a bend in the rod.

I started off in a winding hole where I’d positioned a deadbait near to some cover and I fished the pellet waggler (fished overdepth) over at the far side of the canal right next to some reeds. It just looked good for a bite and I was correct in that assumption because within 20 minutes or so I managed to catch 3 small bream all of similar stamp.

The last fish gave a good account for itself and disturbed the shallow swim so much the bites dried up which gave me the nudge to get on the move. I fished quite a few areas with not much success with the deadbait having no interest whatsoever. Hmmm….

So in the end I decided to retrace my steps to the start and then go beyond to more familiar waters where I’d had zander from before and also some nice hybrids. Within 5 minutes of the deadbait being positioned in the oxygenated water the float was off on its travels and I’d hooked in to a nice fish.

It gave a good fight and in this area the zander are unusually dark and this one showing that to good effect. As I was getting the fish unhooked, I realised that the pellet waggler rod had now disappeared and upon lifting the rod realised that there was a fish on the end. It was nice hybrid of a couple of pounds and I’m still amazed just how well these fish flight.

With two fish caught in quick succession again the bites dried up, so I headed to bream bay where in the past has produced some nice fish up to 4lb or so. This is a wider bit of the canal and it’s also full of reeds so the fish tend to hang out here.

The amount of fish activity was plainly ridiculous but sadly I only had half an hour before curfew so I had to make the limited time I had caught. I need not have worried though because after a nice bream showing its spawning battle scars I also managed another hybrid soon afterwards both from the same swim.

By this time the sun was high in the sky and blanketing the surface with its rays, so I was surprised the fish were in a feeding mood. Sadly, time called play but it was an enjoyable session I must admit and the weather being good makes a massive difference to that, long may it continue.