Transient Towpath Trudging - Pt.144 (Canal Perch and Zander)

There are moments in life when everything feels finely balanced, delicately poised like a well-shotted waggler on a calm canal… and then, without warning, someone boots the rod rest, knocks your tea over, and sets fire to the landing net. Last Thursday, somewhere between a mid-morning brew and a half-hearted attempt at productivity in the automotive design studio, that exact feeling descended upon us except instead of fire, it was IT. Which, in many ways, is worse.

It began innocently enough. A little pop-up. Bottom right corner. The digital equivalent of a polite cough before chaos. “Attempting to access IP address…” it said, or something equally sinister and vaguely unhelpful. Being seasoned professionals, we collectively shrugged and carried on, because if you reacted to every strange IT message, you'd never get anything done. Besides, the organisation was “blocking it,” which sounded reassuring in the same way a garden fence reassures you about an approaching rhinoceros.

By late afternoon, however, the studio had begun to unravel like a cheap spool of line under pressure. Systems started dropping out one by one. Drives vanished. Applications wheezed their last. Wi-Fi went funny. The general mood shifted from mild curiosity to that quiet, creeping dread normally reserved for when you realise you've left the landing net in the garage.

Friday brought hope, or at least the illusion of it. There were “workarounds” that marvellous IT phrase which translates roughly to “this might function if you don’t breathe on it.” I clung onto my CATIA licence like a carp angler grips his last boilie during a blank session, managing to work locally and avoid the increasingly haunted Indian network. Forty-plus hours ticked off by lunchtime, I clocked out feeling smug and slightly heroic, convinced the tech wizards would wave their digital wands over the weekend and restore order, despite the main IT guy gone AWOL.

Blog readers they did not.

Monday arrived like a damp bivvy morning grey, disappointing, and smelling faintly of something gone wrong. The systems were not just broken; they were caput. Not resting. Not updating. Not “experiencing issues.” Properly, gloriously dead. The design studio had all the functionality of a chocolate teapot. By midday, I’d been reassigned to “A2MAC1 benchmarking duties,” which is a polite way of saying “find something to do that doesn’t involve working systems.”

And then came the bombshell. IT, those brave custodians of cables and confusion, admitted defeat. “Not anytime soon,” they said. “See you next Tuesday.” Next Tuesday. As if we were discussing a casual pint rather than my entire working week evaporating like mist off a canal at sunrise. As a jobber on an hourly rate, this wasn’t a quirky inconvenience it was financial vandalism. A forced holiday, unrequested and entirely unpaid. The sort of surprise nobody enjoys.

Naturally, I approached Tuesday with a sense of purpose. By which I mean I did absolutely nothing. A lie-in, a leisurely clean of the Jimny, a bit of rod sorting the kind of day that feels productive until you realise you’ve achieved nothing of actual consequence. Still, there are worse ways to spend time than tinkering with fishing gear and pretending you’re preparing for greatness.

Sam, meanwhile, had a rare day off school with a dodgy tummy and a level of honesty that cut through the morning like a sharp hooklink. “Don’t want to poo myself in school, Daddy,” he declared. “I’d be known as the kid who sh*t himself.” LANGUAGE !! A fair point, delivered with the clarity of someone who understands the brutal social economy of the playground. Some reputations, once earned, are impossible to shake.

Just as I began to contemplate a proper fishing session the next day to salvage the week, fate intervened once more. A message from 16 year old Ben’s special needs hub in Stratford-Upon-Avon arrived the night before: boiler issues. Closed. No warmth, no learning, no peace. Plans shifted again. Fishing window reduced to a couple of hours a frantic dash rather than a leisurely campaign.

Still, a couple of hours is better than none, and with a tip-off from Buffalo Si's mate Security Neil about a local perch spot, I was off. The venue was an inlet from a lock above, a place where the water moved just enough to make things interesting. The sort of swim that whispers promise while simultaneously reminding you that gongoozlers, and the ever-present dog poo bag waving brigade are never far away.

Thankfully, there’s always a way. A bit of manoeuvring over the rather high lock paddles and I found myself tucked away from the main towpath, in a spot that felt almost… peaceful. The flow was perfect either tight to the wall or a metre out where it behaved like a miniature river. A proper little gem.

Out went the perch bobber, maggots and worms from my own wormery doing their duty like loyal soldiers. Alongside it, a sleeper rod for zander, armed with a roach deadbait and quiet optimism. The kind of setup that says, “I’m here for anything that fancies a nibble.”

And nibble they did.

Perch came first six or seven of them. Not monsters, but spirited little fighters with that trademark aggression that makes them such a joy. Each one a reminder that fishing doesn’t need to be monumental to be meaningful. Sometimes, it’s just about the rhythm the cast, the drift, the strike.

Then, about an hour in, the sleeper rod came alive.

Now, a zander doesn’t do things politely at this time of year. There’s no gentle enquiry, no tentative nibble. It’s a proper take, followed by a scrap that feels far bigger than the fish itself. This one was no exception. All fins, fury, and indignation, it fought like it had somewhere important to be and I was very much in the way.

Eventually, though, persistence wins. Into the net it came a cracking fish. Five pounds on the nose, full of spawn, and absolutely brimming with attitude. The kind of capture that makes the whole chaotic week fade into the background. Even the obligatory selfie felt like a victory rather than a chore, despite the fish’s clear disapproval.

By nine, the sun crept out and, as it so often does, switched the feeding off like someone flicking a light. Bites dried up. The moment passed. Time to pack up.

Back home, it was straight into Dad mode taking Ben out for what can only be described as a “liquid lunch” in Spoons and a pizza for him while his mum handled dinner lady duties. Sitting there, pint in hand, reflecting on a week that had veered wildly from digital disaster to unexpected angling success, I couldn’t help but think… I could get used to this.

Not the IT collapse, mind you. But the fishing. Definitely the fishing.

Roll on retirement !!

Warwickshire Avon - Gate Swingers and Gastrophilanthropists

With Sam off because of a teacher training day I persuaded him with some newly purchased handwarmers' to come fishing with me. Only a few hours sadly but enough time to try and winkle out a fish before the cold set in and Sam wanted to go home. 

Here he could take sanctuary in the car if need be but it wasn't 'that' cold, but Sam like his mother does seem to feel it more than most. She suffers with Raynaud's mind you, which doesn't seem very pleasant but for her modern electronic hand warmers are a Godsend. !!

"So Sam what do you fancy catching ?"

"Can we have a go for a pike ?"  

"yeah if you want"

With the river still pretty high I decided to drive up to an area which is much wider and deeper than the river below the weir which you can just make out in the picture. 

In the colder months the silver fish congregate up here and if you look a the catch reports in the matches, they are often won with decent sized nets of snackets for pike and zander for that matter. I've not been up in here for ages so it was good to have a nose I suppose and get Sam back to fishing again. 

He'd not been since November where he blanked on the LRF gear at Westward Ho! so I was keen to get him back fishing as I have missed my fishing buddy I must admit, not so much the fishing, but the conversations are very random, let's leave it at that, what happens at fishing, stays at fishing 😁

So a roving session this where we would leapfrog likely looking predator holding swim to try and drop a bait on a fishes noggin. The water was still pretty coloured but the baits were pungent so I was hoping they would be easily findable if there were fish up for a feed.

There were some rowers on the river and one of them was accompanied by a little powered boat which to be fair did slow down when he saw us in various sections of the river, however beyond us, that right hand was cranked right over and easily exceeded the river speed limit. 

Some of the swims were fished looked perfect for a bite with both float away from the main flow holding no problem. The fish seemed to be having other ideas mind you and as we ticked those swims off I did wonder if a blank was on the cards.

I promised Sam he had the rod when we got a bite however he replied you mean "if we get a bite Daddy !! " and to be fair he wasn't wrong. 

As we continued along the stretch fishing those likely fish holding areas some of the deep too, easily >10ft deep and that was directly under the platform., those floats just didn't budge. I did think about fishing with some maggots to keep Sam occupied but the reality is moving from swim to swim isn't conducive to that really now is it. 

I was getting as bored as Sam a couple of hours in, so after fishing one last deep swim for fifteen minutes where I'd had zander and pike from before it was time to call it a day. 7 or 8 swims, nothing, zilch, bobbleless !!!. Another session where I wished I had fished for something else, maybe a small stream or something, oh well, lesson learnt. 

To be honest I did think we'd struggle however it's only ten minutes away by car so at least we didn't travel far to get there. Also because the rowing club were out it also meant we didn't need to negotiate the two locked gates there and back so got to look on the positives, for yes, another blank. 

Warwickshire Avon - Snow and Snobocracy

Where to go what to do ?

What is likely to bite ?

Pike ? yeah, let's have a go for them. 

We had an inch of snow in my village however closer to the venue only 10 minutes away it had changed to a dusting. 

The snow had already started to melt onroute to the area to fish fish is usually a predator hotspot. The river was a nice colour however it was on the rise by the looks of it, however there is a reason why it's known as the 'dead arm' because when the river is high, there is some much slacker water here.

So two pike rods both where I'll alternate between smelt or roach under the float. Anyway a good 45 minutes in two usually productive spots nothing whatsoever, so I decided to start leapfrogging some new swims. 

Excuses at the ready the water temperature had taken a bit of a hit so bites would be at a premium I'd imagine but I'm sure in this 4 hours session I'd have at least get a run or two. I fished three areas in the dead arm without even a bobble of the floats so for the last hour I decided to move up above the weir when the river is much wider and had more cover.

It's a lovely bit of river this and in the matches they often catch decent weights of silverfish. Where there are silverfish there are predators, and I've caught perch, pike and zander up here.

It looked nice and moody as well but another hour fishing a couple of areas those pikes float didn't move sadly. There were very few fishing topping either, oh well it was nice to be out despite it being rather damp and cold.

As I type this the local rivers are going to be in flood again because with all that snow melt and also a load of heavy rain they are going up on the gauge vertically. I tried and failed to get in to the office today, cars stuck in a flooded village and the main road in to Coventry shut because of flooding, all a bit of a nightmare !!. 

Warwickshire Avon - Backlash and Baitcasters

 Sam has been watching YouTube videos of largemouth bass for a quite a while now and has asked quite a few times why haven't we got a baitcaster reel ? Where can we go to catch them by the way, they look a wicked fish to catch. 

To be honest I've never really felt the need to get one, but then out of the blue an offer from Temu meant I could get one for the price of a pint of beer. So missing a trick ?

Well 7 days later, hopefully we'd find you !!!

After it arrive Sam had been pestering me to take him after exhausting the new lego he'd been bought to give him a break from playing online on the PS5 with his mates. When the reel arrived it looked pretty easy to put some line on and we found the spool release pretty easily, but the other controls ?, well I needed to consult YouTube for that

Well you have a spool tension knob which is effectively a drag for the spool when it's in free spool, then you have the star drag nex to the handle which is self explanatory, then the brake system on the end of the reel controls the speed of the spool when it is unlocked. It helps prevents backlash, which would result in knots. It is located internally but can be controlled by the dial on the side plate of the baitcaster

Now the dreaded backlash seems to be huge bird nest tangles that can be a nightmare, however the spool tension knob controls how easily your spool spins, and apparently to avoid backlash largely depends on ensuring your spool and your line spin at the same rate, controlled via the spool tension knob. Backlash occurs when the spool spins faster than the line coming through the guide.

You can loosen the spool tension knob off and use your thumb when you cast to limit that happening, or tighten it up and get the reel to do the tensioning.

Anyway to the fishing we decided to drive up to an area that it open and wide and where I've had some nice Zander and Pike in the past and give it a go. It seems heavier lures are the way to go, so I rigged up a 50g crankbait which dives to a decent depth, because it's quite deep here.

So with the settings tweaked to those we'd found online we got casting !!!. Sam got the hang of it pretty easily to be honest, probably because he's watched so many videos of people using them I suppose and he we doing well until the first backlash happened. It came after 30 casts maybe where all of a sudden the lure stopped mid flight and dive-bombed into the drink. 😁

Hmmm ok, need to learn what happened there then. Luckily it was sorted pretty quickly but the fact that the lure was a decent weight meant that the braid really dug into the spooled line, however on this occasion it wasn't too bad.

Anyway we decided to move to the weir where on my first cast nearing the staging a decent pike came from our right out of the blue for an aborted take, making us both jump at the same time. It looked a decent fish as well, definitely well worth catching. A good 30 plus casts between us and it was looking good on the baitcasting front as we both got the hang of it 

"Daddy, I'm liking this, seems to be more accurate to me, what do you think ?"

"I don't see what the fuss is about !! 😆!

We'd loosened off the spool tension knob slightly and used out thumb to caress the line when the lure was launched, however we'd spook too soon, because the next cast we were looking at the world's biggest backlash tangle where even the top Krypton Factor contestants would be scratching their heads !!!

I certainly couldn't sort it there and then, so we retraced out steps to get the float rod and maggots out of the car where we managed to catch quite a few maggot munchers that were queuing up to get the grubs, till the fish stamp and the choppy surface called time. Ok the first outing didn't go that well admittedly, however it's a steep learning curve with a new reel like this, practice is the key, so we will give it another go soon hopefully. 

Warwickshire Avon - Zealots and Zandophiles

I do keep off the news these days for good reason but I overheard a meteorologist that dubbed today's storm "angry Agnes" as it begins to snake its way across Ireland as I type this. Luckily we didn't have to batten down the hatches for this session down at the Warwickshire Avon but apparently we may well see temperatures start to rise again, and it looks like we might actually have a little bit of an Indian summer.

That would be nice wouldn't it considering just how bad the 'summer' we had in the UK. We rarely sat outside in the evening where usually in years gone by me and Wife used to chill with a couple of glasses of wine and put the worlds to rights. I've a load of lumpwood charcoal for the BBQ too, damn it will have to wait till next year now.

Anyway for this session Nic and I decided to try and target the Zander on the Warwickshire Avon where the rather large trees on the private stretch would hopefully provide a bit of shelter from the prevailing winds . To be honest the last couple of times here haven't exactly been prolific on the Zander front, but it's not all about the fishing is it, because it's nice having a catch-up as well as some much needed fresh air.

Now it was quite a nice day to go fishing too as my twin brother Chris's, middle daughter and my niece Kizzie turned 18 today so whilst she is going to buy her Dad a pint from the pub, I'd raise a deadbait to try and catch a river Zander in celebration, whilst Kizzie was looking for her ID. To be fair my brother is part of the furniture in many of the pubs in Westward Ho!! so Kizzie is well known too having lived down there for 7 years (I think) so it won't be needed. 

Now two identical twins always went fishing together. One twin always caught a netful; the other never caught a thing. They could use exactly the same tackle and bait, could stand fishing right next to each other, could swap over spots, but the result was always the same- one twin couldn't haul out the fish fast enough, while the other wouldn't even get a touch.

One night the unlucky twin decided to do something about it. He crept out of bed, put on his brother's clothes, borrowed all his tackle and went out at dawn to the spot where his brother had been so successful the previous day.

For a couple of hours he fished, with not a thing to show for it. Then he saw a huge carp cruising towards his bait.

"This is it,' he thought, and tensed up ready to strike. But his float didn't budge. Instead the carp surfaced slowly and poked its head out of the water.
'Morning,' it said. 'Where's your brother?'

When we used to bike from Meriden to Somers with our cobbled together tackle despite what he'd say I always used to catch more than him, and bigger fish too. I'm sure what was down to luck more than anything because looking back, yeah I had a lot to learn. 

Now we both arrived at around 6.00pm and within 10 minutes Nic had a >1lb perch on the bank that took a small deadbait and then as the light was going I started to get bites on my set-up. One rod smelt and the other a small roach.

The bobbins were dancing on both rods but once the rod was lifted there wasn't any progression of the bites. On inspection of the deadbaits there was an inch long puncture mark which can only mean one thing which was a small zed with eyes bigger than its belly.

With confidence high we'd get a bite we fished well in to dark braving the wind which at one point got us looking at the tree behind us wondering if we'd need to take cover. At one point the rain was lashing down too which wasn't predicted it certainly was a bit of a wild session weather wise.

Sadly though by 9.00pm, well over an hour in to dark nothing materialised and when the restaurant  boat decided to turn before heading past us not long after that, we decided enough was enough and started to pack-up. Very disappointing considering the initial hype of activity from the zedlets but that's fishing for you. I've never done that well in a (near) full moon and I'm sure that had something to do with it. Good to catch up with Nic though, not all bad. 

Warwickshire Avon - Mathematicasters and Metapsychology

I cannot believe just how fast the colour is dropping out of the Warwickshire Avon, a couple of days ago Augustus Gloop would have been revelling in the milk chocolate coloured clarity, and yet now I've drank similar coloured water from taps in countries where bottled water is a necessity.  

The water temperature has plummeted I'd imagine, so the unsuccessful barbel targeting of late, will become even more unsuccessful till conditions improve. 

There is now well over a foot of visibility I'd say and then some !!!

With my last errands for the family ticked off (had to register my Dad's death officially) I fancied a try for a Zander and also a chub.

This convenient stretch has been good to me over the years and it looked in fine fettle when I got there so it was a formality ? But then this is fishing isn't it, sadly there isn't a rule book.  

So it was out my my Depth Bombs and probably the best batch of cheesepaste I've ever made. The first swim I've caught Zander and Pike (River PB) from before and numerous chub so it was stupid of my to think it was a formality to get a bite.

I gave it a good hour but nothing, so it was time for a move. I put in some nuggets of paste when I left as I might well return as the light was going to give it another go. 

Another 6 or 7 swims fished with only the odd nibble on cheesepaste this wasn't going well. These sort of river bites show up pretty quick if the fish are there, but with it being colder overnight maybe they were laying up with their thermals on. It was quite pleasant in the sun until it disappeared behind the trees and the mist started to appear.

It was brass monkey's and thankfully I didn't remove that extra layer and leave it in the car that I did think about doing when I started the session. 

Eventually within a couple of minutes of the cheesepaste landing in one of the last swims I fished a sharp pull was followed by a proper bite and a fish was on. Sadly on the first bend of the rod only a chublet but at least I hadn't blanked.

I couldn't fish the predator rod in most of the swims because of the pace so I returned to where I started for a last gasp rod bender but sadly it didn't happen. Half an hour after dusk I decided to make a retreat with ones tail between my legs and will return when conditions have settled a bit. 

Warwickshire Avon - Carrot Man and Carcinology

With many of the local rivers still outs of sorts it's been difficult to decide where and how I could get that much needed fishing fix.  The huge amount of rain we had recently that came with the storms combined with the water table that was already full to the brim, the bigger Midlands rivers really have taken the brunt, and the smaller spate rivers and brooks up and down with the fluctuating financial markets. 

Now it is the fourth time in three years the Severn has flooded, leaving riverside communities from Shrewsbury down to Bewdley counting the cost once again. 

At Ironbridge (you can see the world famous bridge in the background) the water had come within around 10cm of the top of the temporary barriers.

Thankfully as I type this the worst is over and the levels are beginning to fall. Those on the opposite side of the river once again are pumping out their living rooms, putting their valuable out of harms ways and assessing the flood damage. Many of those houses are basically worthless and if it were not for the holiday let business keeping them going, they river would have got its way.

 

Still there are many residents putting up with flooding year on year, they deal with it when it happens, they'd been there done that, it's part of the territory. 

Some reports from the ground (Nic '2 dace' Bradley ) the Alne wasn't fishing at all well to such an extent a question Nic asked was there actually any fish in it !!!

The Stour was also hit and miss because of the fish having to deal with and also try to manage the different conditions from one day to the next.

Anyway for this trip with Sam's Carrot Man joining me for the ride, I was back to where I had a dropped run on the last session. 

The fish was taking line from the bait runner however when I lifted the rod and felt the line, it had obviously felt the resistance and made hay before it felt the extremely sharp point of the Sakuma 440.

The running set-up was ditched for another float rod where the grippa stop was moved up the line, and moved up again. It's deep up here, very deep and having caught quite a few Zander here over the years I've fished it I was hoping there was one on the munch.

Only a short leapfrogging session admittedly but having been stuck in-front of the CAD screen all week, any bank time would be most welcome.  

5 swims down fishing a small whole fish on one rod a chunk of roach on the other for around 20 minutes in each swim I had nothing to show for it. The river was brown as expected and despite it being cold I thought I'd manage to winkle at least one fish out. 

The swims you see looked perfect, cover, slacks and away from the turbulence some nice sheltered swims to lay in wait. Zander don't mind flow at all though so I did mix it up a bit where a couple of the swims had some decent flow, but they were clearly not up for a feed.

I fish a little longer than I thought it would and even stayed in to dusk but I had ones tail firmly between my legs when I headed home. It's amazing what fishing does for you mind though, the wellbeing certainly boosted up a notch or two.  

Warwickshire Avon - Sacricolists and Scandiscopes

It's deep up here, very deep, in-fact one swim is 22 foot according to the deeper and in-fact that actual swim I lost a double figure Zander a couple or three years ago, and a little further down, another one too 😒. I'm better equipped these days mind you. 

The swim had form too because a shoal of Zander used to venture up there from time to time and bite often were aplenty. 

That swim is no more though because a flood took away one of its main features and that was a huge tree that was a fish magnet, especially the Zander a predator. The best I could muster up was an 8lber which still remains my river PB and that was caught when it was bitterly cold where ironically this session it was pretty mild and was a similar time of year. 

Anyway in the main it is 8-10 foot which is still pretty deep to be fair and in the winter months it often is home to large shoals of roach, some nice perch and naturally because its pretty deep, slow and wide some nice bream.  

Despite the river being well up and blowing a gale there were plenty of swims I couldn't leapfrog with a float rod and also a running ledger set-up to get over to the far side if need be. 

I've never had an issue fishing for Zander in chocolate brown conditions because lets face it many of the canals I fish are like that 24/7. Zander feel at home in turbid waters hence why they have thrived in the Midlands canal network.

5 swims down without a nibble I decided to walk to an area much further downstream were I caught one recently. Just trying to find a fishable area was half the problem as it was motoring through, but I managed to find a slack but after giving it longer than I usually do, nothing fancied the chunk of roach.

So I retraced my steps and decided to fish the last hour and a half in two swims. Both with cover and decent depth close in. 

By now the rain had started and the gusts of wind back to 50 mph again. The weather really has been lively over the last few days but to be honest, I don't mind these conditions especially if the rain isn't too heavy. 

Out of the blue the bobbin rose, the Delkim sounded and the loose baitrunner activated but I lifted the rod and pinched the line to find that the fish had already dropped the bait. 

And that was that !!!

Because both baits back out and nothing else materialised. So another blank to add to the collection. I returned home, we all went for a blustery walk over the fields to feed some friends rabbits and chickens who are on holiday at the minute and thankfully got back before the biblical rain started again.

Good Wine, a roast dinner, feet up, the unsuccessful session quickly forgotten about. On to the next one !!!!

Warwickshire Avon - Katzenjammers and Kainotophobia

Nic was with me for this dawn session down at the Warwickshire Avon where hopefully we'd get in and amongst the Zander that reside here.

The river is still well up and coloured but here despite the main river motoring through there are always fishable swims here mainly close in where fish are likely to be holding up. Zander really don't mind these coloured conditions where the other species are clutching their fins and twirling their thumbs waiting it to clear.

The river was higher than expected and with Nic settling in to a swim above me I tried and failed to get a bait out in the next swim down.

The water you see was changing from almost static to whirlpool within a minute and despite a decent size egg weight on the float the flow was wiping it out every minute or so. 

Luckily I had a running ledger set-up too and that was on a heavy bobbin as I had a hunch that the conditions might be difficult.

Size 1 Sakuma 440 circle hooks on both set-ups and I was going to fish a whole small roach on one rod and a chunk on the other.

Within fifteen minutes I decided to up-sticks and move to the next peg down again where luckily presentation of the bait would be a lot easier.

It was a deep swim, 10 foot ish close in but a tree was slowing down the flow sufficient enough to be able to keep the float static close in and the running rig went out almost mid-river just off the crease of the river. What I didn't expect was a run within 10 minutes of the getting the float rod out however despite a confident run I didn't manage to hook up.

At least I knew there were fish in the swim and it didn't take long for another run on the float however this time the float buried under the surface within seconds after the first bob.

Circle hooks are my default now for Zander and as soon as I tightened up to the fish I knew it was something half decent. It gave a pretty good fight too and was staying lower than Zander do and not really nodding about so I was surprised when it popped it that it was a Zander.

Not a massive fish around 6lb or so but most welcome when the river is recovering from being in flood. Nic came down for a look and with that fish returned he decided to fish the next swim down from me as he was struggling dealing with the conditions like I was.

The ledger set-up I cast over to a slack on the far bank where I saw some small fish top however even with a heavy bobbin and a big lead the flow would drag it out of position.

The key was to ignore the bobbin and tighten up the baitrunner and any interest would activate the alarm. Nic had a run but didn't hook up and that was after a good 45 minutes or so without an interest whatsoever. It was clear that it was going to be a tough morning but it was good to catch up as always.

Out of the blue a bit came on the ledger rod and it turned out it was a pike a similar size to the Zander with the Zander giving the better fight if I'm honest. After that fish all went quiet and another swim each for Nic and myself there was nothing doing so we called it a day. 

 

That session had brought my 2021 season to a close and looking back at my blog posts I've done ok again this year, not only have I been out more than ever despite the lockdown year but there has bee some nice fish caught. 

Obviously the stand out fish was the 11lb 8oz canal Zander which brought a 5 year campaign to a close but I'd also caught a cracking canal pike of 17lb and 8 ounces unbelievably from the same hallowed swim.

The closed season will be interesting as I will be giving this 2 mile stretch of canal much of my fishing efforts and it will be interesting to see what will turn up in an area where I've been amazed by and it is largely untapped apart from the likeminded who also fish this stretch for the surprises that just seem to be getting better and better.

Another PB I managed this year was a 8.2 ounce dace caught from a small overlooked stream, and next year I aim to try and find more of these forgotten waters to fish.

I love mixing my fishing up and these offer so much interest to me and finding new waters to fish and what they hold is a big part of my angling adventures. 

I will cast my net wider though that is one of the changes I want to make. 

Not only fishing local waters I'd not fished before, but also travelling further afield to waters where my target species such as river Zander and Barbel are a more likely quarry. A Warwickshire Avon 6lb chub is still a target, but again I think it is a change of waters I may well need to do, if one is to be banked.

Anyway 2021 can do one, let's hope next year is a lot better and tight-lines to the blog readers, say safe and hope you have a good 2022.