Closed Season Canal Zander Quest PT74 – Hyenas and Humgruffins

After last weekends incident of blatant excrement dumping on the towpath by a lowlife dog owning barge dweller and further encounters of sh*t throughout the session, I wasn’t happy.

Is there an answer to this problem, which seems to be getting worse….?

As a kid growing up in the 80’s I could remember quite vividly the white dog poop that occasionally littered the path, when I was trudging my trolley loaded with the stupidly thick freebie Solihull Times during my evidently uphill paperbound.

So why had it largely disappeared now then, in-fact I cannot remember the last time I’d stumbled upon a chalky white turd. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t miss it, however the amount of dog dumping that appears out of nowhere on the towpaths I’ve been treading, is boarding on the scandalous.

Watch Out !!!!, on a towpath near you.

It is quite frankly disgusting; maybe we need to think outside of the rarely used, poo bags and more the stick and flick approach, not out of sight out of mind, but maybe the opposite.

You see after putting my thermos down on one particularly fresh one the weekend then soon after my landing net handle, maybe we could learn something from the 80’s and the canines diet at the time because at least being white it was a contrast to its resting places and therefore makes it easier to see.

Now this would help the lazy gene meddlers who just cannot be arsed to depose of 'their' dog waster in the right manner.

You own a dog, it eats, it poos, you clean it up, a simple process not adhered to by many….

And you know who you are don’t you, name and shame and say….

Young children like mine are particularly at risk of getting toxocariasis because their play habits make them more likely to come into contact with contaminated soil, being more visible, would help surely Shirley….

Now apparently from the 5 minute lunchtime research I’ve conducted Dog poop turns white because of the calcium phosphate in it. This is generally derived from bone meal in prepared dog food, or from dogs gnawing on bones otherwise. After all the organic matter dries out and washes away, one is left with that block of calcium phosphate.

The bleached-out poop is known as a 'dog pure'. There used to be a class of casual labourer known as a 'pures collector'. They wandered about cities collecting white dog poop to sell to leather tanneries for the calcium phosphate. What the tanneries did with it, I've not a clue. Another quick Google suggests that the 'dog pure' was used to prepare extra-soft, more expensive leather for making ladies' gloves.

An early April fool ? most probably, well let’s hope so….

Chappie dog food, the cause ? apparently it changed its recipe in the early 90's or late 80's. Chappie was and still is widely considered to be the best dog food you can give a mongrel, because they often get the squirts if they are put on Pedigree Chum as it is too rich for them quite often.

Was it something in the Chappie that reacted with the colouring of the poo in warm conditions to whiten the poo which is why you never saw a dog actually laying down white cables, but you may have seen pale brown ones. ? This also conveniently explains why posh pedigree dogs are more commonly associated with the noble dark brown dog's egg.

It’s all a bit of mystery….

Or some friends with dogs residing therein are fed on butcher scraps which consist mainly of pigs' tails, rib ends and whatever. So lots of bone are consumed by the house mutts and many white turds are apparently deposited afterwards. So back to calcium again.

But then another theory the sun had an effect ‘whitening’ to the stool and because it is picked up more these days (must be bolloc*ks) then that’s why we see less of it.

Yeap, a much needed scientific study required if there ever was one….

I did discover a fascinating fact during my ‘extensive’ research, hyenas can produce both white and brown poo, and more significantly can select which at will. A hyena will leave certain messages concerning the boundaries of its territory and its current sexual status by means of poo-ing. The two colours (and presumably the different smells which go along with them) are something to do with the message the hyena is leaving. They can also increase the accuracy of these 'messages' by distending their anus for better aim.

And dog poo powered street lamps I’m not making it up….

So if you’ve managed to read this far, I better get back to the fishing….

The session was at a stretch of canal that I’d only fished once before and blanked big time, there is no reason why reason there wouldn't be any fish here though because it looked just the ticket.Plenty of swims with thick cover, quiet, moored up battered barges and because of the access the foot and boat traffic a little quieter. As a solitude seeker exactly the type of stretch I like.

Especially when I was hoping a larger specimen would be thinking the same as oneself. It was the lack of smaller fish that it remained on my radar, not a bad thing in my book.

So the session would be back to two deadbait rods to try and winkle out something other than the humdrum I’ve been catching up till now.

Now the first couple of hours were uneventful, leapfrogging quite along stretch whilst it was peeing down is not exactly pleasant. So I decided to go and fish the area that is nice and secluded. As I was making my way there a run off was depositing a load of mud from the neighbouring fields straight in to the water as well as providing some more oxygen by the extra volume of water.

So with a bait positioned it didn't take long for the float to get moving. When I leant in to the fish it felt half decent and after giving me a bit of run around it was landed.

A nice fat fish of 4lb 3oz's....

Now despite fishing some really tasty looking swims, cover, moored boats and that sort of thing without even a nudge I decided to go and have a noise at a bay swim I planned to fish Sunday evening. I had to retrace my steps and go beyond from where I came from. So nearly 6 miles covered roving around I was glad to settle in the swim.

One bite one fish, this challenge as after half an hour without a bite it was time to get off home.

Getting bigger, that's encouraging but certainly last closed season and this, in my opinion fish numbers are down. The water temperature was 7 degrees so that's not going to help matter as get to 10 I'm sure they will get a move on, they seem to be laying up at the moment. With a huge body of water to go at, not an easy task this challenge of mine.

Closed Season Canal Zander Quest PT73 – Cacophony and Conduits

The murder of crows I passed nesting in a tree the other day were making a right old racket. The volume was horrendous, a proper raucous pitch with what sounded like a few hundred squawkers despite there only being 20 or so roosting.

The tree was right in front of a dwelling and close proximity to a few narrowboats, so God knows how they sleep at night, probably not very well being the answer. It could certainly drive someone to murder the murder, as it was like something straight out of the Hitchcock movie.

Caw, Kraa, Caw, Kraa, Kraa, Krawwwwwww !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apart from the regular immersing oneself with load repetitive beats which I have control over, I struggle with dealing with noise, I really do. Fishing largely needs to be on my terms and they usually means on my own and away from others.

 I’d not fished the area before and despite the possibility of a fish holding area because the tree was opposite a few moored boats (they must be hard of hearing) I walked straight on by without wetting a line.

Maybe I’ll bring ear plugs next time….

The thing is my gaff at night is quiet, so quiet in-fact a farting fox or bleating badger is enough to wake the neighbours and have the curtains twitching. 

After staying round the Father-in-Laws house recently where jets taking off in the early hours of the morning would prevent me living in the area, maybe it’s just me as apparently it “We cannot hear it, like you can”

I’m sure the quieter areas you see are where these larger Zed specimens retreat to despite my mediocre results thus far in the 2018 quest for a cut double.

To try to avoid a blank this session was at an area where the fish have no choice but to pass from nightclub door to cloakroom, to seek the solitude a curmudgeon like me requires.

The first half of this short after work session would be under the disco ball to try and put ones arm around a stray biffer, the last hour spent right smack bang in the middle of the attendant’s door.

With the tackle still in the car from Sundays sessions, one rod lure, one rod dead, there is a mosh pit at the far end of the dance floor and who doesn’t like a foam party, the schoolies seem to. Fish any oxygenated water on the canal, there is usually something hanging around even if they are on the fringes waiting for a turn.

I found this 'waspers' lure on the towpath, in complete contrast to the lures I use.

A pleasure angler was passing as he had just finished his session in one of the holding areas and he had one small Zander on worm and a skimmer and that was it, tough going but then it's a canal, you cannot just turn up and start catching fish, you need to do your groundwork like I do, well unless you live in the Somerset Levels that is. (Hi Russ !!!)

As per usual I didn’t have long, but with the waters gradually warming up I was hoping fish would start to get moving more as they are proving hard to find at the minute. At least my fitness levels are improving I suppose and nothing wrong with that.

The first fish came pretty quick on deadbait right where I thought it would be holding up and then soon after another two fish on the lure, the first on the drop.

This Savage Gear lure really does seem to be doing the trick despite the size of it compared to the fish I've caught with it on the last couple of sessions.

I moved from the oxygenated area to the middle of the stretch and within half an hour managed another 3 small fish, two on deadbait, one on the lure.

The last part of the session was uneventful, after foul hooking a schoolie on-route walking the lure in an open body of water I settled in the in the  transitional mouth. where the deadbait rod remained motionless and the lure without hinderance.

One thing I've found on this extensive Zander journey of mine, is just how shallow many of the areas of the cut I fish, even the channel isn't that deep on the most part. The fish obviously don't seem to have an issue with it. Not only that but the bigger fish really don't seem to like the open areas of canal.

The more secluded, quieter areas, or at least areas with some canopy cover, be it fallen trees, far bank cover or the fin stretching turning bays.

On to the next one, hmmm mediocre results up till now, I'm off to explore some more areas.

Closed Season Canal Zander Quest PT72 – Cottontails and Cucumbers

Back in 2015 I had an encounter with what I think was a Wild Boar. The more time I spend in the outdoors during dawn, dusk and dark, these sort of occurrences should in theory be more prevalent.

Bring it on I say....

The blank session last week I spotted a rabbit or hare the size I’d never seen before. Sam could have put a saddle on it and rode it, it was that big, and it was hopping around without a care in the world. I need to get myself a camera with a decent zoom again after the fanned lens buggered up on the last one. All the photos you see on my blog are merely from an Iphone and the zoom on that ain’t the best.

Now talking of giant Hares…. 

Louise Hodgson was convinced she saw a hare the size of a roe deer surrounded by normal-sized hares in a Dorset valley. Louise, who runs sacred site tours in Dorset, said she was on the nearby downs when she met a small group of Romany Gypsies with some lurcher dogs.

She said: "We came to a blind valley and it was early September, so it was an unusual sight for that time of year, but there was a group of 10 to 13 hares with what we thought was a deer.

"But it wasn't, it was a hare the same size as a deer. It was a wonderful experience. It shows there are still some secrets in nature."

Louise said the "magical" experience was in 1976, during a country trek she took from the Cotswolds to Dorset, but the vision has haunted her ever since. She recounted the tale during a question at the annual Occult Conference in Glastonbury Town Hall, in Somerset, which was on the other day.

She said: "Has anyone else come across that?"

Marian, who was explaining about magic in the natural world, replied: "In the countryside many things happen, the 'king' or 'queen' hares are out there. "So are fairies, elemental spirits, or ghosts.

"If you want things to happen, if you let them happen, they can if you are open to it."

Marian had also said fairies and sylphs, small mythological elf-like creatures, were real. "Sylphs, and all living beings, are around us. Some want to speak to us again, connect with us again and we can be oblivious to what is going on around us."

Maybe she was back on the LSD again….

But maybe not....

Because according to Dr Karl Shuker, a cryptozoologist, who is aware of Louise's sighting, it is not the only one, but there have been more sightings of giant rabbits.

Cryptozoologists research the existence of mythical creatures and if extinct species are still alive.

Dr Shuker said there have been two giant rabbit sightings in Banbury, Oxfordshire, and another one in Felton, Northumbria. In a blog post he also said there have been many giant rabbit and hare sightings in Ireland since the 1970s.

However, he is not convinced there is anything supernatural about the sightings.

In a blog post on his website, he said large rabbit sightings are likely to be escaped domesticated large species such as the Flemish Giant, the Continental Giant, which can grow up to 55lbs and the size of a cocker spaniel.

So the plan, a Canon Powershot SX730 unless anyone else had a recommendation. Away from Panasonic I know, but was let down last time.

So anyway, enough of the guff Mick, back to the fishing….

The opportunity arose for an evening of beef, beer and bladderisation in moderation with the Wife it wasn’t something that we could turn down. I planned to stay off the heavy Red’s though as it’s about the only thing that give me hangovers these days, you see only a short drive away from where we were staying I happened upon a section of canal I’d never trodden.

I’d stumbled upon it whilst perusing OS maps online and wondered why I’d not fish it before. I’d fished above it and below it but not this half mile stretch that looked ideal for a big Zed to hide out. Good cover both sides, half a mile in length, unlikely to see ‘that’ much foot traffic such was the location. Now I love the solitude the canal can bring and that’s why I fish the areas that I do. I look for long walks, difficult access and stretches that boat movement wouldn’t be as prevalent as the more popular routes.

This early morning session I’d dump one of the deadbait rods off and also fish a lure rod. The lure in question a 13cm Savage Gear Real Eel jobbie, a head turner that for sure. In-fact the last time I used the lure I banked one the second cast a nice River Zander before it got caught up in a snag and it was lost to the Gods. Usually I’d rig it with a stinger in the tail but that was easily removable as not knowing this stretch I wanted to try and map it out a little first before the stinger got caught up in any snags.

If I felt a take then I’d rig it back up and concentrate on that one area to help the hook-up. I’d used quite big lures in the past and caught fish larger than the average schoolies because of it. A big Zed is more likely to grab at something that would likely fill its stomach rather than chase something that would expend more energy in digestion than calories ingested.

So the baby cucumber was swapped for a potato skin spiral….

The float rod would be used as a sleeper tucked tight against some cover where the bright yellow tip is a great contrast against the cuts water and I’d work the half mile stretch up in sections and then back down it.

So the planning stage was mapped out, how did I get on ?

Well it's all very well having a plan but you have to stick to it, stupidly I forgot the deadbaits for this session and didn't have time to get some more, so just the lure it was.

Tw@t....!!!

Having never fished this stretch I could believe how dead it looked, hmmm, maybe not a bad thing as these loners I suspect like to be away from the masses, but after spotting a big bream that had met his maker I made by way up the stretch. The lure picked up quite a bit off the bottom but nothing more than the usual to be honest and I ended the session as I started, the same lure still intact.

I don't do enough lure fishing and working the edge after a couple of hours without even a nibble, a fish properly nailed it with a full on proper vault through the braid the lure has given me confidence again. Especially when it seems to be picking up the fish slightly bigger than the standard schoolies. You only have to see it in the water to see why it's a head turner. Did the trick this morning that's fore sure, I didn't weigh it but was really plump fish, so maybe 3.5lb or so.

One fish one bite again because the last hour was uneventful, it was clearer and shallower than I though it would be which maybe didn't help but not sure I'd rush back here again. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. What I might do is fish deadbaits next time, maybe when the water warms up a little because it was still cold, very cold....