Transient Towpath Trudging - Pt.10

There’s a bit of a legend around the origins of dopiaza. It was invented by accident when the cook of a Moghul emperor accidentally added way too many onions to a dish. Good thing the emperor liked onions. This could have ended badly for that cook.

The cook’s name was Do Piaza. His name lives on in this dish. Seems unlikely but who am I to question legend. It’s a good story anyway. And it’s a great curry. One that’s been refined over the years.

Now talking about legends, when I swapped between stretches of canals the session prior to this in the rush to get bankside I completely forgot to close the levers on ones fishing rod / sky holders.

To be fair I did question like I always do whether or not I'd closed them or not but then I do that all the time and it's never been an issue.  

So how the heck they stayed on for the 4.5miles trip God only knows. The rubber is sticky to be fair and I wasn't exactly throwing the car round the bends, but the engineering DFEMA must have been a well thought out one lets put it that way, they must have factored in the stupid. 

Luckily the majority of the journey was on country lanes as I wouldn't want to know the ending if I joined the M40 at 60mph.  

To be honest that was the highlight of the morning that the rods lived to tell the tale. 

The fishing on the other hand was tough as old boots Sooooooo many swims fished without a bite I decided to venture off-piste to look at the little stream that runs parallel to this stretch of canal. I didn't spot any fish mind you but an interesting little brook that looked good for a brownie.

The sheep and lambs seemed to be enjoying lapping up the elixir this tiny waterway had to offer. The Zander were suspicious in their absence let alone the apparent 17lber (certainly a double) caught in this area a few months ago.

With the weather warming up I fancy trying to locate some canal carp. Zander fishing can be tricky this time of year when the are thinking about spawning, but this is the time to catch them when they are at their biggest. 

Transient Towpath Trudging - Pt. 9

Times are hard in the Newey household with the heating set to "put an extra layer on", so a much needed mercy mission to my sisters to collect some wood that was gathering all manner of creep crawlies, meant that the Jimny's boot was put to the test. 

Those already impatient drivers from Coventry and the surrounding areas not only had to contend with countless roadworks hence their miserable faces but now a Jimny struggling to gain momentum on any hills more than about 1 in 2.  

Hardknott Pass in the lakes would have been a no no, well saying that I could have put it in low range and it would have been a doddle, but you could probably have run faster.  

Anyway back to the wood, to be fair my sister couldn't be bothered to pay for a skip you see this was just one of many trip hazards her household needed to get shot of, so my dilemma was their gain. Still I'm not complaining especially when thankfully it had been covered up outside and luckily the wood is drier than the Atacama desert.

Thankfully the weather looks a little more spring like heading in to next weekend where hopefully those morning frosts would be a distance memory. This short post work afternoon session I woke up to another frost though, what's going on. Now what isn't a distant memory though is this area of the Grand Union that to be be honest didn't quite deliver its promise.

I think a 7lber was my biggest from this stretch but it was a couple of sessions where I caught multiple Zander all from one area of cover that I've never forgotten about. They were those very rare session for Zander where it was difficult to keep both baits in the water at the same time. Bite after bite, run after run !!!!

And that's why for me fishing with my overdepth float set-up works so well as the bites are so visible and you know exactly what's going on under the water. The best was a 12 fish haul, a haul where the Canal and Rivers Trust if they found the location might well have been adding that desert wine or warm brandy palate cleanser to their Christmas party meal fund courtesy of Billingsgate Market.  

Now what a strange session, I caught a fish quite early on after a missed bite and it came back for seconds but >14,000 steps, two different canal networks and conversation with a lure guy who put me on to an area I've fished before that threw up a decent Zander recently. It looked a double from the pic, but not sure of the 17lb claim, and apparently it was caught on a creature bait, I bet that was one hell of a battle !!!!

It's amazing how warmer a shallower canal is though, 8.6 degrees verses 7.4 degrees for the Grand Union, but both canals I struggled for bites. The exact spot where the fish was caught was quickly found and despite being biteless for an hour or so I'll give the area another go tomorrow I think.  

With the weather improving I quite fancy fishing for canal carp and on the way back to the car I bumped in to Buffalo Si from River Masters who treads the same towpaths as I do. 

He stupidly is on a mission to catch a canal double and to be honest he is on the right path as the waters he has been fishing has thrown up big fish in the past.

But let's be honest here canal Zander fishing in these quarters are not as easy as you think. Bites can often be hard to come by as he's found out. He's spotted some carp on his own towpath trudging and catch a 17lber if I recall. Anyway a couple of areas to try, I'll just wait till the waters warm up a bit. I've some time off work the week after next so hopefully a great time to try for one. 

Transient Towpath Trudging - Pt. 8

The stairway to dog poo alley oddly couldn't come soon enough, you see it means that the diary makers haven't their influence, or have had their say, well for a couple of hours anyway. 

Work has turned up a notch you see and it won't let up till the part releases have been achieved and the tooling kicked off.

Luckily for me these shallow waters local to me had risen quite a bit in temperature from the weekend. From 6.8 Degrees to smack on 10 degrees in a couple of days it just goes to show how the canals can change in such a short period of time.

This stretch of canal is rarely other than turbid, it is extremely coloured most of the time but I remember in the first lockdown when we were allowed to exercise locally (well thankyou !!) and the boats had to stay put too, it actually went pretty clear. 

In-fact it was quite an eyeopener because not only did the shoals of small bait fish show themselves but there was quite a few carp hanging around too, but just how shallow it is.

Those float stops on my Zander rods are further down the line than any canal I fish but I'm sure it is the colour that helps to get a few bites. The Zander here in no fault of their own have called this area their home for a number of years now and are here to stay.

The 9lb fish and a 8lb 10oz I caught here may well have sold up and relocated but there are always bites to have if you're up for a bit of roving.

Roving is often the key in Zander fishing, because take this session, you see only one swim produced bites and those bites came quick when the fish were located. I use smaller baits on this stretch because missed bites and dropped runs can be frustrating if you don't. 

I'm not talking a few swims either, ok, not quite double figures but not far off. These fish are often in pockets still this time of year when the countdown to spawning is on.

Stumble upon them and you can catch multiple fish and catch multiple fish I did, ok three small schoolies but let me tell you they don't like being caught at all.

They often go off on a spirited run when hooked which is fun to watch and then go all tense and aggressive if banked because basically I'd gate-crashed their party. 

I could have stayed another hour till dusk but I've never found an issue catching Zander in daylight hours, even in bright sunshine. So I went away with a well being boost, and that's what these convenient sessions are all about. 

On to the next one. !!!