On my last outing I missed a couple of runs from what I thought were Zander, this weekend, I thought I'd try and bank one.
On Saturday, I fished the Tusses stretch of canal in Coventry, my Zander catches along this stretch had been fairly reliable through the autumn, I only had a few hours but stayed until dark and fished a few spots that had a bit of depth and cover, but nothing sniffed at the baits and I blanked, it was a case of the wrong place with not enough time to find them, so, on Sunday I decided to head back to the stretch of canal at Long Itchington to see if my luck would change.
I started the session at the same spot as last week putting a Roach into the main channel where I'd had both runs the previous week, a second bait was put into the deeper hole in front of the lock gates where I was convinced a few Zander would be and it wasn't long before this bait was away. The few tentative tugs on the float developed into a proper take which I struck and after a few head shakes a Zed pulled a healthy curve into my Avon rod, I soon had the fish under control and in the net. (this year, Avon rods are my chosen weapons for Zander.)
At 24 inches, it was a healthy looking fish of around three to four pounds, a good start.
On Saturday, I fished the Tusses stretch of canal in Coventry, my Zander catches along this stretch had been fairly reliable through the autumn, I only had a few hours but stayed until dark and fished a few spots that had a bit of depth and cover, but nothing sniffed at the baits and I blanked, it was a case of the wrong place with not enough time to find them, so, on Sunday I decided to head back to the stretch of canal at Long Itchington to see if my luck would change.
I started the session at the same spot as last week putting a Roach into the main channel where I'd had both runs the previous week, a second bait was put into the deeper hole in front of the lock gates where I was convinced a few Zander would be and it wasn't long before this bait was away. The few tentative tugs on the float developed into a proper take which I struck and after a few head shakes a Zed pulled a healthy curve into my Avon rod, I soon had the fish under control and in the net. (this year, Avon rods are my chosen weapons for Zander.)
At 24 inches, it was a healthy looking fish of around three to four pounds, a good start.
I quickly returned the fish and put a fresh bait back onto the same spot hoping for another quick bite but an hour passed before the first of many boats made their way down through the locks disturbing the swim, with this I decided to make a move and try a few more deeper spots. A couple of hours passed fairly quickly and I'd not moved that far, only trying the two gates below the Blue Lias, I eventually made my way back to where I started and fished the centre channel again. At around half three I had a very short run which I thought might have been a Pike the way it stopped, I waited for the run to continue but nothing developed and the day ended with just the one Zander.Itch scratched!
I fished at Long Itchington as a kid Roger - "It's Long and Itchy and Weighs a Ton" was the cry from us as kids.
ReplyDeleteI wondered where all the sliver fish went?
Hi.
ReplyDeleteIn a post from november you refer to a stretch of the avon at barford. Could you tell me what (season) ticket this is on and where to find more information as its not part of Birmimgham, Leamington or Stratford tickets.
Many thanks.
Hi Chris
ReplyDeleteWent with a member as a guest on a day ticket, I'm lead to believe that members are allowed to take one guest and tickets are available from Baileys in Warwick,(1926491984) you could try giving them a ring about membership as I'm not 100% sure who has the stretch.