Rationed Luck and Junk!

My big Pike last week has put a dent in my run of luck; On Friday I was rationed to a single Zed on a visit to one of my favourite stretches of canal. I'd walked a fair distance to the spot that is usually a dead cert for a fish on the bank and it didn't disappoint. After this spot I made my way back giving each likely looking fish hold a good twenty minutes before moving on, I realised that it's been a while since I fished like this, cutting the gear down to the bare essentials making it easier to move around, I had a bag on my back, a stool, two rods and a net, a great way to fish.

Just the one.

I stopped at another spot that's been very good to me in the past and two baits were chucked to where I usually catch, a cross wind was moving my rigs downstream and with the floats nodding away I could see that the baits were just dragging bottom. I noticed one of them stop but it remained motionless for far too long for it to be a fish, I tightened down only to find that I was fastened solid to some bottom debris, "Not the mattress" I thought and walked up the bank to give a different angle to the pressure I was applying to the tackle, it worked, a big heavy weight was slowly dragged in to the bank, I lifted it out of the water and my first thoughts were that it was the part of a car as I could see the red lamp lenses and a few electrical cables but when I put it down on the grass all became obvious, it was the rear cover from an electric buggy.

What the!

Bait!

It was nice to see a few Zebra Mussels stuck fast to the plastic and it’s a good indication as to what bait to try for the Carp along here, the whole thing went back into the near margin but I think I should have tried to put it back in the main run where it came from as it was probably one of the fish holding features that made this spot so good. A couple of seasons ago I moved something similar to this in the canal near to the Foleshill Road, it was a big plastic shop sign, before hauling it in off the bottom this swim was another of my 'hot spots', I dropped the sign into the near margin as it was too big to lift out, since then I've never caught a Zed from that spot.

Despite the lack of bites I continued fish along this stretch until I couldn't see the floats anymore, might have to give these sliders a spray with some glow in the dark paint I’ve picked up.

What's the weirdest piece of junk you've hauled in from the depths?

Has it had an affect on the fishing there?