On The Navigation ⅠⅠⅠ : There Goes Another Landing Net

 I knew it was going to be a drafty day so fishing the navigation probably wasn't the best idea. This was confirmed when ten minutes in my cap went full Mary Poppins and landed in the middle of the water, quickly sinking out of sight. I wouldn't of minded so much but I had my back to the wind so I'm not sure how it got lifted off my head. Luckily I have a spare in the car. As the wind was mainly straight along the navigation there wasn't anywhere to hide from it. I worked my way towards the lock dropping a small orange jig down between the moored boats. This resulted in very little not even a tail nip.

Once I got to the lock complex I started to get the odd follow, but takes or even tail nips. A rummage around the lure box produced a small blue sparkly shad type thing with a 2g bullet head jig. This did the trick. Second cast and a little wasp wasp hooked. A few casts later another one. The first had taken it on the drop, but the second took it as I twitched it. This was the pattern for the next half hour or so. A dozen fish. Some on the drop. Some as the bait was lifted. All at different depths, but all close to the walls.

Eventually the inevitable happened the lure got snagged. The quickest way of dealing with this, if it doesn't flick off first time, is to walk along the lock to the other side of the snag. The lure generally comes free with the minimum of fuss. As the lure came free I heard the sound of metal on concrete. As I looked back down the lock I saw my landing net heading towards the water. By the time I got back it had disappeared. How it sank so quickly I don't. How it got blown into the lock I don't know either as the direction of the wind should have blown it away from the water. I attached a 10g jig head on to see if I could snag it before a barge arrived in the lock but unsurprisingly I had no luck. By the time the barge had been though and the lock gates opened and shut it could be anywhere. I retired back to the car for a cuppa and something to eat as It also started to rain. 

 

After lunch i tried a different tactic further down the navigation. I spent an hour throwing crankbaits and jerkbaits about. This resulted in one half-hearted lunge by a small jack. I then returned to the lock complex and after a little while found the wasps again. I manage eight quite quickly before another boat went through the locks and everything went quiet. Another heavy shower persuaded me it was time to head home especially as there was road works to deal with and it wasn't quite rush hour. The queue in my direction wasn't too bad, but in the opposite direction it was the best part of three miles long. 

 

Looks like a trip to the tackle shop is going to be needed as I don't have another small rubberised landing net. Landing nets are not something I normal lose. Usually I break them. These two hadn't done bad as both were around twenty years old. The netting had been replaced with rubberised versions but they were both perfectly functional.