AS I sit and write this the snow has gone from around here and most of the country is thawing fast. I took 'Fly' for a walk along the canal yesterday in the hope of being able to cast a fly for the pike that reside in the arm that no longer sees boat traffic.

That idea was soon out of the window as the entire canal is still frozen over with sufficient thickness to still carry my weight. In the middle it is at least four inches thick for most of its length. There are a couple of areas where there is no ice at all, one under the road bridge, the other at the inlet. Here the ice wasn’t as thick and it has given way to gin-clear water.

As the ice melts we can see some of the effects of the deep cold. In the aerated water of the inlet I found tens of thousands of dead fish lying like a carpet on the bottom. These were mostly roach fry but there were also perch in their first two years of life and some small pike. There was even a duck, which I presume had dived under the ice and drowned.

Quite why there was such a massive fish kill is open to speculation. I don’t think there is anything toxic involved, maybe it was simply that the ice was so thick the oxygen in the water was used up, or perhaps it was simply the cold.

I reported the fact to the Environment Agency on their emergency number, which I have in my mobile phone. This is a good idea for fishermen, or anyone who walks near waterways so they can report pollution or poaching incidents quickly.

The number is on your fishing license but, just in case, it is 0800 80 70 60. Go and put it in your mobile now, unless you have already stored it in there.

Further on, my walk takes me around the edge of a lake with a gravel shore. It was also still frozen over other than a few feet around the edge.

In the shallow, icy water I found another victim perfectly preserved, this time a large rat. It was lying in just a couple of inches of water and, again, one can only presume that this master swimmer got trapped under the ice, maybe trying to catch a roosting teal or just seeing what there was available in the hard times, and didn’t find its way back out again.

I am no fan of rats but I do have compassion for anything that dies in unforeseen circumstances. I hate seeing things run over, for instance.

With the sea of ice everywhere there was very little life about. I saw a few birds in the hedges and trees, of course, but even the moorhens had vacated the canal for somewhere they could forage. Where they had gone I have no idea. Where do they go when the water ices over? They will be back as soon as it thaws, though. 

As I carried on I came across a couple of red stags sunning themselves on the far bank of the narrow valley. I kept quiet and moved slowly so as not to alarm them. 'Fly' winded them and we watched them for some minutes as they browsed and then just settled down in the little clearing, soaking up the last vestiges of the winter sunshine.

It was a long shot but I took a picture with my compact camera, which only has a 140mm lens, but it captured them in the setting quite nicely. Carrying a compact is another good idea. It fits in a pocket as is, which is better than having no camera at all when one doesn’t wish to carry a large, heavy bag with long lenses in it.

'Fly' and I left the stags to their day-dreaming and finished our walk back to the car wishing we had brought the gun instead of the rod. They will be there for another day and after the long, cold spell there would be little fat left on them anyway. They will be all the better for being left to put some cover back on their bones.

Seeing things coming out of the big freeze reminds us that spring is on its way and hopefully the worst of the winter is behind us. Soon we will be creeping through the river casting a march brown for the trout fattening themselves on the overwintered insect life and drawing surface lures for the energetic pike as the water warms up.