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Zander
The Zander is a member of the Pike family
but looks like it's been crossed with a Perch!
It is abundant in rivers, canals and stillwaters around the UK although it prefers flowing, coloured water in particular. They are predatory fish often hunting in packs surrounding a shoal of small Perch or Roach and attack together.
As the Zander grow in size they have no need for the back up of their fellow species and will travel in much smaller numbers, finally
choosing to live alone.
Zander take live or deadbaits preferably fished hard on the bottom. They are not keen on sea baits unlike Pike. Botttom feeders around 4-6 inches long such as Gudgeon are a great bait and will catch specimen Zander.
Bait presentation is extremely important with Zander. If they feel any resistance when taking the bait, they will drop it instantly. The more natural the presentation, the better.
Tackle
Choose a strong 12ft rod and a good reel.
The Abu range, particularly the 6501 reel is
ideal for Zander and Pike fishing. Your end tackle should involve a 10-15lb main line such as Berkley Big Game in brown or green with
a 15-20lb trace wire or braid such as
Spiderwire
or Herculine braid. Good hooks to use for Zander are barbless or semi-barbless trebles or doubles in sizes 8 and 10. Partridge or Mustad hooks will provide you with exactly what you need.
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| ZANDER
FISHING AT A GLANCE |
Best time of day -
Zander prefer darkness or just low light. Overnight, dusk or dawn are definitely the ideal times for catching this species. |
Best marks -
Moving, coloured water especially in the shadows . Look for snags or tree roots which trail into the water, bars, sharp drop off points, shallow water with weed and reed beds. |
Best baits -
Artificial - any Abu Toby style spinner, Rapala style plugs, Challenger Sandeels all no bigger than 4" - 6" and large Mepps spinners.
Fresh baits - Freshwater shrimps. Roach, Gudgeon, Perch, Trout or any small freshwater fish live or dead. Remember to pierce the swim bladder of deadbaits to make sure they sink.
Rig guide - .... read more >> |
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Optimum time and positioning
A good time of year is at the beginning of the new season and the summer months when there are shoals of fry to offer a good food source for Zander. The Zander are particularly mobile at this time of year and specimen Zander anglers often wait until later in the year around October time when the Zander are starting to look for easy food.
Patrol the banks of your chosen spot looking for shoals of small fish especially if they are lurking around good "ambush" points such as tree roots trailing in to the water, bars, weed and reed beds, sharp drop offs, any underwater structures or shallow water with weed. Zander will favour areas where they can find a place to hide, not only to avoid being eaten themselves but also so that they can pounce on unsuspecting prey.
Reservoirs and gravel pits are great venues for Zander
as are the Fenland drains of Norfolk. Go for moving water over still and always choose coloured water, especially with poor light. These conditions will yield some of the bigger fish.
Specimen Zander are anything over 10lb and can grow over 18lb!
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Carp Rods
