Zander

[mattyg 1,862]

I usually catch em when chucking a lure about in the evening after work after the pike.

Matt

[jok 3,213]

Don't know if that went or not so try again. Am in the club at the moment. If you fancy a beer come down. It's right beside the apartments. Jok.

[green lurchers 16,590]

 

few of the best times to increase the chance of catching zander when i used to fish for them ,westerly winds, low light with cloud cover,just before dark,just after dark, coloured water, when its rained or raining,moving water, fish a stretch straight after a match, , least amount of resistence on your rigs as possible, sit over your rods and unclip line as soon as you get a take and feel the fish by hand , fish the margins , fresh killed bait 4in long on a vic bellars double on a home made trace use tube sleeving, oh and be quite , hope this helps it worked for me over the years

a man that really knows how to catch them fair play,good advise

 

cheers squab , if the boys are going to the ouse near ely ,to save time we used to look for crested grebes diving down and catching fish if they were on a shoal the zander would be close by

[Fenboy 32]

few of the best times to increase the chance of catching zander when i used to fish for them ,westerly winds, low light with cloud cover,just before dark,just after dark, coloured water, when its rained or raining,moving water, fish a stretch straight after a match, , least amount of resistence on your rigs as possible, sit over your rods and unclip line as soon as you get a take and feel the fish by hand , fish the margins , fresh killed bait 4in long on a vic bellars double on a home made trace use tube sleeving, oh and be quite , hope this helps it worked for me over the years

All good advice , I spent many years fishing my local fen drains for Zander, my favourite drain was the middle level but they all hold Zander with the exception of the north level ( unless things have changed ) .

Bait wise you could not beat Eel sections during the summer months and I always did better with frozen rather than fresh for some reason.

Dead roach came into its own when it got colder partly due to the lack of Eel activity I think .

 

I was happy to use fresh or frozen roach , I would scrape off the scales cut of the head and tail and fish them on a hair rig with a single hook.

[green lurchers 16,590]

 

few of the best times to increase the chance of catching zander when i used to fish for them ,westerly winds, low light with cloud cover,just before dark,just after dark, coloured water, when its rained or raining,moving water, fish a stretch straight after a match, , least amount of resistence on your rigs as possible, sit over your rods and unclip line as soon as you get a take and feel the fish by hand , fish the margins , fresh killed bait 4in long on a vic bellars double on a home made trace use tube sleeving, oh and be quite , hope this helps it worked for me over the years

All good advice , I spent many years fishing my local fen drains for Zander, my favourite drain was the middle level but they all hold Zander with the exception of the north level ( unless things have changed ) .

Bait wise you could not beat Eel sections during the summer months and I always did better with frozen rather than fresh for some reason.

Dead roach came into its own when it got colder partly due to the lack of Eel activity I think .

 

I was happy to use fresh or frozen roach , I would scrape off the scales cut of the head and tail and fish them on a hair rig with a single hook.

 

I done plenty on the mid level it was never easy and the average size was better than most , the delph, 40ft, and the cut off were better for action but there were something about the mid level maybe there was never no pressure edited to add until the fella caught the british record from the mid level , then I left it for a few years and swithched to the ouse and old bedford

Edited September 3, 2016 by green lurchers

[Fenboy 32]

Yes the cut off could produce some very busy nights at times , but catch it right and so could the middle level .

I fished the relief channel a bit too and that was much harder going though I did have some nice fish from it .

 

Had a few from the old bedford and also the 20ft and 40ft , never got around to fishing the Delph though .

 

Unfortunately our eastern european friends have now helped themselves to a good lot of them , one of the reasons I gave up with the pike and Zander fishing.

[green lurchers 16,590]

that relief channel was never easy , I spent many years on the delph one of the best rivers for me tbh, but as you say the other gang emptied plenty of fish after I left the fens and a few fish kills on the cut off didn't help

[green lurchers 16,590]

fenboy its funny how we settle on baits , its just what works at the time I suppose , if there was one bait id put above all else it would be a freshly killed skimmer with 2 knife slices down the flank and a punctured air bag ,

[Fenboy 32]

fenboy its funny how we settle on baits , its just what works at the time I suppose , if there was one bait id put above all else it would be a freshly killed skimmer with 2 knife slices down the flank and a punctured air bag ,

Yes each to their own bait wise if it works it works , I think the main reason Eel section was so good through the summer months is the fact it would not be picked up by other Eels , roach baits on the middle level were mullered by Eels in about 10 minutes most nights !

[green lurchers 16,590]

 

fenboy its funny how we settle on baits , its just what works at the time I suppose , if there was one bait id put above all else it would be a freshly killed skimmer with 2 knife slices down the flank and a punctured air bag ,

Yes each to their own bait wise if it works it works , I think the main reason Eel section was so good through the summer months is the fact it would not be picked up by other Eels , roach baits on the middle level were mullered by Eels in about 10 minutes most nights !

 

I can remember getting serious eel problems on the mid level at times ,I might be wrong was this only when it wasn't coloured or the moon came out ? after a few years I only went from oct onwards maybe that's when the eels left me alone

[Fenboy 32]

 

 

fenboy its funny how we settle on baits , its just what works at the time I suppose , if there was one bait id put above all else it would be a freshly killed skimmer with 2 knife slices down the flank and a punctured air bag ,

Yes each to their own bait wise if it works it works , I think the main reason Eel section was so good through the summer months is the fact it would not be picked up by other Eels , roach baits on the middle level were mullered by Eels in about 10 minutes most nights !

 

I can remember getting serious eel problems on the mid level at times ,I might be wrong was this only when it wasn't coloured or the moon came out ? after a few years I only went from oct onwards maybe that's when the eels left me alone

 

They were certainly more active with a bit of moon , the water was mainly clear in the summer back then , a bit different now that our summers usually have plenty of rain and the drains get run off more regulary.

[jok 3,213]

Right then Matty. Let's get it on. I want a Zander. You are near Ashby. You have the knowledge and I know quite a bit of the local area. I'll do the cooking. Jok.

[green lurchers 16,590]

 

 

 

fenboy its funny how we settle on baits , its just what works at the time I suppose , if there was one bait id put above all else it would be a freshly killed skimmer with 2 knife slices down the flank and a punctured air bag ,

Yes each to their own bait wise if it works it works , I think the main reason Eel section was so good through the summer months is the fact it would not be picked up by other Eels , roach baits on the middle level were mullered by Eels in about 10 minutes most nights !

 

I can remember getting serious eel problems on the mid level at times ,I might be wrong was this only when it wasn't coloured or the moon came out ? after a few years I only went from oct onwards maybe that's when the eels left me alone

 

They were certainly more active with a bit of moon , the water was mainly clear in the summer back then , a bit different now that our summers usually have plenty of rain and the drains get run off more regulary.

 

after a few years I only made the 200 mile round trip when I had them conditions I mentioned earlier, I normally used to hit a few smaller drains first if the zander was on the chew then id hit the mid level from 3 holes up to magdelain bridge and inbetween, see some huge carp over the years in the mid level

Edited September 3, 2016 by green lurchers

[jok 3,213]

Fen boy. When I lived in Northampton there wa a geezer who took me eeling near Boston. Before we got near the fen we went to catch bleak, I think from a gravel pit. What a night we had and again from memory, biggest eel was over four and a half pounds. All the fish went home in the early hours and a memory was of all the inch bits jumping around in my bath. I was told it was the nerves in the spine. Not done that since but would really like another Zander. Jok.

[Fenboy 32]

Fen boy. When I lived in Northampton there wa a geezer who took me eeling near Boston. Before we got near the fen we went to catch bleak, I think from a gravel pit. What a night we had and again from memory, biggest eel was over four and a half pounds. All the fish went home in the early hours and a memory was of all the inch bits jumping around in my bath. I was told it was the nerves in the spine. Not done that since but would really like another Zander. Jok.

 

The drains were stuffed with Eels sadly not the case anymore .