In Search of a Zander

After my disappointment at missing out on a trigger fish at Mumbles Pier recently, I had an impromptu opportunity to try for another fish I’d never caught before, a zander.

James Robbins of Shakespeare and a leading member of the famous Shakespeare Superteam freshwater match team knew I needed a zander for my species list, and though James hadn’t deliberately targeted zander before he had caught the odd one or two when match fishing.

He put in a lot of homework for me and his contacts pinpointed a spot on the banks of the Grand Union Canal near Hatton in Warwickshire as being the best bet to catch one.

I decided to rig up using a double barbless treble hook system on a 15lb wire trace with the top hook just able to slide under heavy finger pressure. This sliding adjustment would mean the rig could accommodate any size of deadbait. I chose wire as zander have sharp dagger like teeth, but I also carried 25lb Fluoro carbon, which if the water was clear, would be my alternative if the fish were put off by the presence of wire. The trace would fish in front of a sliding ledger to 6lb main line.

The Zander Rig Set Up

Being only about 12-yards wide and with bushes and tree roots on the opposite side I chose to edge my bets with the casts. I put one tight under the trees on the far side figuring the zander would use the submerged bushes as an ambush hole, plus get shade from the bright sun, and the other cast where I judged the edge of the boat channel to be and the water deepest as it inclined towards the far side.

James was first in with a zander about a pound after missing an earlier run. I was already confident, but my spirits were raised even further as it vindicated our choice of mark.

Shakespeare Superteam Member, James Robbins with the first Zander of the day

I was sat on my tackle box diligently watching the line where it entered the water and noticed a slight pick up of line, then a barely noticeable drop back. Zander can be ridiculously shy biters and I knew I had to wait.

This was the bait right under the trees so the fish could not run away from me. The rod tip pulled down a couple more times and I noticed the line start to travel sideways through the water. I struck only when the fish started to take line from the Baitrunner reel. The fish was on and fought well for its size weighing just over the pound. My first zander and number 94 for the UK species list!

At last, a Zander! Species Number 94 Netted!

I finished the day with four zander and missed a couple of good bites due to being too eager, the best fish made a little over 1½lbs, though a lad further down the bank got a good fish about 4lbs. There are 10lb fish apparently in this canal, but you really need to be fishing at dusk or in very overcast conditions, not in bright sunny conditions as we were. Zander are very light sensitive, so we were lucky to catch so many, though after heavy rain the canal was well coloured which helped. Now I have my zander in the bag I can concentrate next time on getting a bigger one!

My grateful thanks to James for helping me get one more species closer to 100!

A happy Mike Thrussell with species 94, The Zander!