Last minute day off work and all the predator kit and bait was ready to go, only one thing for it - try and track down my first zander!
Bury Hill was the destination and the plan was to cycle to the station, get the train then cycle to the venue. As I sat on my bike in the morning - the back tyre popped - my leisurely cycle ride to the train station became a sprint on foot. And the journey the other end became a 3 mile uphill walk.
Bloody bike*
But when I got to the lake it looked perfect; dark, misty and murky, the clouds weren't going to shift all day and there was rain forecast for the afternoon - everything a zander likes (or so I've read).
I settled into my swim and about an hour later a ten pence piece bouncing off a bait box signaled my first run of the day. An instant strike met with resistance - was it a pike or my first zander - that wasn't a pike's head I saw through the murky water...
My first zander was in the net - mission accomplished! Then my bad luck was back, first the scales were stuck solid, then the camera wouldn't focus or bleep it's self-timer countdown. I didn't want to mess the fish about so I estimated it was about
4lb and settled for the blurry photo above.
I freed the scales and reset the camera and soon had two more missed runs before a couple of hours wait saw me connecting to another fish, another zander. And a weight,
4lb 6oz, a personal best to better, and a decent photo.
The afternoon saw lots of missed / dropped runs. Hit them instantly and they haven't got the hook in their mouths - give them a few seconds and they will find something wrong with it and spit it out. I guess it a case of getting some more experience.
The next fish I connected to was the
3lb 14oz zander above. Soon after I landed one about
1lb 8oz below. And on the last cast I connected to a fish that managed to shed the hook - the only one I hooked and bumped all day.
What a fantastic day's fishing, I will be back trying to beat my new PB zander, and I'd also like to have a blast at some wild river / canal zeds. Brilliant fish!
*Walking back through the twilight woodland I saw a couple of badgers wandering about looking for food and stopped to watch them for a few minutes (I would have spooked them with a photo) - something I wouldn't have seen if I'd been on a bike. Fighting stags and now foraging badgers - nature watch!
Notes To Self
All fish landed came to roach sections fished on a running ledger, the top two pieces were bait, the rest was chum. Seems like an expensive way to do it but it converted 4 small roach into 4 zander.
Head seemed to be the best bait (even reused), fished on a size 4 barbless hook to soft multi-strand wire (piece of elastic band to hold it in place).
Open bail alarm with a 10p on the spool over the bait box seems to make a good resistance free bite alarm. Heavy ledger and hard bead before trace makes sure there are no drop-backs. Difficult on running water.
On the second rod I fished a slice of rainbow trout about 6 inches off the bottom, under a chubber float. Only two tentative enquiries all day. Bait or technique? More research required.
First Zed - Yay!
Do they fight hard?
ReplyDeleteI had all 5 (including the one I lost) on a pike rod, and as they are new to me bullied them into the net. But yes they put up a good account of themselves for their size.
DeleteI float fished for them with a light barbel rod (unfortunately they didn't go for this). But I think will be the rod of choice next time, 12lb line and a lot of fun...
That's pretty cool. When you get the next one take a pic head on to the camera. I want to see those fangs.
DeleteYou know what it's like; excitement, trying to get a decent photo on your own, weighing... But yes this is definitely a fish that needs a head shot...
DeleteStep one: Catch another zander...
They really are an interesting fish, I like lure fishing for them the best, you get proper hits when they grab the lure. 5lb 4oz my best in the canal and I've a few areas that I'm going to try for them ont he river. Congrats on your PB anyway, many more to come if you have the bug.
ReplyDeleteA fascinating fish, especially as it took me so long to catch one. And I think 4lb 6oz is a great target to try and better this season.
DeleteOne rod is going to be a ledgered roach rod for a while, I know it works (or worked, fluke?) hopefully put a few more zeds on the scorecard.
The other will be an experiment rod, and I like the sound of getting one on a lure. I can feel the zander bug biting!
Well done Brian, few nice fish there to break your duck. That hook looks fine to me, similar to my set up, but I would lose the elastic band as I would worry about it impeding the hook up rate. I find roach sections or heads don't come off very often even on a barbless to warrant the need for a bait stop. You want to give yourself every chance of connecting especially on bury hill, the next take could be a very special fish from there. You might want to try a whole roach on one rod to see if it attracts a bigger specimen ?
ReplyDeleteI'll look forward to reading about it in chasing zeds 2 ;)
Thanks Lee. Thanks for the tips removing the band sounds like a good idea - I'm not casting far and hopefully this will improve the hook-up rate.
DeleteAnd I read whole fish tend to attract more pike than zander, but I'll definitely give it a go... I don't mind catching the odd pike or two :)
Can't wait to get back out Chasing Zeds 2...
Enjoyable read that Brian, hope you bag a few more on your next outing
ReplyDeleteCheers Darren, I hope I get some more as well, hope it wasn't a fluke!
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