What are the best places to catch a Zander?

[Snakehead]

I would like to know what are the best places to go and catch Zander? I am interested in an easy water with a good chance fo catching lots of them during the day. A good runs water would be my first option but happy to have information on more difficult waters. I am not bothered about the size but it would be good if a bag of them would have a few doubles but dont mind if the average stamp is five to eight pound.

 

Location is not an issue as willing to travel to waters that guantee plenty of action. What are the best locations for your top ten bag up Zander venues?

 

I would rather not wait to long between bites.

[Anderoo]

No offense, but you will need to lower your expectations.

 

5-8lb zander is a very good average size; doubles are not that common. I've caught a lot of zander and never had a double!

 

The nearest you'll get to a 'runs water' that I know of is Rutland, when it opens in the autumn. However, the vast majority of the zander are well under 5lb and if you get the boat control or tactics wrong you can easily blank. I was there one day last autumn with a friend and we had 38 between us (very few over 5lb though!), while another pair who didn't have drogues and had been drifting slightly too quickly caught nothing. On that day, the difference between a good day and a bad day was about 0.5mph.

 

Reliable waters that contain decent numbers of zander are the Severn and most of the fenland drains, and a few day ticket waters like Bury Hill. I haven't fished at Bury Hill, but the Severn and the fenland drains can be very hard work at times. However, hard work = a fantastic sense of achievement when you do catch

 

How long you wait between bites will be down to conditions, time of year, good fortune, and how well you fish! Without wishing to sound like an arse, I would look at a first target of catching one zander, and take it from there. Going with the expectation of 'bagging up' is going to end in disappointment.

 

Catching them in the day is a lot, lot harder than at night if you're bait fishing. You can catch them in the day with lures, but that will take a fair bit of practice to get right so you shouldn't expect instant results.

 

In the autumn I'm aiming to organise a day's lure fishing for zander at one of the midland reservoirs - if you can wait that long, you'd be very welcome

 

Oh, I forgot - a lot of canals have zander in them now, so those could be worth exploring. Lure fishing in the day could be a good way to tackle them.

Edited February 15, 2012 by Anderoo

[Phone]

Androo, Snakehead,

 

Androo,

 

No offense intended. Look at the URL I've copied.

 

http://allenshillside.com/

 

Snakehead,

 

You did say, "Location is not an issue as willing to travel". Hillside is a great service and the guides will let you catch there limit also.

 

Phone

[WickerDave]

Theory only as I don't seriously predator fish.

 

In Leicestershire, Celtic Lakes, formerly known as Frisby Pits, sounds prolific...

 

http://www.celticlakesresortfrisby.co.uk/f...ish/zander.html

 

According to the Latest Catch Reports link they were catching double figure zander up until the ponds were recently frozen.

 

In Warwickshire, Coombe Pool, formerly known as Coombe Abbey, large fish but sounds hard...

 

http://www.fisheries.co.uk/coombe/index.htm

Edited February 15, 2012 by WickerDave

[Snakehead]

Theory only as I don't seriously predator fish.

 

In Leicestershire, Celtic Lakes, formerly known as Frisby Pits, sounds prolific...

 

Has any one got any more information on Celtic Lakes? or any other prolific Zander fishing?

[Headless]

Has any one got any more information on Celtic Lakes? or any other prolific Zander fishing?

 

Go on line, there is plenty of info about Celtic Lakes.

 

You wont be guaranteed prolific Zander fishing anywhere !! If you do keep it to yourself!!

[WickerDave]

Has any one got any more information on Celtic Lakes?

The web site http://www.celticlakesresortfrisby.co.uk/ seemed very well layed out so there was a lot of information if you poked around. For example, What's new -> Catch Reports gives recent catch reports, except the latest which is on here anyway at http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/News/celtic_la...sby_200212.html (only two zander reported last week).

[Dave H]

The web site http://www.celticlakesresortfrisby.co.uk/ seemed very well layed out so there was a lot of information if you poked around. For example, What's new -> Catch Reports gives recent catch reports, except the latest which is on here anyway at http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/News/celtic_la...sby_200212.html (only two zander reported last week).

 

The rookie zander hunter are a bit of a fickled lot because they are used to carp in the main or a pike to lesser extent at times but they soon learn that once (not sure soon is the right word) they have mastered that being fickle is not in a zander hunters abattoir either give up or really like the challenge . I think that to a lesser extent barbel hunters can be a bit like that , good one's do not get fickled. Carp hunting now though is a bit of the opposite as many get fickle on that bait and this bait and so on when to be honest most standard rigs and baits will do the job. Thank god Zander hunting has not become commercialised.

 

If there is one bit advice i can give about zander do not listen to catch reports it makes me laugh as once i fished in the wrong conditions at OBH and caught 1 small Zander in 4 days and i tried every dead bait you can imagine

Venue report 3 days later...'plenty of zander being caught to over 8lb on dead roach...

Edited February 22, 2012 by Hawk

[Dales]

If there is one bit advice i can give about zander do not listen to catch reports it makes me laugh as once i fished in the wrong conditions at OBH and caught 1 small Zander in 4 days and i tried every dead bait you can imagine

Venue report 3 days later...'plenty of zander being caught to over 8lb on dead roach...

 

1 in 4 days that's good going, I think it comes as a major shock to many who have never fished OBH and they soon give up looking for that first Zed after a number of blanks. The catch reports can be very misleading and I think when people read about what has been caught they do not take in to account the amount of rod hours between all the anglers over the week. It might sound good that a few doubles where caught and some smaller fish but if you think how many anglers fished during the week and how many rods where in the water it will not be many fish and a huge preportion of those who fished will have blanked.

[Dave H]

1 in 4 days that's good going, I think it comes as a major shock to many who have never fished OBH and they soon give up looking for that first Zed after a number of blanks. The catch reports can be very misleading and I think when people read about what has been caught they do not take in to account the amount of rod hours between all the anglers over the week. It might sound good that a few doubles where caught and some smaller fish but if you think how many anglers fished during the week and how many rods where in the water it will not be many fish and a huge preportion of those who fished will have blanked.

 

That's what i mean Dale. I am not tainting all carp hunters here but many are fickled not just about Carp but probably about most other spcies. I used to help teach others on a Saturday morning on how to catch zander for the complex. We roped off 10 swims or more depending on the numbers.To be honest most had not even caught a pike and some never cast a line it was carp carp carp. So it turned into how to fish for anything . Most never caught anything and were never seen again.