river zander

[Steve Burke]

This is a similar problem to that faced by perch anglers on a water that contains pike.

 

My answer is to always to use a wire trace if I'm using anything but one single hook, even though it very adversely affects the catch rate when after perch. I've never caught a zander so am not qualified to comment about this species.

 

I've found that pike very quickly get rid of one single hook. Indeed, I've often been bitten off by pike and caught the same one later in the day with no sign of the hook itself, just a punture mark. In one case the pike was very easy to identify as it had a pronounced growth under its chin. It was a real mug fish that used to come out time after time!

 

I've posted this answer many times on the Forum over the years. Occasionally I've still got flak from well-meaning anglers whose hearts are definitely in the right place. I'd simply ask these anglers if they use a wire trace when fishing worms - a brilliant pike bait?

[jerry weijers]

Here in holland we use a single hook for zander for example a mustad 496 nr 2-1/0 , we hook most of thefish at rear end in the tail

 

 

gr jerry

[Steve Burke]

I rather suspected that Jerry. Thanks for leting us know.

[slodger]

'Sea deadbaits most certainly do work, especially on the Sixteen Foot, and often sort out the bigger zander.'

 

That's the best piece of advice on the thread. It beggars belief really that you still see the old 'Zander won't eat sea-baits' myth being perpetuated on angling sites, even by experienced Zed men. It's on a par with the old belief that carp bury themselves in the mud during the winter......... or that the tench is a qualified GP.

 

The tail end of a herring is my number one Zed dead-bait. It has a couple of distinct advantages over a coarse dead-bait in my opinion.

 

Firstly it has a much softer texture. Most of the popular Zander waters don't require a big cast, and if they do then the baits can be used from frozen anyway. By using a soft textured bait, I find that it's much more likely that the hooks will leave the bait and connect with the preds mouth more cleanly with an early strike. ('Strike' being a euphamism for tightening into the fish.)

 

A sea-bait, as Peter says, also seems to sort out a slightly better stamp of fish. The only logic I can see with this factor is that the size and the shape of the bait may be a little more intimidating to a schoolie Zed. It's a bit 'thin', I agree, but whatever the reason, the sea deads do seem to draw the bigger Zeds.

 

I believe there's also a possibility, for Pike or Zander, that the less common scent of a dead sea fish in an inland water, may make it stand out just a little more than that of a coarse bait. It seems reasonable to assume that our waters are fairly thick with the scent of Roach and Bream etc. Perhaps the scent of a Herring is more easily picked out by a predator. Having said that it may be the case that the scent given off by carrion is different to that given off by live prey fish anyway, but whatever the truth, I find sea-deads to be infinitely more effective in turbid water conditions.

[Jan O]

Try a small deadbait [ 4 - 5 inch ] and a soft rod about 11/4 t.c and use a 6 lbs line no trace only when there are many pike but try no trace .

look where the water is going deeper say form 6 ft then very sharp down to 10 ft .

if there are harbour try there because the small fish stay there in winter time , where the pray is there is a predator .

if you use dead bait like a small roach go stand on it so it crush and they can give a smell off underwater change regular your bait for a fresh one

gr jerry

I´m with You Jerry, while fishing for Zander I always use heavy fluorcarbon and a single hook. There is no problem, definitely not as long as You make a quick strike when the fish take the bait. We also try to make the bait more "smelly", you can make a clean cut in the belly area, that works too... or, you just cut it in two, then you got twice as much bait.

 

//J

[Peter Sharpe]

I would have thought that heavy fluorocarbon was considerably stiffer than the best wire trace materials and would offer little advantage. Fluorocarbon is also notoriously prone to abrasion, which is not ideal in this situation. It's all a matter of ethics. Nobody would even think of pike fishing without a wire trace and fishing for zander (or eels and catfish) is effectively fishing for pike, as there is no way of avoiding them.

A treble hook would undoubtedly prove highly effective in some carp rigs, but people don't do it (I hope) because of the almost inevitable mouth damage. There really should be more to fishing than putting your personal success rate before the safety of the fish.

[jerry weijers]

Here in holland it's normal to use no trace for zander fishing only when you go lure fishing .

I have never seen that the pike that i caught were lost , i think that zander fishing and pike fishing are to different

But i cacth sometimes a pike while i are zander fishing but it's not normal , i think that i cacth 1 pike verus 250 zander

 

 

gr jerry

[Russell Fitzpatrick]

flurocarbon....

 

well i know a freind who use it here,he has'nt been bitten off,also hes landed around 10 pike without be bitten off,altho in time i'm sure he will be.the reason i dont have a huge problem with it is he use a barbless size 6 single,not much of a problem to a fish if hes bitten off but still not the point i know.

 

now i dont see teh point of using fluro,i use wire,supple wire,i get as many takes as he does so i dont see the point!

[Guest josh]

BUT WHY RISK IT!!!!!!!

[jeepster]

i've been fishing my local canal for perch, and i've been using a variety of shads, soft plastics etc, all with a single hook, on which i crush the barb. with some of the smaller lures, the action is affected terribly by a trace, so i have been fishing without one. bearing in mind a quick strike will ensure the fish will be hooked in the mouth, rather than further down, and the low numbers of pike in the canal. i feel it's a valid technique.