Lure fishing for Zander

[Phone]

Tench

 

Zander tend to feed at dawn or dusk and rarely swim during the day, though in overcast conditions zander do come out to feed as well.

 

Top tips for catching Zander

1. Jig and Live Bait Combination

2. Bottom Bouncer and Spinner Combination

3. Slow Death (worm hooked through the center with head of worm covering hook tip then the dangling piece of worm snipped one inch off hook)

4. Swimbaits (use 1/2-, 3/4- and 1-ounce saltwater style bullet shaped jig heads. Five and six inch swimbaits. After it hits the bottom, lift up your rod tip and start swimming the lure back "ticking" it occasionally.

5. Casting Crankbaits onto Shallow, Windy, Rock Structures

 

I'm afraid to define the artificals for fear of "talking down". I can give you examples of each if you wish.

 

The "art" of zander fishing is finding the right bait. Similar to fluff chucking, changing your offering will almost always increase your chances of catching.

 

Phone

 

(not totally original - unabashedly pinched) I am an expert on carp and may be quoted on carp.

[Rusty]

John, I haven’t fished the canals for zander but spend a lot of time fishing them for perch and although tactics might be different I don’t think the watercraft is. Lock cuts are good because the boat traffic oxygenates the water but a boat going through a lock also creates flow which in my experience the perch don’t like. In my favourite swim I stop fishing when a lock is being emptied and only start again once the water has settled. So dawn is best because there has been a long period of overnight slack water and you’re fishing in low light levels. Dusk is second best in my opinion but it does have the advantage of conditions coming ‘to you’ so I quite like the two hours before dark. I’m not an early riser either.