Monday 8 December 2014

River Zander - Revisitation...

I've caught plenty of Zander from the canal however none at all from the river. A cut double is still a target and in the closed season I plan to fish for them exclusively, but I felt that there was something missing in my Zander fishing. I’m a river angler at heart and a dishwater waterway doesn’t quite match up to the flow of running water especially when the stamp of fish is likely to be far bigger.


I don’t really know why it’s taken me so long to try for them as it’s not that the Warwickshire Avon doesn’t contain them, as it certainly does; I’ve just not fished for them. Well tell a lie, I fished a small headless Roach once and ended up with a 9lb Pike. The canal fish I find intriguing, a species of fish not well liked by many, thriving through adversity and eventually becoming top dog. Will a river caught fish hold the same esteem for me? Only one way to find out.


With a few venues under my radar for my inaugural river Zander pursuit I decided to fish a stretch of the Avon just down the road from me. It’s wide, predominately 9-10 feet deep, and has the odd deeper swim dotted about. Its match fished, albeit infrequently however scrutinising published match results there are quite often decent bags of Roach caught. There are also pockets of big bream and if what I’ve read is true, where there are big bream there will be a Zander populous. The fish equivalent of a pre-millennium Butlins before they banned stag and hen parties. A place Zander go for a weekend blow out and for a gander at some eye candy, well that’s what I was hoping for anyway.


The stretch visually reminds me very much of Wasperton where the fishing can be tough on good days and even harder on the rest of them, but on the right day there are some cracking fish to be had. Two rods for today’s session both fitted with low resistance running rigs, bass hooks and decapitated Roach as bait, one placed mid river, the other against marginal cover. With a frost overnight it was colder than a witch’s tit; so to accompany me on this session, my fishing mate Simon who couldn’t attend was substituted with a portable gas stove, sausages, black pudding, beans and brown sauce. A flask of Bovril wouldn’t quite cut it sadly. Some decent scran in ones stomach would make the static(ish) session just about bearable.


The first swim the bait the margin rod hadn’t settle for more than 10 minutes when the rollover rose steadily and I was in to a fish. Sadly only a small jack that wasn’t much bigger than the bait. The sun started to rise in the distance and I knew I needed to seek out some darker swims, the water was very clear indeed so not ideal for Zander fishing but maybe some swims with cover they could be tempted in to feeding.


I’d only fished this stretch a couple of times before and it was only today when I realised I was missing a trick, and a massive one at that. The path that leads from the car park to the river is a T junction and I had only fished the upstream pegs. The downstream pegs I didn’t know even existed, so it ended up being very much an exploratory session. They looked very Zandery indeed, plenty of cover, but not only that very deep indeed. The problem was many are elevated swims where you have to gingerly climb down to your peg, completely unsuited for a load of gear, a pallet for a seatbox but no room for banksticks.

A roving float ledger set-up would have been ideal, fish for 15 or 20 minutes in each swim and move on. Talking of a float ledger set-up I’ve still not got my head round the mechanics as wouldn’t the fish feel the lead ? I suppose a larger lead might help or do you need to use the lightest lead as possible to hold bottom ? answers on a postcard please.


No more fish were forthcoming just a couple of knocks when the bait was picked up and dropped. A worthwhile trip though and with the Christmas period coming up I’m already planning to return, this time with more suitable gear.

8 comments:

  1. That's one venue on my radar over the festive period (still not used that ticket yet!). Looking forward to revisiting some of the pegs down there. Spent a lot of time down there in my pre blogging days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bet a day just with a lead finding the deeper holes and features would be worthwhile, certainly potential but I suppose unless you fish in the dark, just need to choose the right day. I think next time I will go a bit earlier, I go there at 7.00am and there was certainly enough light to see.

      Delete
  2. I've done a fair bit of zander fishing on the Avon Mick and can offer you the following bit of advice that will save you a massive amount of wasted time. If the the sky is blue, the sun shines, the river has any element of clarity and there is a frost don't bother going zander fishing on the river. I have a wasted hundreds of hours thinking I can buck the trend and never done it. On bright days they will feed as it goes dark and into the night, other than that you have to wait for heavy cloud cover, very coloured water or some other weird conditions.
    These river fish although related to there canal brethren are a totally different kettle of fish that seem to follow a strict code of feeding.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and to be honest when I looked at the overnight weather forecast and woke up in the morning I felt it was going to be hard going. I don't think it was a wasted trip though, plenty of swims with potential I just need to pick a better day or time for it. The downstream pegs especially looked ideal. Talking of rigs I know you fish for them Zander style, what sort of bites do you get ? Pike like gentle knocks ?

      Delete
  3. Likewise, I would have gone grayling fishing! The last hour of daylight on a mild, overcast day would be my ideal time. I've been quiver-tipping for the zeds on my local river (took a leaf out of Mr Everitts' book in fact). Nice way to do it. Have found that pike slam the tip over, whilst the zander give two or three taps, presumably as they pick up the bait, then move away. Learned fairly quickly to be on the rod and feeding them line before they feel any resistance. Good luck with the pioneering!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If only we had Grayling in Warwickshire. The canal Zeds would be obliging, I should have done that instead. Quiver-tipping for them sounds promising ta for the tips, something I do intend to try when I locate some.

      Delete
  4. Mick,

    Some cracking photos of a winter river. As for breakfast, no black pudding :-(

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes Mick it's got to be the quiver tip used in the right place at the right time. Just after dark watch that starlight and when you get a single nod pick up the rod and if it's a zed you will feel it start to move off. Track it's movement gently until the rod is level with the water then strike. ;)

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...