Closed Season Zander Quest Pt.17 – Partner in Grime

For this short morning session at the local cut I joined fellow Midland blogger, Danny of The Lure of Angling. Now Danny has been far more successful than me on canals where predators are concerned catching big Perch, Pike and Zander, and he recently caught a superb 9lb 14oz clonker. Ironically it was caught on deadbait and not on his favoured method, the lure. I’ve had more success with deadbait than lures had but I can only dream of a Zander that size. The more I fish canals for Zander, I’ve realised specimens like that are very rare indeed.

A new theory (one of many) I have is that the bigger fish may live where they have an abundance of fish to feast on and they have an appetite to match, a lone fish suffering with Prader-Willi syndrome if you will, . I’ve caught well over a hundred now for a mediocre PB of 5lb 4oz, I’ve a long way to go. Finding where the tubby ones frequent however is a herculean task. I rarely see another angler on the towpath during my quest so any potential leads are few and far between; there is a huge expanse of water to go at, bank time and luck is the order of the day.

A bit late now considering the quest is coming to an end but I’m now wondering if I’m concentrating too much in areas of canal that are too coloured, ok I’ve caught plenty of fish but nothing big, are the clearer and less gloomy stretches the areas now to target ? the Zander has fantastic sight better than it’s fellow residents but maybe being clearer means, the fog is lifted and the entire dinner table is revealed ? I’m not taking gin clear I’m talking a foot of clarity. Where I fish most of the time it looks like the strong cuppa your Gran made but she forgot to remove the tea bag.

I’d not fished this area before, but know it reasonably well as I’d cycled it in the past so I saw it as bit of a reccy to possible target the Zander in the future. Danny caught a few Perch and Zander on the lure and the deadbait and I blanked on the lure after only having a couple of nibbles. Any info shared is most welcome though and tucking in to a roast dinner I’ve a couple of ideas I want to put in to practice after a bit of an eye opener. I didn't expect to witness what I did on the canal that's for sure.