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.