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| Zander Percidea Stizostedion lucioperca. A fierce predator which prefers to hunt its prey in open water. The younger fish hunt in shoals, but as they grow larger become solitary. | Tackle, Bait, Techniques Rod Reel Line b.s. Hooks Lifespan British record | British record Specimen weight Bait Techniques |
| SOME ANGLERS mistakenly believe the zander to be a cross between a pike and perch, no doubt associating the combination of a long, slender, pike-like profile with a very perch-like dorsal fin. In truth, the zander is no relation of the pike at all, but is the biggest European member of the perch family, capable of growing to around 30lb (13.6kg) in food-rich environments. The species is not native to English waters and was controversially introduced in 1963 when the Great Ouse River Authority released 97 small zander into the Great Ouse Relief Channel. Zander have spread quickly and can now be found in canals, stillwaters, drains and slow-flowing rivers throughout East Anglia and the Midlands, although there are none in Scotland, Wales or Ireland as far as we know. The introduction of zander coincided with a drop-off in general coarse fishing for species like bream and roach in East Anglia, but it is highly questionable whether zander were really to blame. Certainly zander are highly efficient predators which hunt in packs when they are young, but they hunt only for food and would be sealing their own fate if they wiped out fish stocks entirely. Tactics Hot, bright, sunny days are to be avoided and, in fact, zander much prefer the darkest, most sheltered areas of the water. Only in heavily coloured fisheries or during extensive flooding, when rivers and drains run tea-coloured, will zander hunt extensively through the day. | TACKLING UP Scaled-down pike tackle is needed. You must use a wire trace at all times with size 8-12 treble hooks, as the zander’s mouth is much smaller that that of the pike. As you are always likely to hook a pike with the baits you are using, it is advisable to use 10lb (4.54kg) main line with a 1.75lb (0.8kg) test curve rod, which will give you some pleasure from the fight, yet still allow control over a big pike if you should hook one. When float fishing with livebaits, use the smallest float that you can get away with. |
| On venues with no obvious features, like drains and canals, for instance, your best bet is to walk along the bank at dusk looking for signs of fish fry scattering as zander attack from beneath. Location is just the start of the matter though, as zander are fussy eaters which require a careful approach. Unlike the pike, zander will not take sea-fish deadbaits and will only eat the fish it naturally consumes in the water you are fishing. In addition, they have small mouths and, as a result, you will need to fish baits no larger than about four inches (10cm) in length. What is more, they cannot be bothered with frozen fish, much preferring recently killed deadbaits instead or better still, livebaits caught from the fishery that day. Finally, just to make things even more difficult, zander are very cautious if they feel any resistance, and are prone to dropping baits with hooks in them, so it pays to sit by the rods at all times and to strike immediately at any bite. However, zander present a tremendous challenge, which is why, despite the fish’s relative lack of fighting prowess, a thriving zander club has sprung up in England. |
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