Zander location

[Fenlandesox]

Im fishing a big wide and deep river (Vantaanjoki, Finland) English style with deadbaits, the river has a good head of fish and is comparable to the bigger rivers in the uk such as the Trent or Severn. The locals doubt if zander are in the river but after a few dropped runs with the puncture marks whilst fishing big pike baits says otherwise, i will let them keep thinking that though. My main question is how long do you sit out for, im not really a zander angler and have only caught a few by chance. what i have seen on youtube and other media is people generally sit out and wait for the shoal to pass? it seems like they dont leapfrog as with pike. is that the general rule of thumb? Im of course using common sense and using heavy jigs to find gravel bars, hard ground and features before settling in. im off again tonight for a session and any tips are welcome. its a heatwave here about 20-25 most days and was in the upper 20's yesterday so im only fishing at night, which is basically an 4 hour 'magic hour' of dusk til dawn as it doesn't really get dark proper.


how often do you move? and what times do you find effective? thanks guys.

[Duncan Holmes]

My Zander experience is limited to the Fenland drains.

For many years I would "bivvy up" for Zander, select my spot based on baitfish signals, features and previous captures, caught good few zander and a few good fish as well.

The last couple of years I fished for them, I adopted a mobile approach throughout the night if I had no action for an hour then I would move.

I definitely, definitely had better catches doing this but its hard work. I found a well thought out barrow made it easier.

[Emma Hamilton]

fishing the bigger rivers over here remember two things, these fish move around a fair bit and they dont feed everyday. If your only getting out for four hours i'd stick to one spot that you fancy and get a few rods out with decent baits and see what comes along. If no good, then next trip fish another spot. You should bump into something if you keep plugging away. There's no real short cuts, if locals doubt there are zander in your river then i'd guess there are not many at best in there ? Locals even if not clued up usually catch a few.


rob

[cookiesdaughtersdad]

I agree with Rob in that with just 4 hours to fish then I would be inclined to sit it out in a swim.
I like fishing in or near to deep water for zander, if the swim is out of the main flow and with some cover so much the better,if you can find such a swim you could try putting a few baits in when you leave, baits such as course deads and halibut pellets would be good.
Spread your rods out over the various depths.
Also as Rob says, keep plugging away

Cheers Alan

[Fenlandesox]

thanks guys i will keep going with it. they are definitely in there, a few pictures have come up since. pike will suffice and save a blank normally.

[Duncan Holmes]

If there are plenty of bait fish in the river, I would stack the odds in my favour by fishing half my rods on freshly killed silvers and the other half on live.

I have caught zander on quite a few different baits, but with out a doubt the native silver fish were the best.

[Fenlandesox]

i will definitely put more effort into getting some lives, work was crazy this week so didnt get out any earlier than today. they go well for baltic fish species here, silikka and muikuu. its pretty much vendace or a bluey? i have been using them on one rod and course on the other as they naturally float and the riverbed is like Vietnam im breaking weak lead links all the time. thanks for replys