Was wondering what peoples views are on fishing for Zander in the summer months?
I know a lot of people including myself just fish for pike oct till March but are the same veiws taken with Zeds?
Do they spawn the same time as pike
Ive never caught a Z before as never fished for them, but after watching a few chasing roach in the margins while doing a night after the barbel last week its given me the buzz big time.
I think you just need to be sensible mate. If it's too warm like I suspect it's going to be this weekend (Water temps wise) you could have an issue. If you are a Barbel angler though you will already know how to rest and nurture fish if required. Ta for the compliment by the way - my fish was a long time coming. They are totally infuriating at times, but a real challenge. Good luck with your quest.
Yep, common sense. I'll not fish for them if it's too warm and especially in shallow water. Same goes for pike. Even in October it can be too warm. People seem to get hung up on the time of year or what month it is. Makes me cringe when people bang on about summer piking but then go pike fishing like a clockwork robot come October 1st, even when the water can be warmer than it was in July! I go by the conditions, not the calender. Anyway, my ranting aside, yes it is well worth fishing for zander in the summer. I've had some great sport with baits and lures throug the summer. Oh, they spawn typically around March, but again, that depends on the water temps.
I do and always have done but again common sense prevails. If the heats uncomfortable for me then I generally fish for other stuff. I fish a big deep river though where surface temps rarely get above 17°C and I've not had any issues so far.
It also amazes me how by targeting Zander with baits I can rarely catch pike this time of year. Almost a 50:1 ratio on baits compared to 2:1 on lures.
Ok Chaps cheers, steve its a cracking fish mate well worth the effort
Mark i think alot of people pike from Oct till march as more of a traditional thing rather than the weather as i know i like to target other fish in the summer like tench etc but its unlikey to be warmer in Jan,feb and march than in the summer months.
Last year the winter was silly warm though and i didnt start piking till end of november as was sun bathing on skeg beach in oct.
Having never fished for Zeds before i wasnt sure what the score was but as already stated common sence comes into play.
Went down for a blast with the lure rod last night fished 7pm till 10pm not a sniff no signs of them aswell.
Strange about not getting pike with deads in the warmer months! maybe they prefer to chase there prey when the temps are up
Totally what I have found from many years of fishing for zeds in summer with baits - not many pike at all unless you use lives a lot. Which is a good thing in my book.
Yes, the Oct 1st thing is 100% traditional and always will be with most people. I used to be just the same. That was a while ago, when a lot of waters had the Oct 1st rule. It made sense too as it stopped people fishing when it was too warm. Trouble is, the climate has changed. We don't get first frosts until what? Mid November. 15 years ago I recall first frosts would be mid to late September. Hence, I think November 1st is the new October 1st. The last two season I have started my pike fishing in November, a couple of outings on trout waters aside.
I think like you say it bores down to common sense, i dont even get my piking head on untill the colder weather comes as it just feels wrong chucking out dead baits when all the leafs are still on the trees etc so even in a cold spell during the warmer months i wouldnt even think about piking, as i liked to target other species.
just like i wouldnt fish for tench,barbel,bream etc in the winter.
Having said that i fancy having a bash for the zeds on deads soon and as the pike seem to stay anyway i feel more confidant in doing so.
I think like you say it bores down to common sense, i dont even get my piking head on untill the colder weather comes as it just feels wrong chucking out dead baits when all the leafs are still on the trees etc so even in a cold spell during the warmer months i wouldnt even think about piking, as i liked to target other species.
just like i wouldnt fish for tench,barbel,bream etc in the winter.
Having said that i fancy having a bash for the zeds on deads soon and as the pike seem to stay anyway i feel more confidant in doing so.
Why wouldn't you fish for Barbel in winter? You've lost me there mate
I'll be getting some zander fishing under my belt in the next few weeks, provided temps don't get up again. Sticking with the cats for now. Hope you get some zeds
Why wouldn't you fish for Barbel in winter? You've lost me there mate
I'll be getting some zander fishing under my belt in the next few weeks, provided temps don't get up again. Sticking with the cats for now. Hope you get some zeds [/quote]
Because im fishing for pike
I went down for a sesson on the deads fished 7 till 11pm on wed night no fish banked but plenty of action but i suspect some of the screaming runs were from eels.
think i need to refine my tackle as they were just picking the bait up then dropping it these were Zander as you could clearly see teeth marks on the bait.
This is becoming Missions first Zed blog
I will be sure to bore you all with the details once i get lucky!
Went down again last week fished 8pm till 11pm in the lovely rain!, had two eels im sure i read somewhere to fish on eel to avoid catching eels!! load of b******s.
Think i will wait untill the cooler weather is here and hopefully the wagon wheels will have carmed down a bit.
Just fishing the lower Ouse, it's pretty easy fishing if all you want to do is catch a few zander ... location is pretty common sense stuff on that river. A mate of mine had half a dozen to 9lbs last week on there doing a late afternoon to midnight stint with deads...
Cheers for the info Mark,The Ouse is somewhere ive always wanted to fish plus some of the Cambs Drains, but its having the time to do so as i wouldnt even know where to start so would probs have to do a recce trip just to find the river
Its a shame some of my local Lincs drains dont hold Zeds maybe its due to how shallow and clear most of them are
The river im targetting at the mo is only 15 mins down the road so it makes it easy for the short trips i can only do and the moment.
Cheers for the info Mark,The Ouse is somewhere ive always wanted to fish plus some of the Cambs Drains, but its having the time to do so as i wouldnt even know where to start so would probs have to do a recce trip just to find the river
Its a shame some of my local Lincs drains dont hold Zeds maybe its due to how shallow and clear most of them are
The river im targetting at the mo is only 15 mins down the road so it makes it easy for the short trips i can only do and the moment.
Understand how time and travelling distance is a factor... to be honest anywhere on the lower ouse can yield zander in resonable numbers but the better areas are quite localized. Anyone with decent water craft abilities can quickly work out where to start - also chatting to other anglers fishing it will reveal quite a bit. Best of all, if you have a boat, just troll the length of it for a few years and you'll build up a very good picture of where to focus. Appreciate that's not an option for many, but that's the best way to learn rivers like that. It's certainly paid dividens for me over the years. Hope you nail a few
Its not so much the water craft side of things, i wasnt sure if alot of the river had club stretches etc would hate to travel down there to get booted off everytime i found a decent area
Im not sure i have a few years to troll the river, its hard enough just getting a day in here and there at the moment
Anyway been chatting to one of my mates and we have set aside a full night in 3 weeks time so gonna pull all the stops out and bag one.
Its not so much the water craft side of things, i wasnt sure if alot of the river had club stretches etc would hate to travel down there to get booted off everytime i found a decent area .
From where the Cam becomes the Ouse, at the junction with The Old West River, all the way downstream to Denver Sluice, The Ouse is 100% club controlled and 100% Day Ticket (or join the club and don't pay for day ticket). So, you can set up anywhere along it and not get booted off well, provided you comply with their club rules. I just tend to turn up and fish - if I get nabbed for the money, I pay up. If I don't get nabbed, happy days
Mission, or anyone else for that matter, if you ever fancy a social trip to one of the more easily accesible bits of the Ouse give us a shout! Im based in Cambridge and use public transport to get everywhere but im always up for fishing with someone new/learning some new tricks!
I understand that you have to be a club member to 'night fish' on the stretch controlled by klaa. I had a baliff check my book at midnight.
Not 100% on that Scott but you will get chucked off the stretch outside Roswell if your not an Ely Beet member, What a pleasant chap.... Not!
To be fair though, that small section is members only and it says so on the sign lol though with how things have changed to a certain point on that little section, and the Cambridge university rowing club building a big new rowing house somewhere there, i dont see fishing being allowed on there for much longer. Theres better zander sections close by anyway.
I understand that you have to be a club member to 'night fish' on the stretch controlled by klaa. I had a baliff check my book at midnight.
I take that back.I was speaking to a klaa bailiff today on that stretch this morning & he said it can be fished at night by non members for a £10 day ticket.If you are going to fish there more than three times a year you may as well get a season ticket as you are unlikely to have a session on there during a weekend and not see at least one bailiff.
I understand that you have to be a club member to 'night fish' on the stretch controlled by klaa. I had a baliff check my book at midnight.
I take that back.I was speaking to a klaa bailiff today on that stretch this morning & he said it can be fished at night by non members for a £10 day ticket.If you are going to fish there more than three times a year you may as well get a season ticket as you are unlikely to have a session on there during a weekend and not see at least one bailiff.
Was out last night we a mate on the Mid level after zeds, the bailiff turned up at 11.30 , it was obvious someone phoned us in and that's why he came racing down, I am a club member but my mate wasn't and refused to pay £10 for 4-5 hours fishing, specially when an ordinary day ticket is only £5, I cant see how they can possibly charge you double a day ticket just because you are fishing at night, its seems they are just trying to take advantage of zed anglers
Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that. YNWA
I understand that you have to be a club member to 'night fish' on the stretch controlled by klaa. I had a baliff check my book at midnight.
I take that back.I was speaking to a klaa bailiff today on that stretch this morning & he said it can be fished at night by non members for a £10 day ticket.If you are going to fish there more than three times a year you may as well get a season ticket as you are unlikely to have a session on there during a weekend and not see at least one bailiff.
Was out last night we a mate on the Mid level after zeds, the bailiff turned up at 11.30 , it was obvious someone phoned us in and that's why he came racing down, I am a club member but my mate wasn't and refused to pay £10 for 4-5 hours fishing, specially when an ordinary day ticket is only £5, I cant see how they can possibly charge you double a day ticket just because you are fishing at night, its seems they are just trying to take advantage of zed anglers
Well i very much doubt that's the case, it's the same for bream & carp anglers that fish the club waters at night.
I think all it boils down to is trying to get anglers fishing their waters to come to their senses and just join the club.Also there are some anglers that leave bags of rubbish, nutshells, seeds, gherkin jars & black patches of burnt grass in the pegs that have no intension of coughing up that sum of money, so they get kicked off (hopefully) .
Was out last night we a mate on the Mid level after zeds, the bailiff turned up at 11.30 , it was obvious someone phoned us in and that's why he came racing down, I am a club member but my mate wasn't and refused to pay £10 for 4-5 hours fishing, specially when an ordinary day ticket is only £5, I cant see how they can possibly charge you double a day ticket just because you are fishing at night, its seems they are just trying to take advantage of zed anglers [/quote]
If you think that's expensive try the LAA stretch, they want £7 per rod for night fishing
Mission, or anyone else for that matter, if you ever fancy a social trip to one of the more easily accesible bits of the Ouse give us a shout! Im based in Cambridge and use public transport to get everywhere but im always up for fishing with someone new/learning some new tricks!
Thats very good of you to offer
i will drop you a pm if i decide to make the trip down always handy to go with someone who knows the area
Sounds like the baliffs are on the ball in cambs which is a good thing, just a shame some of are waters here arent as well policed
Was out last night we a mate on the Mid level after zeds, the bailiff turned up at 11.30 , it was obvious someone phoned us in and that's why he came racing down, I am a club member but my mate wasn't and refused to pay £10 for 4-5 hours fishing, specially when an ordinary day ticket is only £5, I cant see how they can possibly charge you double a day ticket just because you are fishing at night, its seems they are just trying to take advantage of zed anglers
Yep, you can night fish KLAA stretches, but at a premium of course.
They not taking advantage of anyone. It sounds like they're just doing their job to me. Good to see bailiffs getting out after dark like that If I turn up and fish and am not a member, I expect to get charged, even if I am only fishing a few hours into dark. No point moaning about the prices as they are what they are; they're set high to encourage people to join the club. Refusing to pay becuase you've only been fishing a few hours is inappropriate behaviour IMO. Either you pay up or pack up. Of course, if you want to night fish and pay less, join the club
Simon as I found out when rod hopping down a shallow 3' deep fen drain in bright sunlight,they may not be hunting but if you can cover them with a bait they'll have it,especially with a livo;
im sure i read somewhere to fish on eel to avoid catching eels!! load of b******s.
well, provided you comply with their club rules. I just tend to turn up and fish - if I get nabbed for the money, I pay up. If I don't get nabbed, happy days 
, it was obvious someone phoned us in and that's why he came racing down, I am a club member but my mate wasn't and refused to pay £10 for 4-5 hours fishing, specially when an ordinary day ticket is only £5, I cant see how they can possibly charge you double a day ticket just because you are fishing at night, its seems they are just trying to take advantage of zed anglers 
that have no intension of coughing up that sum of money, so they get kicked off (hopefully) 
