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Monday 18 October 2010

A Try for Zander

Spurred on by you Zander experts, I've decided to attempt my first fish. This morning I've been into my local tackle shop and asked for any reports of them around here. Nothing. I've explained that up towards Coventry, the canal is CRAWLING with them.

I've bought some Fox Predator Run Rings and I'll make up my traces with some soft coated wire I've got with size 6 Korda Hybrid Wide Gape hooks.  I intend to fish dead baits anchored with a light lead and a small cigar float.  I think my 1 1/2lb barbel rod will be well powerful enough and I'll use one of my smaller carp reels with 10lbs Suffix mono.

I've looked on the Internet but can't find too much info about the Oxford Canal around Banbury, just general stuff. One of the first things I spotted was that Zander don't go for sea baits. Great, I'd already bought 1/2 kg of sprats from Morrisons! (I'd watched Tight Lines on Friday where sardine sections were catching.) Maybe I'll take some light float gear to try to catch some roach. Is daylight fishing a waste of time? Should I only go out around dusk and risk the local hoolies?

At the moment it'll be either Wednesday or Friday for this momentous trip, so any tips from you lot would be much appreciated.

5 comments:

  1. David, zander will take sea baits - all the fish from Grafham are caught on them as they don't allow coarse fish (to my knowledge). Try the tails of the sprats, I reckon you'll get a few.
    Day light fishing is fine, but overcast conditions are what you want.

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  2. At the moment I'm finding after dark a complete waste of time with all the fish coming during daylight.

    On the Oxford with its thick tea coloured water I am getting fish even in bright sunlight in the shadows of structures and overhanging bushes but in the Coventry Canal nearer the City where the water is much clearer the fish are coming only in overcast skies or at dusk.

    Runs are a bit lethargic at the moment. No speed in them. Cast tight to boats and up the far shelf in the shadows either side of big trees or bushes.

    The canal at Banbury will certainly have Zander in it Dave, it's just that round Cov there's so much written about zeds that it appears to be crawling with them!

    Best of luck!

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  3. Cheers Steve and Jeff. Hopefully I'll be reporting later this week.

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  4. David, I have fished the Cov, Grand union and Oxford for zander and the best advice I can give you is keep mobile. Look for features such as snags, over hanging trees or anywhere that looks a bit dark.
    If you don't get any runs in a spot after forty minutes to an hour move on. Do not ignore float fishing as you can search out whole areas by recasting every ten minutes.
    I like to fish one rod with a static bait on a lead rod and one float rod. I often pop up a whole bait on the lead rod and fish the float bait a little off the bottom. If you get an aborted run on the float lift the rod and draw the bait back a bit then let it sink again this can often spur a fish into having the bait as it thinks its gonna get away.

    I look forward to reading about it!

    Once you get one you will be hooked forever.

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  5. Cheers Danny. Can't wait. Off to Buckingham to recce the Ouse in the town.

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