A Couple of Hours Zander Fishing

Popped out to a local canal on Sunday evening for a bit of zander fishing with a light rod and small Kopyto shads. It started off well with a small zed on the first cast and over the next couple of hours we managed 6 more all on 3" shads either slowly retrieved or hopped along the bottom. None of them were over 3lb but fun all the same on light gear comprising 20lb braid, 15lb Wonderwire leader and a 5g, 4/0 jighead.

I had a chat with a chap who lives on the bank of the canal who had told me that a 19lb pike had been caught a few days earlier from a few hundred yards upstream in a basin. If I'm honest I was sceptical as I've fished here infrequently for 5 years and only had 3 pike, biggest about 2½lb. After leaving him I had a cast and then another when I had a hit. This fish felt a lot bigger and thoughts of a big zander started going through my mind. After a couple of minutes without seeing the fish I then thought maybe I'd hooked a carp but eventually the fish swirled on the top and powered off again. I now knew it was a pike, and not a bad one.

I coaxed her into the net where she thrashed, and the hook promptly came out! On the scales she went bang on 16lb.. a nice end to a couple of hours.