my observations, advice, etc.

    Fall Zander… so much time spent by the water, so many mornings, so many evenings, and no results? Don’t worry—it’s not that you can’t catch zander, though that can’t be ruled out either. But if you’ve been catching them and suddenly stopped, it’s time to reevaluate your approach. There can be many reasons for a lack of fish; the first and most important is the pressure currently present in practically every body of water, the migration of fish to better feeding grounds, or perhaps just bad luck.

The zander is a truly intelligent predator; unlike the pike, it is much harder to catch and much easier to scare away from its hiding spot, so you really need to approach the process of "figuring out" how to catch it with great care. If you’re fishing from a boat, watch out for any kind of drop-offs, jig heads, jig hooks, etc. Such clinks will ruin the spot, and that’s no exaggeration—zander is simply wary and cautious, so if you tend to be a bull in a china shop (like me 🙂), get everything ready on the shore so you don’t make a racket at the spot :).

    As for fishing methods, I suppose an entire library has already been written on the subject, and when it comes to fishing with a dead bait, one can limit the description of this method to choosing the right weight for the current and the right leader, with a good hook, and of course the right spot—because technique doesn’t matter in the slightest here; we cast and wait for our catch to take the bait—there’s a lot to be said about spinning methods, since I mostly catch zander on soft plastics and rooster jigs, I’ll focus on describing the method commonly known as “the drop shot.” I have no experience fishing with wobblers, so I won’t address that here; instead, I’ll focus on the method I know something about.

EQUIPMENT

    There’s no better place to start than with the right setup. Depending on whether you’re fishing from the shore or from a boat, your setup will vary slightly—from the shore, the rod will be a bit longer; from a boat, it’ll be shorter. Below, I’ll show you my setup—I’ve spent most of my time on a boat, but I should note that I also fish from the shore sometimes. I don’t see any problem with the rod I use every day on the boat

My Set:

• SG Fishing Rod, 198 cm, casting weight 10–35
• Shimano Stradic 4000 MHG Reel
• 0.19 mm green braided line

    You’re probably wondering why such a thick braided line—let me explain. This is a braided line that I and my friends have tested and found to withstand my extreme fishing spots, submerged snags, and the like. Personally, I don’t think the thickness of the braided line is a huge issue in our waters, where most lakes and rivers don’t have clear, clean water (this is especially true for rivers). Especially since most of us use a fluorescent tip, but of course that’s just my opinion, and everyone is entitled to their own.

    I believe everyone has the right to choose a setup that suits their needs—and, above all, their budget. We should focus primarily on the rod’s sensitivity, because sometimes a zander’s bite is just a slight tug that’s very easy to miss. As for me, setting aside the reel—though it’s not exactly top-of-the-line—I fish with a truly budget-friendly rod that you can easily buy online for 200–220 PLN, along with braided line costing no more than 70 PLN for 130 meters. The entire setup I mentioned above cost me around 1,000 PLN, but I started with a 300 PLN setup and had great results with that too. It’s all a matter of properly matching the individual components.

    If you have any questions about choosing a rod, reel, or braided line, please feel free to contact us by email or on Facebook.

BAITS

    Another very important issue is lures, and there really is no one-size-fits-all solution here. I’ve often found myself in a situation where I’d catch fish with a certain lure one day, and then get no bites for several weeks. I’m not revealing any secrets here when I say that the best colors are natural and pearlescent, but “tea with pepper” or motor oil also yield good results. Below are a few lures that work well in my fishing spot.

    When it comes to soft plastic sizes, I prefer the larger ones. I fish with soft plastics in the 12–19 cm range practically all year round. This year, I caught my biggest zander—94 cm—in August using a 23 cm lure, so I’ll emphasize once again that, in my opinion… 🙂 maybe it’s because I’m more interested in catching one big fish rather than several 40-cm ones, but that’s not always the case, since I’ve hooked an 80-cm fish on a perch lure more than once.

    Another factor is the weight of the rubber itself. Depending on the type of water we’re fishing—whether it’s a river or still water—we choose the weight so that we can clearly feel the moment the jig head or bobber hits the bottom and control the sink rate. Sometimes a very slow sink rate on a light jig head—say, 5–7g—works well in a river where the sink time is extremely long, and other times a heavier jig head, such as a rooster jig, will do the trick. I fish with rooster jigs using a 20g or 28g jig head; once again, I’m not adding anything new here other than that you simply need to change the weight if there are no results and keep searching. It may seem strange to some, but the weight itself also has a huge impact because zander go through different feeding “phases”; sometimes we can catch them in the open water, and a long sink will help here, and other times they’ll be glued to the bottom, and then we’ll have to fish with a heavy setup to reach deep and “tap” the bottom.

ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

        One key factor we can’t overlook when fishing for zander is atmospheric pressure; it’s best when both the pressure and the weather remain stable for several days. Based on my observations, I’ve noticed that the best results come during a drop in pressure, but I’m not talking about a drop of 30 hectopascals over a 24-hour period—rather, a slow decline of about 5 hectopascals over the course of a day. Of course, as is always the case, there are exceptions to the rule, and there is a chance of catching a zander in seemingly hopeless weather and during large pressure surges, but in such cases we’re not talking about any significant variations in their feeding behavior, but rather about chance.

PHASES OF THE MOON

        Considering all the factors described above, it seems impossible to meet them all at once 🙂 but as I mentioned earlier, these are just our assumptions and observations, and we can’t overlook the moon phases either, since they can also affect the frequency of bites. Theoretically, zander are most active in the period immediately following the full moon; this period has often shown that they are indeed very active, and we’ve managed to catch some really nice specimens. Fish react to both atmospheric pressure and the phases of the moon much like humans do, and zander are no exception. A noticeable decrease in bite activity occurs immediately before the full moon and during the full moon itself.

TIME OF DAY AND BITES

        The time of day is, in theory, also a very important factor in our “fishing trip,” but based on my observations, I have to say that I personally can’t say which time of day is best. I’ve caught zander in the morning, at noon in 30-degree heat, and at dusk, and even more so at night; here, we really have to figure out the time ourselves that we need to target. Sometimes the fish will strike during those proverbial “15” minutes, and the more time we spend with a rod over the water, the greater the likelihood of hitting those “15” minutes.

LOCAL EVENTS

    The best places to look for zander depend on the time of day and the time of year.

Below, I’ll describe how I look for fishing spots. When fishing in reservoir lakes, I always try to get to know the area well; I choose old riverbeds, flooded stumps, or areas with a hard bottom. It’s very important that the bottom where we plan to fish is hard and free of silt—zander love a stable bottom that’s clear of silt. When it comes to depth, it’s always worth observing the water, because very often zander come out of deeper water into shallower areas simply to feed (especially at night).

    When fishing on the river, I usually fish the Oder within the city limits of Wrocław, looking for old, submerged riverbanks where there are beautiful drops from depths of 2–3 meters down to 7 or even 9 meters in some spots. The mouths of smaller tributaries to the main channel of the Oder, as well as the entrances to wintering grounds, are also excellent fishing spots. Usually, these areas feature a beautiful sandy bottom and an abundance of food, which is why they are so popular with predators.

SUMMARY

    Thank you for reading this far 🙂 Having analyzed zander fishing over the years, I can say that it really isn’t an easy task. First of all, the fishing pressure in Polish waters has been enormous in recent years, and water management efforts—such as stocking—are just a drop in the bucket compared to what’s needed, so remember, everything is for people, and no one is forcing you to release every fish you catch, but if you have the option, make sure the fish go back into the water—especially undersized ones and those exceeding the size limit.It depends entirely on us and our approach whether things will get worse or better in the future, because I wouldn’t count on the organizations that are supposed to address this problem. Be patient, and remember not to get discouraged if you didn’t catch a fish today—try again tomorrow… it’s very common to go weeks without catching anything. Zander is a truly intelligent predator, and catching it isn’t as easy as, say, catching a perch.

To all my fellow anglers, I wish you good luck and nothing but personal bests, because that’s exactly why we get up every day and head to the water with our rods. A video on soft lures and spinners used for zander will be released soon, and we’ll demonstrate the techniques for fishing on the drop-off in detail.