The Quest for an Urban Zed - Part 3

Friday, I fished the stretch of canal between where I lost a fish that I thought was a Zed last week and the back of Tesco. My chosen rig had been simplified from the previous weekend and was just a small weight sliding on the main line with a bead to cushion against the swivel then a wire trace to a single size eight semi barbless treble, I've got rid of the floats for now to cut down on any drag that might spook the Zeds into dropping the bait. I started the session at a spot that looked promising as there were several small fish on the surface and every now and then there would be a larger splash as if something was having a go at them. After giving this spot ten minutes with nothing I tried another spot with a group of tall tree's on the far bank which cast a large shadow over the canal. This spot looked as though it would hold a fish or two and within a few minutes I had a slow pull on the line which resulted in a small Zander of around a pound, I discovered at this point that both sets of batteries for my camera were dead and had to use the one on my phone to get a shot.

I've been told that after catching a zed from a swim, if you carry on fishing the same swim there is a chance that you could catch another as they tend to shoal together when not hunting. Another fish section went out onto the same spot which was a deep depression on the bottom, the cast that went in next to this was was into around three to four feet, this was more like five. A few minutes past and I had another slow pull on the line and struck too early pulling the hook out of the fish chunk. I quickly re-baited and cast out again and after about five minutes I had another slow take, this time I waited for a couple of seconds then struck, I felt a few head shakes before the hook was thrown free.
I continued to fish this spot which was now very quiet but I could still see something chasing the fish at the first spot I fished at so decided to move back, whatever it was I was determined to catch it. I put a couple of deads out and had a take straight away, it turned out to be the smallest Pike I'd ever caught.

I headed back towards the city with the peg I lost a fish at last week the target for finishing the session at around dark. I dropped some baits onto a few spots along the way but had no takes, One bush looked promising but I was distracted by a tramp that decided to stop for a chat and I missed a take. The line pulled up tight without me noticing and if I'd reacted quicker I might have been able to hit whatever it was before it dropped the bait. it was nearly dark and the next spot along the path was the one I wanted to bait and wait. I put the two deads out either side of the bush just on the drop off and put the rods down with slack lines, it was dark now but I could just make out the line leaving the tip ring in a reflection from the road lights on the treble four, I half expected the same rod as last week to go and concentrating my eyes on watching this rod I failed to notice the line tighten up on my second rod but I did see a gentle tap at the tip and was on it like a shot, I hit a very satisfying weight with some head shaking thrown in and it came to the net fairly easily. The photo is a really crap as it was on the phone with no flash and only a poor headlight to light it up, you can only just make out the reel upside down next to the Zed.

On the scales it went 4lb 8oz.

The Quest for an Urban Zed - Part 2

Sunday, back on the Coventry canal, this time I was within a stones throw of the M6 motorway. After another look at the satellite views on Google I felt this stretch had to be investigated. It was the usual set-up with deadbait's fished either side of a couple of features that looked good, I was doing the same as Friday and giving a spot around ten minutes before moving a few yards to the next. After a couple of hours I found a feature very similar to the one I fished to on Saturday, a Blackberry bush, I gave it a go and had a fish tighten my line within minutes, after a quick scrap I had my first Coventry Zander in the net, a reasonable fish of around 3-4lb, in my haste to return the Zed the photo was rather poor.

Bad photo alert!

I continued to fish this same spot hoping for a second fish but the shoal must have moved on so I continued to move down the canal to the next feature. At around 6pm, I decided to move back to where I'd caught the only Zed of the day and leave a couple of baits out to see if anything would return. I was surprised at how many boats were still moving this late in the evening but with Hawksbury nearby a lot of these were probably returning to their moorings after a day out, it did give me a good chance to check that the bait was clear of any debris before recasting. Just before seven, nearly dark but with a glow from the full moon and a hint of blue still in the sky I could not believe one boat navigating it's way up the canal by spotlight, this was ridiculous. I wasn't ready to call it a night so reeled in the baits and cast them straight back as the boat passed, after the second bait was lobbed out and the line tension checked I noticed the tip of the first rod just give a slight nod, a quick check of the bobbin and it to was moving ever so slightly, I looked into the water and could see some leaves and twigs swirling around after the boat and put it down to this. The bobbin now started to move as the line tightened, I picked up the rod and could feel something moving around on the end of the line and struck, everything went solid and I could feel something thump back up the line, this felt good. The fish came straight into my bank before hitting the top, what a fish, at first I thought it was a Pike but it wasn't.
I'm new to Zander fishing and didn't think I'd see one this big for some time. I left the fish in the margins and had a flap around in the dark organising everything. The Zed unhooked itself by spitting out the deadbait and hook which was lucky as I'd forgotten to bring my head torch, photographing was a bit 'hit and miss' in the dim light but I was happy with the results even though I didn't smile in the pictures. The fish went back with a very health kick from it's tail and after a couple of phone calls I decided to call it a night.

The Zander!

9lb 11oz's

The Quest for an Urban Zed - Part 1

Friday afternoon, a new challenge, to catch a Zander from the Coventry Canal in Coventry.
I'd heard of a few spots to try and some were confirmed by a passer by who commented about the eastern Europeans spinning for their evening meal and taking a few for the table. I enquired as to whether they were Pike but the answer was Zander, I was on the right track. I headed to a short stretch that I thought would produce a fish but saw plenty of likely looking spots along the way and I had to put a dead bait onto these spots and give them ten minutes. I didn't need to give them any longer, I've been told that if a Zed is there, It'll take the bait straight away, the same goes for Pike. It took a little longer than planned to get to the stretch I had originally intended to fish but on arrival it looked as good as it did on Google.
After a fishless hour on a spot that looked so promising a move was on the cards, I could see a large overhanging bush a hundred yards up from where I was and it looked just as good.
Within a couple of minutes I had two dead baits either side of the bush just on the edge of the drop off, the light was beginning to fade and that magic time just before dark had arrived, if I was going to get a bite, it was now and as though I'd just placed an order one of my floats bobbed a couple of times and slowly slid away from it's spot, I struck into something that shook it's head, I thought it was a Zander and was right when I saw it hit the surface, I pulled it towards the net but it had another head shaking fit and threw the hook, gutted!
I put another bait onto the spot and stayed until it was dark, well as dark as it would get with all the street lights, I was happy to have found a zed in Coventry but need to get one on the bank next time.