Some spinning enthusiasts start fishing in summer only when darkness falls. In rivers, zander now hunt just below the water surface. Author – Ullrich first listens for the characteristic sounds of predators foraging, and then tosses them a bright one, floating wobbler.
It got dark, that at least the eye is distorted. Suitable, a warm night by the big river. All spinning anglers should actually be at home now. After all, there is nothing to look for in the dark by the water. Or maybe it's worth a try? Hopefully, Gerd and I sit on the banks of the Rhine. We hold spinning rods ready for action in our hands. We are waiting for the appearance of large zander, which, under the cover of night, swim to the very shore and so fiercely hunt for small fish under the surface, that you can hear the splashing of water from afar. Gerd does not know the show yet. A few days ago I told him about night zander hunting. So it caught fire, that I had to take him fishing with me, so he can see it. – They should appear in a moment – I'm calming my friend, seeing, that he can no longer sit still. – A little patience. A large barge flows in the middle of the river. After a while, the waves break with force against the shore. We clearly see hundreds of little bleaks fighting against the suddenly choppy water. Some of them are washed ashore. Two, three hops and the fish are back in the water. "If I were a zander…"Guy! A loud splash right next to us and a small fountain of water on the surface speak for themselves – zanders started hunting. They are finally here. I breathe a sigh of relief.
"I have it!”
I immediately turn over the hunting zander and begin to slowly lead the floating wobbler just below the water surface. Another loud splash on the surface. – I have it, sit! – I scream to my friend. Gerd is amazed. – But it's almost impossible. Bite at the first throw? How do you do that? – she asks. – This is nothing extraordinary – I answer – if you throw a zander with a wobbler right in front of the nose, it will almost always attack the bait right away. I carefully haul the fish to the shore. – Just be as quiet as possible – I instruct my friend just in case. I am bursting with pride, that my promises have come true. Gerd is excited to the limit. Ten minutes later something is happening again on the surface of the water. Panicked cargo escapes in all directions. We both prick our ears. – I think there, more to the right. Was that a zander? – Gerd asks feverishly – Sure, yes. It's yours. Just remember, that you have to throw it about two meters and start slowly leading the wobbler – I have not finished instructing my colleague, when suddenly his scream rang out in the darkness. – Is, sit, but tugs! We caught eight zander in total for several hours – no colossi, but it was a lot of fun.
In the water up to the knees
During night spinning, the greatest difficulty is to locate a feeding predator. Fortunately, the zanders themselves turn out to be very "helpful". Hunting fish reveal their presence with loud splashes on the surface of the water. Where to look for zanders? Certainly not there, where you can catch them during the day. Usually there is not a single predator in such places at night.
The described night adventure took place in the shallows with knee-deep water, in place of, in which no one would even try to quit during the day. At night, however, zanders always hunt there, where the general cargo is collected, therefore in calm and mostly very shallow water. So the big ones are good fisheries, quiet "coves" between spurs, around the mouths of tributaries. the boundaries of the bottom slope and any shallowing. We can also expect bites there. where there are lanterns on the water's edge. The light attracts millions of insects, when they fall into the river, they become easy prey for bleaks. Pike-perch, however, are always followed by zanders. Just don't be scared, when suddenly a hunting zander makes a sharp turn on the surface right next to your legs. This is quite normal during night spinning. If you don't know your fishery very well, I advise you to appear above the water during the day and carefully remember as many details as possible in the immediate area. Zander is very cautious and they don't really like it, when someone shines a flashlight right in their eyes. It is better to leave the flashlight at home immediately. Remember all the bigger stones, on which you could fall over at night, and then you can do some pinching.
What bait? I advise you to try your luck on a sinking wobbler, light colored twister or ripper. The bait should be as light as possible and have from 10 do 15 cm in length. Larger lures make more "noise", and thus are better perceived by predators. With the onset of darkness, predatory fish begin to hunt small fish. Surface lures are most effective at night – slowly sinking jigs and floating wobblers. The bait should be very bright, so that the zander can spot it quickly, then attack.