ZANDER
Where to look?
Pike perch is common in waters all over Poland. It can be found in wider and deeper ones, clean watercourses, in the land of bream and in the lower part of the land of barbel, so in moderately warm waters, with a hard bottom. It does not avoid waters with silty bottoms, if they are deep. The largest specimens are most often caught at great depths. This fish is commonly found in non-trout dam reservoirs and in flooded gravel and sand workings. During the day, it most often stays in places with uneven bottom or near natural obstacles, close to the main water current; in the night, at dawn and at evening - in the shallows and on the current near the shore. On cloudless and steamy days, it usually swims near the surface. In dam reservoirs, zander can be found with good results at the original river bed and in places, where the bottom drops sharply. Theorems, that the pike perch is a typical deep water fish, should not be taken too literally, because when looking for food, it often goes out into the shallows after the small fish. Unlike pike, it eagerly inhabits cloudy waters. He is considered an enemy of perch, perch is therefore an excellent zander bait. Both rivers, as well as dam reservoirs, they stock in large numbers with older zander youth, usually in the joints.
When to fish?
Zander takes from June until late, cool autumn, except during the summer heat. In winter, it takes occasionally. The zander fishing season in running waters lasts throughout September and the beginning of October; in dam reservoirs it is extended until the end of November. Early in the morning before dawn and in the evening after sunset, we catch it close to the water surface or at medium depth, at night in deeper water. It was established, that this fish is favored by windless weather.
Equipment.
The rod should be longer, softer, on dam reservoirs and, for casting the bait far away, stronger and tougher; fishing line thick 0,40 mm, leader 0.20-0.30 mm, long shank hooks No. 1-3. A small float, preferably through load. We tie the hook on the fishing line. However, if we can expect a pike, steel should be used, thin leader. The spinners are used small, 4-6 cm long (maximum 8 cm) and oblong shape, red. You can also use streamers and wobblers.
Zander catching methods.
Many methods can be used when fishing for zander, e.g.: on a flow of live animals, dead fish or pieces of fish - with and without a float, for a live appetizer, dead fish or pieces of fish, on spinning with a dead fish, spinners, fish back (way), a strip of lard or a streamer or a wobbler; in dam reservoirs, deep-sea spinning and the method of lowering and lifting the bait are used. The use of a fish-skin czar is effective. In still waters, zander most often pick up a dead fish or a fish-skin tsar from the bottom.
Zander lures.
Lives are effective, especially these species, which live in the same areas as the zander, and besides, it bleaks, ruff, perch, gudgeon and piskorz. Any white fish back is good. Hook the livestock on the ridge, on the upper lip or on both lips. Dead fish on the systems. The length of the live animals should not exceed 10 cm, because zander has a relatively narrow esophagus. A large zander can, however, also take on a dead fence long 20 cm. We arm a dead fish this way, that we stick one arm of the triple hook into both lips, a regular size hook 1 —3 tied to the same leader stick to the base of the tail (it is a system consisting of a triple anchor 1 single hook. Zander sometimes swallows the fish from the head, and sometimes from the tail. When the fishery is calm, and we act like this, so as not to disturb it, we can cast live fish even 2-3 meters from the shore, at a depth of 0.6-1 m.
Other comments.
Zander is a very capricious and careful fish. It is commonly found. The rig used for fishing must be like this, so that the fish does not feel resistance when taking the bait. A dead fish or parts of it are always allowed to sink to the bottom. In the warmer season, we catch livestock in the morning and in the afternoon, placing it in the middle and surface layer of water at a depth 1 m or deeper, in the rest of the time at the bottom. During spinning, we lead the lure slowly in deep places, where zanders can stay. Place the bait in dam reservoirs at a depth of 5-10 m, And in autumn even deeper. Sometimes you have to take the bait to the fishery by boat. In the evening, the lures should be moved to shallower places, closer to the shores. The method of preparing the lure "fish back”, bacon lures for spinning, use of insect larvae, and vertical spinning. You can recognize the zander position by this, that there is a lot of white fish in its vicinity. In Poland, the protective dimension of zander is 45 cm, the grace period lasts from 15 March to the end of May. The daily quantitative limit for this fish is set at 4 pcs, including aching, pike and catfish.