Cold but worth it

[headless]

My last half a dozen sessions on the pits after the Zander have resulted in me catching several fish each trip, but sadly no big girls put in an appearance, so I decided I would have ago on the River Ouse.

I arrived at the river yesterday around lunch time. It was windy and quite chilly so I decided to settle into a swim that I have not fished in for a year or so, mainly because the tall reeds gave me some protection from the wind.

After an hour or so without any interest the middle rod finally registered a bite, resulting in a small Pike of around 4lb. The rig used was a feeder stuffed with Trout fillet with sections of Trout as bait.

Not long after my first fish I had another run, again on the middle rod, which I connected with and after a disappointing fight I had my first Zander of the day .

Another hour or so went by before again the middle rod baited with Trout was off. After a good fight I landed another small Pike of around 4lb, I was a bit disappointed as I was targeting the Zander.

Within minutes the left hand rod was off, this rod was baited with a small dead Roach. It fought well but again it was a Pike around 8lb . My hands were frozen now and I did start to wonder what the hell am I doing out in this weather.

Ten minutes or so had gone by when the right hand rod baited with a small dead Rudd signalled a take. At first I thought it was a Pike as it fought so well, but I was pleased to see a Zander surface, a stunning looking Zander of 10.8lb



What a difference a good fish makes you feel, my frozen hands felt warm and I was buzzing, time for a cuppa, but before the kettle had boiled the middle rod was off again. This time, another Zander around the 4lb mark.

It was around 7.30 and had been quiet for a couple of hours. I was thinking it was time to pack up, when I had a run on my left rod. I had changed the bait to a small dead skimmer Bream, but I was gutted that the bait was dropped before I could strike.

I decided I would give it another 30 mins before packing up, but as I sat down the same rod screamed off, I struck, felt the fish then nothing. Around five mins past when the rod went again, this time I gave it a couple of seconds longer before striking, but the same thing happened...fish hooked , fish off.

I trimmed the Bream up a bit to make it slightly narrower and cast back in to the same area, hoping that I would get another chance. I sat back down totally pissed off with the hump, when the alarm went again; I struck straight away and connected with a strong fish. After a good fight I slipped the net under a Zander. Another stunning fish just under 9lb.

I fished on for another 30 mins without any more interest, so decided that with everything starting to freeze, including me it was time to go home.

Darrell

[SIMPLE MAN]

Well done mate,a nice report and some nice fish to

[Garren]

Excellent, Headless, well done mate !

[Echelon Pest]

Bit of a result there Darren. Well done mate.

I've recently been introducing chopped coarse fish (very small pieces) to the areas I've been fishing and that appears to help. I'm wondering if mashed up sprats might do the trick - it would save using up valued hook baits, and they are nice and cheap. . Then again a single trout would go quite a long way. Do you have many Zeds on Trout or are they used just as an emergency bait ?

I think the scent thing is the way to go. Have you thought of or tried introducing halibut/trout pellet ? Could work in two ways by bringing in both Zeds and bait fish fish (May need scalding for use in cold water though)

[headless]

Thanks lads

Echelon Pest
My No 1 bait is dead Rudd. I use Trout when I am short on baits. I have managed a couple fish over the season on Trout.

I have tried pellets as a attractant, but have had limited results.

Some venues around here have a more than healthy population of Crayfish, so pre-baiting and too many free offerings can cause major problems, especially at night.

Darrell

[Fishing Forum Admin]

cracking zander well done

[BoldBear]

Great report headless, and a couple of cracking Zander.

I have never caught one but they look an excellent quarry.

top fishing.