points and zeds

[baitmaster]

well today i arranged to have a session with Dan ( norfolkboy ) down the fens in the hope to help him catch him his first ever zander .
i pick him up and we drove down to the fens discussing the trip ahead of us .
i was pretty confident we would do ok .
first we dropped into howletts fishing tackle shop in downham for a quick chat and get some maggots to catch some bait .
we were soon scouting around the drains and the river and we took time out so i could show dan various area,s that i fish after zeds .
we then went down the the drain we were going to target and i had decided that this would also give us the best chance for dan to bank his first zed.
soon we were set up to catch a few baits but it proved really difficult with the drain running hard .
but we percivered and managed to catch the odd bait size fish .
we were really struggling though and i was a bit concerned that we would not catch enough but dan was up for the challenged and got down to catch a few and he even managed to gather himself some points for the species hunt with this nice perch .

we carried on and the fish came in dribs and drabs but we were finding it difficult to keep the fish for any period of time .
tactical changes were happening nearly every other cast to try and find the right depth the fish were at .
then the drain started to slow down and dan got into a small bream about three quarters of a pound . and i jokingly said :now thats just a bit to big dan .
dan cast back out and he watched the float at this point i started to catch one or two fish suddenly dan struck into a fish but at first he thought he was snagged but he soon relised he was into something a bit better .
he played it really well on the light hooklink and i was glad to be gilly and netted the nice fenland bream for him .

this was soon released and as time was getting on we packed away the light tackle and went off after a zed or two .we walked down to an area that has been kind to me soi told dan to fish here .
i walked a further 50 yards further down to a likely looking spot to put my rods out but i was not really bothered as i wanted dan to catch .
soon all the rods were out and i discuss with dan the likely lies of the zander and how we needed to fish .
we sat and waited i was confident and waited for dan to get the first run ,
but it was not to be and i found myself striking one of my rods the fish fought hard and dan soon arrived to land the zed which he done like a pro .
it was nice to be able to show dan a zander in ther flesh and how to hold and zander and show him there armoury and also the dentistry that the fish they feed on sees for the last time before they are eaten

but i really wanted him to get one himself we took a couple of pics and released it to go off and hunt some more roach .

we fished on and i chatted with dan telling him tactics and feeding habits of the zeds suddenly i had another run but this was aborted .a quick check on the bait and this was dropped back out .
i carried on explaning the movement and how important it was to move baits about either close in far bank middle ect ect .and i the next recast i moved a bait to the far shelf as we did not have a bait over there i was really willing one of dans rods to go off when the rod i cast to the far side gave me a drop back by the time i struck the fish had moved to the left and i briefly had it on but lost it .
this was sent back out and time was getting on then dan suddenly got a bit of interest we both were by the rod just waiting for it to go but alas it was aborted .
time was getting on and i sadly felt it was not to be and also on reflection i think the zeds had move from the swim dan was in and might have settle just down in front of me , although i was dissapointed that dan did not have a zed .
it was a nice change to share the fenland zander experience with dan and also tactics and zander area,s too.
dan i,m sure is eager to have another go for them shortly .but he did enjoy the session and still had a result and a good bream aswell .

cheers dan i enjoy are session

tightlines
kevin

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Cracking read , and sound like a great trip . Shame dan did not get one but there is always next time

[fishypaul]

nice bream dan,
i'm sure you will get a zed next time

[Norfolkboy]

Great write up Kev, and good to see the pictures came out well.

Like you've already I said I really enjoyed the session and learnt a lot, as well as having a good laugh, a good social and I was very happy with my bream and the points for the perch (eel, ruffe and bleak next time please )

I wasn't overly dissapointed I didn't catch a zed, as I know I will get to have another go and I was also lucky enough to see one in the flesh and what an awesome fish they are! After seeing the way yours fought I can't wait to get one for myself.

I look forward to the next session whenever it may be!

[pingu]

sounds like a nice session there guys
pity on the zander next time

[BaggieRich]

Nice bream Dan, but unlucky about the Zed. I'm sure it'll come soon mate, after all you've got one of the best teachers around.

Nice session gents.



Rich.

[baitmaster]

thanks for that baggie i will try harder next time to get him a zed


tightlines
kevin