The spread of zander

baitmaster · #1 09-13-2006, 06:52 PM

i was sitting here in front of the computer thinking of something to tap out on my computer and as zander are dear to me you will exscuse me if i do a little article about the history and spread .
some of it is old hat but i feel i need to write my own version of how i see there spread .
well since the introduction of zander in the relief channel back in 1963 of 97 fingerlings alot has happen to zander.
first they quietly grew and every body was totally unaware what was going happen while in the first couple of years they quietly grew.
soon they were big enough to give anglers abortive runs which to start with were missed.
but a couple of anglers in 1966 went about to discovering what was attacking there pike bait and these were the first anglers to really try for the zander.
they scaled down there pike tactics until they finally manage to catch one which turned out to be a zander
in time the zander were being caught regular by these early pioneers they also started to spread via the drains being interlock and started to at first quietly colonise those drains too .
then in the late 70,s zander were being blamed for the decline of firstly the vast bleak and roach shoals that used to be common place but research shows that heavy pumping used to wash loads of small fish out to sea on the relief channel .
but as time has gone on the authorities have put in fish holding area,s along the edges of the relief channel so when pumping is now done the small fish have sanctuary out of the heavy flows .
also the pike started to decline and again zander were firstly blame for this but again it seemed to coincide with the increase use of pestercide on the fields adjacent to the drains ,
as the years have gone on zander has had a small and loyal following as they grew to over 10lb ,and some great angler have help to promote them to be caught and released and not culled as they had been during the dark days of every thing that happened to other species were firstly alway blame on the zander .
many thanks has to go to Dr barry rickards and neville flickling who first published a book on zander back in 1979 .
and N fickling even got a degree at university by studying this magnificent fish .
zander carry on growing and spreading through out the fens drains and zander were being help even at club level and were being reckonised as a valuble asset to the clubs as anglers were prepare to come to the drains to fish for this magnificent fish and bring valueble money to the clubs they joined and in my own club klaa this was done by commiteee member ashley brown .
as zander grew and spread so did the following of anglers and then although since rickards and fickling first book there had been many articles on them .
there had not been another book on them until steve younger a very fine and one of the great zander anglers wrote fenland zander in 1995 .
and probably was although i had fished for them prior to 1995 was probably when i was well and truely inspired to specialise in them .

also around this time the zander record was broken and it now stands at 19lb 5oz caught in 1998 by dave lavender a zed angler of 25 yrs i believe this also to be the only british record to be caught on film .
by this time zander had spread further a field out side the borders of norfolk and were turning up in the river seven, coventry canals and other waters further a field .
and on occassions the seven actually took the zander record away from the fens with R armstrongs 18lb 10oz beast in march 93 and in the late 90,s the seven and the middle level drain dominated the record list and the record is back in the fens with D lavenders 98 specimen .
zander are also being caught now from lakes and one of the best known is bury hill in dorking but other lakes will start to throw up zeds i,m sure
we can only speculate how zander got to where they are and i believe some were probably illegally stocked by anglers .
i know from my own investigation where zander are now being caught and some i was surprised with but others were no surprise .
the furtherest i,ve discover zander are in the sharpness canal in gloustershire but they might be even further afield than that.
but sadly they are still under an out dated rule in my opinion which is enforced by the british waterways that any zander must be culled and it was sad to see where the bypass at netherbridge is being built that on a section of drain which was being drained for the bypass three zander up to 13lb were caught and had to be culled shame really .

i hope they get a big following on these other waters and someone stand up for them in these area,s and get these out dated rule over turned and anglers are allowed to catch and release .
it does not seem 43 years since the zander were first introduce into the relief channel and zander have shown they have had the ability to survive against alot on misconseptions about them .
and not just this they have survived and spread far beyond there famous starting place the fens allthem years ago .
the fens will allways be regarded by most myself included as the true home of zander .
books have been written on them an no doubt further books will follow in due cause
.surely they now have the rights to be left alone and not regarded as a alien species any more and no longer still be culled as they have done little to stop this magnificent fish establishing themself as a true predator in every sense .
what is left for zander to achieve maybe the 20lb barrier will it ?? well we will have to wait and see on that one won,t we ?

tightlines
kevin

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