A rare catch. Fenland River Zander fishing.

When my mate Giles suggested we take his boat out for a days predator fishing I could not say yes quick enough! The plan was to head down to the river Lark in Cambridgeshire. There was one place in particular we wanted to fish as it was a haven for fish such as Pike, Perch and Zander.

However there was a problem. The river was high and visibility was poor to say the least! The area we decided to target was a much wider part of the river that is a holding area for everything that swims. Prey and predator alike. We anchored up in the start of the wider part of the river and started casting out lures. We managed to get a follow or two from Pike but they did not seem too interested. Probably due to the bright blue skies.

We headed to the other side as it was in the shade and we reasoned the fish may be there out of the bright light. First cast and Giles was into a Perch on drop shotted worm. He had several more as they were keen to feed. I had a few casts but really wanted to get into the bigger predators. The lures were not working but some lads fishing from one of the houses were catching Roach and using them as live baits when one escaped only to be scooped up by me! The Roach was dead so I decided to wobble it on a trace and 2 size 6 trebles. I had action right away with a couple of jack pike.

The sun was fading and i knew this was the best time to get a Zander. We repositioned into a deeper bit of water. I slowed down my retrieve hoping a Zed would grab hold. Sure enough thats exactly what happed and a fish made off in a hurry! I like to hit takes pretty early on to prevent deep hooking but knowing this was probably a Zander i let it take line for a few seconds as they are finicky feeders. I hit into it and played it to the boat. It was a Zander! In the net it went after a few powerful surges. This was a rare catch from the river Lark and i was well chuffed! At around 6lb it was a nice size to catch on light gear. I can't wait to get out on the boat again!