Zander and sea baits … the truth is out there!

Mark Phillips

There has been a lot of recent debate concerning the eating habits of the Zander – do they or don’t they take sea baits? You know those oily, smelly baits we all use to catch pike! Well the answer is a definite YES! I have personally caught many zander to just under twelve pounds on sea baits; several of my mates have caught them too. So why are there more than a few successful (??) Zander anglers saying that, when you catch a zed on a Sea bait, it is a fluke? They are basically telling us that to fish with a sea bait for Zeds is folly, and you’d be wasting your time to go Zed hunting using a sea bait. So, in answer to this, let me explain what’s going on!

It would seem that not all waters respond the same, and there do seem to be conditions where the sea bait is more successful. The waters where I fish for zander are the lower Cam, Great Ouse, Old West, Roswell Pits, and the Forty Foot drain. There are also two large gravel pits, which I’d rather not name as they have produced zeds to 15 pounds in recent years! I have little or no experience of fishing for zander on other fenland waters, although I have had zeds on sea bait from the Delph and sixteen foot; therefore my comments here are confined to the waters I regularly fish.

It seems that there is currently a very large zander population in the Ouse and lower Cam. The average size of fish is anywhere between four and eight pounds, and the fishing can be best described as easy. The zander on these waters take sea baits regularly. In fact, a trend started to appear that the bigger fish were coming on the sea bait. Taking this a stage further, two mates of mine started to fish one rod with a herring at night. It is uncanny that when this rod goes it’s usually the best fish of the night. I too have experienced this, having now caught two Old West doubles on mackerel! Could it be that the bigger fish scavenge more than the smaller ones? Who knows, but the fact is that the better zeds seem to fall for sea baits more than the small ones.

A circumstance, which sees more than the odd zed taking sea baits, is under flood conditions. I have noticed that I get more zeds on sea baits, such as herring and mackerel in coloured and or running water. I’d speculate that the scent trail given of by these oily baits is something to do with this. Also, I’ve noticed that I also see more zeds take the sea bait during extremely cold conditions. There is no doubt that when they are on the feed, a zander will take what it finds!

Another factor that plays a part in this issue is that of fishing pressure. I have noticed that on areas where a lot of pike anglers are using sea baits, the zander are more likely to be caught on them. Certainly this is the case on one part of the Old West River and on a large gravel pit I fish. The zeds are clearly switching on to this source of food.

What sea baits catch zander then? Well, I had most success on herring, with a few decent fish on mackerel. I also know of several fish taken on smelt (is that a sea bait?) and sardines. One thing that I found relevant is the bait size. I get more zeds on sea baits with smaller baits than I’d normally chuck at a pike. That makes a lot of sense as zander have smaller mouths than pike and they average out a smaller size. A section of herring about four inches long is my choice.

In conclusion, sea baits catch plenty of zander on the waters I fish. The trend toward sea baits seems to be growing as well. More and more zeds are getting caught on the sea baits. It’s worth while remembering that not everyone can get hold of lives or natural baits, so sea baits do get more ‘water time’ That’s one thing to bear in mind when you look at how many zeds are getting caught on sea baits. I do want to make it clear that I’m not advocating that you go out for zeds and only use sea baits. The preferred bait for zeds is still a live, or dead ‘natural’ bait. I’m not going to argue with that. But do not close your eyes to the fact that zeds do take sea baits on the waters I’ve named, and in varied conditions. I’d draw on the analogy that, if you are very hungry, go to your freezer and all that’s left to eat is a frozen curry – well you’ll eat it! You’d prefer steak and chips, but since the curry’s all that’s on offer, you’ll eat that! Think about that one!

Mark Phillips (11/11/02)