Deep Down

FOOL ‘EM
1) A Savage Gear Salt Water Sandeel proved extremely effective. A stinger was a must, with the majority of fish hooked on the rear.
2) Fluorocarbon trace reduces rig visibility and retains accurate presentation and lure feel.
3) It’s dark down there so to help zander locate the lure a small rattle chamber up the trace is like a dinner bell.

The depths of England’s Rutland reservoir are home to large shoals of the species. Lean, hungry, competitive, targeted right they can be caught in large numbers, and Ant’s tactics are already getting results. Location is key. As Europe’s largest man-made body of water you can waste lots of lure time on areas devoid of fish. Armed with a Lowrance HDS7 Ant narrows his gaze deep into the reservoir. Specifically he’s looking for three things in stages; structure, bait fish, zander. The first delivers the shelter for the prey, the second the food for the predator, the last the target for his lures.

Still early in the morning with the bright autumn sunlight not yet piercing the clear water the first port of call are the shallows. The prey fish are up and feeding, hanging just off the lip of the deep water with the zander, visible as large banana shapes on the fish finder, hanging back, waiting for their opportunity. Setting up a drift using his electric motor and the breeze, Ant and boat partner Gary Henderson are ready for action.

Wielding his Okuma One Rod – Spin 10 to 30g – Ant drops his weapon of choice over the side of the boat. A Savage Gear Salt Water Sand Eel mounted on a 23g head purpose-designed to fit the plastic slug descends the near 30 feet to the bottom. Although designed for the salt, Ant’s thinking behind the use of the lure for freshwater is soundly logical. Equipped with a large paddle tail and soft body the eel will kick up even at very low speed, delivering waves of vibration for the zander to close in on. The weight of the head is balanced against the water resistance on the low-diameter braid and the speed of the drift. The result needed is a lure presentation as natural as possible – not too heavy, but not moving up in the water under the pull of the braid, while still providing enough tension in the line for Ant to feel everything going on.

Drifting slowing across the drop-off Ant fishes out the rear side of the boat as it travels. This way the line doesn’t move under the boat and he has better contact with the lure. Rod held slightly up from horizontal, what Ant’s looking for is a presentation that sees his lure swimming just off the bottom, tail thumping away while he dials in vertical movements to increase attraction. The rod position allows Ant to drop the lure down to the bottom, keeping him in touch with the depth, and lift to a foot up while still giving him enough leverage to strike and set hooks.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE
1) Okuma One rod with RTX-30 reel loaded with low-diameter braid to reduce water resistance.
2) Soft shads on heavy jigheads give the feeling on the rod and supply the temptation to the fish.
3) A fishfinder is key to working out the lie of the land in such a vast waterscape.

The important aspect of the lifting and lowering is that you stay in touch with the lure. This is most important on
the downward action where a lowering rather than a drop is vital. Hits come more readily as the lure falls, and if you have a grasp of where the bottom is and therefore when your braid should go slack you’ll be able to interpret an earlier slack line as a take and hit it.

On the first drift both anglers miss bites. A readjustment of the line they move on results in a double hook-up. The average Rutland zander size is in the 3lb to 4lb or 40cm to 50cm bracket, but in the deep water they feel twice that. Having found the right line Ant continues to plunder the shoal that’s terrorizing the bait fish below, but as the clock ticks on the action drops off, the zander slinking back down the shelf, into the dark water.

Once again Ant goes on the hunt with the Lowrance fish finder, this time positioning the boat above 50 plus feet of water. The target, a water pipe used to flow water to Rutland’s large towers. Sectional with massive flanges used to bolt the structure together, it’s castellated form is a sheltering magnet for prey fish – and the zander won’t be far away.

Again a drift is set in motion as the lures are released. This time Ant has gone for a change of weapon. A Savage Gear 12.5cm Cannibal Shad loaded on to a 28g stand-up jighead plunges down, the increased weight needed to compensate for the extra depth and therefore water pressure on the braid as the boat moves. Colour choice, as with the Sand Eel, is white and yellow, a colour scheme Ant really rates for zander in very low light conditions.

Immediately the boys are on the fish. Drift after drift rods arc over. If bites tail off a move up the pipe to another shoal soon sets things off again and double hook ups are the default setting for the day. By the time the boats are called in Ant has plundered the venue. Over 50 fish to the boat topped by an example over 70cm or 7lb. Striking the balance of tackle to raid the depths produced the results. Exhausted and in need of a fresh batch of unchewed cannibal shads, Ant heads for home.