Zander Fishing Rutland

Having ended any serious river fishing at the end of August I focused my attention on fishing Anglian waters. Grafham and Rutland in particular Zander fishing Rutland. 

As a complete novice when it comes to targeting Zander I wanted to really spend some time getting after these fish in the hope to gain valuable experience. Hopefully catching something bigger than 6lbs too. Looking back at catch records and social media it is clear that Grafham holds the larger Zander. Rutland is known as a place to catch numbers of Zander with no real size. 

September started with a few days on Grafham and to say it was dire would be an understatement. I could not buy a fish, very few bites and not a fish to the boat over three days. To make matters worse I was watching anglers make the exact same drift behind me and land fish. When you don’t know what you are doing you just don’t know. The less I talk about those three days the better so I shall write no more. 

Moving onto happier times and Zander fishing Rutland I had two days planned back to back. I have a hell of a lot more confidence in finding the fish on this water, until very recently (December 2018) there was not a blank to my name. Packing my car to the roof with fishing gear. I did not want to have any equipment excuses at the end of the day. You know the ones “oh I did not have my favorite casting rod with me so could not make the right casts” or “I did not take the right jig heads so could not keep contact with the deck”

Day 1 Zander Fishing Rutland

The weather conditions were pretty good with a warm 22-25c not much wind and a fair covering of cloud. I was able to pick up my first Zander in the first few minutes of fishing. I was able to catch this fish on a slow drift over a school of fish that I found on my Lowrance Elite 7Ti. 

Soon after catching the first fish I needed to change my tactics of drifting to casting in order to get the movement out of the lures that I needed. The lure of choice was the new Quantum Manns Q-Paddler in Sand Goby rigged on a 30gram vertical jig head and no trebles. Some would say not having a stinger hook is crazy but it’s just my preference. It was not long before I was catching them almost every cast over one particular spot.  This was immensely fun but not what I wanted to achieve so moved spots in the hope that I would be able to locate something a little bigger.

After having tried numerous new spots throughout the majority of the mid-morning to early afternoon spell I gave up. I decided to go back to the original spot in front of the marina for the last hour of the day and caught a few more. Reluctantly I needed to be off the water before 3pm in order to make it back to Milton Keynes to collect my first child from nursery on time.

At the end of the first days Zander Fishing Rutland I had a tally of 25 Zander caught and released. The majority coming from casting the Q Paddler shad in 60+ ft of water. 

Day 2 Zander Fishing Rutland

The weather on the second day Zander Fishing Rutland was completely different. There was overcast skies a temperature drop to 10-15c and higher wind speeds throughout. As so often is the case I needed to adapt my approach. 

I could see on my Lowrance unit that the fish were more tightly grouped and a couple feet off the lake bed. Taking this and the weather conditions into consideration I opted for the trusty dropshot. I used a 1/0 EWG hook and the 4inch Zoom super fluke in Arkansas shiner rigged between 4-2 ft off a 28gram pencil dropshot weight. This proved the ideal combination whilst making drifts over the schools of fish I quickly racked up 30+ Zander caught and released. It was so much fun. This time I was the one watching other boats struggling while I could not miss a fish. As much fun as it was, I really wanted to see if I could hook into something a little bigger. 

For the final hour of fishing I targeted an area which I have had larger zander from. This area does produce the perch in numbers too.  It started well with the first five drops all resulting in a Perch but it was not to be. As quickly as the fish were biting, they stopped. I could clearly see the fish on my Lowrance unit but could not get them to bite again despite changing tactics and lures. 

On the way back to the marina I reflected on what a fun couple of days I had Zander Fishing Rutland. Ultimately, I never achieved my aim but was entirely happy with the end result. I left feeling I had my fishing mojo back and ready for my next trip to find that elusive big Zander. 

” I recommend Zander Fishing Rutland”

If you have not been to Rutland before I would highly recommend you get it on your list of places to go predator fishing. They have the friendliest staff, fantastic facilities and brilliant fishing. Particularly in early Autumn when they first open for lure fishing. Rutland has a well-stocked tackle shop (Savage Gear and Fox Rage) Italian restaurant and more than enough boats for you to hire. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this. Please feel free to visit my other social media outlets and leave a comment below if you would like to add anything. Or watch my short Youtube video of the two days below.

Facebook – Twitter – Instagram – You Tube

P.S I have not been as frequently updating my blog as my wife and I welcomed our second child into this world in late September so have had more important priorities to focus on. Rest assured 2019 should see me getting a little more active in my angling pursuits. 

Tight lines I hope to see you one day either on the bank or in a boat with a fishing rod.