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For many fans of spinning, spring is considered the beginning of the fishing season, so they are looking forward to it. Along with catching pike and perch with artificial lures, zander fishing is popular, which, in particular, bites perfectly since mid-March. Edible silicone on a powerful lead “cheburashka” is recognized as a classic bait for the “fanged one”, however, a diverse selection of nozzles allows you to experiment.
Subtleties of spring fishing by months
The arrival of spring is associated with a sharp change in climatic conditions. Reservoirs are opened from ice captivity, saturated with oxygen. Dirty water flows from the banks, which makes the water area more muddy. Spring is characterized by sharp changes in air temperature, strong winds that make it difficult to catch on large reservoirs. The small rivers inhabited by zander can shelter from strong winds, but it is also more difficult to find fish there.
Fishing in March
The first days after the ice breaks are often “empty”. Before you start pecking pike perch, you need time to rebuild from winter to spring mode. Active biting starts from mid-March, if the water warms up a bit.
Where to look for a predator:
- in snags and blockages of fallen trees;
- at exits from pits, dumps, borders with a sandbank;
- on the shell rock, along the channel brows;
- under steep banks with a reverse flow.
At the beginning of spring, the fish does not leave their homes, pike perch can rise a little from the pits, but it comes aground closer to April.
March is characterized by the beginning of a pre-spawning bite, so a meeting with a fanged inhabitant of the depths is quite likely. It is worth remembering that pike perch lives in large groups, so when biting, you need to forward the site in detail.
In March, zander are caught with a jig using a hinged or spaced rig. At this time of the year, the fish are still passive, so the retrieve should be slower. Pike perch responds well to twitching tosses and jerks, but in March they should be shorter, while the duration of stops is increased.
Photo: na-dony.ru
Since the water is cloudy in early spring, anglers use the brightest and most acidic colors. At great depths, they lose their color, but when fishing up to 4-5 m, the use of “acid” increases the chances of the bait being noticed.
Elongated models are preferable to wide-bodied ones, since the predator has a narrow mouth structure. The use of silicone with positive buoyancy also increases the chances of a bite, because in this case it is easier for zander to pick up the bait from the bottom, which is standing upright.
Fishing in April
Spawning dates may vary from year to year. If the water has time to warm up to the required temperature marks, pike perch can spawn as early as the middle of the month. In a cold spring, spawning may begin no earlier than May, and end closer to July.
For spawning, the fish builds nests, from where later offspring appear. Spawning takes place at depths from 1 to 5 m in snags, on a weak current or sandstone. During the spawning period, it is undesirable to take caviar fish, it is better to give it a chance to leave offspring.
April is the most promising month in terms of zander fishing. In the middle of spring, fish show interest in baits throughout the daylight hours if the weather is stable. Light breeze and cloudiness at an air temperature of 12-15°C are considered ideal weather, however, even on sunny days, the fanged robber is hooked.
In April, fish can be found in atypical places:
- on the shoals;
- in micro bays;
- at the wall of cattail or reeds;
- on the sandbars.
In the middle of spring, pike perch tend to shallow waters not only to create nests, but also in search of food. At this time of the year, wobblers are popular among baits. For fishing, sinking nozzles and products with neutral buoyancy are used, which are able to hang in the water column.
A light twitch with long pauses should bring results. If the fish ignores this type of animation, you should add dynamics to the wiring, use a uniform broach and sharper rod movements. Both bright wobblers and natural-colored models work on zander. It all depends on the conditions of fishing: illumination, turbidity of water, depth and time of day.
Fishing in May
During this period, pike perch is caught only at certain hours. If the weather is calm and cloudy, the fish can bite even at lunchtime; on clear days, the fanged robber actively feeds in the early morning, going to the coastal edges, where the fry stands. In the evening, pike perch are looked for in pits, riverbeds and reservoirs.
It should be remembered that navigation related to the spawning of underwater inhabitants may be prohibited in May, so many large rivers and reservoirs will be inaccessible. However, by May, ponds and lakes warm up, where a predator is also found.
Photo: activefisher.net
You can catch pike perch at the end of spring both on edible rubber and on wobblers. In ponds, fish often react to shakers if the pond is shallow. For catching zander, it is recommended to use narrow-bodied spinners with a bright plastic tail that serves as a target for attack. Slow wiring near the bottom is the best way to lure the “fanged”. Among soft plastic baits, the same floating rubber in various colors works. In May, passive baits are used more often than active ones.
At the end of spring, a small predator comes across more often, the weight of which does not exceed 500-800 g, therefore spinningists prefer small baits up to 7 cm long.
Leeches and worms imitating living beings are popular among the models. Wiring – double undermining or single tossing with a pause and stirring at the bottom. Passive rubber allows you to show imagination, because without the participation of the angler it does not work.
Also in May, crayfish and frogs in natural colors work well. For fishing with these types of artificial baits, you can use wire dragging along the bottom. It is effective when searching for a passive predator. It should be remembered that one such broach takes much more time, so you need to use dragging where there is definitely a pike perch.
Popular lures for spring fishing for zander
Most anglers adhere to the classic point of view, using only mandulas and silicone, but practice shows that it is not always effective. In many ponds with high water turbidity, much better results can be achieved with shakers. Also, rattlins work on the fanged inhabitant of the depths – universal bladeless wobblers for casting and plumb fishing.
Mandulas
Mandula is a classic pike perch bait made of floating material – polyurethane foam. Mandula is not inferior in effectiveness to any other bait, and in some cases it has an advantage.
The artificial nozzle works due to the movable body, which consists of several parts. At the bottom, the mandula is located in a vertical position, so the predator picks it up with ease.
According to pike perch, monophonic models and products consisting of several colors are popular. In early spring, blue variations, brown and dark red variants are used, closer to April-May, the list of catchable baits includes combined models, the bodies of which consist of two or three or more colors.
The mandula perfectly catches the fish, however, it does not bypass obstacles either. Fishing with a nozzle should be in places that are clean of snags and logs: sandy shallows and exits from pits, channel brows, flat bottom.
We offer to purchase sets of author’s handmade mandulas in our online store. A wide range of shapes and colors allows you to choose the right bait for any predatory fish and season.
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Edible rubber
For zander fishing, narrow-bodied models with or without an active tail are selected. The first type is recommended for beginners, since such silicone has its own game and does not require intervention from the spinner. Having mastered the main types of wiring of vibrotails and twisters, you can move on to more complex products: leeches, crayfish and slugs.
Popular models for zander:
- FishUP So much.
- Keitech Sexy Impact.
- Keitech Swing Impact.
- Intech Slim Shad.
- Bait Breath SL Remix.
This list includes active and passive types of baits, among which you can choose the right product for spring fishing for “fanged”.
Silicone is shipped with a lead round sinker with an internal bracket. Many anglers use “overload” by deliberately overweighting the lead. This allows you to shorten your stride. Thus, the bait moves practically along the bottom, it is not carried away by the current, it remains in the field of view of the predator. Heavy lead, when dropped, creates a cloud of turbidity, which also provokes a predator to bite.
Photo: activefisher.net
In early spring, when the fish is still passive, you can use a booster or attractant. There are a large number of ointments and liquid sprays on the market that can be used to treat the nozzle.
Wobblers
Rattlins are primarily considered as hard plastic baits. They have an anatomically similar body with a small fish, natural eyes, gill covers, and sometimes fins.
Rattlins in bright and dark colors can have a magnetic capsule or noise balls. As a rule, cast lures have a noise effect.
Rattlins are sinking and suspenders. Their only drawback is a high degree of hooks for snags and vegetation, shell rock. Rattlins should be used in proven places where there are no obstacles.
You can also use sinking sheds for pike perch, but they are less effective than the previous type of bait. Shed often catches pike, and pike perch is considered a nice bonus.
Wobblers with a holographic sticker are especially popular on sunny days. They perfectly mimic fry and are able to seduce the most passive predator. If fishing is carried out at depths up to 3 m, then two-part or three-part ones come into play. Such baits have a smooth game and move like a real fish.
Spinners and turntables
Not the most typical lures for zander fishing sometimes show excellent results. Most often, oscillating and rotating baubles are used in early spring, when the water is cloudy. You need to lead the bait on the verge of a game failure, so that it falls a little and gives a reflection.
Photo: activefisher.net
Among oscillators, elongated models are popular, among turntables – products with a long petal of the Aglia Long type.
For fishing, purely metallic colors of spinners are used; in rare exceptions, painted models are used.
In places where there is a possibility of meeting with a pike, metal leashes are used. In early spring, the leash is invisible, but closer to May, you can switch to fluorocarbon.