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Written by Bait Master
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Monday, 06 October 2008 12:24 |
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I think it very important to know how to go about handling and unhooking zander as at some point you will no doubt catch one and its best to either be with some who is experienced who can show you first hand or have some insight in to how to handle them .
theirs nothing worse than getting your first zed on the bank on your own and not having a clue how to unhook it .
now like pike these predators are not as tough as they look so great care should be taken .
Now zander are like there cousin the perch when being held they have a rough feel to the body so holding them should not be to much of a problem and Small zeds can be easerly handed out by picking them up across the back just Below the head but be careful cause the have a spiny dorsal fin like perch and can give you a nasty jab also the gill cover edges are sharp and can easerly slice you i When landing bigger fish you should really use the net. or you ain,t confident in handing them out .
when unhooking a zander its similar to unhooking a pike but with the zander being smaller in comparison to the pike there mouths are smaller so there is not to much room.
make sure you have all the required forcepts , scales ,weigh sling and dry cloth to hand by the unhooking mat so you can stay with the fish at all times and swiftly unhook it and remember alot of zeds are caught after dark so you don,t want to be looking for your gear in the dark .
so first thing to do is lay the fish down and then slide your fingers carefully up through the gill cover and into the bottom of the mouth, this is more difficult with very small zeds . now you can gently pull its lower jaw open this will now allow you to see its dentistry for the first time and also allow you to locate the hooks with a set of forceps very easy but be carefull when doing this as the hooks will be near your fingers .
Now if the zed is hooked at the back of its mouth at the front of his throat you will have to put the forceps through the gill cover .
great care should be taken here so not to damage the gill rakers, but once you have located the hooks gently turn the forceps and the hook should pull clear especially if the are semi barbed
I have had the odd fish that refused to open its mouth and i was shown by a fellow zed angler what to do was , is gently force the forceps into the front of his mouth and then open them up this will assist in helping you to open its mouth i,ve found that once open it will stay open easerly .
when it come to weighing zeds it like most fish use a wetted weigh sling(don,t forget to zero the scales ) there are some very good weigh slings on the market i use the fox safety sling as this hold the fish safely while weighing .
When returning zander don,t just put them in the water and walk away as zander will and can die easerly, just hold them till they are ready, to do this hold the wrist of the fish above its tail fin until the fish wants to go you,ll know when this is as it will kick very hard and you will get showered with water once you feel its ready let it go.
on a lot of places i try to leave them in the landing net till i feel they are suitably recovered.
If a zed is taking longer to recover this might be due to being out of the water longer than normal due to a deep hooked fish or the warmer conditions can affect them quickly .
A trick to employ is to stake out two bank sticks one either side of the zed just behind the pectoral fins , to hold it up right this will allow you not to have hold it as this some time can take an hour of so to recover ,but keep checking it to make sure its ok.
Now when taking pictures i have the camera and tripod set up so all i have to do is unhook it, press the timer button and my pictures are done but not every one will be ready so what you should do is either put it in a staked out pike tube or place the landing net back in the water while you prep the camera .
Now also if i was fishing in hot weather a lot of care should be taken with zander and most zander anglers in really hot period of summer will normally not take picture unless its on the cooler days as they can belly up very quickly so great care should be taking at this time of year if you decide to target them during the summer month .
happy zedding
kevin
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