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My love affair with zander – fishing in the fens

My personal best zander of 10lb 13oz

My first ever zander, at 6lb 4oz, caught back in the year 2000 Zander can often be the most infuriating species to target but when things go right they can also be one of the most rewarding. The species has been the subject of my on/off love affair which started when I first tried zander fishing, and banked my first zed, back in July 2000 (it took a freshly caught dead roach presented on a float-paternoster – rig nerds!). It took many more sessions before I banked another zander and I never came close to the 6lb 4oz PB I had set myself with that first fish. Sometimes I would sit at a water all night, expecting something to happen – with the conditions seemingly “perfect”, yet never see a sign of a zander. Other nights the zander have made me aware of their presence with the odd strike and dropped run but, try as I might, I could neither hook nor land one. After failing to land a zander in my last 7 night sessions I had been starting to fall out of love with the species. But, like a teenager with a crush, I just kept on trying. …

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Tope from a Boat

Andrew's PB tope shark

I’ve had a strong desire to catch a tope, ever since a school trip to Anglesey in the mid-nineties, where I witnessed a large specimen captured and released. That experience put the species right at the top of my “to catch” list of British sea fish. The tope is Britain’s largest inshore native shark, and grows to a maximum size of around 2 metres in length and 95lb in weight. I love my freshwater predator fishing, so when I was offered a chance to fish for these sleek predators, with two Scottish International anglers, Brian Burn and Willie Kennedy; I just couldn’t refuse! After a bit of hasty organisation, my friend Craig and I made the trip from Derbyshire up to the beautiful Galloway coast. We checked into the Queens Arms Hotel in the picturesque and quaint, Isle of Whithorn, and settled down with a pint; leaving just enough time to set the next day’s scene with Brian and Willie, before we each got some much needed rest. The beautiful Isle of Whithorn harbour is a scene straight from a postcard! Early next morning we headed down to the public slipway with Willie’s boat and set off towards some of …

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