Attitude! This Zander bit off more than it could chew.

Lure Fishing is a fast growing discipline in both fresh and saltwater. In this series I aim to show you how, where and when to use; Soft Plastics, Spoons, Spinners, Crankbaits and Jerkbaits while Jigging, Dropshotting, Walking the Dog, Popping and Buzzing.

I’ve always had an interest in lures and lure fishing even way back in the 70’s when I was still wet behind the ears. I was casting Colorado spoons and Mepps spinners while fishing for Pike on the main lake of the Eridge estate. My passion for this style of fishing was replaced to some extent when I discovered fly fishing which was new and exciting, but on reflection this shares a lot in common with lure fishing. How so? Well both techniques search through the water column and are best practiced by wandering around a lake or along river banks, so it pays to be mobile!

For the past 35 years I have enjoyed fly fishing for Trout on many waters in the South East of England, now things are changing on many of these waters. We always had access at the end of each Trout season for a few days Pike fishing, on the reservoirs, often restricted to lures over 5” in length to stop us catching Trout. Now with less fly anglers these same waters are giving predator anglers more opportunities to target the “wild” species that exist in these waters. Pike, Perch and even Zander are available in some reservoirs, fishing from boats in depths rarely accessible while bank fishing is giving us so much to learn, it’s a very exciting time to be a lure angler.

I now fish lures most of the year changing my target species as the seasons change. In the Autumn and Winter my fishing companion James Gardner and I spend most of our time travelling “up country” to Rutland and Grafham reservoirs mainly fishing for Zander, a species that is “new” to us which has stimulated our enthusiasm. We do catch Perch and Pike while fishing for Zander but the techniques and depths we fish make their captures a rarity. What I hope to do in this series of articles is to cronical my fishing season, show you how lures can be fished successfully, take you to waters that you might wish to fish in the future and hopefully give you an insight in the opportunities that do exist out there that you might be unaware of ?

Spring is the time for Trout, in the next issue I will give you the low down on “how and where” to catch hard fighting, great tasting, Rainbow Trout.

This series will see us fishing in Holland this March for jumbo Perch, Zander, Pike and possibly Ide and Asp. April and May will be Perch, Pike and Trout time, where and how to catch them as the water warms. June is an exciting time as we jet off to Spain in search of predatory Barbel, Zander and possibly Largemouth Bass!

This series will be about having FUN, with mates, while lure fishing. My aim is to entertain and maybe educate, it’s going to be a blast!

“Tight lines”

Andy Lush