How to : verticale fishing

The main principles of vertical fishing

It is a matter of letting the lure go down under the boat, then moving the boat (boat, kayak, float tube) as close as possible to the zander spots. It is a fishing full of details, which allows to track zander with a great precision. The use of an echo sounder is a great help to read the bottom, but not essential either.

First, you need to identify the depth range and type of position where the fish are holding. Then, it is necessary to vary trajectory and drift speed, weight of the lead heads, lures (shape, size, color) with the aim of having the most hits possible. In short, vertical fishing is an exciting technique, and the bonus is that the zander hits can be incredibly violent!

Details of the technique

The vertical can be done in line with the boat, or a little behind it (a sort of “diagonal”). Depending on the mood and activity level of the zander, they react better to one or the other approach.

To do this, you simply have to play with the speed of the boat. It can vary from 0,3/0,5 km/h in very cold water to more than 1,5km/h in warmer water with active fish.

It is also possible to play with the weight and the shape of the lead head and/or the lure. The idea is to make the lure move close to the bottom. Sometimes as close as possible to the bottom (10/20 cm), sometimes more off the bottom. It is therefore important to get back in contact with the bottom sometimes.

In terms of animation, infinite possibilities are available to you, but in general, zander respond well to limited animation (small strokes of the tip, slow upward movements) or no animation.

The gear used in Spain

On the rods side, Tony and I used the absolute references in the field: the IMMWS62MX and IMMWS68MXF from Rainshadow. These high modulus carbon blanks allow a perfect detection of what is happening on the bottom and their X Fast action allows an optimal strike. In vertical, Tony fished spinning, and I fished casting. It’s a matter of habit and personal preference.

We used braid and fluorocarbon Perfect Link (Fiiish) in Light model (braid in 9/100 and fluoro in 25/100)

On the lure side, Black Minnows 120 and 140, and Mud Digger 90 were used during the prefishing. These two lures have a very natural swimming action and emit different vibrations.

During the competition, it was mainly the Mud Digger that was used in vertical. Natural colors (electric blue, khaki, cloudy white) and fluorescent colors (chartreuse, orange and yellow) were used on 10 and 15 gram heads. Special mention for the use of fluorescent lead heads (orange and yellow) associated with a natural body.