Zander in linear fishing

This is a technique that I particularly like for pikeperch hunting.

The basics of this technique

This technique consists in exploring a maximum of land and allows to locate the depth of the fish by throwing the lures towards the shore or on a high bottom. Thus, we fish all the depth along the break or a gentle slope, and this up to the boat.

Linear variants?

For my part, I associate the linear with two techniques:

The first one consists in making the lure move as naturally as possible above the bottom.

You must not forget to get in touch with the bottom sometimes in order to know where the lure is. It is imperative, and this is the secret of this method, to refine the weight ratio between the lead head and the lure according to the retrieve speed, the flow, or even the wind. Here, I use the term “retrieve” because I don’t animate, I reel like a crank (cranking shad).

Several products are awesome when we do this technique. Lures like black minnow and mud digger have a very attractive natural swimming action. These are very effective and in this condition of presentation, the touch is violent because the fish that react are generally active: guaranteed sensations!

The second method, better known as “scratch fishing”, consists in animating the lure by making it do small jumps on the bottom to imitate a wounded fish.

The “Mud Digger” lends itself perfectly to this type of animation of lure. It allows to scrape the ground and thus to imitate the behavior of a fish which digs the substrate. This cloud of mud generated by this lure will attract the attention of fish, make it attractive and will thus attract predators.

My gear during the event

In Spain, for these two techniques, I used an NFC SJ 703 X-RAY rod, spiral cast for 5 and 10 gram mud diggers. It is an excellent caster and its action is relatively round for an X-fast. It’s perfect for cranking lures, and its sensitivity, like all the X-ray blanks, is perfect for tactile fishing, where you need to bring out all the details of the bottom.

When I was using heavier lures, mostly 12 gram black minnow shore 120 and 18 gram search, the Rodbuilders Republic Statement 724 spinning rod lived up to its reputation as the go-to blank for linear pike.

Both rods have been fitted with Fuji Torzite guides and NFC carbon handle to combine sensitivity and lightness, while maintaining the properties of the blanks, to be the most efficient possible in this meticulous stalking.