Pelagic zander fishing

Blog Rodhouse

15 Feb 2024

Visual fishing through the fishfinder screen

With sounder/GPS combos becoming more and more powerful, pelagic zander fishing is a fashionable technique. Electronics brands now offer 360-degree views to cover as much ground as possible, as well as instant 2D views with breathtaking resolution. Lowrance calls these technologies Active Target and Garmin LiveScope. This fishing technique is particularly well-suited to large environments. It involves beating the ground in a boat, spotting large echoes, potentially between two waters, and lowering a lure vertically to lure the target predator. Pelagic fish are often solitary and large. To stay in the sonar cone, lures are heavily weighted. Leaded heads weigh between 30 and 70 grams. The lures are of the finesse type to avoid creating resistance and measure between 15 and 22 cm.

Start the configuration

Suitable blanks

To fish effectively in pelagic verticals, Blanks must be short (between 1m80 and 2m00), responsive, powerful and resonant.

Blanks must be short and supple at the tip to facilitate suction, have a first hard point high enough to easily set the hook, a progressive section in the middle of the blank for comfort in combat and a heel that offers good resonance and precise animation. Blank power evolves according to the environment and in particular depth. We have selected 3 Blanks of different power ratings.

IMMWS68MX2m03, 7-35g, X-Fast. This blank is a legend when it comes to vertical bouncing for pike-perch. It is frequently re-cut to 1m90 (please let us know when choosing rings). It can be used for pelagic fishing on lead heads up to 35g and a finess of 6'.
SSH 637-1 X-Ray 1m90, 30-70gr, Fast. THE absolute reference for pelagic vertical fishing. This blank has been specially designed for this purpose to European specifications. It is built in 3 parts. A fine tip (1.8mm) to facilitate lure suction and precise animation. A second part which allows the hook to be set with authority while offering progressive action. Finally, the last part offers a large reserve of power. SSH stands for Sharp Shooting.
PPS66H Blank : 1m98, 30-80g, fast. This short, powerful and responsive blank has been developed for heavy vertical fishing. It has enough power to strike effectively, but becomes quite round when fighting. The 30-80g power range is designed for vertical fishing in Freshwater fishing, i.e. with lead heads between 20 and 60g plus a finess lure from 15 to 18cm. When casting, it's a popular blank for float tube Pike fishing with soft lures from 20 to 50g.

SKU

SSH637-1 X-RAY

SSH 637-1 X-RAY

(7)

272,26€

Select

Lightweight

Power reserve

Resonance

Versatility

SKU

PPS66H

PPS 66 H

(7)

107,10€

Select

Lightweight

Power reserve

Resonance

Versatility

Our recommended handles

Casting is recommended to present the lure accurately and to slow down the descent in the last few metres.

EVA, cork or carbon is a matter of taste. EVA has the merit of being inexpensive and maintenance-free. Cork is light and soft to the touch, but requires a minimum of maintenance. You need to applycork sealer 1 or 2 times a year. Finally, carbon is maintenance-free, lightweight and, above all, highly resonant.

For these handle kits, please specify the desired length between the butt and the reel seat trigger in the comments on the order form, so that we can best adjust the finish rings.

Compatible rings

The rotating Brazilian Assembly prevents the braid from touching the blank and means there are fewer guides on the blank, saving weight. We offer 3 Fuji Guide packs in different finishes, corresponding to different budgets and frequencies of use. The first segment of the range is occupied by Alconite ceramic guides with Inox armature, offering excellent value for money and suitable for occasional use. The Guide frame is made of Inox with an anti-corrosion coating. The Alconite ceramic provides good glide and a high heat dissipation rate for the braid, but take care not to spool dry fly braid onto these guides. The second level of the range is occupied by SIC ceramic and Inox-framed Guides. In this Guide range, the frame is still made of coated stainless steel, but the ceramic is made of Fuji SIC, which offers better glide and greater resistance. Finally, the top of the Fuji range is represented by the Titanium-Torzite Guides. The Titanium frame is much lighter and, above all, totally insensitive to corrosion. The ceramic is made from Torzite, another Fuji proprietary material that enables the braid to glide perfectly over the ceramic. This ultra-high-performance ceramic requires less material, enabling the use of smaller tunnel guides. Less weight = greater sensitivity and performance.