When it turned up in the EA’s nets during a routine fish survey itwas rumoured that the fish weighed an incredible 20lbs. A fish thatzander anglers dream about.
The rumour, a few seasons old, was responsible for a number ofdedicated specialist anglers setting up on the windswept banks of theRelief Channel, that 11 mile long strip of water where predators arefew and far between. It was no surprise when the campaigns came tonothing.
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At last though, the EA has released pictures of the big female andthe full story is out. It actually pulled the scales to 18lb 4oz whenthe fishery scientists weighed her during a fish count near MagdalenBridge on the Relief Channel. A zander of 13lbs was scooped out onthe same day.
But the real truth about the weight of the fish hasn’t stoppedspeculation about what she could have weighed had the fish beennetted in spring around spawning time instead of the previousSeptember.
This all happened sometime in the mid-1990’s. Zander over 17lbhave been caught from the Relief Channel since then, but thispotential 20-pounder was never caught again. Or at least nobody leton if it had!
Can the Channel regain its former glory? Can it possibly produceanother record as it did in the 1970’s and 80’s?
Environment Agency Fisheries Officers say it can, now that the silver fish are on the increase, especially in the areas of the bridges at Saddlebow, Magdalen and Stowbridge.
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The number of predators remains low, however, which means thesilver fish don’t have too many mouths to feed in the 100yard wide waterway which stretches between Denver and King’s Lynn. Which means those few predators have lots of food…………
Plans to open up the channel for navigation over the next few years could bring another boost for the zander, with lock workings boosting oxygen and colouring the water.
Dave Lavender’s 19lb 5oz fish – caught from an undisclosed Fen drain in 1998 still holds the record for the species.
