Boat Fishing for Zander on the Elbe — How to Find the Walleyes

The Elbe is one of Germany's premier zander rivers — and fishing from a boat is the only way to truly unlock its potential. If you only know the Elbe from the bank, you're missing the real hotspots: current edges, groin fields, and deep channels that are virtually unreachable from shore.

With the Njörd and three Lowrance HDS Pro fishfinders on board, we scan the river systematically. ActiveTarget 2 Live shows us in real-time where zander are holding and how they react to our lures. It's an absolute game-changer — instead of fishing blind, we see exactly at what depth the fish are active.

My setup for Elbe zander: rods between 2.40 m and 2.70 m with a casting weight of 10–40 g. My go-to lures are soft plastics between 10 and 14 cm — Keitech Easy Shiner, Lunker City Fin-S Fish, and the OSP Dolive Shad have all proven themselves. Jig heads between 10 and 21 g depending on current and water depth. 0.10 mm PE braid with a 0.28 mm fluorocarbon leader provides enough sensitivity for the often subtle bites.

The best tactic: we drift downstream slowly with the trolling motor, fishing the groin fields and edges vertically or with a light upstream cast. Zander often hold in the current shadows behind the groins, right at the seam between slack and moving water. In spring and autumn, the twilight hours are most productive — but on the Elbe we regularly catch well during the day too, as long as the water has the right turbidity.

One tip: don't underestimate the Elbe. Zander of 80 cm and above swim here — and they fight significantly harder in current than in still water.