Fishing Amsterdam And Trolling The Red Light District

[DerekD]

Fishing Amsterdam and trolling the red light district

While I am eternally grateful that my parents moved to Sydney from the Netherlands before I was a twinkle in their eyes I still retain strong links to my Dutch heritage. As a keen Fisho, for as long as I can remember, any time I get near any fishy environment I start looking at the best spot to throw a line in but, to be honest, based on my past experience I have not thought much of the fishing in the Netherlands. I remember watching people fishing from the harbor break walls for hours on end with big beach rods and paternoster rigs with very little to show after a few hours but some small fish (if they were lucky) that I would think twice about before using as bait here in Oz.

On my last trip to the Netherlands (to catch up with family and friends) my whole view on fishing there was turned around and if you are patient enough to continue reading then I would like to share my experiences from a few months ago with fellow Fishraiders.

While staying in the lovely town of Haarlem (near Amsterdam but 15 minutes closer to the beaches and sea) I walked past a fishing shop with a pretty impressive pair of soft plastics in the window. I had a “what the” moment and then decided to walk into the store. As happens when most keen fisherman the world over meet, within a very short time I was swapping stories and photos with the guy in the store. After seeing some of his amazing shots from fishing South America we started discussing the local fishing. It turns out that I had missed out on some potentially fantastic fishing. I knew of the pike after seeing a photo of my great grandfather (must be from whom I inherited my passion from) with a good specimen but it turns out there were some other interesting species too. He kindly lent me some local fishing magazines.

Browsing through the magazines I could see the Europeans were insanely keen on their carp. So much so that there was a lot written about it and there is an amazing range of exotic paraphernalia used to catch them (e.g. google “bait boat” if you get the chance). I know carp grow big but I don’t think I could ever get that passionate about it. Then I came across an article about fishing Amsterdam which blew me away. The author reckoned that Amsterdam was the predator fishing capital of the world which, as a Sydneysider, I felt was a big call but I was intrigued enough to read on. Of the species mentioned in the article, the pike (Snoek), the redfin (Baars) and flounder (Bot) I knew of but it turns out they have something called a Zander (Snoekbaars) which really caught my attention. In short I thought it was an amazingly beautiful fish which it turns out can grow to a reasonable size. Since I had some spare time during my holiday I called the author (Juul) to arrange half a day’s fishing. Unfortunately he was booked out but he put me on to a guide friend (Han) of his who was available. We tentatively booked a time on the last day of August. When I went back to the store to return the magazines the guy there said he knew both people I had talked to and said they were very knowledgeable and then said that at this time of the year you “can’t not catch fish”. I was really looking forward to my half day on the water (if it wasn’t for the exchange rates at the time I would have preferred a full day).

The weather gods smiled on me on the day of the fishing trip and I was picked up on the river located behind Amsterdam central train station. Han’s boat was nicely laid out and would not have looked out of place on Sydney harbour. The first stop was not far from the station. Han set the gear up. What we were using were essentially locally made beefed up bream rods. They were slightly short and slightly stiffer than the graphite rods I use in Sydney. They had been topshot with 7lb braid and I was wondering how the soft plastics techniques I used in Sydney would do. What surprised me was how little braid was used on the rods. Han explained they only needed about 50 yards of braid as the fish generally fought straight down. I mentioned that I would prefer to start with the cast and retrieve method I use in Sydney so Han set up a long tailed soft plastic for me with a stinger hook in the back. Once he had seen that I looked like I knew what I was doing he took out a second rod and used a technique which I have never seen before but must have been effective as he hooked into a fish very quickly. A promising start for the day. The fish did use a straight down fight and took a few minutes to get to the boat at which point Han reached down and picked it up under the belly. This surprised me. Pretty well any fish I catch in Sydney goes wild as soon as you get them to the boat or shore. This fish sat quietly in his hand as if to say “alright, you have caught me. Now what? Can we get the photos out of the way? By the way my best side is my left”. It was my first sight of a Zander. I thought it was a beautiful fish so I grabbed the camera and snapped away. The teeth on this fish were kind of scary. It went about 60cm and it turns out they grow to about 1.2m long with the longest recorded catch for the previous year being 117cm. As it was released to swim away I thought Holland 1 – Australia 0. Time to try the technique as used by the locals.

The set up he used had a mono leader with a length of about 1m. A pencil lead sinker was tied to the end of the line. A hook designed specifically for drop shotting was tied about 40cm above the sinker. As you may be able to see in the attached photo the hook has an extra bend and eye on it so it hangs at right angles to the line. A 3” Berkley gulp in white and bright green was then pinned through the nose to the hook. The rod was held like a pistol as per the photo below with the index finger held alongside the shaft. The idea is to just keep the tip of the rod bouncing up and down so the lure jumps but the sinker does not lift off the bottom. I found that the pistol grip technique was the most comfortable way of holding the rod when fishing this way for any length of time. The Zander feeds into the flow and has a surprisingly soft take when compared with a similar sized Australian flathead. You feel a slight load on the end of the line and then you have to lift the rod to set the hook. The Zander will generally feed about a foot off the bottom and as they don’t seem to like too much light they head for deeper water if the water is clear or it is a bright day. They are generally a solitary fish but sometime during September they become a schooling fish and it becomes relatively easy to catch them as there is a lot more competition for any available food. We both had a few more taps but couldn’t set the hook.

Han took us to a new location near and underneath a bridge where he had been particularly successful. Once again he hooked into a Zander but it only went about 30cm. Holland 2 – Australia 0. I had a hit and this time set the hook. I was onto my first ever fish in Holland and as I didn’t want to lose it I took my time bringing it in. Unfortunately it was a flounder rather than a Zander but at least I was on the board. As Hans was not too familiar with my camera and the problem of back lighting I took the photo. No more hits so we shifted location. This time I started to get hit after hit and it was a case of setting the hook. Pulled my first fish up and it was a small Redfin which was quickly released. Holland 2 – Australia 2. Another hit and I set the hook again. Pulled it up and it was a decent sized Redfin but nothing to write home about. Han then hooked up and it was, believe it or not, another Redfin. Holland 3 – Australia 3. A few more hits and then I hooked up. The fight felt a little different to the other two fish and it felt bigger. As it came to the surface I realized it was a Zander of about 40cm. YES!! I admit the hook pulled when it came close to the boat but I was still counting it. Holland 3 – Australia 4. At this stage I raised the topic about fishing in the Red light district of Amsterdam and it turns out that it is pretty good. Apart from the obvious it turns out the predominant species are the Redfin. Han offered to take us there but as I was really after Zander and Pike I figured fishing the main river gave us the best opportunity to catch them. It did make me wonder if any keen fisherman had gotten into trouble with the other half back at the hotel with the words, “Hi Honey. Just spent the afternoon in the red light district and you’ll never guess what I caught”.

During the fishing I found out a bit more about my guide. Turns out that he had been keen on fishing for as long as he could remember. He was fortunate enough to live on an island and every afternoon he raced home after school to go fishing. He has gotten in to plastics in a rather big way. So much so that he actually makes his own. I had another “what the” moment when I saw the flounder type plastics he makes. It seems that a lot of people laughed at his idea. He was laughing too but because of how effective they turned out to be. They have an impressive swimming motion and I suspect that in the smaller sizes they would be the equivalent to our baitfish.

We then shifted back to the original location and after a few minutes Han hooked into a good fish. It was a Zander of about 55cm. Once again after a few photos it was then released. Scores all tied and getting interesting. Han then had a take which, based on my limited experience, looked like a very solid fish. He was on it for a while but as he maneuvered us away from a marker buoy the hook pulled. You all know the feeling. You have either had it or experienced it as a friend has lost a fish. We looked at each other and with a vocabulary from two languages to choose from uttered some words I will not repeat here. We both called it as a Zander of at least 70cm based on his broad and my limited Zander experience. After a few more drifts we had to call it a day due to commitments but both of us would have loved to spend the rest of the afternoon fishing. I’d picked up 3 of the 4 species I wanted to catch and Han had promised to send me a photo he had taken of a pike a few years before when it had tail danced after being hooked. It was a fantastic day and I made a new friend and had experiences which will have me going back the next time I am in Holland. I would love to have the opportunity to try a few things like vibes over there but unfortunately my next planned visit is in about 4 years time. I have promised to take Han and Juul fishing in Sydney if they ever make it down here.

Edited November 24, 2010 by DerekD

[cut_loose]

Amazing report mate, that look's really good. Thanks for sharing with us, i really love reading up about reports from fishing in different countries, fishing is such a wide spread sport, it must be limitless !

Thanks for sharing once again.

10/10 for effort

10/10 for uniqueness

10/10 for photos

Edited November 24, 2010 by cut_loose

[TailorNut]

Great report and photos. Are the zandar good to eat

[taloyoak]

Hahahaha,

Got to love the Pike ( I have caught millions on huge surface Mouse and Rat Flies), and that Pickeral/Walleye you got is a top fish. Ohh you are making me miss back in Canada- Pike and Musky are crap eating, but so awesome to catch on fly/lures, and they never fail to excite you don't they.

Thanks for the report

[Hodgey]

Amazing report mate, that look's really good. Thanks for sharing with us, i really love reading up about reports from fishing in different countries, fishing is such a wide spread sport, it must be limitless !

Thanks for sharing once again.

10/10 for effort

10/10 for uniqueness

10/10 for photos

An excellent report Derek, and yet another destination to add to the 'bucket list' of fishing destinations

Cheers

Ian

[mrsswordfisherman]

An excellent report Derek

Thank you for sharing that with us.

Ask Han and Juul to join us on fishraider!!

[Andy Nice]

Thank you for taking the time to share that with us - A most enjoyable read over my morning cup of tea

[Catchin Jack]

rolmops and croquettes, appelflappen, memories.........

I used to go to Holland yearly for Karnaval, what a great piss up that is.

[The Iceman]

Awesome report

My parents are also Dutch though I was born here in aus

Unfortunately my dutch is very limited as we never spoke it at home we did however go back to live in holland when I was 9 for about 2yrs where I fished in the canals around Spykenisse just south of Rotterdam

We caught a variety of fish Snoek(we used a small fish with bright red fins for live bait) Baars and Brasum(not sure if this is the correct spelling) using mainly bread or worms for bait under floats Very similar setup as you would use for luderick here

I wont visit my mother unless she makes ollieballen

Edited November 24, 2010 by The Iceman

[Mr Squidy]

Great report mate, always facinating to read about fishing in other parts of te world. Thanks for sharing!!!

[jay83091]

Awesome report!!

Thanks for sharing~

[Maiders]

Great report. Got to love the zander and pike!

Great photos by the way...

[johnv]

now thats a excellent report there Derek, not much difference in what my dad use to tell us when they lived there & that brings back some memories from home

cheers john

[StunnedMullet]

Awesome report mate! Well written and great reading! It goes to show there are so many fish out there for us to catch!!

Well done

Cheers

Mick

[DerekD]

Further to my report about fishing Amsterdam I received an email from Han (the guide who took me out on his boat in Amsterdam). He gave me an update on the fishing over there. Apparently it is "Gold". The Zander has been schooling and on a good day they can catch between 40 and 50 a day. Considering the size that Zander can grow to I think that is a pretty good result. It seems that on days when the easterly winds hit that the number of fish caught drops off a bit. Seems that even at the other end of the world the wind puts the fish off.

After reading the post I put together and the comments made by other Fishraiders he made the observation that it is fantastic that "so far from Holland the thoughts about fishing are the same".

There was a question about what Zander taste like. I never actually got around to asking it but an American friend of mine says that they look very much like their Walleye which is a fantastic fish to eat. On that basis I assume it has similar eating qualities.

I have attached some photos which Han sent me with his email. There are some of the Redfin (baars) which I didn't get around to photographing when I was there. If you look closely you can see that the Zander (Snoekbaars) was caught on one of the flat soft plastics which Han makes.

[neilm]

Nice report. I tried Zander when I was in Switzerland a few years back - nothing to write home about, rather nondescript and muddy. I guess it would be better if it were held (alive) in clean water for a day or two before eating, makes all the difference to pike I'm told.

Cheers,