Review: Zenaq Snipe S86XX Longcast – A perfect rod for zander fishing

The zander fishing is definitely the most popular game fishing in Europe. The reason for this lies in its specific nature. The zander (Sander Lucioperca) is a very cautious fish that is difficult to catch and is mostly active at night due to its excellent visibility. One very cool thing about the zander is the way it attacks the bait. The famous “tock” is the most exciting moment of zander fishing for many fishermen. The zander can be over 1 m long and weigh up to 15 kg.

The techniques for zander fishing range from active fishing with silicone lures and hardbaits to passive fishing on the bottom or in the middle layer with natural bait fish. The most popular is the jigging technique with a softbait mounted on a jig head. The finesse techniques can also be used effectively for zander fishing. In certain situations, the drop-shot, Carolina, or Texas rig can often produce better results than jigging. Hardbaits are usually your best bet at night. The slow retrieval of minnows often provokes the strike of a zander hunting its prey in shallow water, often very close to the bank.

The most commonly used tackle for zander spin fishing are rods from 2.4 m up to 3 m in length, with 2.7 m being the most preferred. The maximum casting weight of zander spinning rods is between 35 g and 60 g, in some cases even 80 g if heavy jigs are used. The reels used have sizes from 2500 to 4000. Since the zander has very stiff mouth that needs to be pierced with a hook, many fisherman prefer very sharp rods with fast action. However, such rods are usually not elastic enough when fighting the fish, causing many hook-outs during the fight. At the other hand, the rods with slow parabolic action have the problem of efficiently setting up the hook in fish mouth.

My personal preference has always been semi-parabolic rods, which are commonly used for salmon fishing. I found them to be a good compromise between sharp and elastic. Such rods can be used not only for jigging, but also for hardbait spinning. Over the years I have had the opportunity to fish with many different “zander” rods. I have fished with premium models from Shimano, Daiwa, Abu, St. Croix, Sportex, Xzoga, etc. Some of them were almost perfect back then, but quite heavy by today’s standards. With the development of fiber material technologies, the modern spinning rods reached half the weight of those from twenty years ago. The reels have also significantly reduced their weight. The light rods made fishing a lot more comfortable, but they came with the price too. In fact, it has been very difficult for manufacturers to make light-weight rods fast enough, but not stiff, elastic, strong and versatile. The Zenaq Snipe S86XX Longcast has it all and more!

Before I decided to try the Zenaq Snipe S86XX, I had fished with Daiwa’s AGS Tournament series, which are also excellent rods. Even so, I was not happy with the number of fish I lost during the fight. I wanted a spinning rod with the soul, the one that is strong enough to hook every fish, fast in action, but responsive, elastic and progressive, the one that amortizes any sudden fish movement during the fight and prevents unhooking. The Snipe was exactly what I was looking for.

With a length of 2.59 m (8.6 feet) and casting weight of 8 g to 40 g, the Snipe S86XX is the strongest of the Snipe rod series. It covers almost every situation of zander fishing in the waters where I actively fish. The rod weights approx. 150 g and, like every Zenaq rod, is handmade in Japan.  It is equipped with a high-quality EVA Grip, which is optimally distributed around the Fuji VSS-16 reel seat and has a sufficient length to be placed underarm and to grip over the reel seat.  There are two types of guide settings available for Snipe. The K-version with 10+1 Fuji K guides with titanium frame and Torzite inner ring and the RG-version with 13+1 Fuji Torzite guides and two additional RG guides (titanium frame, SiC ring), originally developed by Zenaq.  The Zenaq does not install the hook keeper on its rods, so I added a Fuji Hook Keeper to make it more convenient to use when changing spots.

The rod performs excellent in action. Its blank is very responsive and sensitive. When jigging you can read the shape of the bottom perfectly. Any contact with even the smallest target is smoothly transported to the angler and enables an immediate response. This is very important when fishing with the jigging technique. The blank is a fast-tapper and reacts very quickly despite the moderately soft tip. In fight, the Snipe shows the best elasticity you can find on a spinning rod. It responds immediately and allows you complete control over the fish. The bending curve is perfectly balanced, which makes hook-out very rare.

The blank of S86XX is very powerful. You notice it when you are fighting a big target. The rod bends progressively and shows more and more power as it bends towards the butt section. With the powerful and elastic blank you can also fight larger targets such as catfish or pike without losing control over the fish. Due to its moderate softness and good casting performance, the S86XX is the perfect choice when fishing with hardbaits. It really makes fun fishing for zander with minnow-shaped wobblers at night. You can also use it effectively when jerking or twitching from the bank, e.g. when you fish with the stickbaits on the asp. Due to the relatively soft tip of the rod, I find fishing with lipless cranks that weight more than 20g not entirely optimal. However, it is still the most versatile “zander” rod that I have had in my hands.

The guide setting on the Snipe follows the Zenaq philosophy of a large number of guides with small diameter that are optimally distributed on the blank. In calm weather you can make very long casts, especially if you fish the RG-model. However, if you fish upwind, your casting performance can be significantly reduced. The small diameter guides are also not the best choice when fishing in freezing temperatures, as they tend to freeze up quickly and damage the line. The S86XX is the only model in the Snipe series with the Fuji Torzite guides. The other rods in the Snipe family are equipped with SiC guide rings. The Torzite guides are light and very robust. However, certain types of braided line can be very noisy, so the line should be very smooth and round for the best comfort. I have experimented with many different braided lines and found the 12 strand Daiwa Saltiga line to be an excellent choice.

I’ve been fishing with the Snipe for almost two years now. At first I was very cautious how it will perform, but now I don’t want to fish with another rod. It’s not just about performance, it’s also about the level of joy and satisfaction you get from fishing such a fine, light rod that will give you so much confidence. I fish the Snipe with the Shimano Stella 3000 FJ reel. Due to the very good balance of the rod, a size 4000 reel would also fit perfectly. Since I’ve been fishing with the Snipe, I’ve caught probably more than 100 zanders, the largest of which is 93 cm long. I could also win a fight against a 1.83 m (6 feet) catfish and put the rod’s durability to the serious test. I was able to land the 40 kg fish without much difficulty. The rod has also caught a number of asp, pike, perch und chub, and in all that time I have lost no more than three or four large fish. I think it’s amazing!