☸ About fishing on the Don
It is this legendary river, about which novels have been written and films made (The Quiet Don), that is a fishing Mecca for many fishing enthusiasts, including citizens of other countries. They come here to relax on its cozy shores from work and everyday life, to be alone with nature, and to enjoy catching trophy fish. And this kind of thing definitely exists here; photographs from the Don are in the fishing albums of many fishermen. In this river you can catch giant catfish, large burbot or eel.
Even more common are roach, rudd, crucian carp, bream, pike, asp, pike perch and perch. Certain species - small fish, shemaya, sabrefish, herring - are caught exclusively during the spawning period, but you feel so much joy after biting and landing one of these rare fish. What can I say, the Don is a great river, but its resources are not limitless. In order to be able to fish in these areas in the future, you need to treat it like a living being, with care and respect. And she will definitely thank you with generous gifts.
Save Don! The largest river in the Voronezh region is rapidly becoming shallow
One of the largest rivers in Europe and the largest in the Voronezh region, the Don is becoming shallow. So much so that now you can see islands in its bed, there are more and more of them, in some places you don’t even need to swim across the river - you can cross. All this is due to floods, which have not happened in the last couple of years, and there is not enough water. The Don in the Voronezh region is 530 kilometers long, our correspondents examined the river in different areas of the region, and this is what happened.
Ramonsky district
Ilya Savchuk, journalist:
“There are now dunes in the area of the village of Krivoborye. Tons of what has been stored for years at the bottom of the Don are now being pulled to the surface. Sand is washed here. And at the same time they are deepening the river bed - in some places up to 17 meters. This is approximately the same as an average five-story building.
The dredger traveled along the Don regularly in Soviet times. He cleared the bottom and banks - in the 80s the entire river in the Voronezh region was navigable. True, nature then successfully helped technology. The Don always made the snow deep. The last couple of years there has been little flooding. Also because of the heat, the great Russian river is now becoming shallow before our eyes.
White sand is the dream of many vacationers; it is now a daily occurrence for locals. Moreover, not the most pleasant one. They say that such a beach is no longer pleasing. Holidays by the water turned into holidays in the desert. The river has become noticeably narrower - by eye it’s meters...
Environmentalists in the Voronezh region decided to return the Don to the glory of a navigable river. But such global plans cannot be implemented by one region alone. They are going to solve the natural problem at the country level. But for now, even approximately, it is not known when not paper, but real ships will begin to sail along the Don. Moreover, without catching the bottom.
Voronezh
Evgenia Sosedko, journalist:
In Gremyachey, it’s not just that ships and cars are now stuck on their bottom. The crossing here turned into a zone for extreme driving. Driving at the traffic lights - but only until the first car with low clearance. Each one collects traffic jams. Entry and exit to the bridge is now a “pontoon slide.”
They actually overcome them using the brakes. The front wheels have already crossed the very top, and the car moves further due to its own weight. And this is the most exciting moment for the driver, when everyone in the cabin is waiting for a metallic grinding sound. And here, as they say, the louder the sound, the larger the upcoming repairs.
The most experienced car enthusiasts insure themselves and make the task easier for themselves - in the literal sense. Even before the crossing, the weight of the car itself is reduced: all passengers are disembarked before crossing the Don.
So far, cars at the Gremyachensk crossing are not caught upside down very often. The pontoon, they say, sank still tolerably, but noticeably. As far as anyone passing here can see, the river itself leaves marks. Here is the top one. Such water would be just above my waist. My height is about 80 meters, which means that the river here dropped by a meter.
Now you can’t get to the Don yet - lush vegetation has taken the place of water. Such that even a paper boat cannot be lowered here.
Liskinsky district
There are at least five large shoals in the Liski area. A pontoon bridge sat on one of them. A dredger was sent to his rescue, but he couldn’t get close to the crossing: it was too shallow. Therefore, for now he is making his way to himself.
There are still pleasure boats nearby, but only near the port. Although they will moor soon: in the near future they are preparing to completely close navigation here.
But just downstream there are no longer ships, but people. The depth of the great Don here is approximately equal to a stream. And this is the middle of the river! A person can walk here with his pants rolled up. True, here and there there are small holes: approximately chest-deep.
Fishermen felt that the Don was getting shallow in the Liski area, and throughout the entire region. The fish are looking for deeper places, but such places are becoming less and less common. For example, the same sterlet that winters in pits, and which was boasted here just recently, is now very rare.
Alexey Kosenko, Evgenia Sosedko and Ilya Savchuk
☸ More information about types of fish
⚓ Bull
Fishing on the Don River in Voronezh and its surroundings is attractive to a variety of anglers, both professionals and amateurs. Here everyone will find a suitable goal for themselves. Some hunt for large river carp, for others it is great happiness to catch a dozen or two gobies from the water. By the way, gobies in these places gain weight up to 100 g. With a good bite, even a person who has never held a fishing rod in his hands can catch 5-6 kilograms of this tasty fish. Don gobies are caught from the bottom; the best baits are maggots, worms, and strips of fish meat, including the goby itself. The catch depends on the size of the hook: the larger it is, the larger the individuals that land on it. You can also make gear for catching bulls with your own hands.
⚓ Bleak
Another fish, which is more than enough on the Don. Local fishermen call it sebel, sometimes you can hear such a variant as selyava. But no matter what you call the bleak, it is always perfectly caught. For such fishing, a light and comfortable float rod is suitable, equipped with a thin fishing line (up to 0.12 mm), a small elongated float, a sinker and a tiny 3-number hook. As a bait, you can use small maggots (pink) or ant eggs. To keep the flock in one place, it is worth periodically throwing a handful of dry bait into the water. For example, breadcrumbs.
⚓ Crucian carp
Many fishermen are attracted to the Don by crucian carp fishing. There are a lot of crucian carp in the lower part of the river, where the number of predators has noticeably decreased in recent years. And if the silver is not threatened, it begins to flourish. In addition, amateur fishermen noticed that crucian carp brazenly eat the eggs of other underwater inhabitants, thereby displacing them and increasing their own population. Crucian carp on the lower Don can be caught from a boat with side rods or from the shore on a feeder.
⚓ Taran
This fish is caught from the shore with float rods no less than 5 meters long or with match gear, which allows you to cast over a decent distance. The ram bites excellently on bloodworms, maggots, dung and earthworms; plant baits like bread crumb or dough work somewhat worse. When fishing, this large species of roach offers quite serious resistance, which only fuels the fishing excitement.
⚓ Carp and carp
To catch such fish, gear is used that involves long casting. This could be a primitive donka on a reel or an expensive feeder assembled according to all the rules. Carp is a rare prey, but carp, unlike its wild relative, is found more often. The main thing is to choose the right composition of the bait mixture, without which it is unlikely that you will be able to lure a river hero.
⚓ Pike perch
The best time to fish for a fanged predator is spring. At the very beginning of the season, he prepares for the upcoming spawning and intensively gains weight. Two species live in the waters of the Don: freshwater pike perch and semi-anadromous pike perch. The first one lives permanently in the river, setting up camp sites near dams, and the second one, after spawning, returns to its native land - the Sea of Azov. Most often, fishermen catch specimens from 1 to 3 kg, but it is also possible to catch a 6-kilogram giant.
⚓ Som
The most desirable prey of all that can be caught here. Once upon a time, few people were surprised by caught catfish weighing 20-30 kg, but now the capture of a mustachioed owner of the depths weighing more than 10 kg is considered a rare success. It’s not that large individuals have completely disappeared, there are simply not as many of them as we would like. There are specimens that exceed a hundredweight, but these are isolated cases throughout the entire season. Catfish are caught with bottom gear, and quite by accident. After such “accidental” bites, many fishermen say goodbye to their donkey equipment forever, and some take home a broken rod.
⚓ Other types
shemaya has become a rarity lately . This fish stays in rapids with fast currents, but it is difficult to recognize due to its external resemblance to a large bleak. A no less valuable catch is considered to be the fisher, which can most often be caught using the wiring method. Bluefish are also caught infrequently, but not because there are few of them here. This fish has an overly developed instinct of self-preservation; it is extremely difficult to get close to it.
Previously, the Don was famous for the eel , which could unexpectedly grab the bait of an inexperienced amateur, but now only seasoned fishermen who know a lot about such fishing can catch this predator. Trophy pike have also become rare; artificial baits or live bait attack mainly small and medium-sized specimens. Spinning fishermen note that the toothy predator is most interested in medium-sized spinners and spinners; in spring and autumn, jigs can be very effective. Things are better with perch, there are plenty of them in the river, I don’t want to catch them. True, not everyone succeeds in provoking a real humpback whale to bite; its small striped relatives get in the way.
In the spring, when the May beetle begins to emerge in large numbers, this insect can be used to catch chub, asp and ide . The rudd catches dragonflies well. These are not all species living in the Don.
There are also inhabitants whose fishing is strictly prohibited, for example, carp and sterlet. In certain areas, fishing for bass and pike perch is prohibited.
The Don spill has become an attraction for Voronezh residents
The water in the rivers continues to rise due to melting snow and ice. Over the past 24 hours, the Don has risen another 82 centimeters, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the Voronezh Region. And since the beginning of spring, its level has increased by 6 meters 6 centimeters (for comparison: this is the height of a two-story house).
The fact that the flood was reaching the scale of a disaster became clear on Thursday, April 5. In order to preserve the pontoon bridge connecting the banks of the Don in the Shilovo region and the village of Gremyache, Khokholsky district, rescuers decided to dismantle it.
Before the spill, the width of the Don where the pontoon bridge was did not exceed 70 meters. Now, according to the Google map, the water has already overflowed its banks by almost 300 meters. Fortunately, the houses closest to the river are located at a distance of almost half a kilometer, so the water has not yet reached them.
Photo by Alexander ZINCHENKO
The overflow of the Don became a kind of attraction for Voronezh residents. Arriving there on Monday, April 9, the correspondents of “MY!” found several dozen people near the river. Many were with children. And everyone took pictures.
Photo by Alexander ZINCHENKO.
“We’ve been coming here for four days now, to see how long the Don continues to flood,” says Maria, a resident of Novaya Usmani. – This is such a unique attraction.
In the shallow water, children splashed through puddles, girls took selfies, and someone arranged a photo shoot with the “legend.” We drove into the water, took out fishing rods and through the open window began to pretend that they were fishing. The river was full of cheerful activity.
The fish on the fishing rod is salted, it was hung specifically for the photo shoot
Photo by Alexander ZINCHENKO.
“If the water rises another half a meter, the dry lakes, of which there are several in the area, will be recharged,” the men reasoned. - The fish will come.
To the place where the pontoon bridge began before the spill, a piece of road about 150 - 200 meters long was under water. But even from this point one could see that on the opposite side of the Don, in Gremyachey, people were also taking pictures and diligently waving their hands to those who were on this side of the flooded river.
The scale of the Don overflowing its banks is especially clearly visible from a bird's eye view. Voronezh resident Igor Bugaev posted a video made from a quadcopter on the Internet.
We also invite you to compare two photographs. The first is a screenshot of the Yandex.Maps panorama, taken in the summer. Notice the building outlined in red. The banks are connected by a pontoon bridge.
And the second is a photo from a quadrocopter, which Igor Bugaev presented in the group “Vere Visible” on the VKontakte social network. The pontoon bridge there has already been dismantled, and the structure seems to be on an island.
Photo by Igor BUGAEV.
In total, according to the regional Ministry of Emergency Situations as of April 9, 311 houses and 1,930 household plots remain flooded in 9 districts of the region. In 13 regions, 20 low-water bridges went under water. About 4 thousand people live in the flood zone.
