Winter spinning is gaining momentum every year. If there are ice-free reservoirs, you don’t have to put your spinning rod aside until spring, but continue to fish all year round. Some believe that spinning fishing in winter is a perversion and complete torture, for others it is an integral part of fishing practice. I belong to the second category and continue to fish with pleasure even when the bulk of the reservoirs are covered with a thick ice shell.
The main targets for winter spinning fishing are perch, pike and pike perch. But these are all predatory fish, my story will be about how to purposefully catch “peaceful” fish. For many spinning anglers, catching bream, roach, crucian carp or crucian carp is something supernatural, but with the proper skill, preparation and patience, catching these fish becomes quite common.
Last winter I devoted more than a dozen fishing trips to catching “peaceful” fish in ice-free sections of the river. At first it didn’t work out very well, but gradually an understanding came of where and what to fish for carp and bream, which were the main objects of my attention.
Ultralight fishing: spinning equipment, choice of baits. Video
Ultralight fishing gives the angler the chance to catch fish in any conditions. This becomes possible thanks to the use of ultra-small baits.
Ultralight fishing is especially relevant in reservoirs and rivers with strong pressure from spinning anglers. It’s better to catch a few small fish than not feel a bite while fishing.
- Rod
- Coil
- fishing line
- Lures
- Search for fish
- Techniques and tactics of ultralight fishing. Video
In addition, ultra-light tackle gives the fisherman exciting moments of fighting with the caught fish, when every jerk is transferred to the hand of the spinner. It is clear that a special place in the ultralight is given to the equipment of the spinning rod.
Rod
The basis of ultralight tackle is the rod. To choose the right ultra-light “stick”, you need to decide on the range of baits that will be used for fishing.
For fishing with spinners and wobblers, a rod with a length of 2.1-2.4 m and a cast weight of up to 8 g is suitable. It is best to choose a medium-fast spinning rod. But some spinning anglers successfully cope with “parabolics”.
Fishing with small twitching wobblers gives special pleasure to ultralight lovers. Fishing can be considered as a true aesthetics or art. For beginner spinning rods, ultra-fast or fast-action rods with a hollow tip and large taper are suitable. The length of the “stick” should be 1.8-2.1 m.
Microjig fans require a different type of spinning rod. Firstly, it must be made of high-modulus carbon, which ensures high sensitivity of the gear. Secondly, the rod is chosen with a fast action, and the thin tip glued in works as a nod. Thirdly, the length of the spinning rod is selected within the range of 1.8-2.4 m with a test weight of up to 10 g.
Fishing with poppers.
You can find a video and article on this topic here. And here you will learn how to properly place live bait on a hook.
Coil
When choosing a reel, you must have at hand the rod on which it will be installed. The determining factor is not the size of the “meat grinder”, but the balancing of the gear. Models of sizes 1000, 1500 and 2000 are suitable for ultralight. The reel is installed on the spinning rod and checked where the balance point of the tackle is located. The center of gravity should be in the area of the handle near the front foot of the reel.
When purchasing a reel, you should check the following performance characteristics:
- smoothness and softness of movement;
- minimum spool capacity (ultralight requires small spools);
- Is the thin line laid well?
It is generally accepted that only predators can be caught with spinning rods and artificial baits. Experienced spinning players with extensive experience will not agree with such a categorical statement. Well, first of all, where is the line between the so-called. semi-predatory fish (chub, ide...) and purely peaceful ones (carp, crucian carp, bream, roach, etc.)? As practice shows, there is no such limit. And under certain conditions, the most peaceful fish can be caught with a spinning rod. Moreover, without any self-cuts, but clearly by the mouth.
I haven’t caught peaceful fish with a spinning rod very often. Even less often did I do it on purpose. But I would like to present some of my comments on this issue in this post.
There are hungry periods in the year (spring, late autumn), when peaceful fish feed so greedily that they can easily grab a fry. This is fact number one.
There are reservoirs with low feeding potential. When there is little food, large individuals of peaceful fish easily become cannibals, switching to a diet of their own smaller counterparts. This is fact number two.
The larger the individual peaceful fish, the greater the likelihood of its predatory tendencies. This is fact number three.
And simply a large fish can aggressively drive away smaller fish vying for its food. Having hit such a fish, in whose place there was a wobbler, it is far from a predator that sits on the hook of a spinning rod... This is fact number four.
Spinning baits can imitate not only fish fry, but also beetles, crustaceans, worms and other natural food for peaceful fish. This is fact number five.
Based on the above facts, there is such a mysterious area of spinning fishing - hunting for peaceful fish with artificial baits.
Which of the peaceful fish is caught on a spinning rod most often? These are: rudd, ide, bream, gudgeon. This is typical for relatively large specimens, but throughout almost the entire open water season. In the spring, after a hungry winter, many peaceful fish are caught on a spinning rod: crucian carp, carp, carp, roach, etc.
And now, about the gear and techniques that give the greatest chance of catching peaceful fish with a spinning rod. To try to purposefully hunt for peaceful fish with a spinning rod, it is worth using ultralight and light spinning rods in the test range from 0 to 8g. Since playing the bait with a rod will play an important role in such fishing, you need fast-action gear and quite short - 1.8-2.1 m. The reel is small, with a smooth running and ideal line laying of 1000 or 2000 series. Cord or monofilament? You need to have both (a reel with a few spare spools to help). If the sensitivity of the tackle is critical (mainly when tapping the bottom), then you should fish with a line of 0.08-0.12mm. If the fish is especially careful, then use a good monofilament line of 0.16-0.18mm. A leash made of rigid monofilament or no leash at all. Placing even the thinnest steel string leashes in fear of a pike biting is unacceptable.
Now, the fun part: the bait. As you might guess, peaceful fish are most likely to be caught using the smallest baits. First of all, this is a microjig; turntables No. 0 and No. 00; small oscillators and, of course, miniwobblers.
In this case, a microjig can be considered a head load weighing from 1 to 5 grams. The hooks are accordingly small and thin. It is better to use microtwisters (inch and half-inch) as baits, and foam fish of the same size in the current. When fishing for carp and crucian carp, it is worth trying various silicone imitations of crustaceans, worms and other natural food.
Number zero spinners are especially loved by crucian carp and roach in the spring. The rudd does not refuse either.
Miniwobblers, mainly cranks, are, along with microjigs, the most promising spinning baits when hunting for ide, rudd, roach, and gudgeon.
As for the styles of posting and animation of baits, there is simply no point in advising anything here. There is a complete flight of fantasy and sheer creativity here. From banal monotonous wiring in different water horizons, to complex tricks with an almost immovable bait. One thing I can say is that when catching peaceful fish with a spinning rod, the slowest retrieves often produce results, with long pauses in the action of the bait.
Features of life
Roach spawning depends on water temperature; it occurs in April or May, depending on the climate zone. There is no ban on roach fishing. Even during spawning, it can be caught on a spinning rod with one hook, with some exceptions. Fishing is prohibited only in those places where fishing is not permitted by law at all, for example, on the Volga near the Dubna dam.
Roach grows slowly. The most common fish weighing 100-200 grams. If your catch contains specimens weighing 400-500 grams, then such catch deserves respect, and catching a specimen weighing 1 kilogram or more is already a subject of discussion and pride.
The roach feeds in small portions, but often. It feeds both day and night, and its diet changes depending on the time of day. In the morning it bites on plant baits, in the evening – on animals. Spinning baits imitate living organisms, therefore, it is better to fish with a spinning rod in the evening hours.
How to catch crucian carp on a spinning rod with a micro jig
Crucian carp is the fish that is most often caught first in life and with which an irreversible immersion into the world of fishing begins.
At first, catching crucian carp with a float rod seems exciting, interesting and, most importantly, productive. But when the craze for spinning sets in, this fish is completely forgotten, giving preference to pure predators. However, crucian carp can be caught with a spinning rod using a microjig. And you can catch it not somewhere in the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain or Krasnodar estuaries, but in an ordinary pond ten minutes walk from home. In various encyclopedias, crucian carp is listed as a peaceful fish that feeds on small invertebrates and plants. And yet, catching this fish with a spinning rod is possible, moreover, systematically and predictably. But here it is very important to overcome the psychological barrier and streamline your actions. First of all, for the first few fishing trips it is better to go to a small body of water, where, apart from crucian carp, there is either no other fish at all, or there is some, but from the category of peaceful ones. This way, there will be no distractions and the fishing will not be ruined.
- Spinning tackle ↓
- The right baits ↓
- Techniques for catching crucian carp using a spinning rod ↓
Spinning tackle
Ultralight rod Favorite Blue Bird 682 SUL-S with dough 0.5-5 g
A special feature of the structure of crucian carp is its small mouth. Based on this, baits will need a minimum size. Particular attention should be paid to the rod-line connection - they are responsible for controlling the bait and fixing the bite.
- Rod. Fishing with ultra-small lures dictates its own conditions, so the rod must meet them. So, the upper limit of the dough should not exceed 5-7 grams. Build fast or super fast, up to 7 feet long. The tip should be monolithic (Solid Tip) and flexible enough to be able to perform smooth wiring and record careful bites. Among budget models, Aiko Margarita II 195-ULS and Favorite Blue Bird 682 SUL-S are suitable for such conditions, and among expensive ones, Graphiteleader Calzante GOCAX 762-UL-S 0.5 – 5
- Fishing line. Only wicker, because sensitivity comes to the fore here. Sometimes it is permissible to make a small (up to half a meter) fluorocarbon insert between the main line and the bait. Tensile strength should not exceed 2-3.5 kg. Inexpensive Sunline Super PE #0.6, Salmo Elite Braid 0.09, Berkley Nanofil 0.08. Of the expensive fishing lines, rockfishing cords from Sunline are good - PE EGI HG #0.4, Rockfish PE #0.3 and PE SWS Small Game #0.2-0.3.
- The reel must match the size of the fishing rod and have an even winding. Smooth adjustment of the friction brake (especially at the bottom) is a prerequisite. In the budget segment there are Okuma RTX, Mitchell Avocet Gold 4, and from the more expensive ones there are Shimano Nasci and Shimano Stradic CI4.
The right baits
As mentioned above, it is best to catch crucian carp using a microjig using miniature silicone baits. It is important that the silicone is edible.
- To begin with, it’s worth focusing on imitation bloodworms and maggots from Berkley and protein worms.
- At the same time, we should not forget about the various imitations of larger invertebrates. For example, Reins Ring Shrimp from in the smallest size or Crazy Fish Crayfish and Allure. Various twisters and worms from the Crazy Fish line are perfect.
The main installation is a jig head, the weight of which should not exceed 2 grams. This is necessary so that the bait sinks as slowly as possible.
Spinning
Despite the fact that roach is classified as a “trash” fish, it is a desirable prey for many fishermen. And in the case of a bite on a spinning rod, many people wonder: “Which one?” It is also advisable to know which baits are most preferable for her.
There are no special spinning baits, such that they say “For roach” on them. But you can identify the baits that attract this fish more than others.
In the same way, there are no spinning rods for roach, but if you are fishing with ultralight, you will definitely have some catch. Fishing with spinning rods of the lightest class will not work without the participation of this fish. Even if such fishing was not the main goal.
Lures weighing up to 5 grams are used, so the weight of the spinning rod is up to 7 grams. The length should be up to 2 meters, because, most likely, you will have to lead the bait along the shore. This is due to the fact that it is difficult to place bait near the bushes, a favorite place for roaches, as there will be a large number of snags on coastal water lilies or grass.
Any fishing line - monofilament or braided, thin. Monofilament - 0.12-0.14 mm, braided - the smallest size. preferable to Japanese manufacturers, for example, Owner, Gamakatsu.
Spinning fishing for roach is interesting. Even if you are dragging a small roach, it feels like there is a decent specimen resisting at the other end of the fishing rod. You can see how this type of fishing works in the video.
