Burbot is active at certain times of the year. It feeds at night. Therefore, not everyone manages to fish it out. The spinner for burbot in winter has some peculiarities. As a rule, it is made of brass or copper, has an oval shape and is of dull color. The width of the tackle should be about 2 cm, and the length should be approximately 6 cm.
Many fishermen fail. But, if you carefully study the habits of the predator and rely on the experience of fishermen, it is quite possible to catch the long-awaited trophy.
Burbot reacts to small turbidities in the water, which are provoked by a spoon on the muddy bottom of a reservoir. Large-sized individuals live on the bottom, when the young swim no higher than 20 cm from the ground. Based on this, the bait needs to be raised at the same level.
If there is a stormy current in the water area, you need to attach a weight to the spoon. A leash 20-30 cm long is attached between the spoon and the sinker.
Winter fishing
The best time to catch this fish is winter. This happens because she is cold-loving. The highest peak of activity occurs during the cold season. It also spawns in winter. Burbot is a bottom-dwelling nocturnal predator. In order to better understand what kind of fish this is and how to find it in a body of water, I recommend reading the article:
The main point of fishing is to find fishing spots and trails. Burbot lives sedentary in the same place for years, leaving it only for spawning.
Option for a catchy homemade winter spinner
Tactics and postings
Tactics depend primarily on the time of day.
If you are fishing at night, then first of all you should fish shallow waters near the burbot’s camp sites. If fishing takes place during the day, then it is better to pay maximum attention to fishing for the burbot’s favorite hiding places - deep-sea rocky areas of the bottom, holes with cold springs at the bottom. Although, if the activity of burbot has increased with the cold weather, this fish can be found in any part of the reservoir. You can and even need to make a fire on the shore. It will not only allow frozen fishermen to warm up, but will also attract burbot to the fishing spot with light. It was noticed that when fishing in autumn, the worse the weather, the higher the likelihood of an active bite and a good catch. Autumn fishing for burbot should be as slow as possible (especially when fishing at night), with long pauses. You can also slowly drag the bait along the bottom. During a pause, it’s a good idea to give the bait additional vibrations with the tip of the spinning rod. Source
Lure fishing
Hunting for this predator in winter with a spoon can be successful throughout the entire ice season, except perhaps for a couple of weeks in the middle of winter, during spawning. Catching burbot in winter with a spoon is a fun, active and interesting activity. And the main role in such fishing is not played by the tackle or spoon itself, but by the search for fish. This predator is not shy and takes any suitable bait. Of course, you can catch it with regular bait, which is usually used for pike, perch and pike perch. But it will be much more effective to use special winter lures for burbot. They differ in specifics that must be implemented to successfully catch this fish.
How to catch burbot in winter
The success of fishing depends on the chosen location, as well as fishing tactics. It is advisable to go hunting at dusk or at night, when the fish are most active, emerging from their hiding places in search of prey. The gear is placed at the most promising points, taking into account the possible movement of the fish.
The bait is placed near the bottom, since burbot prowls only in the lower horizon. There is no need to check your gear often. It is better to be patient and wait for the bite. At a familiar, well-studied place, the equipment is transferred or rearranged to another point if there has been no contact for 1–1.5 hours.
Burbot takes bait confidently in winter. As a rule, he does not hesitate, but immediately attacks and swallows her. Afterwards, the fish continues to move along the route, so you can hook as soon as the line begins to unwind from the reel. Once hooked, the predator presses down, trying to hide under the nearest cover. You need to fight him out quickly, without giving the enemy time to come to his senses.
Is it possible to feed
Fishermen rarely feed burbot and then hatch it at one point. You need to look for it, periodically rearranging the gear in order to explore the entire fishing area.
We recommend reading: The most catchy wobblers for asp
However, in rare cases, you can try to lure burbot to the hole. To do this, use large-mesh capacious feeders, where offal, pieces of liver, rotten meat, and large worms are placed. The smell of prey can attract this underwater resident, prompting it to grab.
What do burbot bite on?
Burbot is an omnivorous representative of the ichthyofauna, whose diet is very diverse. The best winter bait for burbot is live bait. Its role can be played by ruffe, gudgeon, loach, goby, and small perch. Less commonly, bream, roach, crucian carp, and young chub are put on the hook.
Burbot bites on live bait in all reservoirs. However, it is not always possible to obtain it. Other baits of animal origin come to the aid of the fisherman:
- liver;
- frozen or fresh sprat, sprat, anchovy;
- shrimp, squid;
- fish or meat fillet;
- offal;
- earthworms;
- pieces of cancer.
A good winter bait for burbot is rotten meat, poultry or fish. Insect larvae, a bunch of maggots or bloodworms are attachments that will help out in difficult situations.
On a note! Sometimes when fishing it happens that the prepared live bait loses activity for some reason. There is no need to rush to throw away dead fish. “Freshwater cod” does not particularly care about the movements of the prey. Active baitfish only attracts a predator faster. It is enough to play along with the gear a little and the predator “on duty” nearby will definitely react.
In the most severe frosts, especially at night, burbot bites well on artificial baits:
- spinners;
- balance;
- nonsense.
During frosts, the predator often concentrates on certain areas and arranges a real feast. Anglers who know the reservoir well wait for the right time and can catch up to hundreds of these fish in one night.
Squealing gear
A burbot winter lure should create a fairly loud sound when it falls on a rocky and hard bottom. This is a mandatory part of the game of any artificial bait designed for this predator. Fish are attracted to these sounds and can hear them from a great distance. Therefore, the bait must be heavy. Of course, you can catch this predator on a bare piece of metal, but such cases are rare. It is necessary to attach an animal bait to the spoon - sprat, sliced fresh fish. This piece should be quite large, at least the size of a walnut. Hooks must be strong and large enough. The configuration of the spoon should allow it to hit the bottom with such a large bait on the hook. For these purposes, you can use jig heads and large jigs, as well as a special bait for hitting the bottom. When using a winter lure, you must comply with the same conditions and requirements as when fishing by knock.
Dnieper spinner for strong currents
Suitable spinning rod
Catching burbot with a spinning rod involves, first of all, fishing in the bottom layers of a reservoir, which means the best option would be jig. You need to select a fishing rod that meets not only the jig requirements, but also the fishing conditions. It is advisable to select the length based on the size of the reservoir and the distance of the points where fishing will be carried out. Since at night this representative of cod comes out to feed on the shallows located near the coastline, there is no need for long rods in such a situation. But conditions vary; places that are promising for fishing are often located at a considerable distance from the shore, which makes the use of forms 3 m or more long justified. The action is preferable to fast or very fast, because fishing is carried out mainly with silicone, foam rubber baits or wobblers with deep depth, and less often with various types of spinners. Fast-action forms are best suited for these types of artificial baits, allowing the use of a wide variety of retrieves. Test. This parameter also largely depends on fishing conditions and personal preferences. More often, burbot is caught on a spinning rod using relatively large baits, the length of which can be more than 9 cm, and eared sinkers or jig heads of the appropriate size will be needed for them. However, this is not a rule; you can successfully fish with ultralight, if such fishing is your favorite weight category in jig; autumn fishing can be effective using any weights.
It is also worth paying attention to the material used to make the handle - burbot is caught mainly in late autumn, which means that for fishing to be comfortable, the fisherman’s hands should not freeze to the rod. A light and warm cork handle is considered the best option for such conditions. Important! In conditions of limited visibility, casting accuracy is important, and this parameter depends not only on the rod, but also on the angler’s ability to feel his tackle.
Winter burbot spoons
There are few special winter lures for burbot as such, but you can make them yourself or remake them. Taking into account the described specifics, you can select the necessary gear in the store. Let's summarize:
- The bait should knock on the bottom with a sound;
- You need heavy spoons with a large hook;
- What is more important is not the game in the water, but the cloud of turbidity at the bottom and the sound of the bait falling;
- A piece of fish should be placed on the hook;
- Additional tinkling and clanking of the bait.
Thus, the winter spinner for burbot does not have to perform any special game in the water, as for other predators. It should knock, clink, “move” the bait attached to its hook back and forth, and that’s all. Burbot can also be attracted by a firefly attached to the bait. Also, for catching this fish, special large jigs are widely used, which, unlike vertical spinners, are horizontal relative to the bottom plane.
The difference between jigs and spinners
Spoons, wobblers and foam rubber
With good fishing skills, you can catch burbot in the bottom layers using rotating or oscillating spoons. True, such fishing has a number of problems. The lure needs to be driven as close to the bottom as possible, and with such a drive, not all models retain the game, and the likelihood of a snag is high. Therefore, spinners are rarely used for autumn fishing. Good results can be achieved by using wobblers with greater depth. Such baits are easy to recognize by their large blade. It is better to give preference to suspenders, since burbot prefers slow retrieves with pauses, but it is still advisable to have both sinking and floating models. Simple baits such as foam fish can also be catchy. In addition to the seductive game, such a fish has several other advantages. Firstly, foam fish are easy to make and you can make them yourself in large quantities. Secondly, the catchability of the bait can be enhanced by impregnating the foam rubber with an artificial or natural flavor. Thirdly, you can reduce the number of hooks by simply hiding the hook tips in the bait itself. Important! When fishing at night, it is advisable to have a supply of batteries for flashlights, since in cold weather the batteries discharge faster.
Types of burbot winter lures
Regular winter verticals
For winter trolling of burbot, you can use the most ordinary verticals. The main thing is that they are large and heavy enough. A summer castmaster is also suitable for these purposes.
Heavy triangular
Finnish Kuusamo Madepilkki
Jigs
Special marine baits, jigs, have just the necessary characteristics. Finders (or finders) have become widely popular. This bait has balls inside that provide a sound effect. The hook is located conveniently - no matter how large the piece of fish on the bait is, when it falls to the bottom, the body of the bait will collapse and fall on it, making a much-needed knock.
Jigs
Finder
Hatchet
This, at first glance, strange invention is very suitable for catching burbot. She taps the bottom, and the nozzle does not interfere with this. For greater efficiency, you can attach a couple of small petals from summer rotators to it.
Baltic hatchet
Double spinner
Anglers often use summer double spoons. To burbot, you just need to disconnect the lower part of one of the halves from the winding ring. In this case, when twitched, the blade will open like a butterfly and then fold back with an accompanying tinkling sound.
Reworking the double oscillator
Homemade baits
Fishermen often make burbot baits with their own hands. Considering that the end result should be a heavy piece of hardware with a hook and, preferably, additional sound effects, this is simple. The simplest solution is a lead “spoon” with soldered hooks. Another option is an obliquely cut heavy tube, preferably bronze or brass, since these are the metals that will produce a louder sound when hitting a stone.
The simplest bait for fishing in strong currents
Homemade tube
