Pike fishing tactics before the start of winter on the Volga

Yuri 11/18/2020 137

During the onset of cold weather, the water temperature drops significantly. The remains of vegetation sink to the bottom. However, it is at this time that there is a chance to catch an excellent trophy specimen of pike. This type of fish is so unpretentious that it is found everywhere. The predator hides in ambush, and then attacks the victim with a lightning-fast jump. Moreover, small river animals and even other fish of comparable size act as food for fish.

Important nuances of fishing

As a rule, pike before freeze-up are especially active in the first hours after dawn and before sunset. But it all depends on the specific body of water, weather conditions and many other important factors. In large bodies of water, pike are found throughout the entire territory. Therefore, the optimal solution would be to fish the maximum number of areas. To do this, it is effective to use a technique such as “area fishing”. With this approach, the area of the reservoir around the boat is fished with long casts in various directions. It is worth using uniform wiring (you can do it at a fast or medium rhythm). And this, in turn, places certain demands on baits. The nozzles should work stably, without interruptions. Casts should be made at a distance of 50-60 meters, and the bait should fly well through the air (especially in the wind).

We invite you to take a look at our photos and find out what excellent pike are caught on the Astrakhan peals.

In order for spinning fishing to be as effective as possible, you should carefully select baits and gear.

Important! If we talk about lures for pike, then in such situations classic iron models are perfect.

“Voscillators” should be chosen that are massive but small in size. We choose front-loaded spinners, equipped with a “good” weight head.

You should not use spinners either. They have a high windage and will not be able to work accurately (in strong winds, for example). An excellent option is silicone products: twisters and vibrating tails, which are fastened with a swivel joint with an eared weight.

It should be noted that the pike bite before the freeze-up is getting better and better. This season is called autumn zhora. If you manage to “catch” the moment when the air temperature is even above zero during the day and drops below zero at night, then you can really become the owner of a wonderful trophy. Zhor before freeze-up on the small river has a more extended period.

Now it’s worth discussing where to look for pike before the freeze-up.

Interesting! It is most promising to be located in areas with the greatest depth, in the zone of coastal vegetation, where there are a lot of flooded trees and logs.

The most catchy areas will be from the shoreline to the depths. But the most effective places are areas with large differences in depth and good shelters at the bottom.

Article by Kirill Kozlov “Pike on the pond before freeze-up.”

The weather forecast before last weekend promised to give two good days, and then winter will inevitably approach. The village pond was met with absolute calm and desertion. While I was rocking the boat, local fishermen arrived. Someone also began to fill their watercraft with air, and someone, having quickly assembled a spinning rod, went to try their luck from the shore.

This pond is quite impressive in size, formed as a result of the construction of a dam in the middle reaches of a small river. The flooded bed of this river is pressed either to one bank or to the opposite bank, forming decent holes with a depth of up to 5 meters. The trees that once grew along the banks of this river ended up in the water when the pond was filled, so there are plenty of snags in these holes.

The species composition of the fish tribe inhabiting this water area is very primitive. Those individuals that inhabited the river now continue to exist in the pond. The main ones can be considered pike, perch, tench, crucian carp, bream, roach, bleak. A caring farmer, whose plowed fields surround this reservoir, released a fairly decent amount of carp and silver carp into the pond about five or six years ago. In general, there are fish, and he also looks after order on the water.

The first bites of small fish began right in the morning. The predators were not distinguished by bold and loud bites, but simply “pulled” the braided line that had sagged after a long pause. Since the main weight was collapsible Cheburashkas weighing six grams, the rod was chosen Mottomo Fiero MFRS-802ML 244cm/5-21g. Spinning rods were excellent at delivering light baits over long distances, which in turn made it possible to fish a much larger area of water from one anchorage.

Among the baits, Noise and Typhoon were popular among local inhabitants. And if the pike preferred the purple color, then the perches liked bright green.

With the little things everything is clear, but as always you want to catch someone with more teeth and a better face. And judging by the fact that there was only a cord in this place, I decided to move closer to the dam in search. This is where last year’s winter fishing experience came in handy. Even then, I noticed a deep, snagged hole, pressing close to the coastline. I remember from the ice, I managed to catch quite well with the balance beam and Mottom’s Saltar rattlin.

While I “found” the right presentation, several baits remained irrevocably adorning the local snags. The depth in this place was approximately five meters and, accordingly, the Cheburashka became twice as heavy. It has also become larger in baits. Mottomo Slayer and Booster lay neatly on the offset.

There were no bites for a long time. As you know, an autumn day is too short and I was already ready to return to the old place, where at least someone was active. During the next pass through the tree, a bite occurred and the first pike fluttered in the landing net. After a while, another one pecked, absolutely the same size as the twin sisters.)

Local fishermen who came from somewhere, standing opposite me, tightly occupied this bank with live bait gear, and I continued my two turns - pause and thought that fishing with live bait was apparently interesting in its own way... My thoughts were interrupted by another, but already sharp bite, I automatically hooked and instantly realized that there was quite a fish on the other end. The fishing took a long time. Rybina kept pressing down and tried to move towards the ill-fated snag, but the spinning rod worked perfectly and did not give her the slightest chance. Finally, a four-kilogram trophy, tempted by the brown Booster in the landing net!

Not much later, another good predator pleased me with a bite, which tried to eat Slayer. And all this in the same place, as they say, a party meeting of pikes before the freeze-up! There is only about half an hour left before complete darkness sets in and I already need to swim ashore, but I decide not to fish much yet. And yes, SHE sits down. My friends and I call these fish “electric trains.” Just pull and the fish leaves on a fairly tightly clamped clutch. But alas, the meeting and only a leash twisted into a pig’s tail was available...

The unfortunate disappearance of a large fish was somewhat upsetting, because this doesn’t happen every day... Looking back, you still understand that it was a wonderful pre-winter day, which gave a lot of emotions and quite large pike!

NHNCH everyone!

Where is the best place to hunt a predator?

Pike on a spinning rod before ice freezes bite especially well in the following places:

deep-water pits for wintering (away from the coastline);
thickets of aquatic vegetation and accumulation of snags;
holes at the confluence of several streams;
areas around trees that have fallen into the water and holes that have appeared there;
potholes at turns with snags;
exits from bays to the riverbed;
sudden changes in depth.

Due to the fact that the pike begins to eat before the freeze-up, there is an excellent opportunity to return home with a decent catch.

I usually go to Sazanya Bay, where I can catch a trophy specimen. But when I go fishing, I stock up on various rods and gear in advance in order to try out all possible tactics and fishing techniques. But I have already described my main recommendations above.

Fishing in November with a fishing rod with a side nod and a jig

In October-November, excellent results are obtained by fishing in rivers using a fishing rod with a side nod and a jig. Fishing is a popular activity and also involves finding places where fish accumulate.

For small and medium-sized rivers, a 7-meter rod equipped with a clearly visible and sensitive nod is sufficient. The equipment can be blind or sliding. On the rivers mentioned above, a fishing rod with a blind rig is sufficient, since the jig mainly catches fish whose weight does not exceed 400–500 g. The rod should have shock-absorbing properties corresponding to the “blind” rig and a fishing line of 0.1–0.12 mm, however The tip should not bend much when playing with a jig.

You can almost always achieve success if there is a dragonfly larva on the jig hook. Fishing tactics also involve searching for fish concentration points. They choose places with minimal current, creeks that are usually bordered by algae in the summer. On the rifts and below them, you need to cast the fallen water lilies beyond the border, lower the jig near the sedge thickets, if there is a cliff nearby to a depth. Good backwaters, in which the current is extremely slow, can be found above rapids, dams and old piles littered with quicksand. Due to the strong transparency of the water, it is better to use a gray or black jig of an elongated shape, imitating an ant or some kind of larva.

Below the dams, you can catch roach, perch, chub and other fish using dragonfly larvae by casting a jig along the rocks in the retrieve. Often, fish choose washout pockets for their shelters, which are located under the shore near a strong stream. It would be good if such a pocket was additionally protected by a pile of boulders at the bottom. The fish watches for passing bait here and quickly grabs a jig baited with a dragonfly larva or a worm. The nod for fishing in fast currents should be more rigid. Sometimes they do without nodding at all, determining the bite by the movement of the fishing line and the vibration of the flexible tip of the rod. Success with this type of fishing is ensured by the ability to feel the bottom and timely slow down in various recesses and behind rocks, but not greatly weaken the line so that there is clear contact between the angler and the jig.