Vobla fish
This is a fish of the carp family, which is found only in the Caspian Sea and at the mouth of the Volga River, as well as in small rivers flowing into the Volga. In appearance it is more similar to a roach, but experts can easily distinguish these fish. The roach is characterized by the presence of gray fins with black edging and silver eyes with dark spots on the iris. Vobla can grow up to 30 cm in length, weighing about 800 g.
What do you use to catch roach?
To catch this fish, widely used baits are used, such as:
- Muckworm.
- Maggot.
- Canned corn.
In muddy water, and it is always muddy during a flood, in order to attract the attention of the fish, a white bead clings above the hook (or nearby).
Other baits, both animal and plant origin, can be used as bait. In short, what is used to catch roach, will also be used to catch roach.
Bait and groundbait for catching roach
The roach bites best on the red dung worm. You can also use maggots, bloodworms, earthworms, and iron ore as bait during fishing; in April, corn, bread, barley. When fishing on Akhtuba, you can catch a roach even with a small crustacean, a piece of shrimp, or a large insect larva.
As bait, you can use ready-made store-bought mixtures intended for carp. Homemade mixtures show good effectiveness during fishing. Porridges made from millet, crushed corn or pearl barley are mixed with bran, cake, boiled peas, macadamia, mixed feed, and halva. Chopped worms, maggots, and larvae are also added there. The bait is thrown into the water at the fishing spot. During the mass rise of the roach to the spawning site, it may not be used.
Where and when to catch roach
The roach lives only in the Caspian Sea basin, so with the onset of spring it begins to enter the Volga and rise against the current, simultaneously entering small tributaries. Thus, the roach returns to the places where it was born as a fry. This fact indicates that the fish is preparing for spawning. However, it does not rise very high and you may no longer find it outside of Volgograd.
Depending on weather conditions, the roach begins its movement either at the end of February or at the beginning of April. It all depends on how long the ice will remain on the reservoirs. But, basically this event takes place in the month of March.
It is most actively caught in April. During this period, she takes any bait. During the same period, a ban on catching roach is in effect. Therefore, you should pay attention to information that indicates when and in what places roach fishing is limited or prohibited altogether.
As a rule, roach fishing begins in Astrakhan, where fishermen from all over Russia and the CIS countries come. Vobla is especially tasty when dried and is ideal for ramming. Fans of low-alcohol drinks such as beer simply love drinking beer with dried roach.
Traditional places for catching roach:
- Chagan village and Chagan river.
- Nikolo-Komarovka village, Erik Chilimka.
- Volgo-Caspian village, Volozhka river.
- Krasnoyarsk region, Buzan river.
Fishing locations are not limited to this list. It is not difficult to imagine that it is more extensive. When the fish rises against the current, they begin to catch it in any available place.
What's better to go fishing with?
Tackle. Conventionally, Astrakhan roach fishing in the spring season is divided into two stages by fishermen. In early April, when the water has not yet warmed up enough, the fish sticks to the bottom. Bottom tackle or spinning rods are better suited here. From the end of April and in May, when the roach goes to spawn, you can catch it both on a donk and on a float rod in the Volga itself and all the reservoirs adjacent to it.
Lures. There is no universal bait for roach. Experienced fishermen traditionally choose bait based on the characteristics of the spring behavior of fish in a certain period. For example, during the zhora period, when huge schools move from the Caspian Sea, the roach grabs the first thing it comes across. But over time, the bite drops, so it is recommended to use several types of bait:
- earthworms or dungworms;
- maggot;
- ready-made cereal porridge;
- bread crumb;
- bloodworm;
- corn;
- sunflower cake.
Roach tackle
You can catch roach with any gear. These can be bottom fishing rods or ordinary float rods, but at least 6-7 meters long due to the flood. It is unlikely that you will be able to catch even a single fish with a shorter float rod. You can use any fishing line, because during a flood, when the water is cloudy, a thick fishing line will not be able to alert the fish. The most suitable diameter is 0.25 mm, or even more. Hooks are selected No. 4, 5, 6 on the domestic scale. You can install up to 4 hooks on one tackle, although this will lead to inconvenience in use.
When using bottom gear or a feeder, you need to make sure that the rod test is at least 100 g. This is due to the fact that you have to use feeders weighing up to 100 g, since fishing is carried out in the current. If you use smaller weights, the tackle will be carried away by the current. You can also install at least 4 hooks on the bottom tackle to ensure effective fishing. It is advisable to use hooks with a long shank, which will guarantee a better hook and therefore minimize the number of fish escapes.
Tackle for catching roach in spring
Mostly roach are caught in the spring with bottom gear. These can be ordinary baits, feeders or spinning rods with equipment for a donk. The tackle is supplied with several hooks at once, on which, usually, half a minute after casting, a fish is already sitting.
You can catch roach with a float rod when it has already reached the hollows and is ready to lay eggs. But catching roach in hollows during spawning is already prohibited. And as fishermen say, the taste of a roach is much better when it is caught while moving to the spawning grounds, and when it is already in the hollows, it is no longer the same roach. Whether this is true or not is up to you to judge, but catching spawning fish is really somehow cruel. Let it spawn and next year wait for it again on the approach to the spawning grounds.
Let's look at what equipment is suitable for catching roach in the spring on the Volga in Astrakhan.
Bottom tackle for catching roach in spring
Roach in the spring is not at all picky, and if you get a really active bite, the fish will not even let the bait sink to the bottom, grabbing it on the fly. Therefore, the main thing is that the rod is light and does not cause rapid fatigue from frequent swings.
The fishing line is suitable from 0.15 to 0.25 mm. At this time of year, the roach cannot be spooked by rough equipment and thick fishing line. Before spawning, the roach simply has a frenzied glutton that overrides its sense of self-preservation. And the use of a thick fishing line will prevent the tackle from breaking in the event of a bite from a large fish; for example, a Volga carp may often bite a roach instead of the expected bite. And as you know, carp on the Volga reach very respectable sizes and a fishing line of 0.15 mm can easily be torn off by them. Therefore, by placing a fishing line with a diameter of 0.25 mm, you will only win and you will have a chance to catch an unexpected trophy in the form of another large fish.
In bottom tackle, a sinker weighing 100 grams is used, because fishing takes place in the current. Well, if the equipment uses a sinker-feeder, then you can use a feeder weighing 60 grams or more, the rest of the weight will be added by the porridge stuffed into it.
Hooks on the roach will fit No. 6 according to the domestic classification or No. 12 according to the numbering of foreign companies, such as Owner. The tackle usually has from 2 to 4 hooks on short leashes attached at once.
When fishing for roach in the spring when the bite is active, the use of a bite alarm is not necessary. You just throw out the tackle, wait 30 seconds and hook. Most often, after a 30-second wait, the roach is already sitting on several hooks. All you have to do is remove the caught fish from the hooks and adjust or replace the bait.
Float tackle for catching roach in spring
There are no special requirements for a float rod for roach. The same fishing line 0.15-0.25, the same hooks No. 6 and the same several hooks. It is better to take a longer rod itself - a 6-meter rod is quite suitable. It will allow you to cast the bait further from the shore and thereby increase the number of bites, because at this time there is a flood on the Volga and the water level rises significantly.
Large specimens are caught less frequently on a float rod and, generally, the angler is content with a modest-sized roach. Large roach travel further from the shore, so to catch it it is better to use bottom gear and long casting.
Bait for roach
This fish prefers the same ingredients as roach or bream, so you don’t have to add anything special to the bait. As a rule, these are porridges of various origins, with the addition of flavoring ingredients such as makha, halva, mixed feed, etc. In spring, any fish prefers food of animal origin, since fish need a lot of energy to move for a long time. Therefore, for greater effect, animal ingredients should be introduced into the bait in the form of bait, which is used to catch roach. If you are going to catch fish with a worm, then chopped worms, etc. can be added to the bait.
You can use both ready-made, purchased mixtures and home-made mixtures. Store-bought dry mixtures are prepared at the fishing spot by adding water from the pond. Homemade preparations can be prepared in advance and do not waste precious time preparing them during the fishing process. Fishing results may be the same, regardless of how the bait is prepared.
☸ Features of spring roach fishing
In the spring, there is no point in purposefully looking for catchable places, because the roach is always on the move. It’s enough just to choose the area you like, cast a donk or fishing rod and wait for a large school to approach. When this happens, your hand gets tired of casting the tackle and pulling in the fish; you don’t even have to think about fishing with two or three fishing rods at once. But after some time, the joint moves on and there is a pause again. Again you need to wait, being content with rare bites of other peaceful species (bream, white bream and others).
Trophy hunters should cast the bait further from the shore, since large roach prefers to migrate in depth, while small and medium-sized specimens are caught well in the coastal zone. True, there are times when a flock, frightened by something, is in no hurry to come close to the shore. In this case, the bite will be weaker.
Roach spawning
Somewhere from April to May, roach spawning occurs. This fish is unique in that it does not spawn every year. There are periods when spawning occurs after a year, and sometimes after two years. Most likely, this process is influenced by various factors related to weather conditions. Females begin to spawn at 3 years of age, and males are ready to fertilize eggs at 2 years of age.
Before spawning and during the spawning process, the fish begins to change. Characteristic growths in the form of warts appear on the roach's body. During this period, the fish completely refuses to eat, as a result of which it loses up to half its weight.
After the fish's spawning ends, it heads back to the sea, where it begins to feed heavily and gain weight. During spawning, quite a lot of roach die due to the fact that it tries to lay eggs at a depth of no more than 50 cm. In the event of a sharp rise in the water level, and then the same sharp withdrawal, the fish does not have time to go to depth and dies at these shallows.
After the fry are born, they also try to very quickly get into the sea, where they remain until puberty.
Where to catch roach in spring in Astrakhan
Catching roach in the spring does not require a targeted search for its location. The fact is that during migration to spawn, the roach moves along the river in huge schools. Therefore, here you just need to choose the place you like, throw your gear and wait for the school of roach to approach. When the flock approaches, you will not have time to throw the tackle before you immediately have to hook it. But when the school moves away, fishing will again turn into a calm wait with rare bites, mostly from other peaceful fish, such as bream and so on.
To attract more roach to your fishing spot and try to keep it for a longer time, you should feed the fishing spot or use gear with a feeder.
The only thing worth knowing is that large roach is caught at depth, which means further from the shore. Therefore, bottom tackle is best suited for big game fishing. Closer to the shore, roach can also be caught, but in smaller sizes and not as often.
