Flat bait fishing with a “rag”.
As promised, today on the Volga I tested Andrei Makiy’s lures sent from Kyiv. Winged Jig and Flat Lures.
The weather is breaking. Cold and strong winds change to more or less normal weather.
I didn't catch any fish, but that's not why I went. I spent the whole night thinking about how to rig the Flat Lures. The fact is that the Volga has a strong current and is quite deep. Still, in my opinion, Winged Jigs are designed for shallow water. I was wrong.
In the place where I threw the bait, the depth was 5-6 meters and the current was decent. However, equipped Winged Jig the bait easily reached the bottom and “knocked” on it quite clearly. Moreover, the pauses between touching the bottom did not increase very much. “Hookiness! decreased at the bottom.
I noticed that when diving, the bait blade is vertical, which speeds up the dive. About Flat Lure.
A flat bait has no weight of its own. When retrieved, it has its own, unique game. The bait does not wriggle like a snake, does not wobble, but flutters at a high frequency + it oscillates in the vertical plane. The fish seems to be wagging along an axis. Very interesting. When stopped, the bait floats up.
Since I mistakenly decided that the Winged Jig was not suitable for great depths, I made three more installations.
The first installation is a Flat Lure with a CONERT or Jig-rig as you like to call it now.
I paired a Flat Lure with a Mirror Bullet. Nothing really worked out. The bait is jigged, or dragged along the bottom, and the Flat Bait floats up and flutters. Nice editing, I liked it.
The second installation is a Flat Lure and the prototype of the “Cinderella of Minsk fisherman Igor Astanov”. Roughly speaking, the same cutter. But with a “ski”. A single hook is not needed, it was left over from the winter version. However, when pressing the bait, it will play its role.
The third option is REVOLUTIONARY!
I equipped the Flat Lure on DEVON by Vladislav Arefiev from Tuapse. It turned out to be a revelation. At least for me. Devon, rotating, sends glare and vibrations in all directions. When sinking to the bottom, it creates a cloud of turbidity. In this moment. You can stop the bait and it will float up and provoke a passive predator to bite.
I will definitely use this montage. In general, a jig with a Devon reminds me of a turbo jig. Remember, we placed a turbine made of plexiglass in front of the bait. This installation did not work then due to the fact that sensitivity was lost, etc. This installation does not have this drawback. Overall I'm pleased.
Both the Winged Jig and the Flat Lure pleasantly surprised me. The flat bait is made of some kind of soft, stretchy synthetic fabric. Very interesting coloring. It's as if the fabric is covered with small scales. Well, the colors work. In any case, I’ll say it again.
Gentlemen, we are at the beginning of a new era of fishing lures. Most likely, I was in a hurry, purchasing a large amount of silicone for the season. On April 7-10, there will be a fishing exhibition at the Expo Center. I agreed with Roman Panin (SHCHUKAR fishing store) and these baits will be presented at his stand in the pool. You can look and feel.
The question of their acquisition is still up in the air. Borders, etc., etc. But negotiations are underway. Anyone who wants to repeat Flat Lures on their own - take the flag into their hands. But the quality will not work. However, I still remember how we cut something similar from household gloves.
Anecdote: Two Jews meet. One says to the other: “I don’t understand why everyone admires this Caruso so much?” He has no hearing, no voice, he burrs, lisps, and whispers. - Ooo! Have you heard Caruso? - Not really. Rabinovich sang it to me yesterday.
Introduction
The first time I observed a fish feeding on something from the surface of the water was in my distant childhood, when I was visiting my relatives living in North Ossetia. Then we all went together, in a friendly crowd, so to speak, to swim in the Terek River. This fast mountain stream, of course, bore little resemblance to the majestically flowing Don or the endless Volga, but still, among the many riffles and seething whirlpools, one could find quite a decent place to relax. It's true that you won't be able to swim in a race there, but you'll always be welcome to jump backwards on the slippery rocks.
The main trouble that I had to experience on the shore was heaps of insects, the most vile and bloodthirsty of which were gadflies. These buzzing creatures gnawed at my fragile child’s body so much that I almost cried, sadly remembering my own mosquitoes, which were the only “biting” insects in my home. Having killed another vile reptile, I threw it into the waters of the fast Terek. And imagine my surprise when this hefty fly in a matter of seconds ended up in the mouth of some fish unknown to me.
This shocked my imagination so much that I immediately, forgetting about the pain, began to look forward to the next gadfly swooping down on my arm or chest. I never found out what kind of fish were hiding in the depths of the Terek, but I finally understood for myself that the fish not only swims along the bottom, but can also be caught from the surface of the reservoir.
After that, I often saw on television how foreign fishermen, dressed in clean and colorful clothes, deftly throw strange gear far into the water, using multi-colored artificial baits called “flies” as bait. From TV screens, smiling guys told me about the advantages of fly fishing, boasted about their unusual gear, which even had strange names - not a rod, but a form; not a fishing line, but a cord and so on.
They even make their “flies” mainly by hand, turning their work into a kind of cult. The materials they use to make their baits are unlikely to be purchased in a regular store - the wool of rare animals, feathers of exotic birds, sinews of animals listed in the Red Book, and the like. Even then I thought - I can’t live like this. But how can I or any other average fisherman be worse than overdressed imported masters?
Tackle
That’s when I decided to simplify the fly fishing process itself to an acceptable scale. Why spend money on expensive tackle and flies when you can use the fishing gear we are used to?
A regular fishing rod is enough spinning reel and several thin but reliable hooks. We mount the gear as usual. The only condition is that the fishing line should not exceed a diameter of 0.15 mm. To prevent it from immediately starting to sink after being thrown into the water, I recommend lubricating it with paraffin or the fat of waterfowl - geese or ducks, as it has good water-repellent properties. We knit the hook directly to the main line, bypassing leashes, snap hooks, winding rings and other “gadgets” that can load the tackle.
Fishing technique
Naturally, it is not possible to cast a tackle weighted only with a hook and bait far. However, even here you can find a way out by using a piece of a twig or tree bark as a kind of load. Having previously split the piece of wood, insert a fishing line into it. It turns out to be a kind of nondescript float, which should be moved away from the hook by about a meter. Now the bait can be thrown a fairly decent distance. You ask: “Why can’t you use a regular float?” Why can't it? To your health.
It’s just that a familiar piece of wood floating serenely on the surface of a reservoir can scare the fish less than the most inconspicuous and inconspicuous, in your opinion, float. In addition, a piece of wood will perfectly serve as a bite alarm. By the way, you can also use a cork from a wine bottle.
Nozzle
Naturally, it must be floating and preferably of animal origin. Of course, you can use bread crusts, they also have a certain reserve of buoyancy, but you will wait a long time for a serious fish to bite on such bait and to no avail. Most likely, you will manage to collect small things from all over the reservoir around your bait. It’s also not worth using the usual worms, maggots or bloodworms - your bait will simply pull the entire tackle under water. You'll have to sweat and catch live grasshoppers, flies, gadflies, horse flies, beetles and other nasty things.
Immediately before casting, it is advisable to spread the wings of the insect so that it better floats on the surface of the water. Of course, ideally it would be for the bait to remain alive, but a dead fly is quite capable of coping with the work assigned to it.
Conclusion
That, in principle, is all the wisdom. With such a simple tackle you can successfully catch chub, ide, carp, crucian carp, rudd and other non-predatory fish. But even toothy hunters, such as pike, perch, asp and the like, will not miss a tempting horsefly or grasshopper swimming right above their nose. Well, as they say, no tail, no scales.
It turns out that the color red on an artificial bait has the same effect on pike as the proverbial red rag on a bull. Thus, to bring the pike to a state of crazy biting, you just need to offer it a red artificial bait. A company of red "tempters". A very catchy brush is made of fluffy marabou feathers, which begin to play seductively in the water.
To do this, several feathers are cut out of marabou skin, placed on a tee and tied to it with a red thread. To avoid empty bites, the feathers should be trimmed a little more so that the tee tips remain open. The tee should not be hooked onto the rod ring, as shown in the photo, but only onto the frame of the ring, so as not to scratch the insert!
Pike loves red. There is hardly a wobbler, oscillating or rotating spoon that does not contain splashes of red to one degree or another. So why does this color make her so irritated? What is this - the illusion of a wounded, bleeding fish that may turn out to be an easy prey? In shallow bodies of water, where the sun's rays penetrate to a depth of three meters, this may well be the case.
But then, how can one explain that they catch red at a depth of over 20 m, where pike can no longer perceive this color? Only one thing is clear: the red spots on the bait make it more attractive to pike. Even such legendary lures as the old Effzett spinner, the ABU-Hilo Redhead wobbler or the Morrum spinner don't go to work without red or orange spots. How “pros” fish in extreme conditions in the mountains information -
A catchy red tint can be given to any artificial bait using a fairly simple remedies. There are days when the pike turns into an indecisive pursuer - the predator follows the bait at a safe distance until the angler pulls it out of the water. After this, it very slowly sinks to depth again. What is this? Either the pike is full and is just showing curiosity, or it already knows your model of spoon and senses danger.
So what can you do to encourage a lure-baited pike to bite? I had good luck with a red twister or a red plastic fin attached to the tee of a spoon. You can buy fins in a specialized retail chain or make them yourself. To do this, simply cut out “fins” approximately 3 cm long and 1 cm wide from a red plastic jar, for example a yogurt cup, with scissors.
A heated needle makes a hole through which it is inserted into the winding ring. The purpose of the fin is to make the pike see the red and attack the spoon. You might as well put a red twister on the tee hook.
More red. Another way to make a catchy spinner is to decorate the tee with a tassel of red or orange feathers. To do this, in a specialized store for fly fishers, you need to buy a skin with a dyed feather of a rooster or marabou, cut pieces from it with scissors and tie it to a tee with a thread.
At the same time, you need to ensure that the stings of the hooks remain open, which will allow them to be securely caught in the bony pike’s mouth. Some creative anglers even decorate their spinnerbaits or silicone minnows with a waterproof red marker. Well, they often get more bites as a reward for this. On many spinners, red tassels on the tee are included in the standard set, which attracts beautiful pikes.
We continue our traditional column Tips from experienced fishermen - we take an unusual bait and experiment:
Little-knowing fishermen only know baits such as worms, maggots and bloodworms, and, I must say, they get by quite well with them, catching a lot of fish. Yes, in some reservoirs this is enough, but sometimes the fish refuses to take the usual bait, and something new needs to be presented on the hook. This is where little-known attachments come to the rescue.
May beetle - Khrushch
Khrushchev is a small beetle that makes a characteristic sound when flying. It appears at the beginning of summer. At this time, the beetle eats the young foliage of trees. The female beetle burrows into loose soil and lays eggs.
It is convenient to catch beetles in the evening with a gauze net. Early in the morning, sleeping May beetles can be shaken off the trees.
Khrushchev larvae are searched for in the turf at a depth of 10-15 cm. Rooks, who themselves are not averse to eating Khrushchev, sometimes help to find their habitat.
Another excellent bait is the mole cricket - an excellent attachment for fishing with a bottom fishing rod. large fish(catfish, chub). Due to ignorance of how to get this bait, many anglers don’t even know about it.
The mole cricket is a large insect up to 6 cm long, yellowish-brown in color. Lives in the upper layers of greenery, in vegetable gardens, orchards, along the banks of rivers and ditches. The mole cricket can dig holes up to 80 cm deep, where it sits during the day and crawls out at night. Look for mole crickets in manure, in garden heaps of rotted garbage, in rotted sawdust, where clay is prepared.
Small holes with a diameter of up to 10 mm can be seen on the surface. This is the first sign of a mole cricket's habitat. Carefully dig out the soil and remember that the holes can be very deep.
The bear should be stored in sawdust in a cool place. You can feed with herb roots. Catfish bite well on mole crickets.
The steppe cricket is a good bait for barbel, chub, carp, ide and rudd. There are two known types of crickets: gray and black. The gray cricket lives under clods of plowed soil and under heaps of weeds. It is good as bait, but small. The black cricket is slightly larger than the gray one. It is found in burrows in meadows, near rivers, and often in clearings. Where there are crickets, you can see many burrows.
Caterpillars are the larvae of butterflies.
Look for urticaria caterpillars in nettle thickets, wastelands, and currant thickets. During the day, the caterpillars crawl along the surface of the leaves, and at night - under the leaf, on its underside. Cabbage plants are collected from cabbage in vegetable gardens.
You can store the caterpillars in a three-liter jar, tied with gauze so that the larvae do not crawl out. Place a few leaves of the plants from which they were collected into the jar. It is better to remove droppings and change leaves.
For bait, you can use a large forest ant. They collect ants from anthills in the forest. Do not tear up the entire anthill under any circumstances! It is enough to stir the edge of the anthill with a stick - the ants will crawl out to repair their shelter. Grab them here - along with the pine needles. It is better to keep ants in a tight bag. It’s better not to prepare for future use. Rudd and ide are good for catching on ants.
Horseflies often interfere with fishing - they land on all exposed parts of the body and bite painfully. However, horse flies can also be used as bait. Carefully catch it and place it on the hook across your chest. Horseflies can be caught both from the surface and in mid-water.
GADDY AND ITS LARVA
The gadfly is an insect that can be confused with a horsefly. Usually they catch it not on an insect, but on its larva. Female gadflies lay eggs under the skin of the animal, where they develop into larvae. Bodfly larvae can be obtained at slaughterhouses, and they should be kept in a glass jar with sand and bran.
Carp fish are excellently caught using the botfly larva.
Mealworm beetles appear in late summer. The mealworm is found in mills, in flour warehouses, and in bags of flour.
The larva is brown-yellow, up to 20 mm in size. The period of its development is 1 year. It feeds on flour and grains.
Mealworm - good nozzle for catching peaceful fish - roach, silver bream, crucian carp.
The wasp larva is used to catch non-predatory fish. In summer it may be larger. They look for this larva on the shore of the reservoir, watching where the wasps fly, and catch it late in the evening, when the wasps return to their nest. It is not safe to collect larvae during the day. The honeycombs are collected in a basket, covered with a lid, and at home the larvae are selected and placed in a dry, clean jar.
Many fishermen do not recognize tadpoles as bait. Some fishermen believe that the tadpole is a seasonal bait for fishing in the spring. However, it is not.
It's better to fish with a tadpole float rod into the wiring, releasing the tadpole 10 cm from the bottom.
BUKARA
Bukara is a brown water beetle larva with two semicircular jaws and three ends on its tail. Bukara lives in running water with a sandy bottom.
They extract it, like bloodworms, and store it in a tightly closed box in damp sawdust. You can feed bukara with algae - this way you can preserve it all winter.
Bukara is an excellent bait for catching perch, roach, and bream. It has a durable shell, so it stays on the hook for a long time.
Chicken, duck and goose giblets are very good bait, especially for catfish.
They catch you with your guts bottom gear. You can even feed fish with intestines.
Not everyone knows that fish can be caught for the meat of warm-blooded animals. For example, cubes or strips are cut out of the liver and placed on a hook.
It's better to fish from the bottom. The hook catches pike perch, perch, burbot, ide, and catfish. Don't forget that meat attachments wash out quickly, so they need to be changed more often.
Wrap the clotted blood in a rag and bury it in the ground for a day. The blood will become tight, such that it can be cut into pieces. You can catch ide well with blood on a donk. It is useful to feed the fish at the fishing site with small pieces of the same blood.
Smoked lard is an effective autumn and winter bait. Small chopped cubes are placed on the hook.
Smaller cubes are used for floating bait. For fishing, choose a high-quality, fatty layer, and not lard sprouted with meat.
Don’t forget that lard is lighter than water, so when bottom fishing, you can add more lard to the leash.
Take a roach (or other small fish) and cut off a piece of meat along with its scales from its side surface. Place this bait and confidently catch a perch.
If a mouse gets caught in a mousetrap, do not rush to throw it away. It can be useful when fishing for catching large catfish. Burbot and pike may also be caught.
