Burbot is the only freshwater fish from the "cod" order, found in most rivers and lakes, which is very different from other freshwater fish in its way of life and its habits. Hence the question: "How to catch burbot?"
It changes its color quite often, usually the back of this fish looks olive-green in some places of brown color with dark spots, and the belly may look yellow or gray.
In the summer, burbot usually hibernates, climbing into their shelters, and closer to autumn it becomes active again. Experienced fishermen know how to catch burbot in winter, what tackle to prepare in order to stay with a noble catch. Burbot goes to spawn from December to March. Sometimes in the mouth of a pikeperch or pike, you can find juvenile burbot. Individual individuals can reach a size of up to 1.5 meters in length and weight up to 30 kg. But to find such a large representative is very rare. Usually individuals from 1 to 3 kg and a length of not more than 50–80 cm are caught.
How to catch burbot in the winter will be discussed below.
It is necessary to start catching burbot from the end of autumn, when the first frosts descend on a river or lake at night. And the colder and more inclement, the better the burbot goes. Since burbot is a nocturnal predator, and it is active at night, and is rarely caught in the daytime, it is necessary to start fishing in the evening and finish it in the morning the next day. This fish is usually caught on bottom baits, which bait live bait.
Burbot is caught along with a ruff, pikeperch and pike. There is a sign where there is a biting ruff, burbot somewhere nearby. But, of course, in most cases this omen is not fulfilled, although there is reason to believe it. Since the ruff is very fond of caviar, then burbot caviar is no exception. Ruff is usually located somewhere near the intended habitats of burbot and is food for it.
Night fishing has its own characteristics. Burbot feeds on the shallows; the average depth is approximately three to six meters. And if you put zergirls on it, then everything is pretty simple: they put it in the evening, and checked it in the morning the next day. If you are located directly at the place of fishing far from settlements and in inclement weather, then for fishing you will need light sources. You can use any: from a kerosene lamp to a large fire. Usually, fishermen make a fire around which fishing rods are placed. Most often, fishing for burbot is collective, and several people can participate in it. Therefore, the number of fishing rods can reach from two to three dozen pieces, and the circle formed by fishing rods can be very impressive in size. A bonfire illuminates fishing rods, and fishermen walk in circles and follow the bite, simultaneously clearing the sludge in the holes.
Experienced fishermen know how to catch burbot in winter on different baits that can imitate fry. In most cases, these are spinners, mormyshki and moroblaces, those baits that are usually used for catching pike and pike perch.
Burbot is a bottom fish and, accordingly, it can be caught either from the bottom or in close proximity to it.
When catching this fish monotonously knock mormyshka on the bottom, the noise from the blows, thus attracted burbot, swims to the bait. The bite on the game is felt by a strong blow.
Burbot usually takes the bait in the deepthroat, and often have to work hard to remove it from the mouth. The caught specimen strongly resists, especially when it is pulled to the edge of the ice, and it can see the light in the hole. Experienced fishermen try to darken the hole by covering it with a hat, or with something suitable.
The burbot must be pulled out confidently, trying to prevent him from crocheting at the entrance to the hole. If this happened, and it happens very often, then the fish should be pulled out, trying to straighten, and then take a hook, or try to grab it by the gills. Caught burbot must hit his head on the ice. Only a few anglers can boast that they know how to catch burbot in the winter, and that they caught it when ice fishing.
In conclusion, I will say that in winter it is necessary to search for available parking lots. All known places were discovered precisely in the winter, when burbot fishing was carried out on girders. In winter, on ice, you can try good luck in different places at the same time. If burbot pecked, then in this place you can catch in the spring, in the fall. And even on windy, cold, rainy nights in the summer.