DIY do-it-yourself tackle

Most freshwater fish live and feed on the bottom of various bodies of water. That is why for a long time fishermen use special types of gear for fishing. Donks, along with traditional classic fishing rods, are especially popular with both amateurs and experienced fishermen.

Thanks to the special design of the bottom tackle, the bait is able to stay near the soil of the reservoir for a long time. Most often there is an active fish, which gladly grabs the proposed bait. One drawback of the classic donka is the need to cast the bait every time you need to remove the catch from the hook, but this is a pleasant activity for any angler.

For beginners of fishing, before proceeding with the manufacture of bottom tackle with their own hands, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with some recommendations of professionals, which are sometimes useful to experienced fishermen.

Kinds

In simple terms, this tackle is called a donka and represents the simplest device - a fishing line with a hook at the end and a sinker, which is much heavier than that of an ordinary float fishing rod. But, despite the simplicity of the device, bottom fishing tackle has several different designs.

The most popular options are:

• classic
• gum donka;
• bottom fishing rod with feeder;
• spinning donka;
• feeder device.

Each tackle has some of its own characteristics both in the manufacture and in the methods of its application.

Simple donkey device

Of course, now it’s easy to buy ready-made tackle at any outlet, but he is a fisherman to try to make catchable tackle on his own, taking into account all your preferences and requirements.

Therefore, before you make the bottom tackle with your own hands, you need to carefully familiarize yourself with the device of a simple classic donkey.

It consists of the following parts:

1. The fishing line must match the parameters of the intended harvest. Since bottom fishing involves catching a fairly large fish, the diameter of the fishing line should be at least 0.2 mm. At the same time, it is desirable to have a fishing line about 100 m long in order to avoid problems during grazing, during the fishing of large fish.
2. The hook for the bottom tackle should be large, as when catching large fish. To prevent the descent of huge specimens, tees are often used. Particular attention must be paid to the quality of the hooks in order to avoid troubles when cutting and pulling fish.
3. Donka's peculiarity is a heavy sinker weighing from 30 to 100 grams. This is necessary for long casting, as well as ensuring a stable position of the nozzle in the right place for fishing. The cargo is made of lead and has a drop-shaped shape, which greatly simplifies long casts and pulling fish. This shape of the sinker does not have sharp angles and allows you to avoid hooks when removing gear from the water.
4. Another important part of the equipment for bottom fishing is a leash, the choice of which depends entirely on the characteristics of fishing. The optimal leash length is 20 cm. In this case, it is necessary to observe the basic requirement so that it does not overlap with the main fishing line during casting. The leash is secured through a swivel to prevent entanglement with the core.

Over many decades, fishing gear for bottom gear has undergone many design changes, which significantly influenced the appearance of fishing gear and the methods of their use.

Making docks with shock absorber

A tackle equipped with an elastic band creates much less noise when casting, as it is made only once at the beginning of fishing. Further, the elastic properties of the gum allow you to change the bait and remove the caught fish without removing the snap from the water.

The design of the gear with a shock absorber is in many ways similar to the classic donka. Only between the main fishing line and the sinker is a rubber insert with a length of three to five meters. For simplicity of the first cast, a piece of rope is still inserted between the elastic and the load. The weight of the load must be selected so that it does not move when pulling gear. Only stretching the shock absorber should give free access to the hooks when checking the bait, without creating any splashes of water.

Materials necessary for the manufacture of gear

To purchase the necessary accessories you will have to visit the nearest specialized fisherman's shop, since only the sinker can be made independently, and the remaining accessories need to be bought.

For the manufacture of donkey gum you will need:

• elastic band for aircraft models with a length of about 5-10 m;
• fishing line 0.3 mm thick and 50-100 m long;
• set of hooks No. 8-10;
• fishing line reel about 20 m thick 0.2 mm;
• signal bell with mount.

You will also need to make a special device from plywood or a board yourself, on which all the tackle will be wound. In this case, you need to consider the possibility of driving it into the shore.

Shock Absorber Assembly

After acquiring all the components for the tackle, it is necessary to correctly and accurately carry out the assembly process of the device so that in future operation there are no unforeseen complications when throwing tackle and fishing the caught fish.

For these purposes it is necessary:

1. First you need to wind 0.3 mm thick fishing line on a manufactured reel. The length of the fishing line depends entirely on the distance to the place of fishing. Usually they wind about 30-50 m. To attach leashes with hooks at the end of the fishing line, several nodal loops are made.
2. From segments of fishing line with a thickness of 0.2 mm are made leashes 20-30 cm long. A hook is attached from one end of the leash, and a loop is knitted on the other side.
3. Having tied a metal washer to the end of the main fishing line, we mount a shock-absorbing rubber. Its length is determined empirically already at the place of fishing. It should be remembered that the elastic can elongate 3-5 times when stretched.
4. The other end of the shock absorber is tied to a cord with a load.
5. To cast tackle, it is advisable to use a floating tool, and at the same time, you can also feed the fishing place.
6. After the tackle is in the right place, it remains only to pull the fishing line, plant the bait and install the signaling device near the reel.

DIY donkey spinning

For better control over the quality of casting gear, anglers began to use spinning instead of the long-used reel. Over time, the spinning donka became truly folk gear.

Spinning makes it possible to perform accurate and long casts of tackle with bait and confidently produce fish fishing. The rod can be used of any type, while ensuring its mounting on the shore.

Options for this type of gear

For the successful manufacture of bottom gear, you need to purchase the following components in a specialized store:

• any spinning rod;
• inertial or inertialess spinning reel;
• fishing line with a diameter of 0.3 mm and a length of about 100 m;
• core for a leash with a thickness of 0.18-0.2 mm;
• cargo weighing about 40-100 grams, preferably a sliding flat type;
• set of hooks No. 6–8;
• bite alarm.

Assembly sequence

In this case, the assembly process looks a little more complicated than that of a donkey gum.

Assembly sequence:

1. The first step is to assemble the spinning rod and firmly fix the reel on the holder. In this case, the access rings should be placed strictly on one line.
2. Having passed the main fishing line through all the rings, we wind it on the spool of the reel.
3. We install a sliding sinker on the fishing line, while its lower position is limited by a special damper or lead pellet.
4. Then, at the end of the main core, a nodal loop is made to secure the leash.

Many fishermen install additional equipment such as a rocker arm, which allows you to use two leashes.

Feeder tooling

To date, this type of bottom gear is considered the most perfect. The appearance of the feeder is very similar to ordinary spinning. But there are some differences. A feeder is a device for catching fish from the bottom with a feeder, which is necessary for constant feeding of the fishing place.

The rod of the feeder gear is quite tough, with a large number of access rings and a set of soft interchangeable tops, which are the main bite signaling devices. And the rest, the equipment of the feeder is similar to other bottom gear (fishing line, sinker, leash with a hook).

Feeding Features

A mandatory element of modern donkey is a feeder. Properly selected bait attracts fish and greatly increases the catch.

In the simplest case, the feeder can play the role of a sinker. There are many installation options for this device. Sometimes the feeder is fixed, but there are sliding devices that can easily move along the main fishing line between the two clips.

In total, feeders can be divided into two groups:

• Spring-type fixtures are a variety of springs, just covered with bait. Such bottom tackle for bream is used when fishing in stagnant water.

• The cell-shaped feeder has various cell sizes, which affects the rate of leaching of the bait. The advantage of such a bottom tackle with a feeder is its versatility, that is, the possibility of using top dressing both in stagnant water and in the course.

A high-quality device makes it easy to move fishing line relative to the feeder lying on the bottom, which contributes to the sensitivity of the bite of even very careful fish.

Bite alarms

One of the important elements of any fishing tackle is a device that warns the fisherman about a bite. There are several types of bite indicators for bottom tackle:

1. The bell is the simplest device and is considered the best option for tackle without a rod. It is hung on a sagging section of the main fishing line coming from the reel.
2. The bells are attached to the tip of the rod. They are a sensitive device, only if the fish moves to the shore, then the line sags, and the signal may be absent.
3. Modern technologies allow the use of electronic means of signaling. The principle of operation of such a device is based on giving a signal at the slightest stirring of the fishing line, which is passed through a special clip.

When fishing for tackle with a shock absorber, the bait itself is signaled by the fishing line itself, which the fisherman holds between his fingers. But this option requires the constant presence of the fisherman near the tackle, which is considered its drawback.

Fishing

The relatively fast flow of water makes fishing with donkey much more difficult . Inhabitants of the underwater world in rivers are often located away from the coast at a depth in the pits. Therefore, due to the high windage, the tackle blows down the current, which negatively affects the possibility of delivering the bait to the desired fishing location.

In these cases, it is necessary to use flat heavy sinkers. It is desirable to cast bait along the river in the direction of water movement. The shift of the gear to the side will not occur, since water draws the fishing line. Therefore, on fast rivers, a fishing rod with running bottom gear is often used for fishing on the course.

The technique for catching a floating donkey involves moving the gear so that it floats along the stream of water. After moving, a pause is made and a bite is expected. This rhythm of movement of the bait is carried out until the fish peck or the tackle is too far from the fisherman.

The mass of the sinker has a special effect on the nature of fishing in moving water. It should be selected in such a way that when releasing or pulling the fishing line the sinker would come off the bottom, and the bait move approximately as if fishing in the wiring.

Structurally, for fishing on fast rivers, a feeder bottom equipment is ideally suited, having a weighted sliding feeder and one hook at the end of the fishing line.

It is best to fish on the course from the boat, anchoring it with a board across the movement of water. The bait in this case is scattered on the bottom of the reservoir along the side of the boat. In strong currents, the bait feeder is tied directly to the boat.

Winter fishing on the donka

In winter, bottom fishing is much more difficult than in summer. It’s harder to dissolve tackle from the ice and lay it to the bottom. But the ability to deliver the bait to any place in the reservoir is very attractive to anglers.

Typically, experienced anglers use a sinker, a leash, a limiter, a nod, a fishing rod with a reel and spacers for installing it for winter ground gear. The sinker must be of a sliding type. Two loads are more often used - one light (8 grams), the second heavy (30 grams).

When lowering the tackle, a light load with leashes is carried in a small stream, and a heavy load lies on the bottom right under the hole.

Bottom tackle for crucian carp, bream, carp and other peaceful fish is considered the most catchy device, which is very popular among many anglers. Particularly attracted to their ability to adjust the way of fishing for donkey depending on weather conditions and the type of reservoir.