Fishing for zander differs from any other hunt for predatory fish in that you constantly have to look for it. Pike or perch, for example, move along a reservoir, changing hunting horizons, in search of food, and determining their location by the movement of the fry is not so difficult. Sudak prefers to live and eat in the depth farther from the coast. He practically does not get out of his ambush and very rarely pursues his victim. It’s almost impossible to get pike perch from there with a spinning rod or other gear, given the depth, roughness of the bottom, and often the shortness of its habitat. However, there is one sure way of fishing, using which, the catch will be guaranteed. This is catching zander in a plumb line from a boat. This method was invented in Holland for fishing on sea fish, but over time it gained popularity among freshwater fishermen throughout Europe.
The principle of plumbing
For this type of predator hunting, you will definitely need a boat, because zander is not a fish that lives near the coastline. In addition, often you have to go a decent distance with water before you find a fishing spot.
Catching a pike perch on a plumb line involves the use of an onboard fishing rod or a short spinning rod equipped with a lure, wobbler or bait fish, which sink to the bottom for vertical wiring.
Fishing itself is carried out directly at the side of the boat, and often even below it, so a long fishing rod is useless here. Some anglers even cut the fish not with a fishing rod, but by a sharp jerk of the main fishing line with their hand.
Best season for plumb fishing
Mostly plummet in autumn. During this period, predatory fish is most active. And zander, and pike, and big perch hunt around the clock, stocking up fat in anticipation of winter. The best autumn bait is bait fish or its "analogues" in the form of frozen fish.
However, catching zander in the summer in a plumb line can also bring a good catch. During this period, it is better to use artificial baits: silicone vibration tails or small bright foam rubber.
Plumbing technique
Catching a pike perch on a plumb line requires an exact determination of the place of its parking. The echo sounder will best cope with this task, but if it is not there, the usual heavy load on the fishing line will come to the rescue. Using it, it is possible to easily determine the deepest places, as well as bottom rifts and eyebrows, beloved by pike perch. It will also help determine the type of bottom surface. In dirty silted areas, this predator should not be sought. But the uneven rocky bottom at a depth of not less than 6 m is what he needs.
Having determined the fishing place, the boat is allowed to drift freely. If the current in the pond is strong, to slow the movement of the craft use a regular brick or a small bag of sand, which lower the bottom. To attract a predator, you can use a large feeding trough filled with bait, which should include fishmeal, pieces of fish or liver.
The tackle equipped with the bait sinks to the bottom, the fishing line is pulled to a stretched position. The rod should be horizontal. Further, the bait rises sharply a few centimeters up and holds for 2 seconds, after which it again sinks to the bottom. After a few seconds, the process is repeated.
Pike perch during vertical wiring most often occurs during the fall of the bait to the bottom, so it is at this point that you need to be ready to make timely hooking.
Plumb fishing rod
Most often, pike perch is plumbed from a boat by a home-made onboard fishing rod with a length of not more than 60 cm. It is made from juniper branches, glued bamboo or from a regular quivertype for a feeder-type fishing rod. The latter method is most acceptable, since plastic or carbon fiber tops have all the necessary properties, and are inexpensive at the same time.
Taking as a basis a feeder quivertype with an end passage ring, it remains to attach a handle and a coil to it. As a handle, you can use several cork corks from champagne wine, with axial holes drilled in them. They are put on the thickened side of the future rod and are fixed with glue. For a good bite alarm, the usual nod for a winter fishing rod is attached to the tip of the quivertype . This design will allow you to achieve the best results in this type of fishing, such as catching pike perch in a plumb line to the fry, where winter fishing tactics are used.
In the manufacture of an onboard fishing rod from juniper or bamboo, the same devices are used as for the plastic top.
If there is no desire or opportunity to make such a rod with your own hands, you can buy ready-made. The main requirements for such a fishing rod are reliability, a test of at least 30 g, short length and fast (hard) action.
Reel for side fishing rod
Given that fishing for perch in the plumb line is carried out from the side of the boat, long-range and accurate casting of gear is not required here. Therefore, the type and size of the coil will not play a special role. Most anglers prefer to use small-sized inertialess reels, motivating them to be well balanced with a small fishing rod. In addition, the presence of a friction brake in them often helps out when plucking large specimens.
The best option for an onboard fishing rod would be an inertia-free reel of size 1000-1500 with a multiplier and a friction clutch. The brand of the product and the number of bearings in it will not have a significant impact on the outcome of fishing.
Fishing line
The only requirement for fishing line when plumbing is to be thin and strong. A thick thread will not provide an absolute guarantee that the tackle will cope with the catch, however, its resistance in water will adversely affect the sensitivity of the rod itself.
It is better to use braided fishing line with a thickness of 0.2-0.3 mm with the same leash of 0.15-0.25 mm. This will be enough to pull out a predator weighing 5-8 kg.
Plumb bait for pike perch
Pikeperch is a very finicky fish, so the choice of bait should be approached thoroughly. Going fishing, it is better to have several types of bait with you, because the culinary preferences of fish are constantly changing.
Practice has shown that in this form of fishing, such as catching zander in a plumb line from a boat, lures play a major role. The design of the rod or the type of reel is not so important here, but the bait must annoy the predator and force itself to attack. Otherwise, there will be no result.
The most common lures for this type of pikeperch fishing are:
- bait fish (including snoot);
- heavy spinners like “castmaster” or “pilker”;
- heavy pike perch mormyshka of the "uralka" type;
- swinging baubles;
- foam and silicone fish
Catching pike perch on a plumb bob
As bait fish for pike perch, it is better to use his favorite delicacy - bleak or gudgeon. These baits are considered the most catchy. A heavy mormyshka or jig-head is used to push live bait.
If you couldn’t get a live bait, you can use frozen sea fish. A spider is best suited for these purposes. For some reason, our “river tiger” is attracted to this particular fish. Catching a pike perch on a perch on a tyulka is considered no less productive than fishing using a gudgeon or bleak. It is planted on a heavy mormyshka or lure entirely or only one tail.
Catching pike perch on a plumb bait requires the fisherman about the same game as a bait, as in winter fishing. The tackle is lowered, several hits are made to the bottom, after which it slowly rises several centimeters up.
Heavy baubles plumbing
When fishing for castmaster, pilkers, winter heavy baits and trihedrals, the wiring should be sharper. When lowering the bait to the bottom, a sharp movement with the rod up is required, especially if fishing is carried out at great depths.
In addition, lures also use the tactics of drawing along a flat and hard bottom. This method works well with low boat drift.
Catching pike perch on a plumb line with foam and silicone lures
A good alternative to bait fish or spinners are foam and silicone baits that imitate real fish. It is better to catch such bait in the summer, but even in the fall they will not leave the fisherman without a catch provided that they are used correctly.
Silicone and foam lures give a good result when using drawing tactics. Their movements remind a predator of a wounded fish, awkwardly moving along the bottom surface, which in itself awakens hunting excitement in him.