Sudak - a representative of the perch family - wants to catch every angler. On average, it reaches a length of up to seventy centimeters with a mass of four to six kilograms. An important role in the success of fishing is played by the competent choice of gear for catching pike perch in winter, especially in strong currents. Moreover, the search for this coveted prey is a rather troublesome business.
Catchy places
Despite the fact that this fish is found in almost all bodies of water in which there is clean water, it is sometimes difficult to find its winter camps. The reason is that zander often changes them. Typical places are rocky and sandy dumps in depth, cluttered with snags or topliki pits, as well as other areas convenient for ambush. On rivers, for example, on the Volga or Kama, in the winter the zander most often stays near bridge piles or breakwaters, near the shallows.
Small or medium-sized fish prefer to pack in packs, while large specimens love loneliness. In general, fishing for this representative of perchs is not only catching equipment for catching pikeperch in winter, but also actively searching for places where it lives. Often, beginners catch only the bottom layers. But this is an erroneous approach. This fish is very sensitive to the amount of oxygen, therefore, even with a small influx of saturated water, it tends to stick to the stream.
Season
In the winter, zander begin to be caught with the first frosts and the first ice. It was at this time that the fish, still full of energy, actively moved along the bottom of the pack in search of prey. The best season is considered to be about a month after the installation of the ice infusion. By the way, anglers should not forget about such a concept as "tired" holes. Therefore, if a hunter has already pulled prey from some ice hole, and then there is no bite, then it would be more correct to give her an hour to “rest”. Only after that it is worth trying again.
Gear Requirements
To catch zander in the winter, the fishing rod must be selected based on certain characteristics. It is she who is the key to successful fishing. Such pike perches in winter, such as fishing rods, should be equipped with a convenient handle and a reliable reel. It’s important that the hex is long and stiff for clarity. Fishing line should be taken with a thickness of 0.2 to 0.4 millimeters with a tensile strength of not more than two cm per meter. The nod on the tackle for catching zander in the winter is selected depending on the device of the fishing rod and based on personal preferences. As for the leash, in this case, according to professionals, it is not needed.
Spinners
In winter, pike perch bites on baits of any shape or color. The main factors for successful fishing are four circumstances: when and where to use specific spinners, and what shape and size to choose. To ensure a good catch in the arsenal, you need to have baits with an active game, and passive nail types of various sizes. At the same time, neither color nor decor play a significant role. Therefore, the spinners are selected based on individual preferences. But most importantly - they should weigh more than four grams. This is the most important requirement for this tackle for catching zander in the winter.
On the Volga
The success of ice fishing on this river primarily depends on the location. Usually zander feeds in the winter on underwater hills - the so-called navels located at great depths with differences from four to five meters.
It is on such heights that this predator is caught. As a bait, a balancer or spinner is used. Fishing for pike perch on ice on the Volga is a search for active fish, accompanied by constant drilling of holes. Having discovered the depth at which the predator stands, it is possible, moving along this level, to catch fairly large areas.
After the white fish leaves the shallow places on the river, the pike perch returns to its usual depths. In the dead of winter, when oxygen is scarce in water, it can become numb. At this time, the fish, not eating at all, may not bite on the Volga at all.
For zander on Kama
Fishing on this river begins when the ice is already strong enough. I must say that in winter fishing on the Kama River is no less exciting than in summer. First, you need to find a suitable place. This is the most important condition for successful hunting. Secondly, at this time of the year this predator is rather “ascetic": it eats quite poorly. Therefore, you need to carefully choose gear for catching zander in the winter on the Kama River and bait that can seduce him.
Under the first ice, this representative of perch bites well on a small spinner resembling a small fish. A small piece of sponge should be attached to the hook. As for the tackle, you can make the simplest fishing rod for fishing zander in the winter with your own hands, equipping it with a wire coil. It is better to use a whip for fishing on the Kama rather hard, in length from twenty to fifty centimeters. This choice is explained by the fact that during hooking, the hook should deeply dig into the mouth of the fish. The nod must be chosen elastic - so that it can withstand the weight of the baubles and not bend more than twenty-five degrees. It is with such equipment that the best zander fishing in winter takes place on Kama.
Tulka
DIY gears are quite common among ice fishing enthusiasts. No less important is bait, for example, a spider. Many people use either live or store-bought ice cream, as a rule. It is important that the size of this fish does not exceed five centimeters, and its carcass would be sufficiently elastic. This is necessary so that it does not fall apart on the hook of a tackle for catching zander. In winter, they catch a tyulka as follows: they put it by the tail so that it turns out to be the head to the predator. No less acceptable is the method of packing it in a semicircle. By and large, the freshness of the bait does not play a special role, the main thing is that it does not fall apart. In some regions, instead of tyulka, another narrow-bodied fish is successfully used, for example, bleak.
To the zerglitsa
Many of her focus primarily on pike. But in fact, this is a great type of tackle for catching zander. In winter, she is catchy enough from the ice to catch perch and even burbot. In this case, no significant changes in the design of the gear itself for fishing predators are not provided. Pikeperch is caught by zerlits throughout the winter. Usually, during freezing, this predator lives near the bottom, so you should catch it with deep bait - minnow, perch or ruff.
It is better to install a zergelika in places where the bottom topography is variable, as well as near tolop or snag. With a bad bite, you need to start an active search for prey, reinstalling gear. Although it takes a lot of time, getting into the place where the flock is located will guarantee a good catch.
Home-made winter donka for zander
It is known that it is much more difficult to dissolve and lay to the bottom this tackle from the ice than during summer fishing. Therefore, many try to do it with their own hands in order to optimize fishing as much as possible, having modeled the donka for themselves. In this winter bottom tackle , two sinkers should be provided for catching zander - light, with a weight of not more than eight grams and designed to unfold over the stream, and heavier - up to 30 g, used at the bottom of the reservoir. Both of these equipment components must be sliding, freely moving along the fishing line to the limiters. As the latter, lead shotguns or snap hooks may be used.
Usually, three leashes are tied to the donka: one at the end of the donka, a little lower weighed with a lower weight, and the other two - forty and seventy centimeters above its limiter. The gear is mounted on ice on spacers, most often on wire flyers. They are planted on the whip to prevent powerful zander from dragging her into the hole. The main part of the nod - the spiral spring - is attached to the holder using brackets. Its inner diameter should be more than three millimeters.
Most often, anglers use a nod made from a spring pulled out of an alarm clock or from mechanical clockwork toys. At its end, a nod is soldered to a ring through which a fishing line is passed.
The other end is rigidly attached to the whip. The elasticity of the nod can be adjusted by moving the rubber roller with the wire clip over the whip. In the case of sharp bites, the ring, hitting the ring, leads to the fact that the fish self-cuts.
After completing fishing, you can collect a home-made winter donka either on a separate plank or on a reel located on the handle of a fishing rod. Experienced anglers unhook the tackle from the main fishing line, however, only when they use a snap hook with a fastener as a limiter for a heavy sinker.