Spearfishing is a popular form of recreation and sports for those who do not want to sit still waiting for a bite, but take the initiative.
Most often, spearfishing is associated with the depths of the seas and oceans, where strange or dangerous fish are found in the water column. In fact, to participate in such an exciting lesson, you do not need to go “to the seas”. Spearfishing in the Leningrad Region can be as exciting an adventure as hunting for large barracudas in the waters of the Indian Ocean.
Spearfishing
The ability to fish under water has been characteristic of humanity since ancient times. It is well known from historical sources that this type of fishing was developed among the ancient Greeks, Japanese and other peoples from the Mediterranean to Asia.
Hunting for fish was carried out with a hold of breath under water, and the tools were a trident or a strict one. Later, people began to use crossbows, and spearfishing (reviews of professionals say this) became a form of recreation and sport.
Spearfishing requires:
- excellent physical fitness;
- good health;
- good reaction;
- the ability to track and pursue prey in a non-human environment.
Hunting with breath holding is considered to be real. Experienced athletes can dive to a depth of 30 m and hold their breath for up to 5 minutes. Spearfishing in the Leningrad Region does not require such serious skills, since mostly diving in local rivers and lakes takes place to a depth of 2 to 10 meters.
The Gulf of Finland
100 km from St. Petersburg, the water in the Gulf of Finland is more transparent, which makes hunting productive. The main prey for underwater hunters here is eel, some specimens of which reach 4 kg of weight.
It is also not out of the ordinary to catch a meter-long pike, less often come across whitefish and zander. The most common trophies are bream and perch, and those who get carp, which in these places grow up to 10 kg, are considered lucky.
If you come to hunt on the southern or northern coast of the bay in the fall, then there is a chance to catch salmon or trout. They can meet on rocky ridges, but if you take the Gulf of Finland, the best places for spearfishing in the Leningrad region are in the vicinity of the Birch Islands (near Vyborg). Also, these places are considered a good start for beginners, since the transparency of the water and the lack of thickets at the bottom allow you to develop the skills necessary for an underwater hunter.
Peipsi Lake
If the question is where to go spearfishing in the Leningrad region, then there will be no problems with the choice of a reservoir. From the smallest to the largest lakes, fish are found everywhere.
The area of Lake Peipsi is 2670 km 2 , and its depth is shallow, only from 8 to 12 meters. A distinctive feature of the lake is its dry shores, clean sandy bottom and visibility of up to 5 m. Pike, perch, burbot, ide and whitefish await underwater hunters here.
When diving, it is important not to get carried away in pursuit and remember that the lake is now a border territory. You can swim into the neighboring Baltic state and notice this, only becoming a "catch" of the water police.
In this regard, many lovers of underwater fishing prefer other places, although no one leaves Lake Peipsi without production.
Lakes near St. Petersburg
Some lakes for spearfishing in the Leningrad Region are suitable for diving without watercraft, and some because of the rugged coastlines and the rocky bottom can not do without them.
Many submariners love Otradnoye and Komsomolskoye lakes not only for the opportunity to hunt well, but also for their location in very picturesque places of the region. These lakes have a rugged shore, so it is advisable to have a boat.
Transparency is up to 3.5 m here with a depth of 15 to 20 meters. You can catch pike, carp, pike perch and whitefish, and in the waters of Komsomolskoye Lake there are also a great fallow with a golden ide. Typically, visibility on these lakes is quite good in any weather.
In order not to move far away from the city, you can go to the Blue Lakes, so named because of the color of the water. If you choose where spearfishing is more interesting in the Leningrad Region, the best places are here. Although they do not abound in fish, like other lakes, at a depth of 20 m here, in clear weather, visibility is up to 10 meters. The prey of hunters will be pike, roach, crucian carp and perch.
A number of lakes can be quite interesting for spearfishing:
- in Vysokinsky, clear water, and large pike and bream, ide, perch and whitefish are most often caught from prey;
- in Lake Zerkalnoye and the chain of reservoirs near Petyärvyu, a good view in depth, and in addition to the usual set of fish, there is still roach;
- hunters for peled, chir and carp are waiting for Svetloye and Zhemchuzhnoe lakes, which are part of the Morozov Lakes group;
- Kopanskoe lake is well known to all hunters, as here for 10 years in a row tournaments in spearfishing in the fight for the Baltic Cup have been held;
- only experienced submariners can hunt in Lake Glubokoye due to poor visibility and great depth, but the burbot and the hustler expect lucky here;
- Visibility on Lake Vrevo is up to 5 m, but a depth of 42 meters complicates the hunt.
It is important to remember that spearfishing in the Leningrad Region can be dangerous due to the many networks that the local population lives near the lakes. You cannot go hunting without a knife.
Narva reservoir
The lake artificially created on Narva is popular with underwater hunters due to the presence of large fish and a depth of only 2-3 meters. Out of 191 km 2, just over 150 km 2 belongs to the Russian side and 40 km 2 to Estonia.
The only drawback of the Narva Reservoir is the change in visibility after several days of winds. For example, if an east wind blows, then the water will be brown from peat and muddy. Visibility is only 40-50 cm.
Otherwise, this pond is an ideal place for hunting, from which it is recommended that beginners begin, since even they do not leave without prey. Smelt, roach, pike, perch and bream are found here. Of particular interest is the reed hunt, which requires silent walking skills and the ability to notice fish in the thicket.
Bream and bustling lakes
For hunters who prefer zander and bream hunting from all types of fish, you should know in advance which pond to go to.
Bream and pike perch in the summer like warmer water and lakes with a small amount of vegetation at the bottom. Sudak spawns near rocky coasts or islets, therefore, such reservoirs do not have sandy beaches and the availability of watercraft is mandatory. Spearfishing in the Leningrad Region requires you to buy or rent a boat, since most of the lakes have a rugged coastline.
Of the huge number of reservoirs in the region, zander is found in only 36 of them, for example, in Polisto, Dvin-Velinsky, Necheritsa, Ucho, Uritsky, Siverst, Nevedro, Yazne and others. In addition to pike perch and bream, roach, silver bream, gley, pike and ide also live in them, crucian carp and tench are less common.
Lakes with bleaks
These fish prefer shallow depths and rugged shores with bays and islets. Typically, in such reservoirs there are a lot of bottom and surface vegetation, and the bottom is silty, so you can’t do without boats and even on these lakes.
It is in such conditions that they love to inhabit bleak, but besides them bream, pike and perches (near the coast), crucian carp and tench are found. Among this type of ponds, Karatay, Nevelskoye, Zalosemye, Ordovo and others enjoy success with spearfishing enthusiasts.
Spearfishing is especially good here in the fall. In the Leningrad region, lakes are especially famous for a large number of fish, and in such reservoirs it is good to develop skills for beginners, as they have a depth of only a few meters and there are reeds.
Hunting in the Neva
The Neva River stretches for 74 km and is navigable at a depth of 15 meters. Underwater hunters should be extremely careful, and beginners should not begin to develop skills here, since in addition to the strong current in the Neva, there are a lot of flooded objects, such as reinforced concrete structures, logs and reinforcement.
There are many fish in the river, 20 species live permanently and there are many “migratory” from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Ladoga. You can dive exclusively from the boat, and at the depths of the hunters expect a chub, grayling and even catfish.