Winter Burbot Fishing - Whose Catch Is Better

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Fishing tales

The story of this story is rather unusual … My good friend - an inveterate fisherman Alexey, having learned that I was collecting materials about winter burbot fishing, unexpectedly suggested: - You know, I can probably help you in this matter. My wife's uncle, who lives in Karelia, is a great specialist in this fish. I propose to go to him.

And here we are three: Alexei, me and Nikolai Fedorovich, the same specialist in burbot, wandering on skis through a snow-covered forest, heading to the Bystraya river. According to our guide, it was during this cold season that the burbot began to move on the river, and therefore, as he put it: "There is a chance to catch something worthwhile."

It is difficult to say how Nikolai Fyodorovich was guided, but he suddenly stopped at a wide clearing and said:

- The pit is here.

On the way, he explained to us that the most catchy place on Bystraya is the place where two streams flow into it. Here was the pit you were looking for. On the shore, near a huge fallen spruce, we quickly pitched a tent, stored firewood - and, hurrying to put the tackle on the ice, in a hurry before dark.

And then suddenly a problem arose. Alexei believed: since the spawning of burbot is approaching, the fish will mainly be in the pebble-rocky shallow water, so the donkeys should be placed closer to the shore. Nikolai Fedorovich, on the other hand, argued: until spawning has begun, burbot fattens in deep pools, where most of the fish winter.

Each of them was confident in his righteousness, and therefore they put the donks in their own way: Alexei - in shallow water, Nikolai Fedorovich - almost in the middle of the pit. I didn't have any gear with me, and I only helped my companions to drill holes.

It got dark quickly. Sitting by the fire, my comrades listened to the silence of the night, obviously expecting the bells to ring. And closer to midnight one of them rang. The fishermen rushed to him. A few minutes later, both returned: Alexei was holding a half-kilogram burbot. At night, the bells rang invitingly several more times, and all in shallow water. By the morning, Alexei had a dozen burbots. True, everything is as if on selection: from 400 to 600 grams. Nikolai Fyodorovich had nothing.

Just before dawn, when another bell rang, Alexei listened and, turning to Nikolai Fyodorovich, said confidently:

- It's yours.

He silently stomped into the middle of the pit. Several minutes passed and he shouted:

- Guys, help …

We rushed to him, and when we ran and looked into the hole, we saw that the black, forehead head of a huge burbot slightly protruded from the water. It was so big that it did not go into the hole. Alexei quickly ran to the parking lot, brought an ice pick and a hook. Picking up the fish with a hook, he asked me to hold it tighter, and he began to expand the hole with his paw. When, by common efforts, the almost one meter long burbot was safely pulled onto the ice, I said:

- Let's consider that your dispute ended in a draw. One of you caught several burbots, but not large, and the other - one, but huge! Do you agree?

Both fishermen smiled, nodded, and we began to pack our way back.