Mugs - Floating Tackle For Catching Predatory Fish From A Boat

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

Fishing Academy

Mugs are a floating tackle for catching predatory fish from a boat. Basically, pike is caught, less often - perch, pike perch, much less often - catfish and burbot. Mugs are used on bodies of water with little or no current. This is a very catchy tackle, but only in skillful hands, when the angler knows where and how to fish.

The most primitive of them is shown in Figure 1. This quite uncomplicated piece of polystyrene or wood floats across the reservoir, and itself is looking for fish. The fisherman can only watch him and remove the prey from the hook. However, this fishing is, as they say, blindly, at random. Either the circle itself will swim to the predator, or the hungry predator will accidentally stumble upon a live bait on a hook. Fishing with circles is more successful when the angler is armed with modern, properly equipped tackle, and knowledge of the habits of fish, the underwater relief of the reservoir in which he is to fish.

The circle fisherman must skillfully manage the boat when setting circles, and also be able to quickly and accurately approach the circle when biting the fish (in this case, the tackle will turn over) and make a hook in time.

The circle itself consists of two parts: a foam or wooden disc with a groove cut along the edge of the circle, as well as a plastic or wooden stick with a head attached to its thickened end.

The discs of circles are either flat or with a concave bottom surface. The concave surface acts as a suction cup, which significantly reduces the number of false flips (that is, bites), in contrast to flat discs. Optimum disk dimensions: diameter 150-200 mm, thickness up to 25 mm. In the center of the disc there is a hole about 10 mm in diameter, into which a stick-pin is inserted. Pin length 150 mm. It has a tapered shape. Its upper diameter is 8 mm, the lower one is 12-15 mm.

Thickened base of the pin - the head has the shape of a ball or ellipse. This noticeably increases the stability of the mug, moreover, the thickening is like a handle, needed when installing and removing the pin. In factory-made mugs, the plastic head is split and has a cavity in it. This is very convenient, since it can be filled with water and thus the stability of the circle on the wave and the speed of free movement through the water can be adjusted.

At the upper end of the pin there is a cut 2-3 mm wide and 10-15 mm deep. The end of the working part of the line is inserted into the cut, which ensures that the circle is turned over when biting. Moreover, it is important that the line is stretched. This is achieved by inserting the end of a part of the working line into the cut of the disc and into the cut so that the cut and cut are in the same vertical plane. In this position, the line is fixed. And the sinker and live bait keep the fishing line taut with their weight.

The discs are painted with waterproof paints: the upper surface is red or orange, the lower one is white or yellow. When biting, when the circle turns over and its lower (white or yellow) part is on top, the light color is clearly visible in any weather.

Unlike the disc, the pin is colored differently. Its base - the end of the thin part is painted red or black, the rest of the surface - white or yellow. The head is two-color or striped (Fig. 2).

I have seen mugs without pins, which makes them more stable on the water. One of the variants of such a mug is shown in Figure 3. It is made from a single piece of foam. In the lower part of the cone-shaped disc (1), recesses (2) are machined, and in the head part (3) - a groove (4) for winding the fishing line. On the upper plane, stepping back from the edge of the circle, a small square protrusion (5) is cut out, and a slot (6) in it. The slot is the same as for the line fixing pin.

The equipment of the mug, of course, begins with a line. On the groove of the disc with smoothly processed walls and edges, a fishing line 12-15 meters long is wound. The line stock should be 5-6 meters more than the fishing depth. This is necessary so that the predator, seizing the live bait, does not feel the resistance of the tackle ahead of time. No more fishing line is required, as if it is too long, it gets tangled, especially with frequent inversions.

In order to quickly equip a circle after a bite and send it to the next voyage, a depth marker is placed on the fishing line, through which the fishing line is pulled with a needle (Fig. 4, position 5). This is a tiny rubber, cork or leather circle no more than 5 mm in size. It moves along the line with some effort, which prevents it from spontaneous movement.

The sinker is most often installed sliding, on a segment of 15-20 cm. Above it is limited by a shot firmly fixed on the fishing line (Fig. 4, item 6), and from the bottom a carbine (swivel) - (Fig. 4, item 8). The weight of the lead depends on the type and size of live bait. A lightweight lead, for example, is suitable for minnow and other bottom live baits. But if, say, a roach or bleak is planted, then they tend to rise into the upper layers of the water, and therefore, with a light weight, the leash will constantly twist around the fishing line.

An indispensable part of the circle tackle is a leash (Fig. 4, item 9). It connects the line to the carabiner and prevents the line from twisting. In addition, it protects the tackle from the teeth of a predator. Hooks are essential when fishing with circles. Single, twins, tees are used. Their size depends mainly on the size of the live bait. The main requirement for hooks is their sharpness. Only a very sharp hook is able to reliably stick into the cartilaginous mouth of a predator at the slightest touch of live bait. The fully framed circle is shown in Figure 4.