The Wisdom Of Winter Fishing

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

Fishing Academy

God saves man, who save himself

Winter fishing is a very unsafe activity. Especially on the first and last ice. It is not for nothing that there is such an expression among anglers: “Do not trust the first and last ice, check it a hundred times”. Otherwise, you can easily find yourself in the ice font. But how many anglers will be stopped by such a danger? There is always an excuse: "This won't happen to me."

Of course, God protects those who are saved. True, not always. And if the Lord has forgotten about you, and you fell through the ice, then, first of all, pull yourself together. Do not panic, do not commit desperate, rash actions, do not waste your energy.

Having failed, a person, as a rule, does not plunge headlong. Spread your arms out to the sides. Clothes that are still dry will provide sufficient buoyancy and keep you afloat for a while. Remember, a person in winter clothes is able to stay in icy water, resting against the edge of the ice with his elbows and forearms for up to 30-40 minutes.

Use this time wisely and try to get out. So, first of all, try to get a horizontal position in the water and find some support on the ice that you can grab onto and pull yourself up to. A knife or a fishing hook can serve as such support. In the Scandinavian countries, for example, winter fishing equipment includes special pins with wooden handles that are worn on the wrists. They may well be replaced by two nails at least 15 centimeters long. Let's say the first attempt failed: the ice breaks off, and the wet clothes begin to pull down. Don't panic! Try to take off your shoes and work with your feet in a horizontal position. Then try again to pull yourself out of the water. Having got out on the ice, crawl 10-15 meters and only then move to the shore with frequent short steps. And after getting out - faster to home,where you can dry and warm up. If someone else is in a similar situation, it will not be difficult to help him. Use the tools at hand: scarves tied together, trouser belts, sweater, long stick. But, when helping, do not forget about caution.

Homemade depth gauge

In order for ice fishing to be successful, you need to determine the depth in the place where you are going to fish. This requires a depth gauge. And not necessarily branded. The simplest depth gauge is easy to make yourself (see Fig. 1). Take any cork, file the edges, then insert wire loops into it from both sides. Pass the line with a sinker at the end through both loops.

To determine the depth, slide the plug towards the sinker and lower the depth gauge into the water. As long as the line is taut, the plug is held in place by friction. But as soon as the lead reaches the bottom, the line tension is released and the water pushes the plug to the surface. Now all you need to do is pull the line slightly and the cork locks onto it again, marking the measured depth. For convenience, you can tie a single knot on the fishing line every half a meter, and a double knot every meter.

Sensitive nod

The nipple rubber head which is widely used for winter fishing is simple and durable. However, it cannot be used with a small jig - it has insufficient sensitivity. In order to increase the sensitivity, it is enough to do this … Carefully cut out a part of the tube with a razor, as shown in Figure 2. The cut should come to naught to the part that fits on the six. The longer and deeper the neckline, the more sensitive the nod. In addition, this nod can be adjusted by rotating the tube on the pole. And to make the bites more noticeable, insert a piece of the colored sheath from the mounting wire.

Ice cage

In order to prevent the caught fish from freezing, you can build an impromptu cage right on the pond. Fill a plastic bag with water and place it in the snow. Soon a thin layer of ice forms on its walls. Place the fish there, and in such a cage it will live for a long time.

Memory knots:

• feet will become less sensitive to the cold if you wash them with cold water before going fishing, and, putting on socks, wrap them in newspaper;
• it is not uncommon for an angler to drink excessively hot tea or coffee on ice. In severe frost, this can lead to trouble - you can chill a steamed throat.