Running For Crucian Carp

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

Fishing tales

I have been to the Wilderness Lake more than once, and therefore it is quite familiar to me. Small, abundantly overgrown with aquatic plants, with an exceptionally viscous bottom, it literally "swarmed" with crucians. Among fishermen it was called Karasinoye Lake.

In calm weather, it was possible to observe the movement of crucians: by the movement of the grass through which they made their way, and by the abundance of bubbles released when they dug in the silt. In the summer, the fish at times took good on various baits. But how will she behave now, in winter, in the midst of the so-called "dead time"? And even on the Wilderness Lake ?! After some hesitation, I decided to try it.

Surely, every fisherman has treasured places where crucians were well caught in summer. Naturally, and now in winter they catch them. Including me.

… For several days in a row an impenetrable blizzard whirled, which covered meter-long snowdrifts. And only when the whirlwind of snow subsided, I finally got to the Deaf Lake. In the morning it was very freezing, and a prickly north wind blew in. But practically any publication claims that the crucian carp does not bite at all in the north wind.

Nevertheless, despite the natural troubles, at least two dozen people like me gathered on the lake. Of course, everyone settled on their "own" site. And I am no exception. Using familiar landmarks, I easily determined the most successful summer fishing spot.

I drilled a few holes and started fishing. The depth is just over a meter. Having scooped out the snowy mess from the hole, he began to fish with two fishing rods: one - a winter float, the second with a jig. In both cases, the hook head is a large bloodworm.

I waited half an hour: no bites. I poured a handful of bait into the holes. Not immediately, but it did happen: the submerged float surfaced a little, swayed slightly and moved to the side. I hooked, and the little carp was my first trophy. A bite on the mormyshka immediately followed, and the second crucian carp, much larger than the first, fluttered on the ice.

Five minutes later, a crucian carp began to covet on the jig. After him, another one is the same. And suddenly the biting stopped altogether. I replaced the bloodworms first with an earthworm, then with maggot. After half an hour of waiting, biting resumed, but to my greatest disappointment they took only … ruffs. Moreover, such tiny ones, of which, as the fishing saying goes: a dozen are included in a matchbox.

Moreover, each crumb looked ridiculously warlike: the body was bent in an arc, sharp thorns protruded not on the back and gill covers. Try it, take it off the hook, especially since the ruff in most cases deeply swallows it. And this is instead of the coveted carp. Having caught half a dozen prickly lumps, and cursing them with the last words, instead of animal baits, I hooked balls of rye bread crumb onto hooks. There were no bites: even stubborn ruffs did not take.

Anglers know that when you clear a hole of ice, the holes in the slotted spoon constantly freeze over. In order to remove the ice again, I started tapping the slotted spoon on the edge of the hole.

During this lesson, I did not immediately notice how the nod of the jigsaw tackle twitched. Hooked, but, apparently, with a delay, since there was no fish or bread nozzle on the hook. I planted a new ball, lowered it into the hole. The same result: a bite - no fish, no ball. "Probably, the bread ball is too weak to hold on to the hook," - I suggested and planted bloodworms on the hook.

And then he again tapped the slotted spoon on the edge of the hole.

In less than a minute, as a bite followed, I hooked up sharply, and the crucian carp about two hundred grams was on the ice. After him I caught three more. And the bite froze. It resumed only after I knocked again with a slotted spoon on the edge of the hole. This involuntarily suggested that the crucian carp attracts … noise! Perhaps this is just a coincidence, but what if a pattern? And I decided to check.

Since there was no bite for a long time, he began to run around the holes, trying to stamp his feet on the ice as much as possible. To my great surprise (and joy), after a few rounds of running, the bite intensified. And they took only carp. This was repeated several times.

My manipulations naturally elicited ironic laughter from the anglers, who surprised me nearby. “I didn't catch a fish, but at least I got warm,” one joked. “Run, don't run, but you won't catch up with the fish,” another snapped. “To run on the ice, not to see the fish,” a third called my back.

Having caught fifty crucians, I finished fishing and headed home. Passing by the funny fishermen, I heard: "Well, how many crucians have you caught up?" I stopped, took off my backpack and showed the catch. Their jaws literally dropped in surprise.

Having got out on the coastal path, I looked around. Now I could laugh too. Several anglers walked briskly around the holes, sometimes even interfering with each other. I don't know if they were lucky with such a group fishing. We can only guess. After all, I was fishing alone, away from everyone. Although on winter fishing anything can be.