Whitefish Hunting In Winter

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

Fishing Academy

I talked about whitefish fishing in the summer in the magazine. Now let's talk about how to catch this fish in winter. But even if in the warm season not every fisherman succeeds in catching whitefish: often it happens by accident, mainly in the “company” with perches, then in winter this task becomes many times more complicated. And yet, despite the difficulties, this largely mysterious fish can be successfully caught. From time to time, the whitefish comes across on a spoon with a sheer lure, as well as on a balancer, on a jig. But the successful fishing of a handsome silver man is much more dependent on luck than when fishing for pike or burbot.

The main problem is that whitefish is an anadromous fish, and it does not have a permanent place in the reservoir. A flock of whitefishes is constantly in motion. Although experienced fishermen claim that there are "sit-down" trails, which most often pass along the edges of whirlpools, pits, dumps. And even knowing, suppose, the routes of movement of whitefishes, to successfully catch this fish, you must adhere to certain rules. For example, you need to be careful and keep quiet. After all, whitefish is a shy and extremely cautious fish: even from afar noticing a fisherman or catching a suspicious noise, the flock instantly disappears.

Therefore, at the place of fishing, one must act silently and be as inconspicuous as possible. And even if you are lucky and you caught a whitefish, you should not let it flutter on the ice, as this can scare off its fellows. Based on these considerations, it is advisable to drill holes in the morning twilight.

If the hole is drilled with an ice screw, then the knife should be slightly larger than usual. If the hole is hammered with a paw, then it must be cut down by expanding downward.

You need to catch whitefish with a simple winter fishing rod, keeping in mind that the fewer all kinds of personal belongings on it, the less problems there will be with the tackle in the wind, in the winter cold. The diameter of the main line is 0.3-0.5 millimeters, leads - 0.15-0.25, hooks No. 4-6. So that the fishing line does not get tangled and does not interfere with fishing, its stock should be no more than 12-15 meters. It is advisable to place the nod from a steel plate in order to exclude its vibration in strong winds.

The most catchy (I think, not without reason) are long (30-60 millimeters) two-color spinners, for example, such as in Figure 1. Most often, the outer side of such a spinner is silver or gray-lead, the inner side is yellow. It is better to mask the hook with a piece of cambric or a bunch of red threads.

This is how LP Sabaneev describes fishing for whitefishes in winter: “… Whitefish are often fished from ice holes in the winter to the so-called sigushki and litki. Sigushka - the same spoon with a double hook, filled with tin, in the form of a small fish, to the tail of which a string is tied, ending in an arshin rod, which is constantly tugged. (Arshin is a Russian measure of length 0.7 meters). Litka is used exclusively for whitefish and consists of a hook wrapped in a blue thread, to which red tassels are tied. Whitefish are caught only in the thaw.

Several holes are cut on one line at a distance of fathoms (fathom is a Russian measure of length 2.134 meters); a thin hemp forest with a length of 9 to 12 arshins is lowered into each hole with a small copper fly-by (fly-around - this is how small spinners were called at the time of L. P. Sabaneev), no more than 1/2 vershok (vershok - Russian measure of length - 4.4 centimeters), with double brass hook; all the woods are tied to one cord, which is tugged by the fisherman. More than 6 years are not tied to one lace. If they get on the move, then fishing can be very successful."

In addition to winter lures, whitefish can be fished with jigs. Large jigs are more often used, shaped like a large comma (see Fig. 2, lead), (see Fig. 3, two-color). But other jigs are also very catchy, for example: "droplet", "Ural", "ant" and some others. Hook attachment - maggot, worm, caddis flies, bloodworms.

Practice shows that not every hook is suitable for fishing whitefish. The catch is that the palate of this fish is very hard, and not every hook can pierce it. Hence the frequent gatherings that many anglers complain about …

I myself am not a great specialist in fishing for whitefish in winter. However, summarizing the experience of successful fishermen, I concluded that it is best to start playing with a jig, gradually fishing the entire water column. This is due to the fact that in winter, in different weather conditions, and at different times of the day, whitefish is kept at different depths. Usually it is caught at a depth of 2-4 meters, but it happens, especially after the descent, moves deeper. If the location is well chosen, the whitefish bite lasts all daylight hours. Whitefish bite is not sharp in winter, resistance is weak. In a word, pulling it out of the hole is not difficult. There would only be a white …

Alexander Nosov

Drawings by the author