Yelets: Between Bleak And Chub

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

Fishing Academy

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Yelets is a fish unknown in the lower provinces; maybe so named because it first appeared in the well-known river Yelets, on which the city of Yelets stands ", - this is how the expert in fishing STAksakov stated in his book" Notes on a fish-eating ". But, firstly, the city of Yelets stands on the Pine River, and secondly, whether this fish first appeared near this city, the big question … Despite these ambiguities, dace is still found in the Pine River, near the city of Yelets.

With this anecdotal story, I will begin the story about the dace - a fish that is quite widespread in our reservoirs, but little respected by fishermen.

Unlike S. T. Aksakov, our other famous fisherman L. P. Sabaneev did not study etymology, but he knew this fish well. Here's what he wrote:

“In its general appearance, this small fish is very similar to a young chub, but differs from the latter in a much more compressed body, a narrower head, a prominent nose and a small mouth. In addition, it is noticeably silverier and in this respect somewhat resembles bleak, which is also approached by the way of life. The color of the back is dark gray-bluish-gray with a steel sheen, the sides of the body are slightly lighter, the belly is silvery-white, the dorsal and caudal fins are dark gray, the rest of the fins are pale yellowish, occasionally yellowish-red; the eyes are yellow."

Dace- a medium-sized fish, rarely reaches a length of 20 cm and a weight of 200 grams. And although most publications state: "Yelets loves running water, fresh, as it is very sensitive to oxygen content." LP Sabaneev is of the same opinion: “Yelets prefers to keep on a more or less strong current”. However, I and other fishermen had to catch dace in the channels connecting the lakes, and in the lakes themselves, and without any current. I suppose fish can be found where there is sufficient food. And whether there is a current or not, it seems to be indifferent to it.

Dace- schooling fish, forming schools most often from individuals of the same age. Or, as LP Sabaneev writes: "Especially from one- and two-year-olds." The number of a flock usually depends on the width of the river: the wider it is, the larger the flock, and vice versa. Only the largest specimens are kept alone. The dace spends most of its life near the bottom, it rises to the surface only during the mass flight of insects (primarily mayflies). And also with a strong wind from the coast, carrying insects from the coastal vegetation into the water.

Dace reaches sexual maturity at the age of 2-4 years with a length of 10-14 cm. Spawning gregarious, simultaneous, begins in late March - early April, at a water temperature of + 6 … + 8 ° С. It prefers to lay eggs on a fast current on a pebble-sandy or rocky bottom. I have seen dace eggs laid on the coast on last year's vegetation. In the first years it grows very quickly, and at four years old it weighs 100-150 g. Later, the growth rate slows down sharply. Life expectancy is supposedly no more than 15 years.

Dace feeds from early spring to late autumn and even during spawning. An adult feeds mainly on benthic invertebrates, but also eats plant foods. Large individuals do not refuse fry either. Having swept away eggs much earlier than most fish, dace is found in spawning grounds for more than a month, destroying most of the eggs of other fish. Therefore, where there are many daces, they cause serious damage to fish of valuable commercial species.

One of the first daces begin to be caught after an ice drift, when the water is still cold, cloudy, carries with it various debris - driftwood, wood chips, bunches of last year's grass, bushes uprooted with roots. When planning to catch dace, the angler must certainly take into account two important points.

1. Of all our fish, this is the quietest: in warm weather it spoils very quickly.

2. There are many small bones in the dace, which makes it much more difficult to cook. And in terms of taste, it is not so hot.

But these insignificant shortcomings are more than compensated for by the excitement of fighting such a nimble rival. A dace caught on the hook (especially a large one) immediately rushes to the side, trying to make the river flow increase the strength of the jerk. Sometimes she even jumps out of the water, resisting with the desperation of a victim who has nothing to lose.

The most effective way to catch a dace is by wiring. This requires a long, lightweight rod with a flexible tip, a line with a diameter of 0.15 mm, a small float, hook No. 2-4, without a reel. The bait is smoothly thrown in the direction of the school, and usually the fish immediately grabs it. If there is no bite, you need to slowly pull the nozzle towards you or to the side. Often the dace does not stand up, and the technique ends with a sweep. You can fish in the wiring both from the boat and from the shore.

Yelets can be successfully caught with a donkey. The simplest bottom line is a line with a sinker at the end and three to five leashes located at a distance of 40-50 cm from each other. Main line 0.25mm, lead 0.15mm and light lead. A donka with a sliding lead is equipped with two leads: one up to 30 cm long, the other up to 40 cm. A knot is knitted at the point of their attachment to the main line, a second knot is knotted 1-2 m from it so that the lead cannot slip through these knots, and freely slid between them. A donk with a rubber shock absorber is also used.

Fly fishing for dace is fascinating. Small artificial flies or natural insects are suitable as bait: flies, horseflies, gadflies, grasshoppers. Such fishing is especially successful on days when the dace rises to the surface of the water.

Recently, dace is more and more often caught in the summer with a jig. Some anglers tie it to the line of a float rod, replacing the hook and lead with it, but the float remains. This makes the tackle more sensitive. No less successful is the fishing of dace on a jig without a float. A jig, baited by a worm or caddis flies, is thrown upstream. It demolishes the jig, after a while it touches the bottom and starts dragging along it, then the line is pulled towards itself and, if there is no bite, it is thrown again.

In the spring, you can put pieces of worms, bloodworms, caddis flies, mormysh, insect larvae (especially maggot) on the hook. Steamed cereal grains are also suitable. With the advent of flying insects, dace can be caught on any fly, small grasshopper, moth, small dragonfly, cricket.

But with any method of fishing a dace, it is highly desirable to attract it to the place of fishing. This requires bait. With a strong current I will add: steamed wheat, pearl barley, millet or oatmeal, a mixture of these cereals and bread crusts, small chopped worms and many other things, rolled into balls of damp viscous clay. They are made the size of a fist to quickly sink to the bottom. The current gradually erodes the clay, and the dregs will certainly attract the dace.

The main task is to find a stop or "paths" for the movement of flocks of dace, otherwise you can feed anyone … And one more thing: it is advisable not to feed, but only to lure the fish, otherwise, when full, the dace will not peck at any nozzle.

Alexander Nosov