Where to look for pike perch? At the right time in the right place

Some winter sportsmen believe that catching pike perch in winter requires special talent and extensive fishing experience. However, experienced zander fishermen insist that the fanged one is easy to catch, but difficult to find. Ninety percent of winter fishing for pike perch is searching and reconnaissance of the water area. And if the predator’s site was discovered, it’s a small matter. The toothy robber is extremely aggressive and greedy, loves to live in permanent places.

This predator rushes to the bait for food or just because of aggression. In winter, of course, pike perch is less active due to energy savings due to difficult environmental conditions. Uncertainty of the diet, a decrease in the number of fish, difficulties with searching - these are the three main factors that fishermen overcome for the sake of successful fishing. In this article we will look at how to properly catch pike perch from the ice.

Biting calendar

Seasonal Fishing Guide

Pike perch behavior. What anomalies does the predator adhere to? Where to look for concentrations of pike perch.

After one controversial pike-perch fishing trip, I spent a long time collecting material to answer the question: “why do you need to develop points and try to accurately match the previously found one?”

Despite the fact that I have no doubt about the need to search for areas where zander accumulations are most likely, and there is also no doubt that most of the time there are fish in certain areas of the water area, some spinning anglers have a different opinion, and they We are convinced that the points previously entered into the navigator are just that... a reference to the area, and nothing more. “There are fish everywhere!”

That is, in their opinion, it is not at all necessary to stand at a specific point, you can anchor 20 meters from it, you can stand at seven meters instead of twelve, or you can simply drive in search of accumulations of leucorrhoea, which the echo sounder will show, and catch a predator near her. Some generally believe that everything depends only on luck: - “I got to the “exit” - I caught it, the rest doesn’t matter! - Throw it on the dump or drag it from the dump and that’s it... in the bag!"

I'll try to justify my conviction.

You can drive! You might think that the accumulated points are bullshit. You can look for linen, you can stand along the dumps and holes, make a few routine casts, and then move on. You can pull here and there a pair of fanged ones and rearrange them, you can wait for the “exit”, etc.... But! Whatever one may say, there are certain places where concentrations of pike perch are most likely: they are constant and numerous (even in summer), since the biotope of these places meets all the necessary conditions for: living, feeding, digesting food and resting for the predator.

It is at such points that the chance of catching a fanged one sharply increases and, accordingly, the presence of these points in the navigator, as well as the correct placement on them, is of great importance for the effectiveness of fishing.

When writing this material, in general, like many others, I was helped by the works of Doctor of Biological Sciences K. Kuzishchin, and most of the observations were borrowed from his seminar. Here I will try to compile excerpts from several of his works and answer why it makes sense not only to accumulate points, but also to build on the previously acquired meter by meter.

The introduction turned out to be long, but I hope not in vain.

Duck, what is a pike perch biotope?

It's no secret that pike perch loves currents. For him, this is not only free breathing, but also improved metabolism, due to a larger amount of dissolved oxygen, food digestion is faster. *Fish is very oxygen dependent and instantly reacts to any change in oxygen levels in the water. In addition to oxygen saturation of the water, the current, coupled with changes in the channel or bottom topography, plays a very important role in the formation of the very biotope that the predator adheres to.

When we stand on a river, we see how the entire flow of water goes in one direction, but in fact, due to changes in the bottom and bends of the river bed, the direction of water movement changes, especially in the bottom layer.

For clarity, I will present a diagram where arrows indicate how the flow is disrupted due to a turn in the river bed.

The scheme is simple and conventional. According to the ichthyologist, everything is much more complicated, and there can be much more different flows, even turbulence.

What do changes in flow directions in the middle and bottom layers tell us?

The fact is that small blue arrows, indicating different currents, also indicate the washing away of all living creatures from the shallows to the depths: plankton, crustaceans, fry, caddis flies, etc. Along these same streams, white fish, for example, bream, “fall” for food, and exhausted juveniles are washed away there. And various kinds of turbulence and a decrease in the strength of the current at the very bottom contribute to the accumulation of all this stuff on some small segment of the bottom relief. It is noteworthy that in the case of a river bend, the strongest changes in flows will be at the beginning of the bend (if you move downstream), accordingly, there will be more predators there. At the turn itself and below the turn, the concentrations of pike perch will be less significant or it will be completely scattered.

Returning to the development of points, it should be noted that in this example, the optimal area for anchoring pike perch is quite local, and a spinning fisherman - a water-motor boater, who had previously found such a place, but ignored the clear placement of the boat at the old point, risks “standing” on the fish itself or standing in the immediate proximity to her. Here 20 meters can play such a big role. Once above the fish, he will not even see a bite; if he finds himself immediately behind it, he will be content with small things or rare bites. Ideally, after casting the bait, the accumulation of pike perch should begin in the first third, or maximum, in the middle of the retrieve.

Of course, if you think like this: “there will be an exit, there will be fish!”, then you can stand up any way you like, because, indeed, during the exit, the fish will begin to move and you will be able to catch something. Will he? Still, we are talking about the most common situations, when the pike perch is already fed up and is digesting food at the bottom of the dump, where the water is a little cooler, the current is a little stronger and there is more dissolved oxygen.

Here you don’t need to wait for a “way out”, but systematically anger the predator, provoke it, dragging the bait in a clear “step”, right in front of its nose. But to do this correctly, you need to:

a) know the most likely stopping place for pike perch;

b) work out a point;

c) on subsequent fishing trips, stand exactly on it, since sometimes a difference of two meters makes a difference. And if the point is not yours, then you need to sit and keep quiet until your partner, who has developed this point, positions himself as he sees fit.

Now let's add some color to the bottom of the river bend and put a tree there -

It will instantly begin to become overgrown with the same larvae, slugs, shells, crustaceans and other living creatures. Also, streams of water will drag the young fish there, the current in this place will be reversed, this will allow the small fish to firmly gain a foothold under the snag and more or less calmly feed on the abundance of food. The river itself will constantly replenish our tree with a variety of life forms, building food chains.

Here is a new ecosystem into which pike perch will fit perfectly.

According to divers, sometimes even a small snag can gather up to a hundred individuals of pike perch of different sizes, while the largest ones will occupy places in the immediate vicinity of it.

As you understand, the log is a very local place. Once found, the correct place to place the boat near this log is a gift or titanic work. In this case, each subsequent production needs only meter by meter. Not only is it necessary to stand at a certain distance from the snag, it is also important to choose the casting angle so as not to “decorate” the snag with your baits like a Christmas tree.

Similar to the log example, water flows will change if there is an artificial or natural obstacle at the bottom, for example, a large boulder or a submerged barge. In a channel pit or at the confluence of two rivers, whirlpools will generally appear, which also contributes to the accumulation of various living creatures, therefore, such places will be chosen not only by pike perch, but also by other predatory fish.

In fact, any bottom anomalies will lead to changes in flows and the formation of a biotope necessary for pike perch to live. It’s just that these areas are quite local, which means that once you find a good concentration of a predator, you need to be more responsible about positioning the boat on the point and the angle of casting the bait, otherwise you can ride all day looking for “leucorrhoea” and end up “without your nose.” And, of course, we must remember that the larger the area with multidirectional currents, the greater the concentration of pike perch on it.

When fishing there are no trifles! Usually, the last laugh is those who, despite the giggling of onlookers, stand on their previously established points as accurately as possible. The first one didn’t work, they go to the second one... it didn’t work - to the third one, but just to the point, and not anyhow. Why does it have to be precisely positioned near a flooded tree, but near a “bank” you can ignore it? Because there is a high risk of leaving bait on the tree, but not on the “bank”!? This is a very wrong opinion! It's not just about the hooks, it's about the predator's positions. As one of my friends said: “During the “out”, even a monkey will catch a pike perch, you learn to look for its sites, correctly stand near them and provoke a well-fed fish to attack!”

NHNCH everyone. I hope it will be useful to someone, and maybe someone will radically reconsider their approach to search tactics and catching pike perch.

Habitats

Pike perch lives in clean rivers and lakes that belong to the basins of the Black, Azov, Aral, Caspian and Baltic seas. The predator does not live in bodies of water with low oxygen levels.

Prefers fairly warm waters from 14 to 18ºС. Numerous populations of pike perch are found in low-salinity sea areas.

In large and medium-sized rivers, as well as in flowing reservoirs, it prefers to occupy deep places near the very bottom. The gristly and sandy bottom and steep banks become favorite spots for fish. At a young age, pike perch prefers to stay in schools. Adult fish lead a predominantly solitary lifestyle, gathering in groups in the spring when spawning begins.

Description

It is difficult to confuse pike perch with another species, except perhaps with bersh. Its body is elongated, torpedo-shaped. The dorsal fin is high with sharp spines. Pike perch belongs to the perch family, but in appearance it is more similar to pike. True, being in the same body of water, these two species will fiercely compete with each other for food. Pike perch prefers to go out to feed at dusk. His eyes are quite large and protruding. They are adapted to twilight vision. Unlike pike, pike perch does not have a huge number of sharp teeth, but it is able to firmly hold prey in its mouth.

The color of this predator is not bright, grayish-green. But there is one interesting feature: pike perch (the photo showing the fish in close-up clearly demonstrates this) has specific stripes. As a rule, there are from eight to ten of them. It is this protective coloring that allows the predator to hide among plants or at the bottom. At the same time, the color of the scales varies. Large specimens that live in the depths have a dark color with a golden tint.

Zander spawning

The beginning of spawning in different regions of the country differs significantly in terms of timing. If in the south spawning can occur at the end of March, then in the middle zone spawning occurs at the end of May or at the beginning of June.

Spawning time is determined by the water temperature, which should warm up to 7-10ºС. The mating season lasts a long time (3-4 weeks).

Spawning occurs at night or at dawn near grassy banks, at the mouths of flowing rivers, small bays, channels, and eriks. The depth of the spawning area ranges from 0.5 to 4 m. The fish never enter floodplain areas. After the fry emerges, the male and female remain for some time near the spawning area to keep an eye on the offspring, protecting them from voracious predators.

Night fishing for pike perch

Perhaps the most “romantic” fishing for pike perch is at night. This fish is most active - unlike the same pike - after sunset or in the pre-dawn hours. At this time, fishermen lay out their gear and prepare for the upcoming bites. They look for pike perch after sunset on the rifts and shallows. Life and death battles take place here. Pike-perch drive small fish in schools, not giving them a chance to escape. And this “fight” continues almost all night. So even with the onset of pitch darkness, fishing does not stop.

How to catch pike perch using a spinning rod at night? The question is quite interesting, because at this time the conditions for casting and retrieving are not the best. Wobblers are used as bait. Floating ones are best suited, since the predator hunts at shallow depths. The color design of the wobbler is not at all important. To ensure that the angler can see his bait, you can take fluorescent models without compromising fishing. They do not scare away fish and are easy to use.

Nowadays, in specialized departments where fishing gear is sold, you can even find and purchase light-accumulating baits. They glow in the dark. The fishing speed for zander at night is slow. You need to make short stops periodically. At such moments, the wobbler, as a rule, oscillates in the current. And yet, what is the best way to catch pike perch after sunset and until dawn? This predator actively grabs floating shallow-water baits, certainly with a fractional action and clearly visible to the angler from the shore.

Pike perch food

Young pike perch feed mainly on small fish.

In spring, the predator migrates to bream spawning areas, eating weakened individuals.

By mid-spring, when spawning begins, pike perch goes to their spawning grounds and stops actively feeding for several weeks. After about 20 days, the fish begins to eat. During this period, pike perch is indiscriminate in food. Its food is any living moving organism, but most often the fish eats spawning bleak, which is found in large quantities in summer stops.

In the summer, pike perch willingly eats frogs and crayfish. At the bottom, predators guard large dace.

In autumn, the length of daylight hours decreases, and fish hunt roaches and breams, moving to deep areas of reservoirs to provide themselves with constant high-calorie nutrition.

The pike perch stands, but does not bite.

It has been noticed that pike perch can stand motionless for a very long time and not hunt at all. But experienced fishermen still feel his presence. In this case, you just need to be patient and try to tease the fish that has suddenly become so lazy: the pike perch will sooner or later get tired of the impudence - like some small fry, every now and then swimming right in front of his eyes, and he will either hit it with his gill cover or bite it with his teeth ... Usually, stagnant pike perch is completely covered with water bloodsucking leeches. There are especially many of them on the head of the fish, with large, dark red ones usually attached to the lower jaw, and smaller, gray-green ones higher up and on the gill covers.

You won’t see bloodsuckers on pike perch, which leads an active lifestyle. And the bites of such fish can be sharp and decisive. However, they sometimes turn out to be empty; the pike perch is not detected, leaving the angler with a leash bent into an arc as a souvenir. This suggests that the predator simply missed, often with the help of the fisherman. After all, as you know, fish rushes at the prey, including the bait.

Finding a pike perch fishing spot

Anglers catch walleye all year long.

— At the beginning of winter, when there is first ice, you should look for fanged fish in pre-channel holes 12-14 m deep. A promising place for fishing will be the rubble of trees and bushes, and snags.

— At the end of winter, it is better to catch pike perch at the confluence of rivulets and streams, at the exit from oxbow lakes and bays that are adjacent to the riverbed.

— In spring, you need to look for predators in the shallows bordering deep pools and holes.

— In summer, pike perch hides at great depths and under fallen trees and boulders.

— At the beginning of autumn, night fishing at changes in depth and shallow water can be interesting and catchy.

— In late autumn, fish are caught at great depths.