Fishing for pike in winter using girders

For constant and successful pike fishing on girders in winter, it is not enough to arrive at the reservoir and place flags in the first place you come across near the bushes. Winter fishing for toothy fish with baits is simple in those places where there are a lot of pike, and the reservoir is not constantly subject to fishing pressure. The fisherman is required to know the behavioral characteristics of pike, the nuances of its winter migrations and feeding habits. Let's take a closer look at how to catch pike in winter with girders correctly.

Peculiarities of winter behavior of pike

Winter fishing for pike on girders is the most appropriate method of fishing for the toothy predator from the ice. Vertical trolling gives excellent results on the first and last ice, during periods of thaw, and also if the ambush point of the pike is known (on a home reservoir that is constantly visited). In the deep winter, when the predator is passive, it is the winter girdles that allow you to find the toothy one and pick up the keys to it. Their main advantage over artificial baits is a live fish on a hook. Several factors influence the winter pike bite:

1. Oxygen regime.
2. Availability of food supply.
3. Winter migrations (determined by the first two points and the movement to spawn at the end of freeze-up).
4. Weather influence.
5. Changes in the water level in a reservoir (this is relevant in artificial reservoirs on large rivers).

Article about ice fishing for pike:

Weather influence

Many articles and books have been written about the influence of weather on the predator’s bite. Information sometimes differs radically. It is difficult to determine exactly what weather is best for catching pike in winter on girders. Firstly, all bite forecasts can only be calculated for a certain area and a specific body of water. Secondly, in addition to the weather, there are many more influential factors that are listed above.

Thirdly, even in the most unfavorable scenarios, you can always find a specific pike that will be tempted to grab it, while another individual will stand somewhere nearby and not respond to the bait. So, in what weather does pike bite best on the girders in winter?

Traditionally, the best weather is considered to be a smooth state of the atmosphere, without sudden jumps or anomalies. When the environment changes, the fish need to adapt, this takes some time.

The best time to bite pike in winter on the girders:

• Long thaws;
• Average winter weather without anomalies (slight frost, light wind) for several days in a row;
• Clear frosty days.

But all this cannot be taken as a rule. Choosing a fishing calendar based on the weather is not correct. Pike always feed during the winter, and the activity and biting time depend on the specific body of water. In one place - exits at a certain time, in another the predator can take with average intensity throughout the day. It is more important to notice the weather dependence in specific bodies of water, then this will be useful.

• Indicators of atmospheric pressure for catching pike in winter on zherlitsy cannot be the determining factors for going or not going fishing purely theoretically, but only after specific observations in a given reservoir.
• At what pressure in winter does a pike bite better on the girders? The generally accepted opinion is that it is constant, slightly below normal (740 - 750 mm Hg). But again, this is just a theory. Somewhere this is exactly the case, but in the neighboring river it’s the other way around. Direct experience and practical study of the reservoir are important.
• Weather conditions should not be considered as something that turns the bite on or off, but as a factor that influences fishing tactics. In deep frost, a predator can stand in a hole in snags, and in a thaw, it can go stranded to coastal vegetation - therefore, you need to try to catch it in appropriate places.

Winter migrations

It is impossible to unequivocally answer the question of when and where it is better to catch pike in winter using girders. Unlike pike perch or burbot, whose mooring sites are permanent, pike moves in winter following forage fish and in search of more favorable oxygen conditions, moving from depth to shallows and back. It is impossible to draw up an exact schedule for such transitions - they are specific to each body of water.

In addition, the location of the predator is also affected by the weather. In small rivers, where there are plenty of places for ambush, the toothy one preferentially stays in them. In large water areas without significant relief anomalies, it slowly cruises along the trail in search of prey.

The main factor determining tactics is knowledge of the characteristics of a particular reservoir with the imposition of conditions related to weather, water level, oxygen content and the location of forage fish (mainly roach and perch).

At the beginning of winter, you should check all shallow coastal waters, bushes, snags, and dumps - you can find active pike at this time almost everywhere where there are small fish. Therefore, the initial tactic is to arrange the gear widely, in order to capture as large an area as possible. This is, naturally, a recommendation when fishing in an unfamiliar body of water.

If ambush points and toothy trails are known, naturally, you need to fish on them. The elusiveness of the predator is primarily associated with the migrations of forage fish. The pike will always be close to the object of hunting - it needs to feed constantly, albeit to a lesser extent than in the summer.

When the water level changes significantly, the pike leaves its usual places, following the fry. When the level rises significantly, you need to look for it not in the usual places, but in flooded irrigation areas. The general tendency that during the freeze-up period you need to look for a predator in deeper places is less applicable to toothfish than to pike perch.

1. Pike can stand on holes and edges of the riverbed, and then go into tributaries or shallow waters after the fry. Therefore, if a reservoir and its features are completely unknown, then the search is carried out in all promising places.
2. By spring, pike from large rivers and reservoirs gather in groups in certain areas of the water area and begin to gradually move into channels and small rivers flowing into them for spawning. It is necessary to place girders in the places where such groups are located or along the path of their passage, at the mouths or not far from them.
3. At such times, pike can enter and be caught at a depth of only 15-20 cm under the ice near the shore. The best places to search are bays with low (swampy) shores on the tributaries of the main body of water, where the toothy fish stops to rest.
4. In small rivers and ponds, local pike also become more active by spring, and can be found at all promising points.

Suitable rod for night fishing

Pike in the evening or at night requires the use of approximately the same gear as during the day:

• Length from 1.9 m, in the case of fishing in small bodies of water or fishing with wobblers using jerk wires, or for fishing from a floating device. Up to 2.7 or 3 m spinning rods should be used on large rivers. On average, spinning rods with a length of 2.1-2.4 m are used as the most versatile options.
• The structure depends on the preferred baits. For fishing with silicone or wobblers, fast and ultra-fast forms are suitable, which are more sensitive and allow you to correctly perform even complex fishing. Medium action options are also suitable for spinners, which do a better job of dampening fish jerks.
• The spinning test should be chosen based on the baits used and the characteristics of the reservoir, primarily depth and current. The most popular upper limits for baits are up to 14 and 24 grams.
• Material of manufacture. Lighter and more sensitive graphite is preferable, but you can also master fishing using composite or fiberglass rods - such options are not only cheaper, but also forgive many mistakes of beginners.

Important! Some spinning rods have tips or places where the rings are attached, painted with light-accumulating paints. The bite on such a rod is better visible at night.

Fishing tactics

Fishermen complain about the abundance of “pencils” and the lack of worthy specimens. Small pike of the first or second years of life are always found in coastal thickets. But to catch large pike on girders in winter, fishing tactics need to be chosen depending on the reservoir and conditions, and not put up flags at the first bushes you come across. First you need to collect as much information as possible about the reservoir from local fishermen or on the Internet.

If on a small river you can come across trophy pike everywhere, then in large rivers you need to take into account the winter migrations of the predator, determine the most promising areas of the water area from which the search will begin. In winter, pike can be caught well on girders throughout the entire period, but, naturally, you cannot catch it where there are no fish. The toothy one is not a raider perch, so you need to find the area where the predator is currently hunting. When a predator has shown itself, catching it becomes a matter of technique. The toothy one will not go far from its possessions.

Where to look for pike in winter with girders

We can distinguish two large zones in which pike are located - coastal and deep. Near the shore, any thickets, snags and shelters can provide an ambush for the toothy one. Further from the coast you need to look for anomalies in the bottom topography. Pike are rarely found on flat areas. The most promising places where you need to catch pike in winter using girders:

• Boundary of reeds and open water;
• Extensive shallow, vegetated areas;
• Individual underwater areas of vegetation;
• Potholes under the shore, trees overhanging and falling into the water, backwaters behind the cape;
• Channel edges, slopes, steps, exits from pits (any bottom irregularities);
• Snags;
• Boundary between direct and reverse flow;
• The border of calm areas with a stream (the fish will stand on calm water).

On small and medium-sized reservoirs

Catching pike with girders on the river in winter is, first of all, checking promising deep-water or overgrown places near the shore. On an unfamiliar body of water, it is better to use search tactics - moving the flags to other places in the absence of bites. If you know for sure that a predator is present here, you need to wait. The toothy one can only come out at certain times. In this case, several alarms may go off at once, and then there is silence again.

Where to place pike baits in winter on lakes and ponds? You should start from the shore, gradually moving the gear further until the depth level of the predator’s site or its paths are found. You always need to check individual anomalies - a bush, a snag, a creek. Such places can be a haven for a trophy specimen.

On small bodies of water, where the shore and the middle are within walking distance, some of the girders can be installed in the shallows, the other in the depths. Gears for catching pike in winter in snags and in shallow water are set differently than in sufficiently deep open water - more on this below.

Large water areas

Fishing for pike in winter on baits in large rivers and reservoirs requires an initial strategic plan. The predator may be in the riparian zone, or in the riverbed, or somewhere in between. These water areas may be kilometers away, so it will not be possible to catch all possible options in one fishing trip.

You need to determine the fishing zone for yourself depending on your knowledge of the reservoir, information from local fishermen, taking into account weather factors, seasonality and fish activity. In large areas without serious bottom anomalies, you need to find at what depth to catch pike with girders in winter. To do this, the gear is placed in a chain at different levels of the bottom.

After the bites, all the baits are transferred to places with depth where flags were raised. It is important not to confuse pike bites with perch bites. The striped robber leaves abrasions and removed scales on the live bait, and the toothy one leaves deep cuts.

Design and equipment of the girder

First, let's look at the principle of operation of the girder, learn how to properly rig it, and how to attach live bait.

Video: How to assemble a vent

Essential elements

The zherlitsa has many shapes and manufacturing options, whether purchased or homemade. However, the main elements (see photo) in it, as a rule, remain unchanged. This:

Principle of operation

A special feature of the girder is its very simple operating principle. It works like this:

1. The live bait falls into the hole.
2. The fishing line of the required length is unwound.
3. The spool with fishing line is fixed by bending the flag and resting on the spool of the reel.
4. When the bite occurs, the pike will try to drag the bait away.
5. The line will begin to unwind from the reel.
6. The signaling part of the rod will be released and rise up, eventually starting to signal the angler about a bite.

By installing the girders at different depths (near the bottom, in mid-water, closer to the surface), you can significantly expand the search horizon for pike.

The main disadvantage of the hole is that the open hole can become covered with ice at any moment.

How to equip a winter rig for pike

Installation and equipment of a winter girder for pike occurs as follows:

• the required amount of fishing line is wound onto the reel;
• a sinker is attached (can be either fixed or sliding);
• A winding ring or a carabiner (swivel) is attached to attach the leash. Instead, you can simply tie an end loop. Some anglers prefer to attach the leader directly to the working line.
• a leash is mounted;
• hook(s) are attached.

Thus, there are practically no special difficulties in equipping a winter girder for pike. This work can be handled not only by a professional with significant experience, but also by a beginner who has decided to test his strength in this type of activity for the first time.

How to bait live bait

There are several options for how you can attach live bait to a girder, such as:

1. For the nostrils . This method is considered one of the simplest. It involves hooking the two nostrils of a live bait fish with a single hook. In this case, you need to be as careful as possible. This is due to the possibility of damage to the nasal cavity of the fish. That is why, in order to avoid such a situation, you should choose those species that have a fairly strong head anatomy. It is best to place live bait on the girders through its nostrils if necessary, when fishing in reservoirs without a current.
2. For the lips . This method is different in that it requires a certain amount of prudence. This is due to the fact that not every fish has strong lips. If the bait is large enough, over time it may break off on its own. To hook the fish by the lips, you must use only a single hook. It performs its functions better in this case. If there is no current, you can hook the bait only on the upper lip. In the opposite situation, it is recommended to thread the hook additionally through the nostril.
3. For the gills . This method requires special caution from the fisherman. This is due to the fact that improper placement can cause the rapid death of the fish. If this happens, it will be impossible to interest the pike in it. In order for the process to go as correctly as possible, you need to unhook the leash or significantly loosen it. Otherwise, the live bait will be too constrained. This in turn can lead to the predator refusing to attack.
4. Behind your back . This method is used by most fishermen. This is due to the fact that the fish in such a situation has the opportunity to carry out fairly natural movements. In order to ensure this, you must be extremely careful when planting. If this is not the case, the baitfish will lose the ability to move. The hook can be made behind the back either between the fin and the ridge, or directly in the area of ​​the spine. The first method is safe for the fish, while the second is considered more reliable. Therefore, most fishermen give their preference to the second option. The hook is usually a tee.

Installation of vents

Catching pike with flags in winter is not an activity for the lazy. At first glance, it seems that this fishing method is passive. In fact, during one fishing trip you may need to drill dozens of holes. If there is an active bite or multiple idle alarms, you will have to run. In addition, for such fishing you first need to stock up on live bait. Let's look at how to properly install girders on pike in winter.

Standard fishing

The scheme for installing girders for pike in winter depends on the tactics used and the conditions of the reservoir. When fishing along coastal reeds or reeds, flags can be placed at the border in a chain, or in two lines - directly near the bushes and at a distance of 2-3 meters from them. If there are windows in the thickets, we install supplies there too.

When fishing on the edge or other anomalies of the bottom of the girder for pike in winter, you need to set it accordingly. In large open water areas, a square nest arrangement can be used. When fishing with a team, it is better to distribute a promising place into areas, in each of which an angler works.

At what depth should I place a girder for pike in winter? In summer, pike can follow fish to the very surface, but its normal state is to hunt near the bottom. In winter, the fish is passive, it saves energy. Therefore, you should help the predator and not try to tear it away from the bottom layer.

Live bait should be located 10-30 centimeters from the bottom. At this moment we pay maximum attention; the winter girder on the pike needs to be placed correctly. This is critical. In rare cases, the equipment needs to be raised, for example, above snags or a solid carpet of algae on the bottom.

At the beginning of winter, pike can catch at any time of the day, but it is better in the morning or evening, especially in clear weather and transparent ice cover. In the dead of winter and closer to spring, light is almost not a factor in biting, and a toothy fish can be caught all day. If the biting time on a particular body of water is obviously unknown, then it is advisable to put out all the gear before sunrise - at dawn there may be the only predator outing of the day that will bring the catch.

How to properly install a girder on a pike in winter

The optimal distance between holes is 10 meters. If you do more, you might miss a good place. Yes, and you will have to run far between the flags. Drilling closer is pointless (except for fishing on local anomalies). A predator present within a radius of 10 meters will in any case pick up the vibrations of a live fish with its lateral line.

On a clean bottom, the equipment is lowered into the water until the sinker reaches the bottom. After this, the fishing line is raised to the length of the leash plus 15-30 centimeters (the distance of the live bait from the bottom) and secured to the reel (in the slot). It is important to ensure that an excessively large or lively baitfish does not provoke the flag to go off, but at the same time, the fish that pecks calmly pulls out the line when it grabs it. After this, we cock the alarm (we put the flag behind the coil, into the split - depending on the design of the girder). When there is a bite, the flag will release and rise, signaling to the angler that it has been triggered.

Shallow water fishing

Installing winter girders on pike in February makes adjustments to tactics and equipment. Closer to spring, pike can hunt in the coastal strip, where the layer of water under the ice is only 15-50 centimeters. The ice can be more than a meter thick. In such conditions it is important:

1. During the fishing process, determine the depth at which the pike fishes. Every centimeter of depth matters - for example, it takes 15 cm, but not 20 cm. For this purpose, girders are installed at different levels in order to determine the worker.
2. The sinker can be removed from the girder, this will improve the mobility of the fish.
3. The most important thing is to set the correct working trigger when fishing. The live bait should be located precisely in the layer of water between the ice and the bottom, and not in the hole. Therefore, careful measurement of the water layer under the hole is required. This can be done with wire bent with a poker. Using a poker, we determine the thickness of the ice, and with a cord and a weight, we determine the total depth. The difference between them will be the thickness of the water layer under the ice. The required length must be accurately marked on the working overhang. The toothy fish simply will not find live bait if it lies motionless on the bottom or is in the glass of the hole.

Pike in shallow water are hungry and cautious at the same time. On a bright day, the holes need to be sprinkled with ice chips or snow (if the holes are without a screen), the angler must move quietly, without dropping objects on the ice or stamping his feet. In some places the predator can be extremely cautious.

In such a situation, it is necessary to drill holes the day before, in the evening (fortunately, pike are found in shallow waters mainly during thaws), and devote the rest of the day to catching live bait a little further away for tomorrow's fishing. In the morning, of course, you literally have to tiptoe to move and set up gear in place.

Measuring the layer of water under the ice with a poker in shallow water

Zherlitsy in snags and thicket windows

Catching pike on girders in winter in snags or blind windows requires observing some nuances. If the predator that takes it unwinds a lot of fishing line in such conditions, then it will hopelessly tangle the tackle, if not immediately, then in the process of fishing. Therefore, here you need to install blind gear, without coiling. You need to use small live bait so that the pike immediately swallows it completely when it grabs it.

The fish is hooked under the dorsal fin on a double hook. Accordingly, the girder itself must be strong and the fishing line thick. The fishing principle here is self-cutting or instant hooking when triggered. The fish must be retrieved quickly so that it does not have time to get the tackle into the bushes.

When fishing like this, you don’t need to set up a large number of girders - it’s important to react quickly; you might not be able to see it with a dozen pieces of gear. The emphasis here is on one or two tackles in a specific promising location. The remaining flags can be placed next to snags - up to 10 meters. The predator will calmly walk this distance from cover behind the spotted prey.

Winter fishing in the era of global warming

Not many fished during the first ice of the season before last. In Chuvashia, the ice was in a hurry to set up quite early, when the temperature outside the window only managed to drop below zero a couple of times. Someone, apparently endowed with extrasensory talents, opened the season and “skimmed the cream” on pike reservoirs. We spent these two happy days at work, having no idea that in a few hours the rain and November-December heat would eat away the ice, and it would disappear for several weeks. But thank God, by the end of the year the frosts came and covered almost all the small reservoirs of Chuvashia.

Almost the same thing happened at the beginning of last season. The ice broke up quite early, we opened the season on November 7, but in the first ten days of December this ice finally broke up, succumbing to the November-December heat that has been traditional in recent years. On small bodies of water we sometimes have ice until mid-April. Even last year, having missed the period of pike feeding on the first ice, I nevertheless made up for it both in the dead of winter and on the last ice. Peaks of the post-first ice bite occurred in January and March.

Equipment

How to properly set up girders for pike in winter is described in detail in a special article:

The principle of rigging winter rigs is simple - a fishing line, a sliding sinker and a leash with a hook. But there are also special nuances. In the middle of nowhere, for example, it is not recommended to use a metal leash - this reduces the number of bites significantly. Fishing in shallows or snags also requires some changes in equipment. And the designs of winter vents themselves are varied. You can read more about this at the specified link on our website. Another important point is the correct choice of live bait and its attachment to the hook. This is discussed in the article about methods of placing live bait on pike baits in winter.

Zherlitsa - what hook?

On one of my first fishing trips, I saw about a dozen flags, held about seven pikes on the hook, but in the end I didn’t catch anything. Since then, I haven’t used single hooks, even fairly large ones, in bait fishing. For several years in a row, I considered a fairly large double hook to be the standard hook for a girder.

Initially I didn’t use threesomes, reasoning that they would be more alarming to the pike. But recently I switched to three-pieces, two or three sizes smaller than the standard doubles in the past.

A small tee by itself restricts the movements of live bait less, and when hooking it acts in three planes, which is already 33% more effective than a double. A large tee is rough, the pike often pricks at it and throws it, but a medium-sized tee allows you to hook faster, without giving much time to the predator to swallow. This will give us a head start in snags, where every centimeter of fishing line wound by a pike can mean the loss of a trophy and equipment.

The tee needs to be thin and durable so that it does not severely injure the live bait and holds a large pike.

The most common option for catching pike is by the “whiskers”. But when using a threesome, you must always be on guard. If a pike is caught in the “whiskers” and two stings are sticking out, you need to be as careful as possible at the final stage of fishing, under the hole. Very often one hook catches on the lower edge of the ice, which gives the pike a chance to gain freedom.

Bite and hook

Some fishermen do not know how to catch pike on a fishing rod in winter. The flags are raised, the bait is cut by the teeth - but there are no fish. Experienced zherlichniks can skip this paragraph. The toothy fish is passive in winter; it rarely swallows live bait right away. Most often, the predator grabs the fish across, after which it moves towards the ambush, to the side, or simply stands still (sometimes for several minutes). She simply holds the fish in her mouth, waiting until it stops fluttering. After which the predator turns the victim’s head towards its throat and swallows it. It is at this moment (or later) that you can hook.

How to properly hook a pike onto a fishing rod in winter? Until this moment, the line should come freely from the reel of the girder.

• If there is resistance to the gear (the line supply is too short, the reel is frozen), the predator will spit out the prey. Therefore, when triggered, you need to quietly approach the gear and observe the unwinding. Usually the toothy one unwinds part of the reserve and stops to swallow the prey.
• When resuming unwinding, you need to wait a little and hook. Sometimes the pike does not stop or, on the contrary, stands still. In the first case, we hook when there is little line left on the reel, and in the second, a couple of minutes after the trigger (we let the fish swallow the bait).
• In order to properly catch pike using girders, a certain skill and knowledge of the predator’s habits is required. This experience is acquired only on a pond during fishing.
• In the process of playing, the toothy one can make several jerks. But in general, her behavior is much more passive than in the summer. The caught predator must be taken into the hole and hooked with a hook. You should not climb into its mouth with your bare hands - it is better to use a gaper, extractor or tongs to free it from the hook. A variety of bacteria live in the mouth of a predator; cuts caused by teeth do not heal for a long time.

Preserving live bait for girders

Another important point is live bait. It is advisable to set up the zherlitsa immediately in the morning, while it is still dark. Ideally, take live bait with you. But where can I get it? We usually do this. On the first fishing day, in the evening, we put the caught live bait-sized fish into a 5-liter plastic bottle. And we lower this bottle into a large hole somewhere at a level of half water, tie it, and disguise it. It is necessary to make a huge number of holes in the bottle so that the live bait does not suffocate. We tried it once without holes - in vain we killed several dozen live baits that did not survive literally 12 hours in the bottle. And so, in a leaky bottle, half of the live bait is preserved, and this is quite enough to set up the girders. After a night spent in such a bottle, most live bait is lethargic, so you need to try to replace them as quickly as possible with new ones that have just been caught.

You can take your change home in a canna, especially if fishing is planned not the next day, but a few days later. Most of the delicate fish, of course, will not survive, but a dozen out of 30-40 will survive. You can get smart and make eland with an aerator, which will extend the life of live bait, but also not for very long.

The best live bait

It is best, of course, to stock up on crucian carp for the winter, which are so tenacious in all kinds of aquariums that in the last of them you can catch until the very last ice.

During periods of sluggish biting, pike clearly prefer roach or gudgeon to all spiny fish. In a good place, of course, she will grab both perch and ruff, but after pricking herself a couple of times, she can throw it away. And, according to my observations, the predator grabs the roach greedily and swallows it much faster. I draw this conclusion from the fact that with most bites on roach, even before my approach, the reel of the rod is already rotating furiously, giving the line to the pike. Most of the bites for perch follow a monotonous scenario, when the pike chews the bait for a long time, which is transmitted by weak shocks to the hand, and then throws it. Cutting in advance is also detrimental. It’s better to wait, sometimes up to 3-5 minutes.

For a standard pike, which is caught on the girders (from 600 grams to 3 kg), a live bait 7-12 cm long is quite enough. A larger one often pulls off the reel, causing the girder to operate.

When the baitfish falls asleep

There are several reasons why this happens. The first is the oxygen regime of the reservoir. In snagged parts of ponds, it is not recommended to lower live bait to the bottom; they quickly fall asleep there. Especially in old ponds, where the process of wood rotting occurs, which sharply reduces the amount of oxygen in the water. But pike can still be caught here. You can prevent the death of live bait in the following way. If in a particular place the live bait suffocated 30-40 minutes after loading the bait, it is necessary to raise the level of display of the live bait by 0.5-1 m higher. And the deaths of live bait will stop.

It also happens that live bait quickly dies due to the fact that its spine was damaged by the hook. To prevent this, it is necessary to pierce the back of the baitfish as close to the dorsal fin as possible, right behind the skin on the hump. If the baitfish is not very large, it will not be able to escape.

It is undesirable to plant through the mouth and gills - death occurs faster for such live bait. In general, the best indicator of whether you are landing live bait correctly is its physical condition at the end of fishing (if you did not replace it). A good perch and roach, properly baited, will last up to 10 hours or more and will be as vigorous as when you first met it, when you caught it with a jig.

Features and nuances of fishing

Winter fishing with girders for pike is interesting and multifaceted. A couple of random trips does not reveal the essence of such fishing. To understand it, you need to constantly practice. Sooner or later, the reservoir will open up and reward the persistent fisherman with wonderful fishing or a trophy specimen.

The specifics and features of pike fishing in winter on girders depend entirely on the conditions of a particular reservoir. After lengthy experiments in the same place, the secrets and tricks of catching pike on girders in winter are revealed to the fisherman. He goes home with a catch even when the fishermen of the same day sit next to absolute zero.

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Tackle for pike fishing in winter

Pike is a large and strong predator, so the gear must be strong and reliable.

1. Rod. Very durable, more than 30 cm long. Nodding is not required. To catch small pike, you can use a hard nod of short length.
2. Coil. Any one that is most convenient for the chosen fishing method. A regular reel will do.
3. Fishing line. Monofilamentous, depending on the size of the fish, the thickness ranges from 0.2 to 0.4 or more millimeters. You can use braid, but in winter it is too noticeable in the water. In any case, the fishing line must be strong so that a bite from a large individual does not come as a surprise.
4. Hooks. Single, double and triple, made of strong wire with a sharp tip. The size directly depends on the size of the expected production.
5. Leashes. Metal - steel or tungsten.

You should not skimp on metal leashes - pike will easily bite through ordinary fishing line with their sharp teeth.