Yuri 10/12/2020 987

An echo sounder for catfishing is a special device designed to measure depth, study the bottom surface, and also detect fish. Some representatives of the ichthyofauna lead a secretive lifestyle and prefer to sit on the bottom, hiding in dense thickets of underwater vegetation. Catching such a cautious predator is not an easy task. Echo sounders are designed to make the fisherman’s efforts easier, as well as get maximum pleasure from hunting.

Catching catfish using kwok

History of occurrence and varieties of quok on catfish

Kwok is a tool used to catch catfish. Consists of a cane with three parts: handle, fork and heel. It was originally made of wood, but now there are options made of plastic and metal.

This tackle was first made in the mid-19th century. Fishermen have discovered how catfish react to sound. European fishermen were amazed by its effectiveness and improved the tool over the next few decades.

The main elements of the original gear were a handle made of apple or maple, which was impregnated with a special liquid and varnished, a knife made of an aluminum plate and a resin patch.

Kwok for catching catfish

When hitting the water, the kwok makes a sound, which comes out due to the fact that the nickel captures air bubbles and pulls these bubbles at high speed very close to the plane of the water. It may be a little reminiscent of the croaking of a frog or the battle of a predator shallow underwater.

Making quok for catching catfish

The main property of the quok is the tonality of the sound. Luck will depend on him specifically. More often, wood is considered the material used for manufacturing, followed by plastic and alloys. However, a more effective option is to combine the materials listed above.

How to make kwok for catfish with your own hands

The handle is made of logs, plastic and strong foam. The heel and point are made of alloy. It is better to hold this particular tool in your hand; it will not slip out and will not get lost.

It is possible to make a hole and thread the rope into a loop so that you can simply throw the rope over your hand. The iron tip can cross the surface with little resistance, and the heel will make a loud sound. A good quok can attract catfish from considerable distances.

For a beginner, it is better to choose a version with an enlarged rounded heel. It is easy to hit with such a quok for a long time. A large heel can produce the most effective sound for attracting catfish, but it is more difficult to act with it - the hand gets tired faster.

How to work with a kwok

On the Internet you can watch many videos on how to work with kwok correctly. Here is one of such videos. The video will open directly in the article

It's hard to describe this process in words, you have to try it. Your task is to grab the air bubble with the heel of the quok and drag it under water. When the bubble comes to the surface, it will collapse and make a sound. For some it happens faster, for others it takes longer. It took me about an hour to get the correct sound on 8 out of 10 beats. I trained in the bay from an inflatable boat and in a large barrel in the garden.

Some anglers believe that it is better to catch catfish from an inflatable boat, since the iron hull scares away this predator. But I have many friends who successfully hatch catfish from aluminum Kazankas. So, those who catch do not believe in these moments regarding the fact that catfish are repelled by metal. The main thing here is to catch, and when you don’t catch there are always many reasons.

How to catch catfish using kwok

Catching catfish using a kwok from a boat

Kwok is stored in a box, because wooden models are quite easy to break. An important aspect is the anchor - a special parachute used to slow the boat during windy conditions. You need to swim through the hole at low speed.

The parachute is tied to a zone in the middle of the side, the bait is lowered from the other side, in this case, during the drift, the hook with the bait will remain in place and not in front of the boat.

If the boat is blown by the wind, you can try to catch it from an anchor; with this method, it is placed on the edge, using a long rope, so that you can control the situation in the wind. In calm conditions in the absence of a current, in the intervals between repetitions of quok strikes, movements are made with (at least) one oar so that the boat moves little by little.

Tackle for catching catfish using kwok

When choosing gear for fishing for catfish, it is necessary to take into account the likelihood of a bite from a large specimen. Based on this, all selected gear must have a significant margin of safety and be reliable. They must withstand long-term and fairly heavy loads. After all, the process of landing this fish can last more than one hour, depending on the size of the catfish.

The tackle consists of a rod of this type, which is suitable for a trophy from 10 kilograms. However, when it comes to large specimens, it is more effective to use a spinning rod with a dough of 200 g and a length of up to 2 meters.

The most suitable rods, which are preferable to use for catching catfish, are plug rods. They must be additionally equipped with rings. It is worth noting that you should not use a telescopic rod to catch this fish. The length of the selected fishing rod for catfish fishing should not exceed three meters. Otherwise, it will be quite difficult and problematic to maneuver while landing large fish.

The reel for the fishing rod should be of the spinning type, which is equipped with a high-quality friction brake.

Sinkers are used depending on the current, depth and bait from 80 to 150 grams.

When catching catfish using a kwok, it’s a good idea to use an echo sounder. An echo sounder will help you trace the picture of the bottom. The exit and approach of the catfish to the bait will be clearly reflected on the screen.

The echo sounder receiver must be placed in a horizontal position. When monitoring the operation of the echo sounder, you need to perform quok strikes and observe the behavior of the fish. A large number of tackles with a variety of baits at different depth levels will quickly show what the catfish prefers to take.

It is comfortable to fish with one rod, holding it in your left hand.

Some fishermen prefer the old proven old-fashioned method for catching catfish, without using a rod or using reels when fishing. In this case, to successfully catch catfish, ordinary donks or, as they are also called, bottom gear are used. They are equipped with a nylon cord, which is pre-wound on a reel. Also, this gear uses a small number of hooks and selects a load suitable for successful fishing.

What to use to catch catfish with a quok

When selecting bait for catching catfish, you need to focus on the taste preferences of the fish, which may differ in a particular body of water. Typically, small fish, worms, and frogs are used as bait for catching catfish.

What to cook from catfish. Cold smoked catfish

Catching catfish with kwok is not only the fishing itself, but also the process of preparing the catch. Catfish fish is delicious. You can prepare different dishes from it. Boil the fish soup, make a shish kebab. Here you don’t even have to come up with any fancy recipes. Even if you just salt a piece of catfish and fry it on coals, it will be excellent. I love making cold smoked catfish. I have a simple smoke generator that I made myself. I'll leave the link at the end of the article. I use this smoke generator to smoke fish and meat. I use fruit tree chips. Cherry, apple or pear.

But before you smoke the fish, you need to prepare it well. This process takes me at least 20 days. And that's why. River fish are infested with parasites. You can eat it, but you need to process the catch well. Fry thoroughly so that there are no raw spots left and salt thoroughly. Many entrepreneurs, in pursuit of profit, salt fish for sale in small quantities of salt and for few days. Therefore, I never buy dried fish in stores.

I myself salt any river fish, regardless of size, as follows. For 3 kg of fish, at least 1 kg of salt, and more is possible. I stuff it into the gills, into the mouth, into the gutted belly. So it salts for three weeks. During this time, I turn the fish over and change places so that it is salted through and becomes like salt itself. Next, I soak it in running water for as many hours as the number of days it was salted. If there is no running water, then you need to change the water every couple of hours. Thus, we kill parasites with salt, and then drive out the salt with water. The fish tastes normal and is safe.

Next, I let the carcasses dry for a day in the breeze and smoke them for 10 hours in a cold-smoked smokehouse. After this I hang it out for a few days for final drying. The taste is amazing and the product is safe.

Catching catfish with kwok in spring

Catfish is one of the most popular representatives of fish, quite large in size and often found in the country’s water bodies. This fish has very tasty meat, but catfish attracts more fishermen with its impressive dimensions. The length of individual individuals can be about 5 meters and weight up to 200 kilograms. This fish is truly a real royal trophy and arouses sporting interest among fishermen.

Catching catfish is quite an exciting and interesting activity. Every angler who is trying to catch this fish needs to pay special attention to the fact that catfish is a fairly powerful and predatory fish. Therefore, catching it without prior preparation and experience can be quite difficult. To successfully catch it, you need to show not only endurance, strength and patience, but also know all the intricacies of its behavior and fishing for this giant.

With the arrival of spring, the catfish shows caution and tries not to move a long distance from the pits in which it spends the winter. This fish prefers warm water, therefore, it begins to show increased activity in the second half or at the end of spring, closer to May, when the water in reservoirs has time to warm up properly. When the water temperature in the reservoir reaches +10 C, the catfish begins to smoothly move to shallow places. During this period, it is quite common to find catfish in shallow waters or on the shallows. With the onset of May, catfish usually bite actively throughout the day, and at night the bites stop. This is due to the fact that spring nights are quite cold.

To successfully catch catfish in May, you should look for it in the edges and in those places of the reservoir where there is a difference in depth. Also during this period, catfish’s favorite places to stay are areas near the shoreline of the reservoir, where there is a large accumulation of snags or places near hydraulic structures. The catfish tries to avoid the silted bottom, which is very viscous. This fish prefers clear and clean water for its habitat. With the arrival of spring warmth, when the temperature in the environment begins to gradually rise, the catfish begins to migrate and settle in all areas of the reservoir.

After a grueling winter, a rather hungry catfish greedily attacks baits of both artificial and natural origin equally well. This behavior during this period is the main feature and difference between catching catfish in the spring compared to other times of the year.

When the water temperature warms up and reaches +18 C, the catfish begins the spawning period. But before this time, the fish experiences pre-spawning gluttony and is actively trying to find food to restore its strength. After spawning, the activity of the catfish decreases, and it stops pecking. It is worth noting that this period of calm can last up to three weeks. But then there follows a rather long and very strong post-spawning glutton. This period is the most favorable moment for the catfish hunt to be successful.

Bait for catfish when fishing with kwok

Fishermen use everything they can to catch a mustachioed giant from the depths of the river. Crawls, rotten meat, and even sparrows roasted over the fire are used. But no other bait compares to the big black leech.

Catfish love this annelid. When he finds a bunch of deliciously wriggling leeches at the bottom, he immediately swallows it, completely forgetting about caution. The advantage of this bait is that it rarely catches small catfish, mostly specimens over 3 kg. It has a rather rigid body, so other fish cannot bite it off or pull it off, which greatly reduces the number of empty bites. Only a large perch or chub can cope with a leech, but fishermen are also happy with such prey.

Where to get leeches for catfish

Getting the best catfish bait is not difficult. The easiest way is to buy it at your nearest fishing store. Experienced soyatniks prefer to stock up on leeches directly on the pond. In the summer, worms living in the water crawl out to bask in shallow areas, where they can simply be collected. There will be a greater chance of success in the coastal zone, littered with the remains of aquatic vegetation. Outwardly, such a place should look like a swamp.

What to do if for some reason the leeches do not come aground? We need to lure them out. For this you will need any living creature that has blood. For example, a frog or a small fish. The toad is killed and thrown on a string into the water half a meter from the shore. Every 2-3 hours it is pulled out and the attached leeches are removed.

Preserving bait while fishing

Large black leeches are able to stretch into a thread and crawl into any cracks. Therefore, to store them, it is best to use a jar with a nylon lid, in which miniature holes are made for air access. Place some seaweed at the bottom of the container and fill it about a quarter with water. A jar of leeches should always be in a cool, shaded place, otherwise its prisoners will overheat in the sun and lose their mobility and attractiveness.

How to bait a catfish delicacy

With a leech, catfish are caught using nets, bottom gear, and from a boat using a quok. Hooks are used as single, double or tee hooks. Since the mustachioed giant does not suffer from a lack of appetite, it is worth offering him not just one leech, but a whole bouquet (from 5 pieces).

It is known that leeches have suction cups on both sides, with which they attach themselves to their victims. Before planting, it is advisable to get rid of these body parts - simply cut them off with a knife, placing the worms on some hard surface. Otherwise, they will cling to each other with suction cups and turn into a dense, motionless ball, barely noticeable against the background of the bottom.

Active circumcised leeches are much more attractive; their fuss will definitely not go unnoticed. In addition, the wounds will bleed and attract catfish no worse than a strong attractant. To enhance the effect, some fishermen first pull the leeches onto a stick and turn them inside out, and then place them on the hook in this form. And they do it for good reason, as evidenced by the solid catches.

Catching at least one catfish will compensate for all the efforts. This experience will leave vivid and unforgettable memories.