Pike fishing in December - where to look and what to catch?

Pike in December, where to look for the predator? What bait and tackle are used to catch pike? How does pike behave in December? At what depths should you fish for pike? Features of fishing.

We have written a lot about pike fishing in general terms, and we will also talk about some points and interesting cases. The thing is that each of us (the people in our team) has quite good fishing experience with this fish, about 25-30 years. Consequently, during this time, some interesting stories and skills have accumulated.

In general, continuing the conversation about pike, I would like to note that this is a unique fish. Not only is pike known to almost every fisherman, even those who fish for peaceful fish species, but it lives in literally all our bodies of water: lakes, rivers, ponds . Well, that’s not all: pike can be easily caught throughout the year . It is clear that in some periods of time it has a more excellent bite, sometimes it is very sluggish and it is extremely difficult to catch it (but no less interesting), but in general, pike is caught all year round.

There is one peculiarity in pike fishing

Some fishermen prefer to catch pike (or rather, they don’t prefer, but the situation has developed that a person fishes where he lives, in rare cases going fishing, say, 200-500 kilometers from home) on large rivers and lakes, Then he fishes on small rivers. Some fishermen are fans of pike fishing from a boat, while others fish from the shore. This is a huge topic, we’ll talk about it later. Well, now I would like to continue the series of short notes about pike fishing throughout the year, so to speak, to “go through” the months. This is really interesting, as it opens up for the fisherman not only an understanding of how to catch pike, say, in the fall or summer, but also reveals the world of its habits and way of life. Thus, after some time, a person visiting an unknown body of water at any time of the year can already guess where the pike is, “guess” its behavior, desires, and, well, start fishing properly.

Fishing tips

There can really be a lot of recommendations on how to catch pike, but the most relevant are the following:

• The key to success in catching pike with live bait is its cheerfulness and energy. It is logical that, as soon as the opportunity arises, baitfish will want to hide in thickets or snags, which will only bring the fisherman a tangled line. To prevent this from happening, you should install a sinker of appropriate weight and limit the movement of the live bait. At the same time, it should be located at a distance from the live bait so as not to spook the pike.
• It is important to note that the pike is repelled by a beam of light passing through the hole. Therefore, if you come to fish on a clear sunny day, then sprinkle the hole with snow or ice chips. This can create some shadow without interfering with either the balancer or the spinner. But it won’t scare away the fish.
• For winter fishing, in addition to an ice auger and other equipment, you will also need a hook. For what? It’s simple, if you catch a really big specimen, you simply won’t be able to pull the fish out of the hole without it.
• A common mistake made by beginners is that they try to grab a caught predator by the gills. This should not be done, because... This is where the thorns are located, which can leave cuts. And this is quite unpleasant, plus they take a long time to heal.
• Also, if you catch a large pike, it may not physically fit into the hole. Therefore, it is better to take a pick with you, with which it will be very easy to widen the hole.
• However, pulling out a pike is not the last difficulty. After all, now you need to pull out the swallowed spoon or balancer, so as not to injure your hands, because it is unlikely that the predator will calmly lie and wait until the bait is pulled out of it. To do this, you will need to use a gapper and an extractor. Thanks to them, you can easily pull the spoon and balance out of the pike's mouth without injuring your hands.
• Today, non-snagging spoons are popular among anglers. It differs from the usual ones in that the tee itself is rigidly attached to the spoon itself. To prevent the hooks from getting caught on anything, they are protected in the form of special wire antennae. This is an excellent purchase for fishing in places where a standard spoon is not suitable, for example, in snags.

So, how to catch pike in December?

In general, at first glance, you can’t say much about pike fishing in winter, and we have written about this in a number of articles. On the other hand, winter is a very flexible concept (in some regions the ice sets in late November - early December and remains strong until the end of April), and such a wide range implies different fishing variations.

To make it easier, let’s assume that it was in December or at the end of November that the rivers and lakes were frozen with ice. How to catch pike and does it bite in December? It bites, and how.

How to properly catch pike with a spinning rod in winter conditions

December pike is a very real trophy. In cold water it does not have its best conditions, but continues to feed and very often bites actively and recklessly.

It should be caught in the same places as in late autumn, as a rule, on the bottom and slopes of the river bed, in depths and grassy areas. If you come across a tree that has fallen into the water, fish around it, this is a favorite place for pike.

Spinning fishing is a very popular fishing method. If you have to fish in a familiar body of water, it is best to fish in known pike places. However, there is no need to rush. Pike in December are much more inert than at other times of the year.

She will easily miss a trophy passing by her, but if this happens several times, she will not be able to stand it and attack. Therefore, 10 - 15 casts in one place will not be wasted time at all. Sooner or later the predator will rush to the prey.

The nature of the retrieve at this time of year should be slow, you need to let the bait lie on the bottom and, after a short pause, smoothly repeat the jerk. This is especially effective when the bait is dead fish.

Tips from experienced fishermen

1. As fishing practice shows, the pike bite in December begins around the middle of the day. Therefore, there is always time to look around and choose promising places, especially if you have to fish in an unfamiliar body of water. Based on external signs, you need to try to see the holes and, with several test casts, determine their contours and the presence of slopes.
2. The river bed is usually located in the middle, which means you need to cast further and use wiring to determine the contour of the bottom. It is best to use an echo sounder for this purpose, but not everyone has one.
3. When going fishing, carry a can of silicone lubricant with you; the air temperature can quickly drop to minus and this will come in handy.
4. Think about your equipment. For running fishing, two layers of thermal underwear are useful - warm and thin, light, breathable underwear and a windproof top. The ideal option is a suit that does not interfere with movement and does not allow you to sweat profusely when moving. The best shoes are insulated boots made of porous rubber; getting into the water during such fishing is very likely. Take several pairs of gloves with you - some will definitely get wet, so you will have something to replace them with.
5. Not a single bait from the chest will be superfluous; sometimes using a seemingly hopeless option leads to success.
6. The activity and bite of fish depends on many factors; it would take too long to list them. Therefore, while fishing, observe, draw conclusions and check them. In the future, you will gain invaluable experience that will be useful in the future.

What to fish for in the first weeks of December

For the most part, during this period of time, pike are caught with several tackles: with girders (flags), vertical spoons from the ice, spinning rods in open water (we will talk about this topic more than once, since open areas of water in winter are quite suitable for ordinary spinning fishing).

Sites for installing vents on the first ice are selected according to the following principle: closer to grass thickets, in shallow places, near dumps, in slow currents, in creeks (until they freeze). At the same time, we adhere to the following rule: we place approximately 90% of our girders along the shore near the grass, and 10% are placed in deeper areas. This is done for just one single purpose: there are cases when the first ice is not a guarantee that the pike feeds in shallow areas, sometimes the fry, for various reasons, goes deeper, and these 10% of the holes close this issue. Most often, there are no bites on them, but in terms of reinsurance and understanding the true situation on a particular body of water at a particular time, this is a good way, in our opinion.

We do not describe the structure of the tackle, since we talked about this earlier, but let us remind you that the optimal live bait is the one that lives in a given body of water. Where can I get it? There are two ways: either catch it with a jig right there, but it will take time, and there may also be no bite, or prepare live bait in advance (catch, buy, etc.), but storage issues will arise. In general, this is not an idle moment for a novice pike fisherman. It happened to us that it was not possible to catch live bait in a reservoir, and every fish caught was “worth its weight in gold . You need to be prepared for this. Pike on the first ice are quite active, when fishing they strongly resist, so the hole should be of normal diameter, and a hook would not be superfluous.

Where to look for pike in December

To begin with, it is advisable to talk about searching for pike. Just recently, in November, it was possible to catch pike with a spinning rod, but now it’s time to switch to winter gear. But there are still some things in common between these fishing trips. For example, a small pike weighing up to 3 kilograms, just like in November, continues to be caught in the same places where it was successfully caught using a spinning rod in open water.

Such places are:

• thickets of reeds and reeds with a depth of up to two meters;
• stuck areas of reservoirs;
• fairly shallow bays of rivers and backwaters of lakes;
• eyebrows;
• depth changes;
• areas near steep cliffs.

If the reservoir is familiar to you and you have fished on it in open water, then it will not be difficult for you to find pike sites in December - they are practically unchanged. But a large pike, weighing more impressively, which can be considered any toothy predator weighing more than 3 kilograms, goes out into shallow water extremely reluctantly and should be caught at great depths. For large pike, sites are characterized by the following topography:

• 
  dumps;

• pits;
• whirlpools;
• sudden changes in depth;
• exits from the pits.

Large pike is a deep-sea predator and it hunts at depth in November, December, and any other month. Of course, there are always exceptions and some people caught a large pike right next to the shore. But we are now considering not accidents and rare cases of capture, but the most likely scenarios.

Of course, it is easier to find pike in small lakes or fisheries. At the very least, you can try to fish in the center of the reservoir, and under the shore, in its deepest part, and in the shallower part. And all this can be done in a few hours. But when fishing on large rivers or reservoirs, you can’t get around the most promising places in a whole day. Therefore, also focus on other anglers, watch which of them has achieved success, try to get closer to them or at least determine where they are biting - at depth, on the edge, or maybe near the coastline in the reed thickets.

It is also worth noting that at one point there may be more than one pike, therefore, after catching a pike, you can continue fishing in the same hole or, at least, return here a little later, when the noise after fishing for the spotted one subsides and is forgotten by the rest of the “inhabitants of the hole” "

As for catching pike in December with a vertical spoon

This is running fishing, the first one gives good results. As a spinner, both special winter spinners for vertical play (white and yellow) and some summer spinners and non-hooking spinners can be used, the latter “glides” very well in the water. In addition, do not forget about the balancer.

When fishing for pike in December from the ice, it is important to pay attention to the line (we use a line no thinner than 0.25-0.30 mm), and a leash won’t hurt.

The game with bait is the most varied. As a rule, we lower the tackle to the bottom, then raise it about 1-2 centimeters, and then begin jerking movements. It is important to understand that there is no specific catchy game - you need to select it and look for it. Pay attention to pauses, length (width) of the jerk, sharpness of the swing and other points. If the pike doesn’t bite, it makes sense to fish on other water levels, and… experiment with baits.
Ice fishing for pike in December is exciting, you have to walk a lot and drill holes. It wouldn’t hurt to go fishing in those holes where you were an hour or two ago (here the situation is similar with perch fishing).

Ways to catch pike in December from ice

The first ice for fishermen in early December is a lot of pleasant emotions, since the pike bite on the first ice is usually active. There are many ways to catch December pike from the ice, but we will look at the most common ones.

Fishing with a zherlitsa

There are plenty of designs for girders - from a simple old-fashioned wooden slingshot, on which a cord or fishing line is wound in a figure eight, to modern plastic ones, which have a cunning complex design - stands, brackets, reels, flags with spring clamps, etc. There are also float girders , but this option has few fans. In fact, the design of the girder is not so important, the main thing is that the tackle meets the basic requirements. This is, first of all:

• small size and weight;
• simplicity and ease of use;
• a well-established, trouble-free mechanism – a bite alarm;
• free movement of the coil;
• a strong, sharp hook of the right size.

You can make the simplest zherlitsa in half an hour. To do this you will need the following components:

1. Fishing line or monofilament - approximately 30 meters. The diameter depends on the size of the intended trophy. Most often, a thread with a diameter of 0.35 to 0.4 mm is used.
2. Lead olive weight. Weight – up to 10 grams for standing water and 30 – for bodies of water with current.
3. Steel or fluorocarbon leader. The length of the leash is from 20 to 25 cm. It is better to use fluorocarbon, since the sight of a steel leash often scares off the pike, and it refuses to attack.
4. The hook can be single, double or triple. Here, each angler chooses a model based on experience.

Sometimes a special stop bead is also used, with the help of which the fisherman controls the “freedom” of the live bait, but this element of equipment is not mandatory. To successfully catch pike from the ice using a girder, a fisherman must have experience, attentiveness and good physical shape, since he often has to run a fair distance to get to the “shot” flag. It is necessary to react to a bite as quickly as possible, otherwise the pike may lead the bait into snags or stones and break the cord.

Catching pike on a girder on the first ice begins with finding a place. Next comes the installation of the gear, and then the fisherman can only wait for the bite.

It is generally accepted that with a good bite, the reel turns twice, because after attacking the bait, the fish moves away about 2-3 meters, stops, swallows the bait, and tries to swim away from the “crime scene.” At the same time, the reel begins to unwind - at this moment it is necessary to hook. The predator, sensing something is wrong, will offer fierce resistance, especially at the moment when it sees daylight from the hole. Therefore, an experienced fisherman carries a hook with him, since getting a pike into a narrow hole can be difficult.

Read how to fish with a zherlitsa in December and build fishing tactics to ensure a catch.

Fishing in December with spoons and balancers

For pike fishing with lures to bring results in December, you need the right combination of bait and tackle. The rod must be rigid in order to hook the fish well, the handle must be ergonomic and fit well in the hand, since sometimes it takes a long time to “play” with the lure when fishing for pike in winter. The most suitable rod length for trolling from ice is 50 cm; a guard is installed at the end so that the bite is clearly visible. You can use any reel – this does not affect the effectiveness of the gear in any way. It is better to use monofilament fishing line - the braided line is greatly deformed from friction against the edges of the hole and freezes. The preferred line diameter is 0.25 mm.

There is no clear opinion regarding the leash: some fishermen claim that without a metal leash there will be frequent breaks, others that with a leash the pike bites less often. Whether or not to set up a leash to catch pike from the ice in December is up to everyone to decide for themselves. The best spinners for catching pike in December are oblong, silver or golden. The fishing technique is simple, and you can master it quickly. Several holes are drilled in the desired area (no more than 5-7 pieces), and then they are all fished in turn. The spoon sinks to the bottom, slowly rises to a height of 60–70 cm, and drops sharply down. The pike bite can follow both on the rise and on the drop of the bait.

Fishing for pike with a balance beam in winter, as opposed to trolling, is mainly done using technique. The balance beam for a pike, unlike a spinner, is not lifted, but thrown sharply, after which it begins to “glide” in the water, plausibly imitating the behavior of a small fish.

Fishing for pike in December using a spinning rod in open water

Fishing for pike in December with a spinning rod is a real sport, as the fisherman is sometimes forced to walk many kilometers, look for pike, and change baits. And do this in winter conditions, in frost and snow, with high humidity.

Lures for pike in the winter, as well as in the fall, are jig baits and wobblers weighing up to 15 grams.

The rod is a light jig spinning rod, approximately 2.5 meters long with a weight of up to 20 grams. The coil is inertialess. For fishing, it is better to choose a day with calm weather. First of all, those places where fish pecked in the fall are fished. Fishing for pike in open water in December is a very exciting activity and really worth the effort.

Pike at the end of December

About 2-3 weeks after the ice has stopped, the pike bite begins to slowly weaken . This is almost unnoticeable, since the pike is still actively grabbing live bait and bait, but it is already beginning to show its activity more and more often from deeper places. By the end of December, we are installing the vents according to the scheme: 50 to 50, that is, part of the vents is at a depth of 1-2 meters, and the second part is even deeper. Well, depending on the bite, we will make adjustments in the future.

Tackle and bait for pike fishing in December

So, to catch pike in December, two main methods are used:

• winter glitter;
• fishing with girders.

Both methods of pike fishing are interesting in their own way and, of course, each of them has its own advantages and features. Depending on personal preferences, the angler chooses his fishing method. When fishing with girders, live bait is used as bait, and when fishing with winter fishing rods, spinners and balancers are used.

Let's look at the features of fishing for each tackle and determine which live bait, balancer or spinner will be most suitable for catching pike in December.

Zherlitsy

For pike fishing, it is optimal to use 10 poles per angler. It won’t be difficult to keep track of such a number of girders, and it will be quite enough for effective fishing. The website rybkolov.ru has a very good and detailed article about catching pike with girders.

Live bait is used as bait for girders. It is optimal to use live bait from the same reservoir in which you plan to catch pike. It will be familiar to the pike in color, behavior and other factors, which will certainly affect the pike’s bite for the better.

It is better to choose the following live baits for pike fishing:

• crucian carp;
• gudgeon;
• loach;
• perch;
• ruff;
• roach.

If you don’t know how far from the shore and at what depth the pike is, place the girders, starting closer to the shore and gradually moving away from it. The girders are placed at a distance of about 5-10 meters from each other. Thus, 10 girders will allow you to fish 50-100 meters of a reservoir. If bites occur on some of the girders, while the rest are silent, you should rearrange the girders more closely to those on which bites occur. This way you will find promising places as quickly as possible and fish them as efficiently as possible.

Balancers

In general, for pike fishing, balancers ranging in size from 4 to 11 cm are used. As you can see, the range of sizes is quite wide. But in December it narrows, since this month it is better for pike to offer larger baits. So, you can safely discard balancers less than 7 cm long. But balancers 7-11 cm will be quite suitable. Of course, 11-centimeter balancers are more suitable for catching trophy pike, and if there are no such things in your reservoir or your gear is not designed for very large pike, then it is optimal to take balancers measuring 7-9 cm. This will be the best choice.

Balancers for pike fishing can also be divided by color. Among the main colors we can highlight acidic, dark and natural colors. It is very difficult to predict which color in a given place and at a given time will work best for pike, so you need to have balancers with you in different colors in order to choose the most successful option directly while fishing.

The balancer is a very good bait for catching pike, which is really capable of tempting a predator to bite with its unusual game, color and shape. Many fans of winter pike fishing exclusively use balance beams, because they are really capable of showing excellent results and fully justifying their cost.

Spoons

And, of course, spinners. Winter pike fishing with spoons is a classic that still brings success to many anglers. The advantage of winter lures for pike is their low cost compared to balancers, and also the fact that many modern fishermen underestimate them, giving preference to balancers.

But don’t write off the hardware. Many anglers fish only with them and are able to catch any pike and even give them a head start. Proper selection of bait, good game and the predator will not be able to resist. Do not forget to take breaks in the game, because it is during pauses that pike almost always grab the bait. Well, you can also look at the TOP winter lures for pike from the website rybkolov.ru.

That’s basically all the basic theoretical information that will help you successfully fish in December and catch the pike of your dreams. Come to us again and you won’t have a tail or scales!

Fishing is interesting in December and in open water, if there are such places

At this time we were fishing with a jig, and foam rubber served as bait. Fishing was carried out only from the bottom, with step-by-step retrieval. Let us note on our own that we fished with both braid and monofilament. In both cases, especially if there is a “good frost”, the rings freeze over, because the cord drags water along with it. To some extent, various impregnations help, but this is not a panacea. Well, with braid you feel the bite better, but the fishing line is cheaper, and if it gets ruined over the winter, it’s not such a shame for the amount spent on it.

December is an interesting time for pike fishing; you can approach the most interesting places from the ice, the main thing is that the ice holds, do not forget about safety precautions. Sometimes, in the excitement of the first ice, you want a lot, but...

The first ice for a fisherman is a lot of pleasant emotions, and pike responds very well to both live bait and artificial bait (though it will have to do). Well, winter is slowly coming into its own, and it’s already January...

What bait should I use?

Flashing

Any spinning bait is suitable for catching pike in December. Believe it or not, even silicone baits will appeal to hungry fish. But oscillators show themselves especially well in practice. On first ice, at shallow depths, the spinners sink very slowly, temptingly, which attracts pike.

Before going out on the ice, be sure to think about your upcoming route. All holes you drill must be checked. After all, if a predator has shown at least some activity, you will not return home without prey. Let's share a proven glittering technique.

Lower the spoon as low as possible, reaching the bottom. It's important to take it slow. Smoothly swinging the rod from side to side, lift the spoon up half a meter. Then, with a sharp movement, lower the bait again. Repeat the procedure at least 10 times.

When trolling in shallow water, stick to short strokes to a height of no more than 15 cm. Use light baits.

Don't miss the opportunity to test a vibrating tail in action in place of a spinner. As before, slowly, but with acceleration, raise the bait to a height of up to half a meter and hold for no more than 5 seconds. Drop the vibrating tail so that it is 10 cm from the bottom surface, pause and repeat the manipulations.

Rattlin

Rattlins with two hooks are also not a bad option. But, when using this bait, it is important to be able to play it beautifully. A thrown rattlin vibrates due to rattling balls, allowing you to attract the attention of a predator from long distances. Please note that at great depths the efficiency decreases. A wobbler without a blade will allow you to easily carry out vertical wiring at any depth.

On snagy terrain, he recommends using non-snagging lures with wire antennae and a well-attached hook.

Use rattlins that are heavy and long, in other words, those that sink well. But on a difficult bottom with snags, we recommend that you refrain from using this bait, as there is a high chance of getting caught.

Balance

The balancer is one of the most versatile options. Helps you out both in shallow and deep water. We recommend large balancers, up to 10–12 cm in length. Remember, the greater the depth, the heavier the bait should be. For shallow waters, choose natural shades, and for depths, stick to bright shades. For greater effect, lower the balancer to the bottom from time to time, since the pike usually bites when the bait comes off the bottom.

Zherlitsa

If you know how to correctly determine the fishing location, use a girder. When purchasing a hook, pay attention to the quality of the hooks. For pike you will need up to a dozen girders. The ideal prey for catching a predator in a trap would be a gudgeon or a kras.

To install vents, choose the mouths of streams or bays. Your main goal is to capture a variety of bottoms and areas with different depths.

Fishing prospects in December and search for a place

Pike, like its entire food supply, is very active in early and mid-December, while the water is still filled with oxygen. As underwater vegetation dies off, fish activity will decrease, which also affects the behavior of predators. Cooling water provokes small fish to leave shallow water.

If at first they look for the toothy one not far from the edge of aquatic vegetation, then with the onset of December it is necessary to fish further and deeper, gradually moving away from the shore. But some reservoirs do not have sufficient depth, where the pike remains in its standard habitats - 1.5-2 meters deep, near thickets of reeds or cattails.

The best weather for fishing is a not very cold, cloudy day with a south wind. During this period, fish activity is slightly higher compared to a normal winter day. It is impossible to accurately predict the success of the bite, but it is known that most often pike are caught in December on ice rigs. Depending on the conditions on a particular body of water, the predator can be either very active, grabbing any available food, or passive, which is why there may not be a bite for more than a day.

Pike biting in December - collecting information

In recent years, our company has never gone fishing at random. This summer you can go to the reservoir and, if circumstances are favorable, catch some tails and have fun.

In winter things are a little different. Firstly, the gear is not as mobile as in the summer. Still, setting up a field of girders is not like throwing a spinning rod. Secondly, winter weather is not at all conducive to trips “by chance”.

Therefore, the first thing we do in winter is to look for guaranteed information from anglers where there is a pike bite in December. How can I do that?

Firstly, there are so many fishing forums now that sometimes you get confused among them. Each region has 2-3 forums, and in Moscow there are so many of them that the entire company doesn’t have enough fingers.

And every respected angler who has caught at least a couple of tails strives to share this joy. We also write our reports upon arrival. That’s why we encourage others to write.

Further, when a normal report is found and it is clear that the person approaches the matter correctly, I contact him via PM or, if possible, call him immediately. What do I need to know?

• The correct location of the reservoir and the road to it.
• Fishing time and weather at that moment.
• At what depth were you fishing and what kind of bait were you using?
• What were the exits, and how did the predator behave.

Of course, no one will hand over their points with GPS coordinates. Yes, we don’t need this. For a normal fisherman, it is enough to know the above points in order to catch good pike in a pond in winter.

As you know, the pike bite in December is very unstable. She may come out for an hour or two, or she may not come out at all. That is why it is important for me to know the answers to all the questions that I ask a person.

I believe that pike fishing in December depends 50 percent on this first point. They did it right - they caught the predator. There is no information - you don’t have to go to the reservoir.