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There is no more affordable fishing than carp fishing. It bites on almost all baits and you can catch it in many ways, both simple and complex. And yet, the size of the catch will depend not only on the luck and activity of the fish, but also on the experience of the angler.
carassius
Crucian, or Carassius (lat.) – a fish from the carp family. There are two independent species of this fish – Carassius Carassius, or golden crucian, and Carassius Gibelio, or silver crucian. They differ in the color of the scales, the number of scales in the lateral line (the golden carp has at least 33 of them, the silver carp has fewer), habitat and breeding. These two species can live together, separately, or form joint populations, their behavior in the reservoir is practically the same. The body shape of the crucian is wide, slightly flattened from the sides.
The mass of goldfish is somewhat larger – it reaches a weight of 2.5 kilograms and more. Silver carp is somewhat smaller, but grows faster. Its maximum weight is two kilograms. The usual weight of fish of both varieties, which goes to the angler on the hook, ranges from fifty grams to a kilogram, catching larger individuals is rare.
The crucian feeds at an early age on zooplankton, crustaceans. Growing up, it switches to feeding on aquatic insects, eats larvae, worms, and other small animal organisms. Large individuals are practically omnivorous and can even show the habits of predators – this is evidenced by the experience of some anglers who managed to catch crucian carp on a drop-shot in Yakutia. However, its fishing is usually limited to plant and animal baits.
In what reservoirs is crucian carp found
The usual habitats of this fish are small ponds and quiet backwaters. The shape of this fish is not very conducive to overcoming the strength of the current, so crucian carp is more common in places without it or if it is very weak. Crucian carp is quite thermophilic, so it often stays where the water temperature is higher than in the entire reservoir – near the confluence of warm drains, near places where rotting plants emit heat, where the water warms up well.
In the ponds and lakes of Siberia freezing almost to the bottom, silty small stakes in Ukraine, which dry up almost completely in the summer heat, he manages not only to survive, but also to multiply when the conditions are favorable for this. Therefore, pure crucian ponds, where he is the only fish, are not so rare. True, in such pressed conditions, crucian usually shrinks.
The depth at which the crucian is found is usually small, up to three meters. Even in deep ponds and lakes, he prefers coastal shallow water. However, if the total depth of the reservoir is small, you can meet it both in the coastal zone and in the very middle with the same probability. It has a strong body, which allows it to wade through thickets of aquatic plants and search for food there. Often this fish prefers to stay in the very thick of underwater thickets, where it finds food and shelter.
Carp habits throughout the year
As you know, nature in our strip lives according to its own laws, and the year here is divided into winter, spring, summer and autumn. And fish are no exception. The behavior of crucian carp and the catch largely depend on the season.
Winter
At this time, most of the fish are inactive. The temperature of the water drops, it is covered with ice. The processes of photosynthesis slow down, in connection with this, the amount of oxygen in the water decreases. Plants that began to die off in autumn fall to the bottom by winter and begin to decompose, forming a thick layer of silt. As a rule, if the reservoir does not have underwater springs, confluence of streams, currents, crucian carp in such places will be inactive or inactive. It burrows into silt for the winter, where it spends the cold months under the ice.
If there is a small current in the wintering place of crucian carp, which takes with it dissolved carbon dioxide from rotting plants, crucian carp can remain active in such places. It revives in those days when melt water gets under the ice during the winter thaws. These days come in mid-late March, when the most successful carp fishing from the ice takes place.
Spring
Comes with the release of the reservoir from the ice. At this time, the pre-spawning zhor of crucian begins, which is preparing to spawn. Fish gather in flocks, which can be either of different colors or formed according to the size of individuals. Carp populations can have different sex composition, sometimes there are hermaphrodite individuals, sometimes crucian carp is represented only by females, sometimes there are populations of different sexes. One way or another, before spawning, the fish in the pond tries to stick together.
Fishing takes place in fairly warm areas. The warmer the water, the more active the bite will be. Just before spawning, in May, the largest crucians come across. Fish prefer a fairly large active bait. You can fish with a summer mormyshka, float rod, bottom gear. It is most successful in areas with shallow depth, but a little further from the coast, where the fish are not afraid of the angler.
Summer
A characteristic feature of the summer period is the overgrowth of reservoirs, and in the late stage, the flowering of water. Crucian begins spawning at the beginning of summer, when the water warms up to 12-15 degrees. Its spawning takes place in shallow areas, in bushes and reed beds, where there is something to rub against to free the caviar bags. Often, artificial spawning grounds are tires thrown into the water in city ponds, fragments of piles and concrete products, and footbridges of walking paths in parks.
Spawning of crucian takes a long time, the same individual spawns several times. The largest crucians spawn first, then the smaller ones.
At this time, its biting is quite capricious, crucian carp can be caught on different nozzles during the day, rarely giving preference to any one.
Spawning ends only with the flowering of water in August. By this time, the fish begins to move away from spawning, actively eats aquatic insects and larvae, which multiply in excess by this time. August is the best time for carp fishing.
Autumn
With the advent of cold weather, daylight hours are reduced, and the water temperature drops. The crucian carp begins to move away from the coast, where the water has time to cool down during the night. However, not too far, since it is usually not so easy to see and get food at a depth. The fish move to the places where they are going to spend the winter. Unlike many species of fish, crucian carp continues to be caught with a regular float rod until the very frost.
The author, as a child, caught crucian carp instead of school until about October. The case usually ended with the selection of fishing rods after complaints to parents. Now no one takes away the bait, and it can be caught until December on a fly float tackle.
Still, it is worth recognizing that fishing for crucian carp on bottom gear is of the greatest interest in autumn. They allow you to effortlessly deliver the nozzle far enough and are not too difficult. The main obstacle to the use of donka in carp places is this aquatic vegetation. By autumn, it becomes less, and fishing with a donkey is more accessible.
With the appearance of the edges of the ice, the crucian almost ceases to peck. Its bite can only be activated with the full formation of ice, when the surface of the water ceases to be cooled by the wind and the water becomes warmer.
Fishing methods
Usually carp are caught in the summer on the bottom and float gear. At the same time, in some reservoirs, it bites better on the bottom, and somewhere – on the float. The fishing method itself matters only for the angler; for crucian carp, the main factor in biting is the nozzle, bait and the place of fishing.
For example, in heavily overgrown reservoirs, in the windows of aquatic vegetation, where the bottom is densely covered with thickets of hornwort, it is not possible to catch on the bottom. On the contrary, where the bottom is relatively clean, even, without snags, and crucian carp do not want to come close to the shore, fishing with bottom gear will be more convenient and bring better results.
Self-propelled guns are often used. This is due to the fact that on an unfamiliar body of water it is difficult to determine reliably the time of the exit of fish to a certain place. Therefore, they try to cover a sufficiently large line of the coast, installing unauthorized gear. Carp has fairly constant habits. When the time and place of the exit is determined, it is much more efficient to switch from trap fishing to active gear in this area.
fly rod
Tackle number 1 for crucian carp. Since these fish often prefer coastal areas, there is usually no need to make long casts, use a reel. You can get by with a light and relatively inexpensive fly rod, which consists of a rod with a fishing line rigidly attached to its tip, equipped with a float and a hook.
A fly rod can be used in various lengths, but for carp fishing it is better to use a rod of 4-6 meters. Longer ones will require constant use of coasters, as it will be difficult to keep them in your hands all the time. However, when fishing for crucian carp, the use of rod stands is not a problem, as they are caught on a standing rig. On still water, 2-3 rods are most often used, they are cast at different distances from the shore, various nozzles are used. This significantly increases the chances of a fish biting. It is the ability to catch from stands that makes a fly rod the best choice, even with a large heavy rod, the angler will not get tired and several tackles can be used.
The main plus of the fly rod is that it allows you to cast the equipment very accurately, perform high-quality hooking, use thinner line and, as a result, a lighter float with less weight under the same fishing conditions. Fishing in the windows, fishing with the lightest tackle, fishing with a very precise release of the line, which allows you to clearly place the nozzle on the bottom vegetable carpet, with the help of a fly rod you can achieve better results when fishing for crucian carp than when fishing with other gear.
match rod
Not a very popular tackle, and completely in vain! At a cost, such fishing is not much more expensive than fishing on a feeder. However, match fishing is preferable for crucian places. It allows you to cast gear accurately enough, to catch on a very crooked or overgrown bottom, to fish in cluttered city and suburban ponds, where there will be a lot of hooks and cliffs when fishing on bottom gear.
At the same time, the match rod allows you to catch distant sectors from the shore. Using modern match pop-up floats and rigging, you can clearly see the bite at a great distance from the shore, keep the float from being displaced by the wind with the help of a system of baits lying on the bottom.
You can successfully cast into large windows at a distance from the coast, while pulling the fish to collect much less grass than it would be with bottom gear.
Bologna fishing rod
Not so often used for catching carp. Such tackle is fully revealed only in the course, where it is rarely caught. But sometimes, when catching silver carp in the channels, it is the lapdog that becomes the best choice. Usually, the Bolognese fishing rod for crucian carp is used in stagnant water, where they want to make a long cast from the shore. At the same time, it loses significantly both in the convenience of catching, and in the range, and in the accuracy of casting with a match rod. And when fishing from the shore without casting with a reel, the tackle will be much heavier and rougher than a fly rod with the same capabilities. However, if there is no other fishing rod, Bologna tackle will do.
Donka
Bottom fishing for crucian carp shows itself best in the late period, with the onset of cold weather. At this time, aquatic vegetation dies off, the donka will carry less grass. Usually, in the summer, along with the fish, another half a pound of water stems is pulled out. Therefore, the tackle must be strong enough to withstand all this. As a rod in the donk of the “Soviet” sample, they use cheap fiberglass spinning, put an inexpensive inertial reel, use a fairly thick main line, as a rule, they catch it without a feeder. The tackle is very simple, but it has many disadvantages that other bottom tackle, the feeder, is deprived of.
Much more often, instead of a donkey with a rod, a kind of snack is used – catching carp with an elastic band. An elastic band is a donk in which there is an elastic band 3-10 meters long between the main line with hooks and the sinker. This makes it easier to recast the tackle with frequent bites, and always return the hooks to the same place. Of course, the fishing distance will be shorter in this case. But when fishing for crucian carp, a long cast is rarely required.
feeder and picker
They are a further development of the bottom fishing rod, more modern and comfortable. The main features of these gears are the use of a special flexible tip as a bite signaling device. They allow you to perform more accurate and far casting with less weight, which is essential when fishing among the grass. In the end, tackle with a light sinker will collect less of it. Both fishing line and cord are used, while fishing line for fishing for crucian carp will be preferable.
Fishing usually takes place at shallow depths, a short distance from the shore. Fishing for crucian carp on a picker, a type of feeder, allows you to get more pleasure from pulling fish on a thinner and lighter tackle. In addition, the picker itself in such conditions will be much more convenient, since the coast is often overgrown with bushes and trees.
Very often, when catching crucian carp, a flat feeder is used. The “method” type carp feeder sinks less into the silt and gives food better on its surface than the classic “cage” feeder. But at the same time, it is more demanding on the quality of bait and batch. A banjo-type feeder allows you to catch even from a carpet of aquatic plants, when the load is not immersed in its thickness. Quite often, when catching crucian carp, the hooks remain in the bait to give fewer hooks. The same principle is implemented in the self-made tackle “nipple”.
“Cork”, “nipple”, “phantomas”
All these names refer to homemade tackle, when hooks with a nozzle on leashes are dipped into a feeder filled with bait and completely open on one side. Leashes are usually tied to the sinker itself. And it is attached to the fishing line and thrown at a distance from the shore. Thus, the hooks are almost completely protected from algae hooks.
Crucian carp, approaching the feeder and eating food, can also draw in hooks in the process, falling for them. Therefore, they will not catch on even when the bait is eaten – after all, fish will sit on them.
The main disadvantage of such tackle is that you need to use the smallest hooks, almost swallows. This leads to the fact that the main prey will be small fish, since it will feel and spit out a large hook, because the tackle is unauthorized, and there is no timely hooking.
It also becomes impossible to catch on the principle of catch and release, catching carp on live bait. The fish swallows a small hook deeply, so you have to take it all and then fry it. It is best to make the leashes removable so that you can take the fish off the hook at home. It is much better later, in a calm environment, to see the fishing line sticking out of the mouth of the fish, and pull it out along with the hook when gutting. Than pull out the hook during fishing, cut it off, forget it in the fish and eat it yourself afterwards. Such gear in modern fishing cannot be seriously considered, since it will be inferior to all other gear in terms of catch, catching fascination and quality of fish.
summer mormyshka
For catching carp is used very successfully. In the spring, when the water is cold enough, it allows you to attract fish to the bait by playing. In this case, it is best to use two jigs – one heavier, which often plays the role of just a load, and the second, lighter, is attached higher. This allows you to “slow down” the game by putting the lower mormyshka on the bottom, since crucian carp take a standing bait better. Instead of the upper mormyshka, you can tie a simple hook with a nozzle.
Another “specialization” of the summer mormyshka is fishing in heavily overgrown places and windows. Here the fishing line practically does not deviate from the vertical. Therefore, it is possible to catch even in the smallest windows, between the stalks of reeds, avoiding hooks. It is unlikely that it will be possible to do this in other ways, except with a fly rod, but there is still a higher risk of hooking or confusing the tackle.
Winter gear
Winter fishing for crucian carp is no different from fishing for roach, except that the tackle is taken more durable. Use a mormyshka and a float fishing rod. It is best to use such rods that allow you to stop the game with bait and at this moment the fish bite. Often they are caught with several rods, playing with the bait alternately or without playing at all.
The second group of winter gear is various traps. Catching crucian on crosses, zherlitsy is popular, especially on an unfamiliar reservoir, where they still do not know the place of its most active biting. Worms are used as baits for traps, sometimes vegetable baits, pellets or even dog food from bags.