Catching pike perch in winter on a balancer: equipment and fishing techniques

Pike perch can be successfully caught on a balancer on ice. The balancer is able to interest this fish if it is properly presented and made to work effectively. Therefore, fishing does not come down to the fact that the balancer simply falls into the hole. To catch a predator, you need to know how to use the balancer. In this case, you need to know the nature of the behavior of the fish, as well as determine the conditions of fishing. In this case, any little things can play either into the hands of the angler or against him.

Catching time

Going fishing, you need to decide on the conditions of fishing in order to get a positive result. Pike perch preys on fish fry, moreover, at night, which instills fear among all its potential victims. Pike perch have excellent eyesight, which helps to detect small fish on the darkest night at depth. Therefore, it is almost impossible to hide from him.

In winter, when all processes are greatly slowed down, pike perch feeds, but very rarely. Therefore, pike perch can peck at any time, regardless of whether it is day or night. This means that he is hungry and wants to eat. Having caught and swallowed some fish, he can again sink to the bottom and gradually digest food.

And yet, most of the zander were caught either in the morning, or in the evening or at night. This is due to the fact that he likes to hunt more at night or at dusk. But in the daytime, catching pike perch is much less likely. Based on this, we can conclude that it is better to catch zander on a balancer early in the morning or late in the evening.

Where to catch

Finding pike perch that hunts under the ice is not so easy. You need to be prepared for the fact that you will have to walk more than one hundred meters on the ice, while drilling more than a dozen holes. But this does not guarantee the capture of zander.

Based on your experience and hoping for good luck, it is enough to find at least one pike perch, which will lead to a whole flock, and then the success of fishing is guaranteed. To make this happen, you need to make a lot of holes and try your luck in each of them. At the same time, you should not stop at each hole for more than 5-10 minutes. If during this period of time there was no bite, you need to move on to the next hole. This will have to be done until bites follow. It should be remembered that the winter day is short and everything needs to be done quickly. You should look for this fish in such places:

• At a depth.
• In the pits
• On the slopes.
• On the brows.
• In tight places.
• In places of fallen trees, flooded bushes.

Pike perch prefers deep places, such as pits, as well as dumps that go into the depths. It is also very often found on the edge. His favorite places are the bottom with a hard or sandy base, where there is a scattering of stones. Moreover, he loves such places not only in winter, but also in summer.

Just like that, without studying the nature of the bottom of the reservoir, it is very difficult to find pike perch, and sometimes impossible. Therefore, holes should be drilled only at promising points, where the probability of zander parking is quite high. Whatever the depth, pike perch is always at the bottom, and rarely rises above. This character must be taken into account when playing with bait. Raising the balancer above half a meter from the bottom does not make any sense.

Choice of the balance weight

To choose such a bait, no special conditions are required. The main thing is to have an idea of ​​​​how to use it, which is important when catching zander. It may happen that during the first and unsuccessful attempts to catch a pike perch on a balancer, there will be no desire to use it. And yet, despite the failures, you need to continue to gain experience and the result will certainly be.

The balancer is a rather demanding bait in terms of application technique. This suggests that you should not use and, moreover, buy, cheap designs. Success will come if you purchase branded copies of well-known manufacturers. If there are no fishing skills, then high-quality balancers will help you quickly master it.

As a rule, branded products have good catchability. In the absence of bites, it can be concluded that there are no fish near this hole and the place needs to be changed. In the case of cheap copies, it is very difficult to draw such a conclusion. There may be several factors, including poor quality game of the balancer.

One, properly made balancer can cost a dozen cheap copies. When experience and skill come, it will be possible to single out more catchy ones among low-quality specimens. But it will be over time, and for starters it is better to get by with high-quality baits, which each time will instill firmness in their capabilities. To do this, you can purchase baits from such companies:

• Rapala;
• Lucky John;
• HOSHILONA;
• Nils Master.

The balancer, about 7 cm long, is ideal for zander fishing, although you can use either less or more bait. Smaller balancers will attract perch, while larger lures may not fit into the hole. Such balancers will simply be inconvenient to use.

As for the coloring of the balancer, it does not affect the biting of pike perch, but its shape and game can interest a predator. This is due to the fact that the game of the balancer takes place at a depth where there is complete darkness. Pike perch will be able to see any balancer, thanks to his eyesight. First of all, he will be interested in the shape resembling a fish, as well as the movements of this fish. The more believable the game is, the faster it will interest the predator.

As a rule, anglers use the same type of balancers, which are guaranteed to catch zander. Walleye can be suspicious of the same models. In this regard, at least sometimes, but it is necessary to change the design of baits, their shape and color. Very often, zander can start biting with a novelty.

Tackle

Fishing for zander requires the use of a strong and reliable rod. This is necessary in order to bring an effective cutting, in case of a bite. The use of a soft nod when catching zander is completely inappropriate, since he will not allow this to be done due to the fact that the zander has a strong and rough jaw. Therefore, sweeps must be powerful and confident.

To complete the tackle, you will need a fishing line with a diameter of 0,25 mm. There is no need to use a leash, because the walleye will not be able to bite the line. It is not needed also because it can alert the fish.

Since pike perch has to be retrieved from the depths, the supply of fishing line must be appropriate.

For the effectiveness of fishing, you should constantly monitor the sharpness of the hooks. If they become blunt, you can try to sharpen them, because they cannot be replaced. You can only replace the middle tee. This is due to the design features of the balancers. If you do not forget to sharpen the hooks, then you can hope to catch zander.

Technique for catching pike perch on a balancer

Many anglers who use balancers to catch zander argue that the basis of the balancer fishing technique is pauses of various durations. This is especially true for beginners who are uncertain about working with a balancer and are in constant search of fishing techniques. If during the game the balancer pauses, then there is a possibility that the pike perch will bite if it is next to the bait. The duration of pauses can reach 30 seconds or more, up to one minute. After a series of movements of the balancer, pauses should be made.

Even with the ideal game of the bait, but without pauses, no pike perch will be interested in it. In this case, you can be left completely without a catch. The fact is that the predator attacks the bait precisely at the moment of pause. It is not difficult to guess that when a potential prey is stopped, the predator’s chances of being with the prey increase. Even a pikeperch understands this. Therefore, the highlight of the technique of fishing on the balancer is just a pause.

In winter, when the fish is inactive, not sweeping movements are more suitable, but short and sharp jerks, 10-15 cm long. Such movements are repeated for 1-2 minutes. If there is no bite, then you can use another tactic. If she did not give any results, then it is better to move on to another hole.

It should be noted that there are a lot of techniques for fishing on a balancer, and each angler has his own technique, which he always uses. In this case, there are huge opportunities for experimentation. You can make smooth ascents, up to 1 meter and the same smooth descents. In this case, you can not touch the bottom, but you can knock on the bottom. During descents and ascents, small or medium-sized twitches can be produced, during which peculiar steps are formed. If you knock on the bottom from time to time, then you can attract pike perch, which is at a considerable distance, since it can easily determine where the vibrations come from. At the same time, a cloud of turbidity rises from the bottom, and the zander will definitely notice this, thanks to its unique vision.

Despite the fact that pike perch prefers to be in close proximity to the bottom, it sometimes rises to the upper layers if it sees that there is something to profit from there. If there are no bites at a depth, then you can try to raise the bait higher and play with it. It is possible that the zander decided to change its location and rose a little higher. It can also be when warming outside or atmospheric conditions contribute to this.

As mentioned above, you should not waste your precious time on being near one hole, excitement, of course, is excitement, but you need to think about the result. About 10 minutes is enough to understand that you need to change the hole. The faster the search for pike perch, the more you can count on success.

In case of a bite, you can stay in this place or try to catch nearby holes without going far from this place. This area can be 10-15 meters in diameter. When finding pike perch, there is a high probability of catching not one individual, but several. Unless something can scare pike perch, and he will leave this place, leaving for another in search of food.

Catching pike perch in winter on a balancer — Video