Contents
The fish has another popular name – sopa. The white-eye, if you do not know the features, can be confused with the bream, bream or blue bream. The distribution area has decreased due to human activities. The fish is small, the maximum size can reach about 40 cm in length and up to 1 kg in weight. In fish, a subspecies is sometimes distinguished: the South Caspian white-eye, but the issue remains debatable. There are two ecological forms: residential and semi-passage.
Ways to catch white-eye
Catching this species is interesting for lovers of float rods or bottom gear. Along with bream and other closely related species, it is a widespread fish for the south of the European part of Russia. White-eye fishing will bring a lot of joy during a family vacation or among friends.
Catching white-eye on the bottom gear
Flocks of white-eyed fish are not numerous and often live together with other “white” fish. In its habitats, several species of fish may appear in catches at once. The most convenient and comfortable way of fishing is feeder or picker. Fishing on bottom gear, most often, occurs using feeders. Very comfortable for most, even inexperienced anglers. They allow the fisherman to be quite mobile on the pond, and thanks to the possibility of spot feeding, they quickly “collect” fish in a given place.
Feeder and picker as separate types of equipment currently differ only in the length of the rod. The basis is the presence of a bait container-sinker (feeder) and interchangeable tips on the rod. The tops change depending on the fishing conditions and the weight of the feeder used. Nozzles for fishing can be any: both vegetable and animal, including paste. This method of fishing is available to everyone. Tackle is not demanding for additional accessories and specialized equipment. This allows you to fish in almost any water bodies. It is worth paying attention to the choice of feeders in shape and size, as well as bait mixtures. This is due to the conditions of the reservoir (river, pond, etc.) and the food preferences of local fish. The fish bites very carefully and should be hooked at the slightest movement of the rod tip.
Catching a white-eye on a float rod
Fishing with float rods is most often carried out on reservoirs with stagnant or slowly flowing water. Sport fishing can be carried out both with rods with a blind snap, and with plugs. At the same time, in terms of the number and complexity of accessories, this fishing is not inferior to specialized carp fishing. For lovers of recreation on the reservoir, the float rod also remains the most popular equipment for catching this fish. The “delicacy” of gear is very important and is associated not only with the simultaneous catching of bream and other fish, but also with the caution of the white-eyed fish itself. Fishing with a float is well used on “running” gear. For example, the “into wiring” method, when the equipment is released with the flow. In this way, it is best to fish from a boat at anchor. Fishing for match rods is very successful when the white-eye keeps far from the shore.
Catching winter tackle
In many reservoirs, it is in winter that it is possible to purposefully catch this fish. From the beginning of December until March, fishermen’s catches can only consist of this fish. The main criterion for successful Sopa fishing is knowledge of its wintering grounds. Fish often stand in the current. They catch the white-eye on traditional jigging gear, sometimes with an additional leash.
Baits
For fishing on winter gear, various plant and animal nozzles are used. It can be dough, but more often they use barley meat, burdock larvae, Chernobyl or maggot, “sandwiches” with bloodworms, and so on. Feed with vegetable mixtures. In the summer, cereals and earthworms are added to the listed nozzles.
Places of fishing and habitat
Sopa, due to the construction of hydraulic structures, “received” an interrupted habitat. In European Russia, this fish can be found in the basins of the Caspian and Black Sea rivers, up to the Urals, but it is rare in Kama. Quite numerous in the reservoirs of the lower reaches of the Volga. The fish prefers to stay in large open spaces, forming small concentrations. You can catch it in places where the bottom is lowered, but it can feed on the current or small sections of the reservoir. As with other closely related fish species, special attention should be paid to bait and bait when catching sop.
Spawning
The fish becomes sexually mature at 4-5 years. Spawns in April in the channel part of the river or on floodplain rifts on rocky ground. In the lower reaches of the Volga, after spawning, it slides into the brackish waters of the Caspian for feeding.