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The climate of our country has recently been more and more conducive to the development of late autumn spinning. This has already ceased to be exotic on the rivers, but becomes everyday, everyday fishing. So what if the end of October is in the yard – November, if the temperature is five or six degrees above zero? We continue to fish.
Only many people notice that, starting from about mid-October (in the middle lane), the effectiveness of fishing drops sharply, sometimes reaching zero. At the same time, rumors persist that someone brought a whole bag of pike and zander.
What follows is not a universal guide to action. This is just a personal experience of pike fishing in late autumn on several rivers, spanning about fifteen years of fishing life. But I do not think that the characteristics of the behavior of the predator across the territory of Central Russia vary so much that this experience cannot be applied to other large rivers and reservoirs.
Where to look for pike in late autumn
So, where did the pike hide? How to catch her? The answer to these questions has been ripe for a long time, but only the last two seasons, especially last year, have finally helped to find out the truth.
If you pick up the backing of fishing magazines for the past years and re-read all the articles that in one way or another relate to this topic, you can come to the conclusion that the late autumn predator is inactive and requires a very serious “development” of each river place in order to achieve a result.
We thought so too – the fish has not gone anywhere, here it is, here, just moved a little deeper. You just need to change the location of the boat several times so that the bait passes at different angles, experiment with wiring, and success is guaranteed. But for some reason, most often these efforts were rewarded, at best, by a small pike perch, who, to the accompaniment of rather unflattering reviews addressed to him, returned to his native element. Approaching the issue with a certain amount of self-criticism, we thought that it was only a matter of technique – we just couldn’t find the key to inactive fish.
But then these suspicions somehow gradually disappeared – sometimes they still managed to go fishing very well. In addition, our entire team is experienced jig spinners, armed with almost the most sensitive gear, and in summer we often manage to provoke the same pike perch in places where anglers usually do not stay long due to the lack of bites. So there is only one version left – you need to look for fish on the river! In this sense, the last season is most indicative, as the members of our small team quite often found themselves in the position of flying by, and those of whom there are rumors.
Recently, most often I fish in the same boat with my friend. Here is a short story of two trips to the river closest to us.
First trip to the river at the end of October
The fog, typical for the second half of October, did not allow us to turn around properly. But when it dissipated a little, we began an active search. Each notable place was fished quite carefully, after which we moved and fished for the next one.
A powerful engine allowed us to comb a decent area of the river, but to no avail. Already at the end of the second day, just before leaving for home, we saw a “crowd” – six or seven boats standing on one pit. Having anchored at such a distance so as not to interfere, we cast, and from the very first cast we pulled out a small perch. Released, stopped throwing and began to observe. It turned out that our colleagues, apparently, because of the lack of fish, it is precisely this perch that they hunt, at least no one stopped catching and left, and we did not observe anything larger in the catches.
On this day, comrades joined us. They anchored in the same pit, only closer to the exit, and in front of the astonished audience they immediately took a pike of five kilograms. Seeing this, we also shifted towards the shallows. As a result – two pike gatherings for each of us, plus a lot of pike bites. We managed to drag one pike under the very side, and it only got off there. Not a result, but the reason for the gatherings became known – the fish did not grab the bait, but crushed it, hence – the hook was under the lower jaw. The previous zander were also caught in the same way. Eh, I should have been here earlier. We’re late.
Second trip to the river in November
Next time we decided to go straight to this place. As always, fog interfered greatly, but we got to the place. As a result – two pikes from one anchor. We retreat 30 meters – two more, another 30 – and again two, plus a few bites at each point. That is, we fished well. Simultaneously with us, but a few kilometers upstream, our comrades were fishing. They know the places well, so we had no doubt that they would catch us. But the first day they had almost zero, the second – too. And in the evening they finally found it. Trophy pike interspersed with zander.
They left the ditch. And they found fish in a small hole, which we all catch with enviable regularity, but almost never catch anything there …
There were several other similar trips. And the scenario is the same – we search for a long time, then we quickly catch it.
And one more example. We decided somehow with a friend to check one pike point. A very interesting place: the fairway passes close to the shoal, from which a snarled stall goes to the depth. In this place, pike perch and large pike are constantly present, but not much. It’s just that the fish lives there – quite a characteristic place for these predators at this time of the year. In autumn, pikes from neighboring sections of the river gather here – this becomes clear almost immediately: bites are not only in the snag itself, but also in adjacent areas, and there are many bites.
This time we decided to experiment: what if there is a trophy pike, but we cannot catch it. Spinning this way and that. As a result – two zander and a couple more gatherings. All. There were no pike bites. We continued fishing from various positions, at various angles, leaving this place, returning … The miracle did not happen – there was not a single bite. And this is just one of many similar cases. So if at some place there is a residential pike perch mixed with large pike in a small amount – no matter how hard you try, no matter how you vary the technique – there will be no more fish in this place.
Technique of autumn catching trophy pike
If your experience tells you that there are no pike in a certain place, it is better not to waste time, but to continue the search. But with the search you really need to try. And here we face big problems.
The fact is that in the fall, large pike stubbornly refuse to stay in places that were famous for their catchiness throughout the summer and early autumn. No, it happens that exactly one of these places will “shoot”, but, unfortunately, this does not happen often. You have to fight with yourself. Fishing is always an event. Most anglers do not have the opportunity to go out several times a week, so each trip is a kind of holiday. And, of course, you want to catch something, to complete the experience. “Thanks” to this, fishing turns into a thorough fishing of “knurled” places. This is what brings it down, as a result – a completely undignified catch or a complete lack of it.
You need to literally force yourself to look for new places, or catch already known, seemingly promising, but where for some reason there was no trophy pike born.
What places do you prefer?
Basically the same as in summer. Only the depths are better to choose, albeit not quite large, but at least more than four meters. The fact that the pike in late autumn certainly keeps in the deepest places is a fairy tale. And it is written about it repeatedly, moreover, by different authors. Very shallow places, with depths of less than two meters, are likely to give results. As a rule, small and very scattered pike will peck here. It is unlikely that you will be able to get into the cluster. Although there may be exceptions. If such a strand is directly adjacent to the pit, a large pike can bite there, and not even in a single copy. Pike in late autumn forms clusters, and all this “herd” likes to move from time to time – sometimes deeper, sometimes smaller. So if in the place of fishing there is not too gentle, but not too sharp a drop of meters from one and a half to two meters into a large hole, it is worth starting the search right from the shoal, gradually shifting to a depth.
True, we usually do not act so “academically”, but immediately take a position where you can catch depths from four to six meters – here a bite is most likely. And only if there is no bite, and the place is attractive, we check the shallower and deeper sections of the river. Pike perch usually keeps a little deeper – seven meters or more. But we often come across cases when it goes to mounds or ridges with a depth of three to four meters. And there are so many of these cases that they can be considered the rule rather than the exception. By and large, these places are not so different from the places of the predator’s summer camps, only with a caveat to the depth. The only thing is that in autumn you can pay more attention than in summer to areas with a reverse flow or with practically stagnant water. Very often they are the most effective.
Fish roam in the rivers, so the place of its concentration can be like two drops of water similar to your favorite summer spot, only located a few kilometers away from it. So a powerful engine, a good echo sounder and a bit of adventurism can help in such a situation.
Many are looking for a predator with the help of an echo sounder, focusing on schools of white fish. From my own experience I will say that most often it is useless, at least in the indicated period. It’s rare to find such a coincidence. Usually the pike is somewhere to the side. Yes, and the echo sounder will not always show a predator, so if you like the place, but there are no signs of fish on the screen, you should not ignore it.
Regarding the question of the joint stay of pike and zander in the same area. There is a constant debate about this, and most anglers tend to think that if there is pike in the hole, there will be no zander, and vice versa. The most interesting thing is that it was during this period that such a neighborhood is found all the time – I have been observing this for many years. And yet we have not answered the question of how long one point should be caught. In fact, there is no recipe. If there are bites, you can experiment with the anchorage, wiring, baits, but without getting too carried away. If things don’t work out, it’s better to change the place.
An interesting point. It is not a fact that a place that has shown itself perfectly on two or three exits will work again – the predator has a habit of periodically changing its parking lot. It might not work, or it might work, so catching him wouldn’t hurt anyway.
If all of the above is said briefly, it can be formulated as follows. In autumn, pike and pike perch form local concentrations, while in all the surroundings you can not earn a single bite. The task of the spinner is to find these accumulations.
Therefore, the tactics of catching pike at this time of the year are as follows: a wide search and a quick catch, and it is worth looking into unloved places.
Some places require a more thorough approach, others less, but in any case, you should not linger too much if no bites are observed. The fish at the points of its concentration usually keeps quite crowded, and one way or another must show itself.