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Fishing for mormyshka rightfully belongs to the folk. Tackle is very undemanding to finances, almost all of its parts can be made independently. In addition, perch mormyshka brings the best results in the wilderness, when all other gear is not so effective.
What is a mormyshka?
Mormyshka was described by L.P. Sabaneev. He first described it as a small piece of lead into which a hook was soldered. The name “mormyshka” comes from the crustacean-mormysh, or amphipod, which lives in large numbers in the reservoirs of Siberia, the Urals and Kazakhstan.
When catching, the angler imitated the movements of the amphipod in the water with small twitches of the mormyshka, and this brought a good catch.
Since then, little has changed. This is still a relatively small piece of metal with a hook to which the fishing line is attached. However, many varieties have appeared, such as baitless and reelless, designed for catching pike perch and bream at depth, jig with two or more hooks.
They began to be supplemented with all kinds of beads, cambric, flags, panicles. Mormyshkas appeared, which have a rather expressive own game at a shallow depth.
Catching a mormyshka consists in constantly twitching it with different amplitude and frequency, with pauses, moving it up and down in the catching horizon. Purely vertical play is the hallmark of the mormyshka. In this way, it imitates the oscillatory movements of insects in the water, which provoke the fish and differs from other active winter baits.
Types of mormyshki
Packed and non-packed
Depending on the type of fishing, it is customary to distinguish between tackle and attachments. The nozzle mormyshka is a classic. Anglers put bloodworms, maggots on the hook, sometimes even vegetable baits when catching roach.
This is interesting: while playing with mormyshka, vegetable bait creates a cloudy flavor cloud in the water, which attracts roach. Biting is even more successful than on animal baits.
The nozzle mormyshka does not always imply a natural nozzle.
On sale you can buy artificial bloodworm, artificial maggot. Many fish with jig using a spongy rubber bait impregnated with an attractant, or a piece of an edible twister from a good manufacturer, in which the impregnation goes to the full depth.
They are not always catchy, but they allow you to do without a nozzle, which is difficult to keep in the winter frost. The volume of the nozzle is usually commensurate with the size of the jig.
No attachments are designed to imitate a food object with their body, without using additional nozzles or using a nozzle that is 5-6 times smaller than the jig itself.
The opinion that they are always more catchy than jigs with a nozzle is erroneous. Mormyshka with a nozzle in normal fishing conditions will always bring better results. The main plus of a no-bait one is that it has a much higher total density, and the nozzle, as a rule, is lighter than metal, and reduces the sinking ability.
With my own game and without it
The classic mormyshka does not have its own game. It just moves up and down following the line. Some, such as banana, goat, gosdik, uralka, have an elongated shape. They are suspended from the top point, and their center of gravity is shifted from it. As a result, during the game, vibrations, swaying around the suspension point are formed and a three-dimensional effect visible to a person is created.
How the fish sees this effect is impossible to say. The fact is that fish, although short-sighted compared to humans, see objects much more clearly, have better color perception, distinguish several times the frequency of images, and most likely they do not see this effect.
In addition, all these fluctuations already at a depth of more than one and a half to two meters become very insignificant, and disappear altogether at a depth of 3-4 meters. Slightly more active biting on such baits is most likely due to the fact that fish are more attracted to elongated objects in the water, as well as some kind of acoustic effects.
With one and several hooks
Initially, all mormyshki had one hook. However, at some time, devils appeared – which had three symmetrical hooks and hung vertically on a fishing line.
The game of the devil is very stable vertically, he always returns to his original position and has a short sharp move. In some cases, this brings the best catch. They were also used for summer fishing, and can also work on the course.
What can not be said about most other mormyshkas – they work poorly in the course and their game will be smeared with jets of water.
I must say that the abundance of hooks is not always good. For example, any devil fisherman will say that there are always a lot of gatherings for the devil. Fish often do not swallow all three hooks, and they just get in the way.
In addition, the hooking of the devil itself is reduced due to the body of the mormyshka, beads on the hooks and does not allow you to effectively hook the fish.
There are also asymmetric multi-hook mormyshki. For example, a witch or a goat. They are non-attached and are used for perch fishing at shallow depths.
The witch, or bulldozer, has two hooks that are hinged to the body and hit against it when playing.
The goat has an elongated body and two hooks located at about 45 degrees to each other. Hooks in this case are part of the mormyshka and take part in the game.
Small and large
Large jigs have a large mass and work at greater depths. This is due to the fact that the mass of the fishing line above it, its resistance to immersion and friction against the water will have less effect. Therefore, for fishing on mormyshka, the thinnest fishing line is used. Small mormyshki have a small size. As a rule, perch, including large ones, more often prefers the smallest ones, even if they are of a simple round shape.
With or without decorations
Usually decorate bezmotylnye, beznasadochnye. Beads, flags, hairs are placed on hooks. Sometimes it works. However, anglers do not understand that by doing so they reduce the effective depth of work – the main trump card of a baitless mormyshka.
All of these things have a specific gravity in water that is less than the density of the body. You can just put a bloodworm on the hook. This also reduces the working depth, but a simple bloodworm or maggot is more attractive to perch than other tinsel.
Mormyshka material
Lead and lead-tin solders are used as the material for manufacturing. They allow you to make a mormyshka at home using a regular electric soldering iron and hooks with a long forearm bought in a store.
Mormyshkas are often soldered on the crown, using a copper, brass or nickel silver plate as the base. A hook is soldered to them and the required amount of lead is melted, a hole is made. The soldering on the crown is more accurate, it is easier to master.
The modern material for mormyshkas is tungsten. It has a much higher density than lead. This allows you to reduce the size of jigs that play well on the same line, and increase the number of bites.
If the mormyshka is not made, but bought in a store, only tungsten should be considered. They are more expensive, but catchy one and a half to two times. A tungsten mormyshka is made on the basis of a factory blank, into which a hook is soldered with a special solder.
It is worth mentioning light mormyshki, they are made of plastic. They are used in float fishing instead of a hook. The fact is that the plastic will glow in the dark under water.
Thus, it attracts fish from a greater distance. When buying, you should check such a mormyshka for a glow, closing it with your palms near the eye. They should not be used as a second mormyshka above the main one, as they greatly impair her game.
Other materials are also used for manufacturing: copper, silver, steel and even gold. Working with them is either too complicated, or does not give the desired result, or the material itself is expensive.
The success of some piece of mormyshka in limited conditions does not mean that everything must now be done from this. However, if a ready-made semi-finished product is used for work, for example, a pistol bullet in a tombak shell for a heavy mormyshka, then there is a sense in this, but only that the production is facilitated.
Homemade jigs
Making a mormyshka with your own hands is quite simple. You will need:
- Hooks with a long shank
- Solder POS-30 or POS-40 in wire or rods without rosin filler
- Soldering iron electric power from 1 kW
- Soldering acid based on phosphoric acid and a thin stick for its application
- Thin copper wire. Can be taken from old computer network wires, stranded wires.
- Insulation sleeves to protect the hook. They take it there.
- Optionally – a crown of the desired shape from a thin copper, brass or nickel plate. Copper gives a reddish color, brass – yellow, nickel silver – white.
- Eyelet needle or steel wire with a diameter of 0.5 mm
- Pasatizhi, vices, other fastening tools. Easy to use fly tying machine
- Set of needle files and sandpaper
The list may not be complete, everyone has their own preferences.
- Pre-protect the tip of the hook with cambric from acid ingress
- The hook is treated with soldering acid
- Tin the hook with a thin layer of solder. For large hooks, pre-wrap it with copper wire for better grip.
- A needle or wire is threaded into the eye of the hook so that an unsoldered hole remains.
- The body is soldered with a soldering iron. They act carefully so as not to melt all the lead. It is necessary to add drop by drop and blow on the product.
- The semi-finished product is processed with a file to obtain the desired shape.
- A needle or wire is carefully pulled out of the eye to make a hole for the fishing line.
- The mormyshka is given its final shape and varnished as desired.
Soldering the devil is somewhat more complicated. Here you need to connect three hooks into one, wrap them with wire and solder.
For fixation, a cork with three symmetrical slots is used, diverging rays from the center. Hooks are inserted into them. Often the hole for the fishing line is curvilinear, sometimes a separate eyelet is soldered, etc. Definitely, a beginner should start with soldering simple products.
Mormyshka decoration
The main thing here is to observe the measure. It is enough to hang one or two beads so that the mormyshka catches and is working. Glass beads are used, as they give a play of light at shallow depths.
Plastic do not give anything and it is useless to use them if they are not luminous. For great depth, they are usually not decorated. To prevent the bead from flying off, it is fixed with a small rubber or plastic ring. They can be cut from cambric USB wire or they are in a set of beads for fishing.
Large beads should have a large hole. For example, a bead for a nail ball. This is necessary so that when biting, she moves out and releases the hook. All the same, large beads reduce catchability.
Not everyone realizes that they can be put not only on a hook, but also on top, tying a mormyshka. This will affect the game and hookiness less, but mormyshki with an eye are not suitable for this.
Effective jigs for perch fishing
This fish remains active in winter and more often than others becomes the prey of the angler. Going after him, you should take a few gear that are good for him.
Shot, bug, lentil, etc.
Relatively rounded shape, with one hook, nozzles. They are bright representatives of classic mormyshkas. It is best to use tungsten.
Bloodworm acts as a perch nozzle. It is difficult to keep it in the cold, but you can get it yourself before fishing. The hook size here goes from 12 to 10 numbers (usually 12).
This is the main difference between perch and roach mormyshka. There are often used small hooks, about 14-16. The roach opens its mouth very reluctantly, and the hook for it must be set to a minimum.
Long mormyshki with a nozzle
Uralka, baban and others are long, which also have their own game. It is also desirable to take them in a tungsten version in order to increase the working depth.
Sometimes they are caught in a non-attachment version, it is still better to use bloodworms. The perch takes on this one as well as on the round one, but the roach likes the Uralka and the banana a little more. A good option to switch to it, so as not to be left without fish.
Headless with one and two hooks
These mormyshkas include most of the baitless ones: goat, uralka, banana, nail ball, etc. Refusal to use the nozzle allows you to fish with them at a greater depth and makes fishing more sporty when the fish are attracted only by the game of the bait. For catching perch, a fairly tempo and short game is used.
First, the mormyshka is shown to the fish, making several strokes with a good amplitude. Then they begin to play, making small fluctuations, pausing from time to time, moving along the horizon during the game, etc.
Four
The most “deep-water” mormyshka. Usually short, but sometimes long.
Can also be purchased with a tungsten body. The classic devil has three hooks and a stable stroke in height.
This allows you to play at a good pace even at depth and in current. Often use a fishing rod with a hard nod. They are rebuilt so that for one movement of the hand the mormyshka makes two vibrations. This is very convenient, you can achieve a high frequency of the game.
The author believes that the devil is the only “intelligent” jig without a nozzle. All others can be replaced with baited jig with great success. The catch lies in the fact that the perch is caught at a relatively shallow depth, in quiet backwaters without a current, where the devil has no advantage over others. It turned out to be the most practical when catching silver bream and bream.
Witch, bastard
Catching them is a cross between mormyshka and lure. The game of the bulldozer consists in oscillations, in which the hooks knock on her body. At the same time, the mass and size of the bait are significantly larger.
Deeper than 3-4 meters, the hooks completely stop knocking and simply hang along the body of the bulldozer. Catching becomes the same as fishing with a carnation-type lure, but the bait in these conditions is usually more catchy.
However, perch is more often caught at shallow depths, and can be used to catch it and search for a bastard.