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There are many fans of spinning and dynamic fishing among fans of catching predatory fish species. However, pike fishing is not limited to artificial lures. Many anglers use stationary tackle, which sometimes shows higher efficiency. Such methods of fishing include fishing with the help of bottom equipment.
How to assemble bottom tackle for pike fishing
For live bait fishing you will need a rod. The advantage of stationary fishing is the ability to use several fishing rods at once. The blank for pike can be of two types: plug-in and telescopic. The first type of rods is more expensive, it has a well-distributed load, installed rings and more accurate test limits.
Photo: proribu.ru
It is difficult to set a test for a telescopic product, since many parts, although they have different diameters, it is very difficult to predict where the bending point is. If the plug blank breaks more often in the area with the bending point and the load can be distributed independently when playing a large fish, then the telescopic rod can crack anywhere.
For fishing on live bait from the bottom, the rod must have the following characteristics:
- length that allows you to make long-distance casts in the conditions of the coastline;
- test load, matched to the depth and current in the fishing area;
- medium or progressive action of the blank for competent casting of the bait;
- a comfortable handle for working with spinning when fighting pike.
On larger water bodies, longer rods are used to be able to cast the live bait far. However, small ponds also require a long blank, it allows you to level the effect of the current on the line, thereby leaving the bait in the working area. Also, a long rod prevents grazing on floating vegetation, which appears a lot by the end of summer.
Feeder rods are suitable for fishing, as they are specialized for bottom fishing. Spinning is equipped with a reel with a baytran, a spool with a size of 2500-3500 units and a long friction brake lever. Baitraner allows the fish to grab the bait and move freely with it until it turns and swallows.
The pike grabs the live bait across, after which it turns the fish in several movements with its head towards the esophagus and begins to swallow. If hooked too early, there will be little chance of a notch, it is necessary that the hook is in the mouth of the “toothed”.
Bottom tackle can be used on almost any body of water, adjusting it to the conditions of fishing. On the reel, as a rule, a fishing line is wound. This is due to the fact that the cord does not stretch and the bites come out too aggressive. The pike attack looks like a slow bending of the rod, somewhat reminiscent of a bite of a carp.
Donkey rig
Each angler is experimenting with fishing technique, choice of location and tackle. Practice allows you to choose the ideal proportions of the length of the leash, the weight of the sinker and the size of the hook. Tackle can be made floating in the thickness or lying on the bottom. Many anglers set the fish closer to the bottom, but the pike sees the live bait from afar better if it is in the thickness. It is worth noting that, depending on the season, the toothy beauty attacks prey in different horizons of the water column. In summer, it hunts in the depths, it can go to the surface, in late autumn the pike is more aimed at finding prey near the bottom.
There are several options for bottom mounting:
- with a stationary sinker at the bottom;
- with a float in the thickness and a load at the bottom.
In the first case, the classic equipment consists of a flat weight of a sliding type, a stopper, a leash with a length of at least a meter and a hook. This rig is used by most anglers, it is effective at different times of the year and allows you to catch pike feeding near the bottom. Live bait can be located above the bottom, periodically lie down, rise and play within a meter leash.
Photo: zkm-v.ru
Equipment with a float migrated from catching large catfish, where floats are used to lift the bait into the thickness.
For bottom pike fishing, an abrasive-resistant line that has no memory is used. The optimal cross section is 0,35 mm. Such nylon is capable of withstanding 10 kg of rupture. Some anglers use a thicker line, but this technique significantly reduces the casting distance.
Live bait is planted behind the back or upper lip, less often – the tail. It makes no sense to thread a double under the gills: when casting in this position of the hook, the fish will receive serious injuries and the live bait from it will be bad. Anglers recommend using single hooks or doubles with different levels of sting. The triple hook clings too much to vegetation, driftwood and objects lying on the bottom.
Fluorocarbon leaders are not as reliable as metal, although large pike can grind it too. Titanium leashes are ideal for donkey equipment. Tungsten analogs spin a lot, and the string has no flexibility.
To assemble a rig with a float:
- Put a stopper on the main line, then thread the sliding float.
- The float is supported by another stopper on the other side, after which the leash should be directly tied.
- Each leash has a secure clasp with which you need to fix the hook.
Simple tackle works great in cases where the bottom is covered with a dense carpet of mud or fishing is carried out in overgrown areas.
Fishing tactics and technique
It is necessary to choose a zone for fishing according to the season. In spring, pike stays in shallow areas of water bodies, which warm up the fastest. It is worth looking for a predator both in stagnant water and in the middle course, since the bottom gear allows you to catch with a strong flow of water.
Casts are made at different distances from the shore, thus trying to figure out where the pike trail passes. The toothy inhabitant of fresh water often moves along the coast, especially before spawning.
Pike spawning passes early, so the predator has time to spawn and be ready for spawning by white fish. The beginning of spawning occurs even under the ice, by April the fish is completely freed from future offspring.
You can catch pike before spawning or after it. During spawning, the predator is inactive and ignores any bait, even live ones. Before spawning, the spotted beauty is perfectly caught on coastal brows, dumps, and entrances to pits. After spawning, it should be looked for in more familiar places: under fallen trees, on the borders of cattail and reeds, near any visible shelters.
Photo: Yandex Zen channel “Photo notes from my life in Crimea”
In the warm season, the bite is weak, since the pike area has an abundant food base, which is not only fry, but also crustaceans, leeches, frogs, rodents, etc. However, even during this period, biting is possible if you guess with the weather and time of day.
In summer, live bait should be installed near visible shelters, in bays of rivers and reservoirs, at the exits to the shallows.
The main nuances of fishing on the donk:
- Tackle must be moved every hour, since finding fish is easier than waiting for them to approach.
- Multiple rods allow you to check zones faster. There is no need to be afraid to move along the river, if there are no bites, sooner or later the pike will show itself.
- Active search involves light inventory in a minimum amount, so you don’t need to stock up on chairs and tables.
- Varying the length of the leash changes the location of the live bait near the bottom. With a bad bite, it can be increased, thereby raising the fish into the thickness.
- When biting, you should wait for time, as if fishing goes to the winter vent. Hooking should be done during the period when the fish unwinds the baitrunner for the second time.
- If you do not turn on the baitrunner, the pike may not catch, feeling the resistance of the rod. In small rivers, the fish usually move downstream, but may also move to the nearest shelter.
It is important to monitor the equipment, the integrity of the leash, the sharpness of the hook and overall performance. Unnoticed notches on the main line can lead to the loss of the next trophy.
Use and storage of live bait for donkey
An ideal bait for casting will be crucian carp. The dense body and vitality of the fish will allow the live bait to reach its destination intact. In the spring it is recommended to put a larger bait, in the summer – a small one. Roach, silver bream and rudd are often broken when they hit the water or fall off the hook. In this case, you can use a boat to bring in and install the mount in the fishing area or choose areas near the coast, throwing tackle with a parachute or from under you.
In summer, perch are also used as bait. Its dense scales allow you to catch the “striped” under the fin, without worrying that the fish will come off when it hits the water. Of the white fish, the rudd more or less tolerates casting.
In the warm season, you can save the nozzle in a small bucket or cage with a small cell. In the first case, you should constantly change the water, otherwise the fish will suffocate from lack of oxygen. A cage with a small cell is much more reliable.
A small swing will help to catch live bait right on the shore of the reservoir, if it was not possible to prepare it in advance. Bleak is not suitable for fishing on the bottom gear, so the rudd will still become the main object.
Wounded live bait must be replaced with a new one. Pike rarely picks up a dead fish from the bottom, this can only happen in places with a scarce food supply or in late autumn, when the “spotted” one has no alternative.
Pike fishing on the bottom is an interesting type of fishing that can be combined with float or feeder fishing. Toothy trophy will be an excellent bonus in any whitefish catch.