Sabrefish: where it lives, what it eats, photo and description, what to catch

Chekhon is a bright representative of the carp family, which inhabits both freshwater and salt water bodies. In nature, there are few similar representatives of the ichthyofauna that could represent such a wide habitat. Chekhon is caught by literally everyone, both amateur and professional anglers, since this fish has unique gastronomic data. Chekhon is also caught on a commercial scale. Unfortunately, not everyone can distinguish sabrefish from some types of fish, and not everyone knows what way of life she leads. This article is aimed at informing readers about what a sabrefish looks like and what are the features of its life.

Chekhon: a description of the fish

This representative of the carp family has a crescent-shaped body, which formed the basis for the appearance of other names, such as mowing, saber. In addition, it is called more affectionately, like Chesh or Czech.

To identify this fish, you should pay attention to some signs. For example:

• Its body is narrow and long, significantly compressed on the sides.
• The fish has a straight back, on which there is a small fin, shifted closer to the tail.
• The sichel has a convex abdomen, and on it you can see a steep keel.
• The fish has big eyes.
• The lateral line is zigzag and very low.
• Her mouth is located at the top, as the lower jaw is pushed forward.
• The scales are large, while easily separated from the skin.
• The pectoral fin is swept, the caudal fin is forked, and the anal fin is elongated and slightly elongated.

The color of the sichel is characterized as silver-white with a mother-of-pearl hue. The back is gray-brown or greenish and contrasts beautifully against the general background of the body. The fins are distinguished by a gray or smoky reddish tint. The scales are distinguished by their extraordinary brilliance and the ability to refract light rays due to the secretions of a unique skin secretion – guanine. As a result of the action of this secret, the scales have the qualities of a mirror oxide film.

The sabrefish is considered to be fast and agile fish, as well as strong, which is specific to all cyprinids. This is especially felt in the process of fighting. Even after she is on the shore, she continues to resist for a long time.

Individuals are considered trophy, weighing about 2 kg and up to half a meter long, although this is a rather rare occurrence. To have such indicators, sabrefish need to live in ideal conditions for about 10 years. As a rule, specimens up to 5 years of age, weighing no more than about 6 kg, reaching a length of no more than 40 cm, come across on the hook. Some fishermen claim that they came across sabrefish weighing up to 3.5 kg and more than 0,5 meters long. In fact, it was a single case that occurred about 100 years ago, when the fishermen of one of the fish farms, with the help of nets, caught such a specimen of sabrefish.

The habitats of the sichel

This fish can live in various waters, including warm and cold, salty and even more so fresh, regardless of climatic conditions. The mechanism of osmoregulation works well in sichel, which allows it to quickly adapt to various conditions of hydrostatic pressure, which is remarkable for marine conditions. In addition, the system of regulation of the water-salt balance works perfectly in her, which leads to the restructuring of the work of all the main internal organs, which leads to the rapid removal of harmful substances from the body of the fish.

These processes are so effective that until quite recently the sabrefish inhabited the highly salty Aral Sea. To our time, its habitat in Central Asia is not large. Now sabrefish is found in the lower reaches of the Syrdarya and Amudarya, as well as in Chelkar Lake, which is also distinguished by an increase in water salinity.

In Russia, sabrefish is found in the basins of several seas:

• In the Sea of ​​Azov basin: Wet Elanchik, Don, Eya, Kuban, Maus, Protoka, Sambek, Wet Chiburka, Khoper.
• In the Caspian Sea basin: in the rivers Oka, Kama, Volga, Ural, Samur, Sulak, Terek, Akhtuba.
• In the Black Sea basin: in the rivers Psou, Shakh, Mzymta, Sochi, the upper reaches of the Dnieper and Kuban.
• In the Baltic Sea basin: in the rivers Luga, Pregol, Zapadnaya Dvina, Neman, Svir, Volkhov, Neva, Ilmen, Lake Onega and Ladoga.

The northern border of the distribution of sichel passes along the Neva River and the Gulf of Finland. The left-bank tributaries of the Urals, the Ilek and Or rivers, are considered the eastern borders. In the west, these are Lake Peipus, the upper reaches of the Narva, the Western Dvina, the Dnieper and the Desna.

Where to catch sabrefish in the Moscow region

This fish is found in rivers and reservoirs located in the Moscow region. The largest populations of sabrefish are observed in the Oka River, in the channel named after. Moscow, in the Pyalovsky, Pestovsky and Ivankovsky reservoirs. The sichel keeps as far as possible from the shore at decent depths. To catch it, you need to have a feeder equipment to cast the bait over a long distance. In this case, a special equipment is used, with a long leash, about 1,5-2 meters. This is necessary so that the sabrefish can take the bait when gliding in the water column.

Habits and lifestyle of sabrefish

The sabrefish is considered a valuable semi-anadromous fish that leads a schooling life and prefers to spend a lot of time in areas where there is enough food. There are sedentary forms of sichel, which do not have characteristic differences, except that they differ in the color of the back and growth rates. Whatever it was, but all species of sabrefish spawn in fresh water, rising to the upper reaches of the rivers for many kilometers.

As a rule, sabrefish chooses places in medium and large water bodies with significant depths, where there is no dense vegetation. In other words, she loves areas where there is enough freedom of movement. Basically, these are large rivers, lakes or reservoirs, where there is a complex bottom topography, many deep pits. In such places, the fish rests at night, waiting out bad weather, heat or winter cold.

As a rule, sabrefish are active at sunrise, during the day and before sunset. This fish prefers to feed on fish fry or insects in the middle water layers and closer to the surface. The fish is considered cautious, because it rarely comes close to the shore, and, moreover, appears in shallow water. If you throw tackle and get into the flock, you can count on a significant catch. At depths above 5 meters, this fish feels safe, not paying attention to its relatives caught on the hook. This is not surprising, since in the process of active feeding on insects, sabrefish behave quite noisily and actively. She is able to jump high out of the water and fall down with noise.

Fish are also attracted to places with a fast current on the riffles and the depth does not play a significant role here. Since the fish is swift, it easily snatches both fry and other objects for food from a fast stream. With the onset of autumn, the fish begins to actively feed, and sabrefish is no exception. After the fish is satiated, it begins to move to the wintering grounds. With the advent of winter, the sabrefish continues an active lifestyle and easily gets hooked.

There is no world

Depending on weather conditions, the spawning of sabrefish starts in April and continues until June, at a water temperature of about +12 degrees. The sabrefish spawns for 4 days. Spawning occurs in conditions of maximum rise in the level of flood waters. During this period, the sabrefish migrates over long distances in search of suitable spawning sites. The fish lays eggs at a depth of 1 to 3 meters. The fish chooses places with a fast current so that the eggs constantly receive a fresh portion of oxygen. In this regard, in reservoirs, sabrefish spawn only in the mouths and sources of rivers.

First of all, females, 5 years old, are preparing for spawning, after which older individuals are connected to this process. They come out to spawning grounds under the veil of morning mist. The size of the eggs is 2-2,5 mm, but, getting into the water, they begin to absorb moisture and increase in size up to 5 mm. Due to this effect, the eggs acquire the properties of moderate buoyancy. This allows them to move without problems in the water column, at a certain horizon, receiving the necessary amount of oxygen.

After about 5 days, or even earlier, depending on weather conditions, fry begin to appear from the eggs, which immediately stray into flocks and move downstream. At the initial stage of their development, the fry feed on zooplankton, and in a year they grow up to 7-10 cm in length. Thanks to high speed, as well as rapid movement, as well as caution, most of the fry manage to survive. Artificial breeding of sabrefish has a number of problems associated with the development of caviar. After spawning, adults again return to their former places of parking, and with them a part of the river population, which decided to feed a little.

What does sabrefish eat

The diet of this fish depends on several factors, such as living conditions, the age of the fish and its size. Therefore, it makes sense to talk about the diversity of nutrition. Small individuals feed on zooplankton, as well as small crustaceans, larvae, worms, etc. Older individuals feed on:

• Large species of insects.
• Smoothies, rowers, ringing mosquitoes.
• Stoneflies, water donkeys, corydals.
• Juveniles of other fish such as gudgeon, roach, bleak, crucian carp, etc.

Hunting sabrefish for fry has interesting features. It attaches itself to a flock of small fish and follows it for some time without showing aggression. And then she grabs a nearby victim and goes with her to the depths. After she swallows the fry, the sabrefish returns to “steal” the fry again.

What to catch sabrefish

With the exception of the spawning period, sabrefish fishing can be productive throughout the year. It is most actively caught in spring, before spawning, and in autumn, during preparation for winter.

To catch sabrefish, you can use as bait:

• Bloodworm, maggot, grasshopper.
• Dragonfly, fly or gadfly.
• Mayfly, earth or dung worm.
• Bark beetle larvae, beetles or live bait.

No less popular are artificial baits of bright colors. These can be foam balls, colored threads, edible silicone, flies, small oscillating and rotating baubles, wobblers, etc. The sabrefish is well caught on a “sandwich”, when a maggot and a bloodworm are placed on the hook. Trophy specimens are caught on live bait, up to 5 cm in size or artificial lures of the same size.

A variety of tackle is suitable for catching sabrefish, such as bottom, feeder, float fishing rods, spinning and fly fishing. With the help of fly fishing, it is possible to catch the upper layers in the water column, luring sabrefish from the depth.

Catching sabrefish on long casts is no less effective if you use a sbirulino float (bombard). Such tackle allows you to deliver such a bait as a grasshopper or a small wobbler far, and the float will serve as an excellent bite indicator.

Chehon is a fish that does not have a lot of weight, but it is quite cautious and rough tackle can alert it. To catch it, you should use a fishing line no thicker than 0,2 mm, with a leash no thicker than 0,17 mm. Recently, fluorocarbon has been used to make leaders. For fishing all layers of water, it is better to use hooks with a long forearm so that foam balls can be planted. With their help, you can give any character of buoyancy to the nozzle.

The sabrefish has rather soft lips, so its hooking and subsequent hauling requires caution, otherwise you can easily miss the prey. When fishing from a boat or from a cliff, it is better to use a landing net, since gatherings occur when the fish are raised above the water level. This is because the soft lip cannot support the weight of the fish.

When fishing for sabrefish from a boat, one should take into account the fact that the fish is cautious and the noise of the motor has a negative effect on it. In this regard, it is better to move around the pond on oars and then quite carefully, without unnecessary noise. The caught sabrefish quickly calms down and falls asleep, so you can use the cage, which is attached next to the boat. The sabrefish moves in flocks, so after the biting stops, you will have to wait for the next flock to approach or float downstream without a motor. It is enough to move about 200 meters and the bite can resume.

Fishing is a wonderful activity that allows a person to relax and unwind from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. At the same time, it is also possible to provide the family with fish, which is distinguished by the fact that it is easily absorbed by the human body. The fish contains all the vitamins and minerals necessary for the human body. Fish can be fried, boiled, baked in the oven, marinated, dried, smoked, etc. From fish you can cook a huge number of dishes, and dishes are healthy, easy on the stomach. There are practically no contraindications for eating fish, with rare exceptions when a person suffers from personal intolerance to fish dishes.