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Sea lenok is a fish of the greenling family. The scientific name is the one-finned southern greenling. A fairly common marine fish that lives off the coast of the Russian Far East. The body is elongated, oblong, slightly laterally compressed. The caudal fin is forked, the dorsal fin occupies a significant part of the body. The color of the fish may vary, depending on age and sexual maturity. Older and larger individuals have the darkest, brown color. A relatively small fish, it grows about 60 cm in length and weighs up to 1.6 kg. The average size of fish in catches is usually about 1 kg. Leads a near-bottom-pelargic way of life. Greenlings are characterized by seasonal migrations, in winter they move from the coastline to the bottom layers at depths of 200-300 m. But, in general, they tend to live along the coast. The greenling feeds on benthic animals: worms, mollusks, crustaceans, but often preys on small fish. It is worth noting that when fishing in the sea waters of the Far East, along with the one-finned greenling, other fish of this family, for example, the red greenling, are also caught. At the same time, local residents often do not share these fish and call them all by the same name: sea lenok. In any case, these fish have minor differences in lifestyle.
Methods for catching sea lenok
When fishing for sea lenok, its lifestyle should be taken into account. The main ways of amateur fishing can be considered fishing with various equipment for vertical fishing. With the condition that lenok can be caught with both natural and artificial baits, it is possible to use various rigs such as “tyrant”, where just pieces of bright fabric or pieces of meat are fixed on the hooks. In addition, the fish reacts to various silicone baits and vertical spinners. Greenlings are also caught on spinning gear when fishing “cast”, for example, from the shore.
Catching sea lenok on the “tyrant”
Fishing for “tyrant”, despite the name, which is clearly of Russian origin, is quite widespread and is used by anglers all over the world. There are slight regional differences, but the principle of fishing is the same everywhere. It is also worth noting that the main difference between the rigs is rather related to the size of the prey. Initially, the use of any rods was not provided. A certain amount of cord is wound on a reel of arbitrary shape, depending on the depth of fishing, this can be up to several hundred meters. A sinker with an appropriate weight of up to 400 g is fixed at the end, sometimes with a loop at the bottom to secure an additional leash. Leashes are fixed on the cord, most often, in an amount of about 10-15 pieces. Leads can be made from materials, depending on the intended catch. It can be either monofilament or metal lead material or wire. It should be clarified that sea fish is less “finicky” to the thickness of the equipment, so you can use fairly thick monofilaments (0.5-0.6 mm). With regard to metal parts of the equipment, especially hooks, it is worth bearing in mind that they must be coated with an anti-corrosion coating, because sea water corrodes metals much faster. In the “classic” version, the “tyrant” is equipped with baits with attached colored feathers, woolen threads or pieces of synthetic materials. In addition, small spinners, additionally fixed beads, beads, etc. are used for fishing. In modern versions, when connecting parts of the equipment, various swivels, rings, and so on are used. This increases the versatility of the tackle, but can hurt its durability. It is necessary to use reliable, expensive fittings. On specialized vessels for fishing on “tyrant”, special on-board devices for reeling gear may be provided. This is very useful when fishing at great depths. If fishing takes place from ice or a boat on relatively small lines, then ordinary reels are sufficient, which can serve as short rods. When using side rods with access rings or short sea spinning rods, a problem arises on all multi-hook rigs with the “selection” of the rig when playing the fish. When catching small fish, this problem is solved by using rods with throughput rings 6-7 m long, and when catching large fish, limiting the number of “working” leashes. In any case, when preparing tackle for fishing, the main leitmotif should be convenience and simplicity during fishing. “Samodur” is also called a multi-hook equipment using natural baits. The principle of fishing is quite simple, after lowering the sinker in a vertical position to a predetermined depth, the angler makes periodic twitches of tackle according to the principle of vertical flashing. In the case of an active bite, this, sometimes, is not required. “Landing” of fish on hooks can occur when lowering the equipment or from the pitching of the vessel.
Baits
Various natural baits are used to catch sea lenok. For this, pieces of fresh meat of various fish, as well as mollusks and crustaceans, may be suitable. In the case of fishing with multi-hook rigs using decoys, a variety of materials described earlier can serve. When fishing for classic jigging, silicone lures of various colors and sizes are usually used.
Places of fishing and habitat
The habitat of the sea lenok covers the coastal waters of the Far East from the Yellow Sea to Sakhalin, the Kuriles and the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk with the coast of Kamchatka. The one-finned southern greenling is an important commercial fish. Along with it, other species of greenlings, which can also be called sea lenok, live in the same range of the seas of the Far East, while they are often caught with amateur gear. Greenlings, due to the availability of fishing in shallow coastal waters and the unpretentiousness of the equipment used, often become the main object of fishing during pleasure trips off the coast of coastal cities.
Spawning
Fish become sexually mature at 2-4 years of age. Spawning occurs, depending on the habitat, from late summer to early winter. Spawning grounds are located on rocky areas with strong currents. The greenlings are characterized by the predominance of males on spawning grounds during spawning (polyandry and polygamy). Spawning is portioned, eggs are attached to the bottom and males protect it until the larvae appear. After spawning in adult fish, feeding on fish prevails, but after a while it becomes mixed again.