Burbot fishing in spring: March, April, May

Spring fishing for burbot on a donk

In spring, everything is the other way around - it is much more convenient to use donks than allowances.
It would seem: the same river, the same fish - what, exactly, is the difference? There is a difference, and a considerable one. Firstly, when catching burbot in the spring on a donk, it begins to bite very early, almost immediately after the ice drifts, when in the same places the fishing conditions are completely different than in the fall: the level of the rivers rises due to melt water, the current intensifies, and besides, it rushes along it all kinds of garbage washed away from the banks. Long tackle with a large number of hooks in such conditions is much more “saily” and carried away by the current: even if at first the line is positioned as expected, across the river, over time, floating plant stems, last year’s leaves, and other underwater debris stick to the main line and especially to the leashes , — the “windage” of the tackle increases and the sinker begins to crawl along the bottom.

Secondly, burbot does not like to fight fast spring currents and often stays near the coast or in relatively calm places between two multidirectional streams, where a sharp bend of the coast forms a counter eddy current. Calm “spots” on a stormy spring river are usually small in size, and extra hooks on the gear are simply not needed.

Thirdly, when fishing in spring, fishermen are much less likely to stay on the reservoir all night than in autumn: it gets dark much later, everything around is damp, potential firewood is saturated with water, and for some reason the pre-dawn frosts seem colder than autumn frosts. Most anglers leave their gear overnight, and many who have a working day ahead of them check it not in the morning, but only the next evening. And an unattended undercut is much easier to detect than a donkey - for example, hooked with a hook when fishing with a float rod - and it can fall into the hands of those who like to remove prey from other people's gear, there are also such.

Burbot fishing in March

In each region, burbot fishing in March has its own characteristics. If there is strong ice, the same winter fishing for burbot continues. In such conditions, winter fishing rods are successfully used, and during active fishing, a winter fishing rod is used. During the freeze-up period, burbot is excellently caught using a snooker. Large jigs and spoons are used as bait. You can increase catchability by adding pieces of fish meat.

As the ice melts, you can begin fishing for burbot in the coastal zone in open water. In March, burbot continues to be highly active. You can place summer girders along the shore. If it is not possible to catch fry during this period, then pieces of frozen fish should be used as bait. After spawning in March, the predator pays little attention to the roughness of the gear and willingly pecks at the bait offered. Considering that in search of small fish, burbot does not neglect bottom larvae, you can use worms or other available bait as bait.

Traditionally, the best fishing time is night. The gear is set out before dark. The distance between the tackles should prevent them from overlapping during the process of fishing for hooked fish. Bells are used as bite alarms, preferably with different sound tones. This is achieved by using structures made of different metals and the size of the “tongue” of the bell.

Donkey rig for burbot

The donka (aka a snatch, a delivery) has been simplified to the limit so as not to grieve too much about the loss of gear:

the main line with a diameter of 0.7 mm usually does not exceed 10–15 meters in length;
a lead sinker of any shape and a pair of leashes 30–35 cm long and 0.5 mm thick are attached to it. (In fact, both the main fishing line and the leashes can be made twice as thin, the burbot will not break. But a thick fishing line gets tangled less at night, and the stronger the tackle, the fewer hooks it ends up breaking.)
hooks are tied with single hooks No. 7 - No. 10, depending on the nozzle.
a reel of arbitrary size and shape is made from a variety of materials: cut from wood, sawn from plywood or plastic. Some fishermen glue a strip of polypropylene foam along the reel to stick hooks into it, others stick hooks (there are from one to three of them on a burbot cast) into a separate piece of foam plastic.

Sometimes a reel with a pointed peg end is cut out of a board (usually linden, which is the easiest to work with), then on the pond you don’t have to look for something to securely attach the hook to. This design is sometimes simplified by driving two nails into a peg or screwing in two screws, onto which the fishing line is wound.

Such a design solution cannot be considered successful: the fishing line in places of contact with the corroding metal of nails or screws quickly loses strength; if you insulate the metal (for example, with pieces of cambric), then the wound fishing line, contracting when it dries, often bends the nails and tears the screws out of their sockets.

Since trinkets are usually displayed in considerable quantities, the task is to minimize their total weight and volume. Some fishermen, as in the case with subs, make sinkers for bottoms on the spot, from pebbles. Naturally, you can fish this way only in well-known reservoirs, and when going to new places, you still need to use traditional lead sinkers.

Another method to minimize the volume and weight of gear is to use multi-cell reels: from 10 to 15 reels are wound on one, usually of the same length. Since when installing gear stored in this way, the reel remains not on the pond, but in the fisherman’s backpack, then all the fishing line is used when casting, and there is no need for an extra supply (burbot fishing lines that are too long often get tangled in snags). On narrow forest rivers with a depth of no more than 2 m, a five-meter main line is quite sufficient; however, it is not a bad idea to have a skein of thick fishing line in stock so that, if necessary, you can quickly lengthen the tackle.

It is convenient to have several of these large reels with you, with hooks of a certain length wound on each one, - then for any place you like on the river you can choose the appropriate size tackle. At the same time, on the reels it is worth indicating the length of the wound donks with numbers, in order to avoid confusion.

How to catch burbot in the spring months

Depending on the month of spring, not only are gear selected that will not be difficult to catch fish with, but also the area where active burbot biting is observed is studied. The fish swallows the bait deeply, so it cannot escape the hook on its own. The predator does not resist well and therefore it is not at all difficult to pull it out, but due to the increased mucous membrane of the body, it is much more difficult to take the fish with your hands, which means you need to stock up on a net, with which you can pick up the caught trophy.

In March

Catching burbot in the spring is carried out only at night, when the predator comes out to hunt and is characterized by increased activity. The best bite is observed in the morning from 4 o'clock and lasts until dawn. And since the fish feels great at low water temperatures, the month of March and inclement weather become ideal for effective fishing.

In order for the burbot hunt to be complete, the fisherman has to spend the time it takes:

for catching live bait (roach, gudgeon, brush), since live fish is a favorite delicacy for burbot. But you can also use dead fish, raw meat, frogs, dung worms, frozen sprat, shrimp and shells as bait;
to survey the area;
directly to fishing.

A donka with a rod 3-4 m long and a reel is suitable as a tackle. The fishing line must be very strong with a diameter of up to 0.4 mm, which can withstand weight up to 6 kg. Single or double hooks No. 10-14 are attached, as well as a heavy, flat-shaped sinker capable of holding the tackle in a specific place. Casting a donkey is conveniently carried out from the shore, since in early spring it did not have time to be overgrown with abundant vegetation and therefore there are no obstacles for fishing. The attached bell makes night fishing more convenient, which allows you to react faster to a bite in the dark.

Important! The sinker should be located at least 5 cm from the hook, which will not allow the predator to swallow the bait along with the equipment.

In April

Burbot in the second month of spring can be caught on:

donku;
spinning;
a regular float rod.

The bottom must have a heavy load and two leashes of 25-30 cm, one of which is placed above the sinker, and the second at the end of the main line. The fishing line is taken with a thickness of 0.4 mm. The predator is active at night, in cold and rainy weather. The donk needs to be installed in the evening and checked every half hour until 2-3 am. After which the biting stops for some time and resumes at 4-5 o’clock in the morning, continuing until dawn.

Photo 2. Feeders on the river.

The search for a catchable place needs to be done with one bottom, after which it will be possible to rearrange the remaining gear as close as possible to this area. Due to the fact that burbot takes the bait for a very long time, trying to swallow it completely, hooking is simply not appropriate, since the hook can be pulled out of the fish’s mouth. Although you shouldn’t wait too long either, so that the predator will not be able to tangle the gear or go to a secluded place, from where it will be very difficult to pull it out.

In May

The month of May is the easiest for catching cod fish, because its activity gradually subsides in preparation for summer hibernation. Burbots are best caught on bottom gear, which is equipped with several leashes (mostly two) from 10 to 15 cm long and a weighted flat sinker weighing from 45 to 150 g (regular or sliding). The mass of the sinker depends on the strength of the current. The bait is prepared in the same way as when fishing in March.

Photo 3. Flat weight of 3 ounces.

The main difficulty of hunting in May is attracting the attention of inactive fish to the bait. This situation can be saved by a large number of exposed gear, thanks to which you can cover a large area by filling it with different types of bait.

Advice! Despite the fact that burbot does not like daylight, it is interested in artificial lighting, which is created by a lantern or a fire lit near the water. It has been noticed that bites are more active on the border between light and darkness.

What to take with you

However, even a short, minimally necessary fishing line does not completely protect against snags in snags - nothing can be done about it, this is the kind of place that burbot prefer. Therefore, when going to catch burbot on a donk in the spring, it is very useful to take a hook with you (only its metal working part, and cut the shaft from a suitable pole on the spot) and try to unhook each hooked donk - there is a very high probability that there is a good burbot sitting on its hook . Some authors even recommend using a long-handled saw (like those gardeners use to cut high-lying branches from branches) to cut through too thick snags.

When is burbot caught in the spring?

When talking about fishing in spring, one should distinguish between calendar spring and actual spring. So, depending on the weather, you can catch burbot in open water in February, as well as from ice in mid-March. The most effective gear for ice fishing for burbot is a girder and a snooker. How to catch burbot using a snooker in March? If there is ice on the reservoir, you need to make a hole and tap the tackle on the bottom, making characteristic sounds that attract burbot.

Fishing for burbot in early spring begins as soon as the ice melts. In fact, from now on you can catch burbot in thawed areas.

The question of how to catch burbot in the spring in March and April is quite broad. Therefore, we will separately consider which baits are best suited for such fishing, as well as the main tactical features of using the appropriate gear.

What do burbot bite on in the spring?

It has been noticed that in the spring burbots are slightly more likely to be caught on a worm than on live bait or cutting.
On some rivers of the Leningrad region, flowing into the Neva and Ladoga, bottoms are baited with great success with lamprey larvae (also known as squeaks, ganders and blind bindweeds). Moreover, you come across not only burbot, perch and pike, but also carp fish: ide, raw fish, bream. Sometimes you can use a blind bindweed to catch a large, one and a half kilogram, grayling going to spawn from Ladoga. The bindweed is planted by piercing the lip with one hook of a small tee (No. 6-No. 7), then the larva will not be able to burrow into muddy or sandy soil; In case of a pike bite, it is advisable to use a Kevlar leash.

Read also: Spicy salting of fish at home

It is possible to use cuttings from frozen capelin purchased in a store. However, the burbot bites worse on it than on cutting from a steaming, freshly caught fish. Sometimes - if I manage to get out for burbot only in the evening and there is no time left for catching live bait - I buy ruffe at fish stalls (in St. Petersburg they are caught by fishermen as bycatch when fishing for smelt, then they are re-sorted and sold at a symbolic price).

Fishing technique and tactics

Catching burbot in winter is a leisurely process, requiring separate tactical techniques when fishing in open water and from ice. You will be able to catch a fish only if you manage to calculate everything correctly. The main secrets lie in using a variety of gear along the entire route of the burbot. So, the girders are placed at a distance of 2-4 meters from each other along the shore, moving in the direction from shallows to depth. There must be at least 5 of them.

Depending on what fishing method is used, the fisherman’s technique and tactics will differ.

To the girder. Here the main recommendations concern the choice of hook - it should be single or double. When using signaling devices in the form of flags, do not rush to mark them. The fish itself will swallow the bait, and quite deeply, and after night fishing it will not be easy to release the hook. Girders should be placed on ledges in pits, on edges, slopes, and changes in bottom topography

It is important to select such a load so that the live bait is as close to the bottom as possible.

When flashing. Here they use dead fish and shrimp as bait; burbot bites especially well on sprat after freezing.

When choosing a spinner bait, you need to pay enough attention to the active reproduction of sounds at the bottom. It is important that the play of the bait proceeds measuredly, with pauses of up to 10 seconds; it is a good idea to lower the bait to the bottom for this time, slightly moving it with the tip of the rod. Lure goes well with fishing with girders.

To the donk. This option is the only one that works when fishing for burbot during the day in winter. However, at night it also works quite successfully. Increasing the number of leashes helps to increase the efficiency of using donkeys, each of which has its own attachment: crawler, shrimp, poultry offal, slicing fish or meat fillet. Having discovered a bite of a large specimen under a hole, you should arm yourself with a hook - the burbot curls up around natural obstacles at the bottom, and it will be quite difficult to pull it out.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that night fishing for predatory fish involves creating a reliable shelter. On the shore or on ice in winter you cannot do without a fire and a tent; in some cases, awnings are used

The first bites begin at dusk, and thanks to the long night, they continue until the morning.

To learn how to catch burbot in winter, watch the following video.

How to catch burbot in spring

Donks are installed secretly, tied to pegs stuck into the bottom near the shore so that the upper ends do not protrude above the water; The reel with excess fishing line is masked nearby. Fishermen who are not afraid of cold spring nights and stay overnight on the reservoir, next to the donks, cut sixes for them from thick rods and tie bell guards to the fishing line.

If you have to fish in too wide reservoirs and long casting is required, then spinning rods are equipped with burbot bottoms. In this case, a thinner line is used: the main line is 0.4 mm, the leads are 0.25 mm, and, naturally, the spinning rods are not left unattended at night.