Neva River (within the city) 03/20/2015 10:57
The beautiful Neva adorns the mighty and unconquered St. Petersburg with a fancy necklace. The water surface beckons with magic, exposing its back to hundreds of spinning rods, fishing rods and other fishing gear.
How nice it is to enjoy the beneficial fishing in the city! Of the total length of 74 km, the river gave 32 km to the majestic city.
The depth to the bottom varies from 4 m to 24 m (area of the Liteiny Bridge).
The maximum width is 1250 m, and the minimum is only 210 m. The mighty river connected the Gulf of Finland with the largest fishing reservoirs, such as Ladoga and further Onega.
Huge schools of fish ply along the waterway, migrating back and forth seasonally. An experienced fisherman must know the cool and fishing places on the Neva, which will certainly delight you with a good catch.
St. Petersburg fisherman, explain yourself: what can you catch in the Neva and are you afraid to eat it?
Roshydromet and Greenpeace call the water in the Neva “polluted” and “very polluted.” Rospotrebnadzor generally advises St. Petersburg residents not to swim in reservoirs in the city and region due to their non-compliance with sanitary standards. Nevertheless, in the summer, every day you can meet fishermen fishing on the embankments and canals of the city.
Why do they continue to fish, why do they not consider city fish dangerous and how the constantly changing weather affects the catch and fishing conditions - 53-year-old fisherman Yuri explained to Paper how to fish in St. Petersburg “in a special way” and why you can love fishing, even if the catch is minimal.
Yuri fishes next to the sphinxes on the Malaya Nevka embankment.
How long have you been doing this?
I’m the kind of person that immediately, when I can, I take tickets to the islands in the Indian Ocean to relax. One day there, about five years ago, it occurred to me to go fishing, and I got out on the water. In the end, I liked it so much that I started fishing in St. Petersburg.
Now I have been constantly fishing only on the city canals for four years now, going out two or three times every week for a few hours. In my opinion, the best places here are generally recognized: on the Bolshaya and Malaya Nevka and on the Neva. I don't think the rivers are really very polluted. I even eat the fish I catch.
Why do you think that your hobby has the best place in St. Petersburg?
Fishing on city rivers is special. This is a hobby for the soul. Just sitting on the city embankments for several hours, you may not catch anything, but you will be satisfied. Here you feel unity with nature, without straying far from home.
In addition, in St. Petersburg it is important to be able to fish correctly, in a special way. This is your passion: here, due to weather conditions, not only a good fishing rod (the main part of a fishing rod - note from “Paper” ) and competent fishing technology are important, but also an understanding of the general natural situation in the city.
Of course, I don't have any statistics on where the best places to fish are. It seems to me that it is calmer in St. Petersburg. There's a city nearby. But in the ocean you fish on the water, there are different conditions: strength and the right equipment are important, you need to actively participate in every minute of the process. There is a lot more preparation required for the ocean.
How do your loved ones and passers-by react to your hobby?
My family loves what I do and, of course, eat the fish I catch. They understand why it is important for me to leave early in the morning and spend several hours here.
Passers-by are surprised that it is even possible to fish in St. Petersburg. They don't seem to know anything about fishing. Perhaps they are tourists. Often someone comes up and asks about what the bite is and whether it really exists at all. And I answer that there are fish everywhere where there is water, the only important thing is to fish correctly. Many people think that if this is a city, then fish cannot live here a priori.
Where is swimming allowed in St. Petersburg and what can you get sick from while swimming in the Gulf of Finland?
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In which bodies of water in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region is it officially allowed to swim, why is the water in the city’s rivers and lakes so dirty, and do those who swim in them experience health problems?
Five myths about your hobby:
1.
Fish in rivers is dangerous
Many say that due to poor ecology, the fish in the rivers of St. Petersburg are spoiled. At the same time, my family and I eat it very often and have never even been poisoned. The water in St. Petersburg seems to have become cleaner recently. As far as I know, factories no longer throw waste directly into canals (there are no exact statistics on the release of waste into the rivers of St. Petersburg, but as a result of accidents, oil gets into the Neva - note "Papers" ). Once we even met crayfish here, which, as you know, do not live in dirty water.
2.
Fishing is easy
Like any job, fishing requires experience and skill. Compared to many St. Petersburg fishermen, I am still a beginner. But in fishing it is important not to be an amateur, to study this craft. Even after doing this for several years, you can remain an amateur without understanding the underlying processes.
3.
Fishing in the city requires silence
Fish is the same animal, I believe, like any other. New generations [of fish] adapt to their environment and are no longer afraid of boats and tourists. Fish in St. Petersburg are no longer afraid of anything, it seems to me.
4.
You can buy one fishing rod, line and rod for any fishing
Each fishing trip in one place or another has its own characteristics. As I already said, for the same ocean you need one equipment, and for the city - another.
5.
It is impossible to catch large fish in the city
Even in St. Petersburg there are good days. At the end of July, for example, I managed to catch a huge bream with eggs. True, this is rather an exception than a pattern. But anything is possible.
What challenges are you facing?
Everything that happens to the climate greatly affects the fishermen of any city. In St. Petersburg, these “small difficulties” are exaggerated, because our weather can change several times a day.
A striking example of the connection between weather and catch is the summer of 2021. It has catastrophically changed fishing conditions: some now often have absolutely no satisfaction, because there is practically no bite anywhere. If last year at this time it was possible to catch ten to fifteen kilograms of fish, then this summer the average catch is one or two small bream (about one or two kilograms).
Where to go and what is interesting about fishing on the Neva in St. Petersburg
Fishing on the Neva is very diverse in terms of the fact that you can catch any fish that is found in the Neva. There were cases when even a shark was caught in the Neva. You don’t even need to talk about the fact that within the city limits you can catch eel, lamprey, salmon, sturgeon, asp or trout; in the Neva it’s possible to catch everything!
The most common types of fish for fishing on the Neva are, of course: perch, ruff, pike, burbot, roach, bleak and bream. Favorite places for fishermen are the Neva itself, as well as the Bolshaya Nevka and Malaya Nevka. On the Nevki there is a weaker current, vegetation appears on the bottom in summer and there are quite a lot of fish there. They also catch Ladoga whitefish on the Neva, which lives in the Neva almost constantly.
The most catchy place for catching whitefish on the Neva is the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island and the corner of the embankment behind the cruiser Aurora. People go fishing on the Neva to the Peter and Paul Fortress, Pirogovskaya and Pesochnaya embankments. Arsenalnaya, Dvortsovaya embankments and the Krestovsky Island area are also popular with fishermen.
There are also always people who like to fish near the Volodarsky Bridge. Burbot often bites there in early spring and autumn with the onset of cold weather. This is far from a complete list of cool places on the Neva. When fishing on the Neva, you can find fish of decent size. Pike sometimes reaches 15 kg, and pike perch - up to 9 kg.
But can they compare with smelt?! Spring smelt fishing is a ritual for fishermen. Spring smelt fishing along all embankments and bridges is simply a boom for anglers. They catch it with nets, spiders, scarves and all the means they can. Smelt is the favorite fish of Leningraders and St. Petersburgers.
Where to fish on the Neva
On the Neva it is best to fish where others fish! and this is not just an obvious fact. The fact is that there are not so many good places suitable for fishing on the Neva. And if you want to go fishing within the city, then focus on other fishermen.
Where to fish on the Neva outside the city
Outside the city (St. Petersburg) most of the Neva passes; you can fish here anywhere, it’s up to you. If there are no legal restrictions, then the choice of fishing spot on the Neva is yours. Try, explore new places, write reports - this will help other fishermen find out good places to fish on the Neva.
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In this reservoir you can catch:
Vobla
Gustera
Dace
Ruff
crucian carp
Carp
Smelt
Rudd
Bream
Salmon
Lamprey
Burbot
Perch
Gudgeon
Roach
Podleschik
Podust
Whitefish
Zander
Acne
Bleak
Pike
Ide
Location on the map
Posted in Vobla, Silver bream, Dace, Ruff, Crucian carp, Carp, Smelt, Rudd, Bream, Salmon, Lamprey, Burbot, Perch, Minnow, Roach, Whitefish, Podust, Whitefish, Pike-perch, Eel, Bleak, Pike, Ide Tags:Rivers Leningrad region, fishing in the Leningrad region
Features of fishing on the Neva in summer
Good fishing on the Neva! Fast river currents are not compatible with fishing from a boat. Such fishing is possible near the Ushakovsky Bridge, where roach and perch are caught, near the Spit of Vasilievsky Island, where bream is excellently caught with a ring. The fish in the Neva is varied.
Night fishing for pike perch is popular on the Neva, which is carried out from Volodarsky to the Alexander Nevsky Bridge, as well as on Pesochnaya Embankment and in the area of Ushakovsky Bridge. Bait for pike perch - parts of fish or small whole carcasses. A special donka is used, which has 2–4 rigidly fixed leashes, additionally curved, and a load at the bottom. Spinning rods are quite suitable for this section of the river.
Perch is prepared with worms and donka, much less often with maggots. He and the pike perch move along the same route, so their fishing spots coincide. On embankments, where the depth approaches directly from the shore, the gear is lowered vertically. A particularly popular place for perch fishing is under the Liteiny Bridge.
Known types of fish in this body of water, what kind of fish can be caught:
Bleak is the most common fish in St. Petersburg. They catch it everywhere, but it concentrates near city drains. They fish it out with all the fishing arsenal that the fisherman has in store. Bleak bites mainly on maggots, and sometimes on an almost “bare” hook.
Roach and silver bream will delight you with the catch near the Kamenny Bridge, Elagin Island, and the yacht club on Petrovsky Island. For fishing, use a float rod (rod length 5–7 m), which has a blind rig. The roach bite coincides with the period of passage of the Ladoga ice.
Bream and bream in these places go deeper than roach; to catch them, it is better to choose a feeder bottom. They respond to ready-made bait. “Bream” is an excellent bait for large fish, but it itself is better caught on a “sandwich”. Hunters for such fish have occupied all the embankments near the spit of Vasilyevsky Island, Kamennoostrovsky and Tuchkov bridges.
The ruff on the Neva is simply trouble-free for a fisherman. Caught with all gear from all embankments. It is worth noting that the ruffe in the Neva can be very large and are of interest to anglers. Some individuals reach a weight of 200 - 250 grams.
What kind of fish is found in the Neva?
Various fish live in the waters of the Neva; the following species are most often caught:
- Pike is one of the most popular predators, caught by local fishermen. To find trophy specimens, you most often have to go outside the city limits, but medium-sized pike also bite in St. Petersburg.
- Pike perch is also popular due to the number of ways to catch it; for these purposes you can use donks, spinning rods, girders and even ordinary float rods.
- Perch is the most common prey, since large populations live in the Neva, and even novice fishermen can easily cope with catching this predator.
- Roach is also popular among fishermen because it lives in large numbers in the Neva, and the fishing process is simple.
- Bream is also found in large numbers; it bites equally well both in the city and in the Leningrad region.
- White bream is sometimes caught during urban fishing, but the chances of catching it are low; This fish bites much better in the Leningrad region.
- Ide has tasty meat, but few fishermen go for it; It is usually caught randomly when fishing for pike or perch. The bite persists throughout the year, but it is stable only from May to June and from August to September.
- Rudd is often confused with roach; the main distinguishing feature is its weight - it can reach up to 1.5-2 kg.
- Asp is a desirable catch for fishermen, but it is not often possible to catch it in the Neva; For this fish it is better to go outside the city. It is necessary to remember that this is not only a cautious and timid fish, but also a strong fish, so it is important to be able to both interest it with a properly selected bait and not scare it away, and to pull it ashore.
- Chub is also a strong fish, but it is easier to catch than asp. For these purposes, you can use float rods, but to fish for large specimens you will need to arm yourself with spinning rods. Chub are caught from city embankments or from swimming craft; this fish is common not only in the Neva, but also in many fast-flowing rivers of the Leningrad region.
- Chekhon is one of the varieties of commercial fish in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. It is small in size and moves in schools, so if you choose the right place for fishing, there are no problems with bites.
- Whitefish is found in the Neva and most of its tributaries, but catching this fish is difficult for anglers due to the lack of permanent habitat and frequent migrations.
- Trout is a valuable prey, but the chance of catching it in the Neva appears only in the autumn season, when it enters the river from Lake Ladoga and Onega.
- Rotan is a popular catch for amateurs and beginners, since it is not picky when choosing food and bites on any bait. The spread of this fish is undesirable because it negatively affects the habitat, but in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region you can find areas of the Neva with large populations of rotan.
- Burbot is a popular catch in the off-season, when other fish have an unstable bite. This is an unpretentious breed that is not afraid of humans, so fishing is quite simple.
- Catfish is the largest fish that can be found in St. Petersburg and throughout the Leningrad region. To catch it, it is better to go to Lake Peipsi, since a small number of catfish live in the Neva, although the likelihood of a bite increases if you go fishing at night.
- The eel lives in lakes, but sometimes it passes through the Neva: during such periods you can count on catching the narrow-headed and blunt-nosed varieties.
- Smelt is found in the Neva only during the spawning period; the rest of the time it is in the lakes.
Other species found in the Neva include sturgeon, lamprey, gudgeon, ruffe and salmon.
