Fishing on the Volga - fishing methods, best places for fishing on the Volga River

Fished on the Volga

is the dream of many fishermen. There are many reasons for this, because legends about trophy catches on the Volga have been circulating in the fishing community for a long time. Of course, fishing on the Volga is good: there is a bite and the fish are solid, but you shouldn’t expect that a bare hook will bite. Fishermen should understand that fishing has its own specifics depending on the region. Let's try to decide what to fish on the Volga with, how to fish on the Volga and what gear you will need for fishing on the Volga.

Description

Volga Basin
Water system:

Caspian Sea.
Length:
3,530 km.
Catchment area:
1,360,000 km².
Water flow at the mouth:
7,700 m³/s.
Slope:
0.1 m/km.
Character of the current:
flat.
Tributaries:
Runa, Kud, Orekhovka, Zhukopa, Lemenka, Kocha, Bolshaya Dubenka, Malaya Dubenka, Pesochnya, Selizharovka, Bolshaya Kosha, Malaya Kosha, Malodomnya, Malaya Itomlya, Itomlya, Orcha, Tudovka, Talitsa, Mlinga, Sishka, Koksha, Dunka , Kind, Rakitnya, Khalynka, Bolshaya Locha, Slaughterhouse, Vazuza, Dragocha, Holding, Iruzha, Sergovka, Cheremoshnya, Staritsa, Nizhnyaya Staritsa, Kholokholnya, Karzhai, Ivanishki, Ulyust, Rzhavtsa, Izbrizhka, Darkness, Mezhurka, Tmaka, Tvertsa, Orsha , Inga, Black, Trestyanka, Vetlyana, Zheleznitsa, Uzola, Parasha, Zhuzhla, Pyra, Linda, Black, Khalzovka, Levinka, Oka, Vezloma, Nuzhenka, Rakhma, Vatoma, Kudma, Alferovka, Nyuzhma, Kitmar, Kerzhenets, Sundovik, Black Maza, Big Maza, Nyuzhma, Stroek, Sura, Khmelevka, Lutosha, Dorogucha, Bag, Yunga, Yunga, Small Yunga, Rutka, Arda, Sundyr, Parat, Black, Big Tsivil, Sundyrka, Mamoksha, Tair, Anish, Yalchik, Sviyaga , Kazanka, Kama.
Uren, Tushonka, Sengileika, Bolshoi Cheremshan, Sok, Samara, Chapaevka, Bezenchuk, Syzranka, Dalnyaya Chernova, Chagra, Maly Irgiz, Ilchik, Maly Mechet, Pioneer. Reservoirs:
Verkhnevolzhskoe, Ivankovskoe, Uglichskoe, Rybinskoe, Gorkovskoe, Cheboksary, Kuibyshevskoe, Saratovskoe, Volgogradskoe.
Canals:
Volga-Baltic waterway, Vyshnevolotsk system, Tikhvin system, North Dvina system, White Sea-Baltic canal, Volga-Don canal.
Bottom:
mostly sandy, there are also clayey and rocky places (including very massive stone ridges).
In areas where reservoirs back up and the flow slows down significantly, there is usually a muddy bottom overgrown with underwater vegetation. Mouth:
Caspian Sea.
At the confluence, the height of the water's edge above sea level is -28 m. Coastal landscape:
along the entire length of its route, the Volga crosses several natural zones of the European part of Russia.
In the very upper reaches it flows through swamps and spruce forests, then among the southern taiga and mixed forests. After the Rybinsk Reservoir, forests along the banks are less common; they are replaced by fields and meadows. Below Kazan, the river flows through the forest-steppe zone, which stretches approximately to Samara, and then the real steppe begins. After Volgograd it gives way to semi-desert, continuing all the way to the delta. Settlements on the banks:
Volgoverkhovye, Selizharovo, Rzhev, Zubtsov, Staritsa, Tver, Novozavidovsky, Konakovo, Korcheva, Dubna, Kimry, Kalyazin, Uglich, Myshkin, Mologa, Rybinsk, Tutaev, Konstantinovsky, Yaroslavl, Nekrasovskoye, Kostroma, Volgorechensk, Krasnoe -on-Volga, Plyos, Navoloki, Kineshma, Zavolzhsk, Yuryevets, Sokolskoye, Puchezh, Chkalovsk, Gorodets, Balakhna, Bolshoye Kozino, Nizhny Novgorod, Bor, Kstovo, Makarievo, Lyskovo, Vasilsursk, Kozmodemyansk, Cheboksary, Novocheboksarsk, Mariinsky Posad, Zvenigovo, Kozlovka, Volzhsk, Zelenodolsk, Nizhnie Vyazovye, Sviyazhsk, Vasilyevo, Kazan, Bolgar, Tetyushi, Staraya Maina, Ulyanovsk, Novoulyanovsk, Sengiley, Dimitrovgrad, Khryashchevka, Tolyatti, Zhigulevsk, Samara, Novokuybyshevsk, Oktyabrsk, Syzran, Khvalynsk, Dukhovnitskoye, Balakovo, Volsk, Marx, Saratov, Engels, Privolzhsky, Rovnoe, Kamyshin, Nikolaevsk, Dubovka, Volzhsky, Volgograd, Krasnoslobodsk, Svetly Yar, Akhtubinsk, Narimanov, Astrakhan, Red Barricades.

The Volga River is the largest river in Europe and the most abundant in Russia. This is the longest river in the world that flows into an inland body of water - the Caspian Sea. The river basin occupies an area equal to half the area of Europe. The Volga River has more than one and a half hundred tributaries - this is one of the records on the planet. On average, it takes water 37 days to travel from source to mouth, since the current speed is approximately 4 km per hour. The Volga is one of the few rivers that has its own holiday - in Russia May 20 is considered to be Volga Day.

The Volga flows through the territory of Russia, only a small branch of the Kigach goes east to the Atyrau region of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Volga River begins in the Tver region near the village, which is called Volgoverkhovye. Here its source is a small stream, which after a few kilometers crosses the lakes - first Small, and then Bolshoi Verkhity, which give strength to the great river. About a third of the European part of Russia is washed by the waters of the Volga basin. The Volga and its tributaries flow through the territory of thirty administrative regions of Russia and one region of Kazakhstan. The mouth of the river is located in the Astrakhan region and represents the largest delta in Europe from numerous branches that flow into the Caspian Sea.

Peaceful fish

A large number of peaceful fish inhabit the great river. We will describe several of the most popular species in sport fishing.

One of the favorite fishing objects on the Volga are bream. The following species of fish on the Volga received this name:

Many people confuse them with each other, but on our website you can read specialized articles on this topic.

In addition to external similarities, all these species are also united by a bottom lifestyle. Therefore, when catching the main species - bream - specimens of related fish are often caught in the bycatch.

In summer, bream and others are most often caught with feeders or others from the shore. Fishing from a boat using equipment such as a ring (eggs) has been very productive and popular lately. The following is used as bait on the hook:

In winter, bream are caught mainly using bloodworms with abundant feeding of the point. Jig or float winter fishing rods are used as gear.

Carp

Fans of carp fishing on the Volga also have something to do - fishing for carp. Moreover, in terms of the sensations of fighting a trophy, it is many times superior to its pond relative, the carp. Accustomed to living in river flow conditions, fish have stronger and more powerful muscles.

Carp are caught mainly from the shore using long-range feeders, and match gear is less often used. The same carp baits are used as bait:

Chekhon

Saber fish, as sabrefish is also called, is distinguished by its high fat content and excellent taste when dried. But it is also interesting for its special fishing conditions. The fact is that this species of carp is pelagic - living in the upper layers of water.

They catch it with float rods or with a feeder using especially long leashes - up to one and a half meters! This is necessary to lift the bait with the hook into the upper water horizon.

Place on the hook:

Roach

Last in order, and not in importance for fishing, we will describe the Volga roach. In the lower reaches it is called roach, and many argue about whether it is one species or two. From a fishing point of view, this is not very important, because there is absolutely no difference.

Roaches are caught with a wide variety of types of fishing rods:

The roach responds well to bait, so it is not necessary to carefully search for it along the river bed; it is better to create an attractive spot on the bottom.

They catch roaches in winter and summer using the following baits:

Types of fish

It is believed that the most interesting places for fishing on the Volga are reservoirs, as well as the estuary area and delta.

Conventionally, the river can be divided into 6 sections:

The very upper reaches
- from the source to the Upper Volga lakes. There are two small lakes here - Malye Verkhity and Bolshiye Verkhity, through which the Volga flows. The river in most of this area is a shallow, slightly swampy stream, only at the confluence with Lake Sterzh (currently part of the Upper Volga Reservoir) it becomes somewhat wider and deeper. The main ichthyofauna here is made up of roach, perch and pike.
The Upper Volga from the Verkhnevolzhsky Beishlot to the Ivankovsky Reservoir
- in this section the river already has sufficient water content not only for full-fledged fishing, but also for rafting. Among the fish caught here, in addition to roach, perch and pike, are pike perch, asp, and burbot. In the upper part of the area, where the nature of the current corresponds to the foothills (there are rifts and rapids), chub and grayling, which are prohibited from fishing, live. Closer to its end of the site (approximately from Tver) carp and catfish appear. However, the population density (including fishermen) in these areas is very high. There is intense fishing pressure on the river, and poaching is also rampant. It is believed that fishing here can be successful if you know the river thoroughly, understand the habits of the fish and at the same time have good mobility - so that you can quickly change places. The quality of gear and the correct choice of bait also plays an important role.
The Upper Volga from the Ivankovskoe Reservoir dam to the Rybinsk Reservoir
- most of this section is occupied by the relatively narrow, but very extended and quite deep Uglich Reservoir (actually starting from the Ivankovskoe Reservoir dam - in the city of Dubna). Fishing in this reservoir is interesting primarily in terms of catching predators - pike perch (which reaches decent sizes), bersh, perch, catfish, pike and burbot. Among the “peaceful” fish, the most commonly caught are ruffe, bleak, roach, bream, and silver bream. Other species are also found in the reservoir - gudgeon, dace, chub, ide, asp, sabrefish, podust, bluefish, tench, silver carp, but they are somewhat less common in fishermen's catches. The section of the river after the Uglich dam is considered the Volga Bay of the Rybinsk Reservoir - new species of fish characteristic of this reservoir may appear here: sprat, vendace, peled, smelt (including its small form - smelt), river eel.
Upper Volga from the dam of the Rybinsk Reservoir to the Gorky Reservoir
- fishing in this section is in many ways similar to that upstream - in the previous sections. However, the river here is noticeably fuller - fish species such as pike perch, carp and catfish are caught somewhat more often than higher up. Some representatives of sturgeon, in particular sterlet, can also be found here.
Middle and Lower Volga
- from the dam of the Gorky Reservoir to the Volgograd Reservoir. Quite a long section - more than a thousand kilometers long. The river on it is actually a grandiose cascade of large artificial reservoirs. Here are the Cheboksary, Kuibyshev, Saratov and Volgograd reservoirs. The ichthyofauna of these places is in many ways similar to that observed upstream; new species include some representatives of gobies, nelma, herring, grass carp and silver carp. The same can be said about fishing - in all reservoirs, most often, fishermen’s catches contain a “standard” set - perch, borsch, pike perch, pike, roach, bream, carp, catfish.
Lower Volga (mouth area)
- from the dam of the Volgograd Reservoir - to the place where it flows into the Caspian Sea. Here the river is divided into several channels, the largest of which are considered independent watercourses and have their own names, for example the Akhtuba and Buzan channels. This area, together with the delta located below, is considered the most interesting in terms of fishing. Here are the most favorable conditions for ichthyofauna and a good food supply. There are a lot of fish in these places, they fatten up quite quickly and reach a decent size. Among Russian fishermen, the section of the Volga from Volgograd to Astrakhan is very popular; thousands of amateurs from other regions of the country come here every year. Most often, carp, asp, catfish, bream, pike, pike perch, perch, rudd, sabrefish, roach and others are caught here. In addition to freshwater species, there are also marine species that enter the delta and rise some distance upstream, for example, herring and gobies. Sturgeon are also found here, and Caspian salmon (a type of brown trout) also enter the river during spawning, but catching these fish is prohibited.

The Volga is teeming with anomaly fish

“...During the trip they manage to catch more than they can eat, since the Volga is rich in all kinds of fish,” the Schleswig-Holstein ambassador Adam Olearius, who traveled along the Volga in the mid-17th century, marveled at the fish wealth of our river. Since then, it has become much more difficult to overeat with fish caught in the Volga. The amount of commercially valuable fish in the river decreased especially noticeably in the 20th century. How exactly did the fish population of the Volga change in the second half of the last century and what kind of fish is the Volga rich in now?

Ulyanovsk scientist, candidate of biological sciences, associate professor at Ulyanovsk State University Dmitry Semenov was looking for answers to these questions.

The result of the scientist’s work was the monograph “Anthropogenic transformation of the ichthyofauna of the Middle Volga in the Kuibyshev Reservoir.” Last year it was published by UlSU.

The title of the book, which is not easy for the layman, contains an analysis of how ever-increasing human economic activity affects the fish population of the river, as well as many interesting facts about the fish that lived and live in the Volga. We asked Dmitry Yuryevich to talk about the results of his research.

Herring was considered crazy

– Dmitry Yuryevich, what was the task before your work?

– This publication is the first comprehensive scientific work on the fish population of the Middle Volga and the Kuibyshev Reservoir.

The main objective was to study the processes of changes in the species composition of the fish population in connection with increasing anthropogenic impact.

– If we talk about the species diversity of the fish population of the Kuibyshev Reservoir in comparison with the Middle Volga, how did it change?

– Before the creation of the Kuibyshev Reservoir, 49 species of fish lived in the Middle Volga.

Immediately after the creation of the reservoir, migratory fish disappeared: Caspian lamprey, thornfish, stellate sturgeon, Caspian bellyfish, blackback, Volga herring, Caspian trout, whitefish and Caspian shemaya. Moreover, the Caspian lamprey and herring, which include the Caspian belly, blackback, and Volga herring, were caught on an industrial scale before the creation of the reservoir. However, these species were not in demand among the local population. Herring was generally called mad fish, or rabies. They received this name because during spawning they actively jumped out of the water, and it seemed to observers that the fish had “gone crazy.” Eating such fish was considered dangerous to mental health, and it was used as food by the poorest segments of the population. The fishermen in whose nets she got caught tried to get rid of her as quickly as possible, sometimes giving her away for free.

Elderly beluga whales live

Of the sturgeon species, only sterlet is currently found. Russian sturgeon is extremely rare. In addition, several beluga whales live in the reservoir. They penetrated into the reservoir even before the creation of the reservoir and, thanks to their lifespan of up to 100 years, have survived to the present day. Moreover, now they have reached very large sizes: some specimens may weigh about a ton. It is almost impossible to catch such large individuals, as they will tear any fishing gear. In 2002, there was information about a half-decomposed carcass of a large beluga washed up on the right bank of the Undorovsky Reach. Currently, recreational and commercial fishermen sometimes record large belugas with echo sounders.

After the creation of the reservoir, the living conditions of fish changed significantly. Before the reservoir there was a very strong current, and after that the reservoir became almost stagnant. As a result, many species that prefer fast currents have sharply reduced their numbers. For example, sculpin, podust, chub and others. And species that prefer slow currents, on the contrary, increased their numbers, for example, bream and pike perch.

Currently, 56 species of fish live in the Kuibyshev Reservoir. The increase was due to new species penetrating both from the south and from the north. The northern invaders are European vendace, European smelt, nine-spined stickleback, sleeper sleeper and river eel. Southern ones include sprat, round goby, bighead goby, tsutsik goby, sandpiper goby, starfish and needlefish.

The sprat and round goby have taken root especially well in the reservoir; now their numbers are so large that full-fledged fishing can be carried out. This is especially true for sprat.

In our reservoir, it is valued even higher for its taste and fat content than from the Caspian Sea. At one time, it was caught on a commercial scale in the Kuibyshev Reservoir, but now fishing is limited, since sprat is the main food for more valuable predatory commercial fish species - pike perch and bersh. The taste qualities of the round goby are very low, not even every hungry cat will eat it, but it should be noted that with appropriate culinary processing it is quite edible - just remember the famous canned “Bulls in Tomato”.

The rest, new to our region, fish species live either in very small quantities, such as European vendace, European smelt and river eel, or are very small and do not represent any nutritional value not only for humans, but also for the predatory inhabitants of the reservoir. In this regard, the needle fish is especially interesting; it is so small, thin and bony that no one eats it at all, since there is nothing to eat in it.

In addition to species that independently entered the reservoir, there are also those purposefully introduced by humans - the so-called acclimatizers. These are rainbow trout, peled, grass carp, bighead carp, silver carp, smallmouth buffalo, largemouth buffalo and black buffalo. Currently, the number of these species is insignificant, since they themselves, with the exception of peled, cannot reproduce in our climate.

In summer, some aquarium fish species are added to the species composition of the ichthyofauna of the Kuibyshev Reservoir within the boundaries of large cities. Thus, guppies and goldfish were found in the Ulyanovsky Reach, and piranhas were found in a shallow channel near the village of Malinovka in the Undorovsky Reach. However, these aquarium species cannot withstand even summer temperature fluctuations and die within a few weeks of being released into the reservoir.

The reservoir has become destabilized

– How did these changes affect the commercial value of fish in the reservoir and the volume of their production?

“Unfortunately, after the creation of the reservoir, highly valuable fish species disappeared from the ichthyofauna or significantly reduced their numbers, and new species of little value to humans took their place.

Assessing current changes in the species composition of the ichthyofauna of the reservoir, it can be noted that if from a fisheries point of view, the restructuring of the structure of the fish population in the conditions of the reservoir has negative consequences, then from a general ecological point of view, an increase in species diversity is a natural response of the ecosystem to anthropogenic impact.

– In the book, the life of the reservoir, and accordingly the processes in the existence of its fish population, is divided into several stages. The current phase is the so-called “destabilization” phase. What does it mean for the ichthyofauna and what are the prospects for changes in its composition?

– For the fish population, this phase is characterized by a deterioration in biological parameters - growth, fat content, and so on - and the reproduction of most valuable fish species. In addition, there is an increase in the number of ecologically flexible, but low-value fish species.

Catch with pathologies

– A separate section of the book is devoted to anomalies in fish that have been identified in recent years. What are these anomalies and are they indicators of a deteriorating environmental situation in the reservoir?

– As stated earlier, the Kuibyshev Reservoir is predominantly a stagnant reservoir, and accordingly toxic substances are actively accumulating in it, which are discharged in large quantities by the industrialized regions of the Upper and Middle Volga. These substances accumulate in bottom sediments, water, and also in the bodies of the reservoir inhabitants themselves. Some toxic substances have clearly defined mutagenic and teratogenic properties. In this regard, in the 80s of the 20th century, fish individuals with morphological anomalies began to be caught in the Kuibyshev Reservoir; before this, cases of catching anomalous individuals were not recorded. Most often, anomalies are expressed in the curvature of the spine, deformation of the fins, curvature of the jaws, the absence of one eye and other developmental pathologies noticeable only to professionals.

– The work says that the decrease in the number of valuable commercial species in the Middle Volga began even before the appearance of the reservoir. It turns out that this is an inevitable process that the reservoir only aggravated?

– In the 17th-18th centuries, in the Middle Volga region, fishing was one of the most developed sectors of the national economy. At this time, fishing was carried out by bands of monasteries-entrepreneurs (Trinity-Sergiev, Savvo-Storozhevsky, Blagoveshchensky, Novodevichy, Donskoy and others), the Kazan Diocesan House, the Palace Fishing Yard, as well as landowners, peasants and Cossacks. However, even during this extremely favorable period for fishing, fish were caught mainly “for personal use,” and the money received from the sale of fish was very insignificant.

As numerous written sources testify, a decline in fish stocks in the Middle Volga began to be observed at the end of the 18th century; this was caused primarily by a large number of fishermen and a variety of highly effective fishing gear. In addition, in the 19th – early 20th centuries, fishermen associated the decline in fish stocks with the increase in steamships, which were very noisy and did not allow the fish to spawn quietly, as well as with water pollution by oil, which was transported on barges from the Caspian Sea to the industrial regions of the Upper Volga.

In the 30-40s of the last century, that is, immediately before the creation of the reservoir, fishing in the Middle Volga did not even partially satisfy the needs of the local population.

Thus, the reduction in commercial fish stocks in the Kuibyshev Reservoir is not a process unique to the reservoir, but is a historically predetermined and natural process that arose long before the creation of the cascade of Volga reservoirs with the appearance of man on the banks of the Volga and the development of civilization.

How it was

Excerpts from a report by Peter Pallas on fishing within the borders of the Simbirsk province, 1809: “I don’t think that any river in Europe was as rich in fish as the Volga with all the rivers flowing in it. The Volga's own fish, which only rarely or never enter its small rivers, are the following: beluga, sturgeon, sterlet, stellate sturgeon, red fish, white fish; and especially carp, catfish, gland and saberfish. Beluga is often found in the Volga with a length of 20 to 25 spans (355.6 - 444.5 centimeters) and a weight of 30 to 40 pounds (480-720 kilograms). However, the number of small belugas with milk, which are up to eight spans long, is incomparably greater than the number of large caviar ones.

Sturgeon are caught from five to eight spans in length and weighing from 20 to 22 pounds. But they distinguish from belugas and sturgeons those whose nose is longer and sharper, their body is also plumper and smoother, and they have a special name, that is, they call it a thorn. But these fish are not found very often in the Volga, and for the most part this fish is considered the best; and it tastes better... Red fish (salmon) are noticed in the Volga only in the last two months of the year, and even then very rarely. On the contrary, from the beginning of January, even until June, the white fish grows in greater numbers, ranging in size from three to five spans, and rarely weighing up to 30 pounds (12.3 kilograms). Carp are sometimes up to seven spans long, and therefore weigh more; but they are caught of different sizes, and mostly small and medium. Catfish, although smaller in size than belugas, have been seen to be longer than ten spans and weighing several pounds. For the most part, they are caught in the spring and autumn, and are known everywhere because with their quick desire they jump over nets or tear them apart and take other fish with them. Of all the big fish, the catfish is considered the worst..."

Lidiya Pekhtereva

Fishing

Volga river

Tackle for fishing

Gear for fishing on the Volga must be selected based on what kind of fish you are going to catch. As a rule, the selection of fishing tackle for a particular fish differs in the length of the rod, the action of the rod, the multiplier reel, the spinning reel, etc., the braided or monofilament fishing line of different diameters, the baits used: wobblers, poppers, foam rubber, spinners, etc. . Let's figure out what gear is needed for fishing on the Volga for asp, what gear to catch catfish on the Volga, how to choose gear for fishing for carp, and also what gear for catching pike and pike perch to use when fishing on the Volga.

Asp fishing

Tackle for asp

Tackle for catching asp should be selected based on the behavioral characteristics of this fish. Asp is a very cautious fish and catching asp on the Volga occurs with the help of long casting. It follows from this that the best tackle for catching asp on the Volga will be a spinning rod with a rod length of 3 to 3.3 meters. The action of the gear for asp is preferable from medium to medium-fast, the test of the cast bait is from 10 to 35 g. A monofilament line with a diameter of approximately 0.2-0.22 mm is suitable for catching asp on the Volga, but if you are a fan of braided line, then use braided line with a diameter of up to 0.13 mm. The tackle for an asp definitely needs to be set up and the clutch adjusted, since the asp behaves actively when fishing. As for the reel, a spinning reel of the 3000-3500 series from Daiwa and Shimano is suitable. When choosing gear for asp fishing, keep in mind that the asp often bites when the bait is retrieved super-fast, so pay attention to the high gear ratio of the asp reel.

The best baits for catching asp

The best lures for asp fishing on the Volga are Kastmasters weighing from 14 to 27 grams; color can affect the bite; it is preferable to use wobblers with an orange or blue stripe for asp fishing on the Volga. The asp bites on spoons, jigs, and rotating spoons. The best bait for asp when fishing on boilers is surface wobblers.

Catching catfish

Catfish fishing gear

Catching catfish while fishing on the Volga is the dream of every fisherman.
This Volga giant needs special gear to catch it. If you plan to catch catfish with a spinning rod from a boat, then you will need a rod with a fast action and a length of 2.4-2.7 m, a weight test of 40-80 or 50-100 g. A braid with a diameter of 0.2–0.3 mm will allow you to avoid breakage if you need to force fishing. A spinning rod for catching catfish must be equipped with a Shimano Tecota 500 class multiplier reel. The equipment for catching catfish with a spinning rod can be used with a jig. It is excellent to catch catfish when fishing on the Volga by trolling. Here, however, one should distinguish between deep-sea trolling for catfish in pits and riverbed edges; and shallow-water trolling for catfish on the rifts, where catfish come out in the second half of summer to hunt for saberfish. You can also catch catfish while fishing on the Volga in a plumb line, using a short, powerful rod up to 2.1 m long with a cast of 100 g, which should be equipped with a powerful multiplier reel. Fishing on the Volga
The best bait for catching catfish

The best lures for catching catfish by trolling in deep areas are Storm Deep Thunder wobblers with a length of 11 to 15 cm (immersion depth 5.5 - 9 meters), floating wobblers MANN'S and Halco (immersion depth 7 to 9 meters) are also suitable. Wobblers for catfish for depths from 10 to 13 m are MANN'S and RIVER 2 SEA class 30+. Fishing for catfish in July-August on shallow reaches and riffles will require the use of wobblers with a diving depth of 1.5 to 2.5 meters, as an option - the universal wobbler Storm Hot'n Tot, suitable for catching any predatory fish on the Volga. In principle, to catch catfish on the Volga in shallow water, you can use any floating wobbler equipped with a rattle and reliable tees. Catching catfish on the Volga with a jig involves using a sinker head weighing from 40 to 80 grams to feel the retrieve and the bait touching the bottom, since catfish fishing is done in holes and at great depths with a noticeable current. It is better to catch catfish using such baits as: large vibrating tails, large twisters, foam fish up to 15 cm long. It is extremely important when catching catfish to use a metal leash so that the brush made of catfish teeth does not fray the braid during long-term fishing. Remember, the main thing when catching catfish on the Volga is the strength of all elements of fishing gear.

Catching carp

Tackle for catching carp

Catching carp on the Volga requires the use of durable gear. Fishing for carp, a strong and cunning fish, is always a struggle. Fishing for carp brings a lot of thrills, so the tackle should be as reliable as possible. Professionals use carp fishing gear for carp fishing: carp rods, carp reels and a stand with an electric bite alarm. Of course, gear for carp is expensive, so if you really want to try to catch carp, then a converted spinning rod with a dough of 40-80 grams and a length of 2.7-3.3 meters is suitable for catching carp on bottom gear. It is advisable to use a reel for carp from Shimano with a Bait Runner system of the 6000-10000 series, but you can also get by with Daiwa reels of the 4000-5000 series. For carp, a braided line with a diameter of 0.2-0.3 mm is preferable, but monofilament with a diameter of 0.4-0.5 mm can also be used. Monofilament line fends off jerks much better when fishing for carp. Also, for fishing for carp on the Volga, you will need weighty sinkers for bottom equipment and durable hooks for catching carp weighing from 4 kg.

The best baits for catching carp

The best baits for carp are boilies and barley shell meat. To improve the bite when fishing for carp on the Volga, you can use carp bait.

Fishing for pike perch

Tackle for catching pike perch with jig

Fishing on the Volga for pike perch is one of the most exciting, especially since the methods of catching pike perch are varied. Let's figure out what gear is needed for fishing for pike perch. To catch pike perch with a jig, you will need a fast rod 2.7-3 m long with a cast of 15-40 or 20-50 g. The main weight of jig heads for catching pike perch on riverbed edges and dumps is in the range from 35 to 50 grams. As for catching other predatory fish on the Volga, for fishing for pike perch it is better to use braided fishing line with a diameter of 0.15-0.19 mm. A reel for pike perch would be appropriate from the 3000-3500 series from Shimano or Daiwa. This condition will allow you to combine fishing for pike perch with fishing for small catfish on the Volga.

The best lures for catching pike perch

The best baits for pike perch on the Volga are foam rubber fish, vibrotails and twisters equipped with doubles or tees. The preferred bait color for pike perch is green and fluorescent green. It takes pike perch well and baits of orange and yellow shades. If you plan to catch pike perch in snags, choose foam rubber with hooks pressed tightly to the body or twisters on an offset hook with a recessed sting as bait. The pike perch has a hard mouth, so when biting it easily breaks through the silicone, exposing the hook tip.

Tackle for catching pike perch by trolling, catching pike perch on the track

The gear for catching pike perch by trolling as pike perch on the Volga is almost identical to the gear for catching catfish with a spinning rod, so the recommendations for spinning rod, reel, fishing line and wobblers are similar to those we gave above in relation to catching catfish.

The best lures for catching pike perch

The best lures for catching pike perch by trolling on the Volga are wobblers of different colors, depending on the time of year chosen for fishing on the Volga: in the spring, pike perch is caught on wobblers with a natural color that imitates carp fish - a dark back, a white belly and silvery sides; In summer, pike perch are perfectly caught using wobblers of greenish shades, for example: plain green and green with transverse stripes for perch. Another universal option is the coloring of the Red Head wobbler - red head, white body. In addition to pike perch, pike are excellent fish for this coloration. With a wobbler up to 15 cm long you can catch a luxurious trophy specimen of pike perch on the Volga. For catching pike perch at a depth of 10-13 meters, wobblers from MANN'S Magnum Stretch 30+ and RIVER2SEA downsider minnow 200f are suitable. But just in case, take slightly smaller wobblers with an elongated shape when fishing. In some cases, biting on a smaller wobbler turns out to be more interesting. Also, for fishing on the Volga, it is recommended to use wobblers from the manufacturer Halco, which are used not only by pike perch, but also by catfish.

Pike fishing

Fishing on the Volga
Tackle for pike fishing

Pike fishing on the Volga is good in the cool season; in summer the pike is a little bit fishy and to catch it you will have to use the best pike tackle. More often in the summer they catch pike not on the river itself, but in lakes and eriks, near thickets of grass. Therefore, when choosing gear for catching pike on the Volga, choose a rod 2.7 meters long with a test weight of 10-30 g; it is advisable to choose a medium-fast action for pike, this will allow you to catch pike with both floating wobblers and jig baits. A reel for pike fishing is suitable for a spinning reel of the 3000 series. A metal leash is required when fishing so as not to lose your favorite wobblers and spinners when fishing for pike. Of course, to catch pike on the Volga, use strong and elastic braid with a diameter of up to 0.13 mm.

The best lures for pike fishing

The best baits for shuka are floating wobblers with a diving depth of up to 3 meters and a size of up to 13 cm. In lakes overgrown with grass, you can use poppers and spinnerbaits. Slugs and Texas rigs work well on toadstools. You can use non-snagging Rapala Minnow Spoon spinners, as well as Mepps and Daiwa spinners converted to non-snagging spinners. Homemade non-hook fishing gear is a vivid example when DIY fishing gear gives tangible results when fishing in the grass.

Sturgeon

Beluga

The largest fish that enters the Volga from the Caspian Sea. The species is also distinguished by its longevity - over a hundred years. It is not surprising that males become sexually mature only at 13-18 years, and females another 5-10 years later.

Sterlet

In the river itself, sterlet is also beginning to restore its population, which was greatly thinned out in the second half of the twentieth century. They began to artificially breed the royal fish and populate it not only in the Volga, but also in various pond farms, in which it is desirable to catch it. She bites on worms and maggots, spinners and spoons.

Attention! The bester fish, which lives in the lower reaches of the Volga, is interesting in terms of fishing. This is an artificial species obtained by crossing beluga and sterlet.

Seasonal fishing

They fish on the Volga all year round, and there are practically no obvious declines in the behavior of the fish. However, there are also some peculiarities dictated by local climate conditions.

Summer fishing

The summer fishing season here is considered to be the period from the end of June to mid-September. Different types of fish are caught with different types of gear. To be more precise, quite decent bream are caught on the bottom, with float tackle you can catch plenty of roach, carp, carp, silver bream, sabrefish, and spinning rods often catch large pike and catfish. Catching catfish here is especially exciting, since it is unlikely that anywhere else you will have the opportunity to try your luck in catching a real giant, whose weight reaches 100 kilograms. There is an opportunity to try out such gear as kwok.

Autumn fishing

In autumn, fishing for trophy predators is very effective here. First of all, you need to look for it in deep-water snags. Pike perch is very active, many come here specifically for it, since the bite of this fish reaches its peak in late autumn. The weight of individual fish can reach 10-12 kilograms, which is, in fact, very rare for pike perch. And thanks to the vast expanse of water, trolling fishing becomes especially important in the hunt for large predators. Peaceful fish species are also successfully caught, especially for carp, which continues to bite almost the very first ice.

Winter fishing

Fishing on the Volga River
If we talk about winter fishing, then the ice fishing season begins here much later than in most other regions and for some time the river remains free in places, and in some places ice forms, which, however, is not yet strong enough. The best bite here is observed on the first and last ice; in the middle of winter the fish are not so active, but continue to be caught. Roach, bream and perch are caught well with jig tackle, and pike and pike perch are caught with jigs. However, you should not forget that the weather, especially in the Astrakhan region, can be unstable, so winter fishing here requires special attention and attention.

Spring fishing

Active spring fishing begins in March. A period is coming from which many are trying to make the most of it, going with a spinning rod to the bays in search of pike and asp; the active movement of pike perch begins, which is mainly caught with jig tackle. Roach and rudd are good for catching on bottoms. Areas where numerous eriks and lakes adjoin the river become objects of increased attention of fishermen, since this is where active pre- and post-spawning fishing takes place. Schools of roach also head here, without which many fishermen simply cannot imagine Volga fishing.

Places for free fishing in the Volgograd region

In the Sredne Akhtubinsky district in the Beaver Farm you can fish for free for almost all types of ichthyofauna that are found in the area. Although the place is free, it surprises with the beauty of the landscapes. Fishing at sunset here is a real pleasure.

Another worthy body of water is the Volga-Don Canal. This is an excellent place for bottom and feeder fishing for bream, carp and crucian carp. Among the predatory fish found here are perch, pike and pike perch.

The Varvarskoye Reservoir is attractive for beginners and professionals. It is distinguished by its great depth and size of areas available for fishing. This place is quite promising due to the purity of the water and convenient banks.

The area has not only rivers, but also excellent lakes, which can be found on the fishing map. They are located across the Volga, which makes them accessible to everyone. Here crucian carp bite on a float rod. Sometimes you catch a pike on a spinning rod.

The fishing ban in the Volgograd region in 2021 falls within the following time frame:

from May 1 to June 30 – fishing in the Volgograd Reservoir is prohibited.
from April 25 to June 30 – a ban was established in the Eruslan River.
from May 1 to June 15 you cannot fish in the Volga and Akhtuba rivers.
from April 25 to June 25 - in the reservoirs of the Volga-Don Shipping Canal.
From January 1 to September 14 and from December 1 to December 31, it is prohibited to catch crayfish.

Best fishing spots

The lower reaches and delta of the river are considered the most attractive, regardless of the time of year. This is where most fishermen flock, fortunately there is a place to stay - a huge number of fishing bases have been built along the banks. If we talk about the delta, then this is the area where numerous branches, small rivers and channels are separated from the main channel of the Volga, forming a fairly large body of water. The best time for fishing here is spring and summer, when numerous holes open and the channels and shallow waters are simply teeming with fish.

Species composition of fish in the Volga

8 minutes Author: Yuri Polyakov 1582

The Great Russian River is extremely rich in natural resources. Despite a whole cascade of hydroelectric power stations with their dams, the fish of the Volga continue to live and reproduce. Recently, a significant contribution has been made by special fish breeding companies that release fry of especially valuable species into the river.

First, we will announce the entire list of fish in the Volga, and then we will briefly describe the most popular and attractive of them for sport fishing. In total, the river is home to about seventy species of ichthyofauna, including forty commercial ones.