Novotroitskoye Reservoir - fishing and recreation

Almost all tourists who visit the Stavropol Territory for active recreation recommend taking a fishing rod with them. Fishing in this region is famous for its success and wonderful trophies. You can catch a trophy specimen or a rather rare fish, which is almost impossible to find in other regions, here without much effort and even beginners can do it.

This region is famous for the fact that fish are caught here almost always, regardless of the time of year and weather, but it is worth taking into account seasonal bans and other regional restrictions in order to preserve the inhabitants of the underwater environment. Basically, the prohibitions apply to spawning periods and apply with certain nuances and additions, which can be found at the end of the article.

What kind of fish is found in the Stavropol Territory

Fish stocks in the Stavropol Territory are practically inexhaustible due to the huge number of reservoirs. To catch a small fish, even beginners do not need to make much effort. But in order to see trophy specimens that are amazing in size, you need to approach the choice of bait and gear with all responsibility. Although this is easier to do in the Stavropol Territory than in any other region. When you see this list of fish, you will undoubtedly want to catch one or more of these types of fish:

Carp;
crucian carp;
Perch;
Catfish;
Zander;
Gudgeon;
Bleak;
Pike;
Podleschik;
Tench;
Roach.

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Entertainment on the Novotroitskoye Reservoir

It gets warmer here already in March. On International Women's Day, crowds of connoisseurs of reconnecting with nature come to the pond. They usually arrive already in summer clothes. The coastal area is equipped with gazebos, many of them are free. In May, hydrobikes, catamarans and speedboats launch on the water, offering extreme recreation for a nominal fee. The territory is rich in a variety of entertainment venues: cafes, bars, discos. People in the Stavropol Territory are friendly and hospitable, because the sun, greenery and warmth always smile at them. In spring, the shore plays with scarlet crimson - the flowering of steppe poppies has begun.

Map of fishing spots

Near the village of Terek, a small canal of the same name flows. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to swim here by boat, but everyone can do great fishing from the shore. It will be enough just to select the appropriate gear and prepare in advance. Basically, fishermen go to a reservoir with one goal - to catch a trophy pike perch, and most succeed.

The Kuma River, which is small in size and located near Arkhipovsky, very often attracts a large number of local fishermen. But it’s unlikely that anyone will be able to meet locals on the shore, since almost everyone fishes from a boat. The main purpose for which fishermen come for ships is pike perch. There are a lot of this magnificent predator in the reservoir, but you need to find the right approach to it.

The Nevinnomyssk Canal is a rather interesting artificial reservoir, to the shores of which local and visiting fishermen go. As a rule, local fishermen are equipped with bottom rods, but visitors fish with spinning rods. In any case, the catches include catfish of different sizes. Catching a trophy specimen is a very rare occurrence here, but there are plenty of medium-sized fish.

Fishing on the rivers

Due to the fact that there are mountains in the area, there are many rivers with melt water and even more tributaries. Let's look at fishing on the rivers of Stavropol:

Egorlyk,
Kuban,
Manych,
Terek.

Yegorlyk: characterized by spring floods, in March there is the most water, and in other months the level drops and remains at a minimum. The depth rarely reaches 4 meters, the current is weak, which is typical for a steppe river. This reservoir is rich in minnows and perch, and in some places there are a lot of pike perch. Unfortunately, there are very few large trophies here; mostly you come across palm-sized fish. It’s more convenient to fish from the shore, but fishing with a spoon is only possible from a boat, since Egorlyk stretches for a few meters in width.

Kuban: originates from Elbrus, in the Stavropol Territory it has many tributaries and here it overflows especially strongly, creating habitat conditions for most fish. You can find trophy predators on the rapids, and carp can be found in spills where the water mostly stagnates. This fish in Kuban is larger than in other bodies of water.

There are a lot of rudd and perch here, but you rarely catch anything worthwhile. There are large breams, but you need to know the places. The Kuban has more than 400 tributaries, these are small rivers that are comparable to Yegorlyk. It’s easy to get to the river; several federal highways pass next to it, but if you don’t want to go far from civilization, then the most convenient place will be Nevinnomyssk; the Kuban flows within the boundaries of this city.

Manych: flows in the north of the region, on the border with the Republic of Kalmykia. The width often extends to 40 meters; fishing here is customary with a float. Previously, due to emissions from nearby enterprises, the ecology in the river was disrupted; now the situation has returned to normal, but there are fewer large fish here than before. Carp, rudd and perch are often found. The reeds often have a good roach bite. The usual baits would be a worm or corn; there’s no need to get too imaginative.

There are many different farms or fishing bases on Manych; if you want productive fishing, then for little money you will be given the opportunity to fish in a baited area.

Terek: originates in the north, in the mountains. In the Stavropol region it is already overflowing heavily and passes only through the northern part of this area. There are many tourist and fishing bases along the banks. In the lower reaches of the Terek, it is especially rich in fish, but already in the region there is no such abundance and diversity of species; you can find the ubiquitous perch, carp, carp, and sometimes catfish. At the source the river is very fast, although in the Stavropol Territory the flow slows down, but in comparison with the Kuban River the Terek is fast. If you are going to travel with a boat, then you need to know that the Terek floods very heavily in March-April, at which time the underwater fauna changes greatly.

Fishing on lakes and reservoirs

Such reservoirs are characterized by weak currents. Those reservoirs that are built on cascades of hydroelectric power stations contain a larger number of species due to the saturation of oxygen in the water. Fishing in lakes is the same everywhere, but rare fish are caught at the confluence of rivers.

Lake Manych-Gudilo,
Salt Lake,
Lake Bald Liman,
Sengileevskoye Reservoir,
Novotroitskoye Reservoir.

Manych-Gudilo: turbulent, strong winds often blow here and, accordingly, large waves appear. The lake has a lot of minerals and salts; in hot summers the salinity of the water is higher than in the sea. You need to fish in cool weather, since in the heat the fish go to where there is fresh water. Pike perch and crucian carp are caught most often, pike is rare. If you are planning to go there, it is better to choose an area near the village of Divnoye.

Solenoye: located north of Stavropol, not far from the P269 highway. The lake is quiet, shallow, and it is convenient to fish both from the shore and from a boat. There are a lot of carp here, including mirror ones. Carp and crucian carp are biting. Fish weighing 0.5−1.5 kg are often caught.

Bald Liman: on the border with Kalmykia it stretches for 8 kilometers, and then flows into the Manych River. The lake is heavily overgrown with algae in some places. Pike and large perch live here. Many people praise this place for a good catch of crucian carp near the reeds, with which the slopes to the water have recently become heavily overgrown, so fishing from the water will be more convenient than from land. To get here, you need to drive 20-30 kilometers through the steppes, as Lys is near. There are no trails in the estuary. If this is your first time here, it is better to stop at a feeding spot not far from the huntsman’s house; locals from nearby villages constantly fish there.

Sengileevskoye Reservoir: the largest reservoir in the vicinity of the administrative center. It is located 18 kilometers from Stavropol. Area - 42 km², maximum depth - 45 meters. Sengileevskoye is a strategic object - it supplies the city with water. Enterprises also breed fish here, so there is a lot of it here. There are crucian carp, catfish, grass carp, roach, perch, silver carp and others. This reservoir is one of the richest reservoirs for fish in the Stavropol Territory. Fish from the Sengileevsky Reservoir is in demand even in neighboring regions. Unfortunately, there are many poachers here, and, accordingly, there is often a decline in one species. But even so, there are a lot of fish here.

Novotroitsk Reservoir: slightly smaller than Sengileevsky, located near Solnechnodolsk. The reservoir is used for hydroelectric power stations and fish farming; there is also a nature reserve nearby. There are many different species found here, and sometimes fishing tournaments are held at this reservoir. Most fish here from the shore. Many speak well of the good bite of perch on a wobbler. Carp and roach are caught most often, carp less often. In the Novotroitsky reservoir. There are even such rare fish as tilapia.

Three days at the Novotroitsk reservoir

In the second half of November, the south of Russia found itself under the influence of a cold cyclone: it became frosty outside and snow fell, but just recently it had been warm and it seemed that winter was still far away. On a chilly November morning, Alexander Krukovsky and I crossed the border of the Rostov region and the Stavropol region; our pickup truck briskly towed the “Volzhanka Legend Fish 46” in the vicinity of the city of Solnechnodolsk, where the Novotroitskoye reservoir is located. Although Alexander and I live on the Don land, we are members of the Federation of Fishing Sports of the Stavropol Territory, and by the end of the year the Federation decided to gather athletes and amateur fishermen for a festival, calling it “Fresh Blood”. My participation in the festival was not accidental; in my free time from the competitive process, it was planned to hold a master class “Twitching”, a seminar “NEW Norstream and Jackall soft baits”, as well as a demonstration of “Volzhanka Legend Fish” to Stavropol fishermen.

At dawn, the reservoir greeted us with dense fog, visibility was no more than two hundred meters. The Novotroitsk reservoir is a cooler for the Stavropol State District Power Plant, and on this cold morning steam rose above the water in a huge cap. The reservoir, I must say, is not a large one; it is the dammed Yegorlyk River. I once happened to be here on a four-day fishing trip, and I had a good idea of the boundaries of the reservoir; In addition, now we were helped by the navigation system built into the echo sounder. And as soon as we launched the boat, we immediately went in search of fish.

Four fishing rods were secured on the fishing deck. Here we were more interested in jigging fish, and for fishing in still water at depths where we can count on walleye and perch at this time of year, we chose the Norstream Experience EXS-802MML rods (4-18 grams). Although Alexander and I came across this model relatively recently, we have already managed to test it in the conditions of the Veselovsky Reservoir and catch enough fish to understand that the rod has high tactile sensitivity, good “astringent” qualities and solid deterrent potential. For fishing with minnow wobblers, Alexander chose the old time-tested medium light, Norstream Kando KDS 732ML (4–15 grams), and I chose Norstream Dynamic III DYS-682MMH (10–28 grams), which is designed for animating heavy baits with jerk wiring , but is also good for twitching small minnows, for example Jackall Tiny Magallon and Jackson Dead Float 80F.

The whole day was spent searching for the predator, but not many fish were found. In one of the places with a hard bottom at a depth of 4 to 6 meters, supposedly microschools of perch were visible on the monitor of the structural engineer, and there we caught several striped and toothy ones. By and large, the training ended in nothing; one day was not enough for us to understand the reservoir. Therefore, it was decided that the next day at the competition we would act according to the situation and, if there were no active fish in a given place, we would start searching. However, we were at the festival, and fishing itself and communicating with friends interested us more than the competitive component.

The evening was spent in the company of friends - telling jokes and fishing stories. This year, by coincidence, I now met most of the Stavropol residents for the first time, so it was especially interesting; We chatted about this and that, drank tea and topolovka. The next day the start was not planned to be early, so we got up from the table long after midnight.

In the morning, the bright sun illuminated the surroundings of the reservoir. Forecasters predicted a warm, slightly windy day with partly cloudy skies. Such weather could have a negative impact on fish behavior; as they say, what is good for humans is bad for fish, and on cloudy and windy days the fish are still less careful and more active. These thoughts visited Alexander and me while the tournament was opening. After the start, the boat was directed to where yesterday afternoon we managed to “catch” a little fish. The speed of the Volzhanka gave us some advantage over other participants, and we were one of the first to achieve our goal. Unfortunately, our pre-launch fears were justified: when the boat was first installed, the perch did not show itself at all. The decision to begin an active search for fish was made after twenty minutes of no bite.

Making long tacks and maneuvering between the boats of our opponents, we discovered that if yesterday in this area at least some life was glimmering in the bottom layer, today this vast place was lifeless, schools of whitefish and perch had gone in an unknown direction. Or maybe the perch remained in place and lay on the bottom. In any case, we did not find a single suspicious spot on the scanner monitor and after a long search we decided to go out into vast shallow water with a depth of 1.5–2.5 meters, densely overgrown with grass. This grass was only in the bottom layer, and in the water column it was possible to safely use a variety of baits with a depth of up to one and a half meters. Further events happened at lightning speed. Alexander put Malas on the seven hundred and thirty-second Kando and on the very first casts he caught a couple of medium-sized pikes.

The weather allowed fishing by rafting. We took advantage of this opportunity and fished a vast area, but did not see a single bite in this area. We swam around the pond for a long time in search of fish until we managed to catch another pike on Jackall Magallon. Finally, in one of the places not far from the start, a local accumulation of pike was discovered, and here we managed to catch a dozen more tails on “Magallon” and his “younger brother” before the end of the tour. According to the results of the first day, our crew took second place, but Alexander and I came here not to compete, but to communicate, and in our free time from the competitive process we held a seminar “NEW Norstream and Jackall soft baits”, at which Norstream rods were presented to Stavropol anglers Blaze, Flagman-T, Invict, Nibble, Rebel, Rooky, Dynamic III, Gravity and Experience, released over the past two years as part of the Special Concept Series.

The essence of the SCS program, the specialization of the Norstream spinning rods included in it and their affordability to a wide range of anglers were also explained. When the seminar was conceived, I expected pessimistic sentiments, but now the friendly atmosphere and the burning eyes of the listeners, frankly, amazed me. Stavropol fishermen expressed their gratitude to Kirill Gushchin and their wishes to revive the old Stage series, as well as release a casting series based on New Provokator.

The silicone baits Jackall I Shad Tail, Wobbring, Rhythm Wave and Scissor Comb, aimed at the Russian market, by and large, did not require comments. The participants were familiar with Jackal silicone first-hand and received it very warmly; Some of my supplies were gutted right at the seminar. Scissor Comb was well suited to the conditions of this fishing, trophy perch willingly grabbed the “crackers”, and, looking ahead, I will say that the festival champions proved this.

The evening turned out to be very warm, all the festival participants gathered on the pier, and at the request of the fishermen, a master class was held on animating baits using jerk wiring. In the rays of the setting sun, I shared my understanding of twitching, feeding baits, and guiding them.

The conversation with friends took a long time, but by midnight fatigue finally overcame us, and silence reigned at the tourist base where we were located until dawn. In the second round, it was decided to make an early start, and with the first rays of the sun, the start area from the roar of warming up boat engines began to look like a beehive.

Alexander and I decided to go out to the perch habitat again in the morning, and in case of force majeure, start fishing for pike, which was clearer and more predictable for us. Already when approaching the intended fishing spot, scattered symbols of fish spinning near the bottom began to appear on the echo sounder monitor. Having made several placements of the boat in promising places and caught one perch in half an hour, we nevertheless decided to go fishing for pike, but in the early hours the activity of the toothy fish was not at its best. Without going to yesterday's fishing spot, we tried to catch pike nearby, at depths of up to three meters, shuffling along the tops of grass thickets with wobblers with deep depth (Jackall Magallon Diving and Dowzvido), but the fish flatly refused to be interested in the baits offered to it.

But as soon as the sun began to really warm up, the pike came out of the grass. The first one was caught on a Tiny Magallon wobbler, followed by others. Fish activity increased in the holes. My companion at this festival picked up the key to pike in the form of a ninety Smith Jib, but the catches were not far from the boat, while large areas remained untouched. Meanwhile, boats began to gather around us, the fishing load increased, and in order to have time to collect active pike, a low-sinking wobbler with phenomenal flight qualities was installed on the twitch Dynamic III - Rada Minnow 114.

In this situation, confident jerks were good for “Rada”, in which it, deviating to the side, repeatedly rolls from side to side. The sweeping play of the bait drove the fish crazy; the pike grabbed it on every retrieve. I recommended that Alexander also switch to the “Rada”, but he immediately failed to catch the required pace of the drive and the strength of the jerk, so he nevertheless returned to the large “Magallon”.

The tour time was coming to an end, and soon, wishing the fishermen to take care of the fish, we sent the Volzhanka to the finish line. That day our crew caught a lot of pike, but their size left much to be desired, and we took second place.

While we were collecting gear and fishing belongings, the anglers were amazed at the ergonomics of the fishing deck of the Volzhanka Legend Fish 46GB. First, opening the hatches, they looked into the lockers, then into the spacious glove compartment located on the passenger panel. In this boat, designed for fishing, every corner has been thought out, and even the sides, covered with carpet, can be used as a working panel for bait.

Ecology of Novotroitsk Lake: Stavropol State District Power Plant sounds the alarm

An industrial landscape overlooking a lake should not be a burden to the environment. The problem of silting of the largest reservoir in the Stavropol region did not arise yesterday. For more than a decade, promises have been made from high officials about the importance of financing the program for the environmental rescue of the reservoir, even the amounts of federal tranches are named, however, as in Krylov’s fable, things are still there. Yes, if only that were the case.

Birds love mud islands.

The amount of garbage on the shore cannot be accurately calculated: there is simply a lot of it.

Stop the car!

The situation became more complicated when, in 2021, due to innovations in federal legislation, the station was not given permission to use its own dredger to remove silt. For three years now, the equipment has been lying at the bottom and rusting. In 1999, when the dredger was purchased, permission to provide a water body for use for soil development was not required. And today everyone: stop the car!

The dredger has been illegal for three years now.

Vasily Zhukov, deputy head of the general plant works department at the Stavropol State District Power Plant, whose duties included the task of ensuring the operation of the dredger, confirmed that the equipment, which, albeit partially, solved the problem, is simply disappearing today.

Without the Novotroitsk reservoir, the technological process of generating electricity is impossible. Used water is returned to the lake only after purification, naturally raising its temperature somewhat. That is why the swimming season here begins early, and there is such an abundance of various recreation centers on the left bank, if you look at the lake from the side of the state district power station.

The company is primarily interested in ensuring that the lake is clean, does not become shallow, and does not shrink like the shagreen skin of its water mirror. Therefore, for many years, in fact, it independently carried out a lot of work to improve the health of the reservoir, ensuring the operation of the dredger to clean the bottom, releasing fish fry into the lake that eat algae. To be honest, a dam should have been built here long ago to protect against the alluvium of bottom silt from the Yegorlyk River flowing into the reservoir. The station did not have such funds. And the technical capabilities for cleaning the bottom, for the same financial reasons, could not solve the problem one hundred percent. The amount of sediment removed annually by hydromechanization did not coincide with the volume that the river brought during the same period. That is, the forces of one dredger could not cope.

At the same time, the state district power station has been paying quite a large water tax for many years. It would be fair to use part of the money paid to improve the health of the lake. Especially when you consider that the threat of not only an environmental, but also a sanitary emergency is real, since seven districts of Stavropol receive drinking water from the reservoir.

New islands

Accompanied by Vasily Zhukov, the editorial team got acquainted with the surroundings of the reservoir.

It is believed that rumors of an environmental disaster are somewhat exaggerated. This can be said by those who have not visited these places and have not seen with their own eyes what is really happening. Moreover, you should visit not where there are also very fashionable recreation centers, but on the other side of the reservoir, where islands have already formed from washed-up silt, on which birds walk. According to environmentalists, the mass brought by the Kuban waters is about 60 million cubic meters per year. The coastline is growing and being developed by various vegetation, and accordingly, the water is becoming less and less. You can't see this from the swimmer's pier.

A power transmission line stretches along the shore, carrying energy to consumers. Considering that today this is a nature reserve of regional significance, access here by car is prohibited.

We went to the shore, as expected, on foot and were extremely surprised that a Niva was parked right at the edge of the reservoir, bringing two fishermen. For them the law is not written. But the huntsman is not able to keep track of everyone. Fishermen or locals who simply come here for a picnic usually leave a lot of garbage behind them. GRES workers regularly hold cleanup days here. But the situation is not getting better. My words that it was forbidden to come here by car were met with hostility: “So what? We always fished here...”

Fishermen come to the reserve not only for fish

Even more waste after unorganized swimmers relax on the so-called wild beach. And this despite the fact that there are garbage cans literally located behind the road.

Even more waste after the vacation of “savages” who came to the lake on the so-called wild beach. And this despite the fact that there are garbage cans literally located behind the road.

Waiting for Amphibex

In general, if we recall history, the reservoir was created in the 50s of the last century for the needs of the irrigation system to ensure watering of nearby farmland. In 1968, a decision was made to build a state district power station: the developing region needed electricity. The first power unit started operating in 1975. The enterprise dealt with the lake's environmental problems from the very beginning, remembering how important it is that the reservoir does not become shallower, as a result of which its cooling capacity decreases.

However, over time the situation became more complicated. Therefore, there was a need to purchase special equipment to clean the reservoir from silt. Apparently, since then it has become the custom that all responsibility for the lake lies with the state district power station. At least, no one else was going to take on this concern. Although it had long been clear that the enterprise could no longer cope on its own. And today, power engineers are prohibited from taking any actions to improve the environmental situation. How to be?

I found information that one of the private Stavropol companies acquired a miracle of technology - an amphibious complex - the floating excavator "Amphibex-400" in the Rostov newspaper "Our Time" dated April 20, 2021. We were talking about the Tsimlyansk reservoir, which is experiencing similar problems. “The equipment was going to be used to clean up the Novotroitsk reservoir, where an environmental disaster was diagnosed four years ago,” the material says.

GRES specialists confirmed that they had indeed been shown the capabilities of Amfibex, but that was the end of the matter. It is still unclear how and at what cost to attract a floating excavator to clean the lake.

Director of the State Institution “Department of Construction Control and Construction of Environmental Structures” Yuri Epanov noted in a telephone conversation that he knows well the capabilities of the new unit. Even the least powerful Amphibex-400, which he saw in action, is capable of removing a million tons of sludge in a year. At the same time, neither KamAZ trucks nor other equipment are needed to transport bottom sediments. The unit itself pushes them through the pipes into the pulp chambers at a distance of one to four kilometers. The installation runs on technical vegetable oil and in case of leakage will not harm the environment. True, in his opinion, the more powerful Amphibex-800 would be more suitable for the Novotroitsk reservoir. In this case, the reservoir could be cleaned in three years. And with old technology, the work could take decades.

The prospect is excellent. The question is different. Since the water body is of federal importance, then, accordingly, at the place of “registry” it belongs to the department of the Kuban Basin Water Management, which is intended to implement the project. Actually, the work should already be in full swing. Apparently, the expected funding has stalled again.

The amount of garbage on the shore cannot be accurately calculated: there is simply a lot of it.

And the environmental disaster at Novotroitsky is already four years old. This is according to optimists. And the saying “they wait three years for what is promised” seems to need serious adjustments and sounds too optimistic in this situation.

So far, apart from promises, nothing has happened that could clarify the environmental prospects of Novotroitsky.

Lyudmila KOVALEVSKAYA

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History of the Novotroitsk reservoir in the Stavropol Territory

To create a reservoir, a dam was erected on the Yegorlyk River. Filling was completed in 1952, at which time the facility began to be used. The waterworks include a dam, which rises 22 meters, and several water collection structures. It was created taking into account that water would flow into the Pravoegorlyksky Canal.

Since then, streams have irrigated the surrounding lands - more than one hundred thousand hectares, supplying settlements in six arid regions of the region. In addition, seasonal regulation of wastewater is carried out. The village of Solnechnodolsk is located on the shore. There is also the Stavropol hydroelectric power station on the coast. Novotroitsky water is used there for technical needs. That is why it heats up very much and does not freeze even in winter.