Flags for winter fishing for pike, perch, crucian carp

The device of the girder with a flag

There are 2 types of vent devices. This is a classic flag, in which the flag begins to shoot out of the reel when biting, and the beacon lights up with a bright light visible on the white background of snow.

The second version of the device consists of a flag and a fishing line wound around it. When a fish bites, it begins to turn over and enter the predator’s mouth. The amount of fishing line wound is of great importance.

According to the recommendations of professionals, it should be about 20-30 meters long for fishing in shallow and medium depths. Live bait must be pierced in the back area.

Checkboxes

Let these details not seem unnecessary - without a good signaling device, the zherlitsa turns into an “old-fashioned” one, i.e. not visual. As the Colleague advised, the existing flag is mostly cut off parallel to the whip, the remainder is wound around the whip and wrapped with adhesive tape.

The new flags are made of thick cotton fabric and have a light-emitting strip sewn on top (available in any women's fabric store).

The size of the flag was also chosen on the advice of a Colleague, so that when twisted it fits into the groove of the coil with some effort.

The tip of the whip should be slightly bent so that the flag does not fire falsely. The body of the whip, except for the lower 15 cm, was covered with multi-colored heat-shrink tubing, I just wanted it and it was left over. The flag on the stand is fixed in working position under the heat-shrinkable sleeve on the stand.

Preparation for fishing with flags

Selecting a location

The choice of location must be taken seriously. The catch and the effort and time spent depend on it. To avoid wasting time, you need to understand the habitats of predatory fish (in winter). In these places you need to start placing the guards with flags.

The time of year is also taken into account. By the beginning of the winter season there are a lot of fish in the habitats, but closer to the middle of winter there are much fewer. Large specimens (pike) are caught towards the end of winter. Shallow water is where predatory fish go to spawn.

The pike at this time is in the uppermost layers, where it can barely fit. If the bait is below such a layer (1-2 meters), then the pike will not notice the prey and will swim past.

Note! Don’t forget about the location of pikes’ organs of vision at the top of their heads. In biting areas, you need to keep live bait in a jar of water on hand to avoid their death. The main thing here is live bait and fishing spots.

Choice of live bait

In winter, 3 types of live bait are used for fishing:

Pike and pike perch bite well on perch, which are in great short supply in winter and it is difficult for predators to find them due to the difference in the water layers of their habitat. Here flags and girders come in handy.
A universal live bait is the gudgeon. It comes to help the fisherman in shallow and deep water.
The next live bait is crucian carp. It is good for deep fishing for pike.

Note ! It is recommended to have several types of live bait with you (both small and larger).

Where to place the checkboxes?

Ideal places for placing devices would be habitats of reeds and thickets. It is recommended to place them near a not very sharp coastal slope.

At a coastal location, the depth should be no more than 1-3 meters. The footage may vary depending on the location of snags and depressions under the ice by 1-1.5 meters. Typically, it is in such places that predatory fish (especially pike) live all winter.

According to the placement method, the distance between devices should be at least 30 meters. When predators are less active, the placement is carried out at a smaller distance from each other. If the alignment is not along the coastline, then you can try various combinations such as a chessboard.

Good to know! If one tactic does not work, you should quickly change it to another. You should not keep the rig near the hole for more than 2-4 hours at a time. Fishermen recommend constantly changing them.

Reel for girder

It is best to select a reel whose diameter will be no more than 6-7 cm , if you use a fishing line with a maximum thickness of up to 0.16 mm. The capacity of this element of gear should be such that the fishing line can be enough when fishing at serious depths.

You can attach the reel to the rig itself in different ways - this largely depends on the design of the tackle itself. It is advisable to install it in such a way that its stroke is average: not too tight, but not too light. When biting, the fish should remove it from the reel with little effort.

It is best to purchase a reel that has a flat outer side and a small concentric recess on the inside. It is in it that you will have to place the flag holder, which will rise when a bite is made.

On the outside, the reel can be painted in a contrasting color: the rotation of the tackle will be clearly visible even from a distance of several tens of meters. When installing the tackle, the reel should be oriented in the direction where the angler will be.

Flag fishing tactics

First you need to start with deeper areas for live bait fishing. The pike begins to move from deep to shallow water.
Then you can also move the vent to shallow water.
In the evening it is recommended to return to deep water.
You can place the vents in the area of snags, holes, dumps, and windbreaks. Typically, predatory fish bite well in shallow water, in snags.
A good catch can be achieved by placing several devices with flags on a pond (from 8-10 pieces).
The rules for arranging vents state that they need to be distributed over a range of depths. Here you get a large number of devices, but the catch will also please you many times over.
It is also worth looking at the weather conditions. Often they can simply interfere with a good bite. Usually this is: high humidity; very low temperatures; high pressure.

Winter fishing with flags

Pike fishing

In winter, you can catch pike weighing 1-3 kilograms.
Catching pike with flags (jars) is done with live bait, which is crucian carp or small perch. Roach, gudgeon and silver bream are also suitable.
The baitfish is inserted through the dorsal fin so that it does not feel much pain and remains alive and active for a long time.
Pike has a very sensitive sense of smell, which reacts sharply to foreign odors.
You need to use only thick fishing line so that the fish cannot bite through it.
When biting, the reel begins to spin and the flag twitches.
You must pull out the fish carefully, without breaking the fishing line.

Perch fishing

For perch, use a single hook and a leash with a breaking load of 6 kilograms.
For better swallowing of bait, the hook is glued to the knot of the fishing line.
The best place for perch fishing is under the snags.
The perch usually bites right under the hole, without unwinding the line too much.
The best bait to use is a small minnow.

Fishing for pike perch

It is recommended to catch pike perch when the ice thickness is 8-10 meters.
The location must be chosen on breaks in the relief or pre-channel holes. There may also be breams there.
The hook should be chosen as for perch - single.
The length of the leash should be at least 50 centimeters, and it is better to use a fishing line with a diameter of 0.2.
As live bait they use: bleak; verkhovka or roach.
It is better to pull out the pike perch very quickly to avoid it going under the snags.

Homemade winter spool

A homemade foam reel for winter fishing for pike and a device for making a spool are shown in the drawing.

You can choose the required coil diameter yourself, or read the recommendations below.

Most fishermen catch pike perch and pike from the ice with homemade and purchased winter fishing poles with rotating forest spreaders that serve as triggers when the signal flag is triggered.

That is, with plastic, foam or metal coils, which are the main components of homemade winter girders.

B. Abakshin from Moscow shares the method of making a reel for winter fishing for pike.

A winter girder with a running rig is very convenient for winter fishing. When a pike grabs a live bait, a homemade foam reel begins to rotate, triggering a signal flag, to which the fisherman reacts.

The most suitable material for making a small homemade reel for winter pike fishing is hard foam. The material is quite durable, light, and does not get wet. You can cut a thick sheet of foam plastic along the width using the tips in the article “Homemade machine for cutting foam plastic.”

The size of a homemade winter girder coil

The optimal size of the diameter of a homemade reel for winter fishing is 80-85 mm with a spool thickness of about 20 mm.

In addition to foam plastic of the required thickness, to make a comfortable reel for a winter pike fishing rod, you will need a cutting tool, which is easy to make yourself.

A homemade cutter is a long nail without a head bent in two places at right angles. Heat the end of the future cutting edge over the flame of a gas stove burner, rivet it on a thick metal plate, harden it, and sharpen it under a scalpel blade.

The size of the horizontal section of the nail bend depends on the required diameter of the homemade coil. You can learn about a similar technique in the topic: Cutting out a foam stand for a winter shelter.

How to make your own fishing flags?

For this purpose, you will need several elements that cost very little. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to complete fishing flags.

Materials:

You need to take simple, cheap and short kebab sticks (about 300 millimeters);
You will also need multi-colored cocktail straws;
Simple folders or their trimmed pieces;
Stapler;

The process itself:

You need to cut out triangles of any size from colored folders;
One side of the triangle must be stapled with a cocktail straw;
You need to insert about 2 kebab sticks into each tube;
These flags are placed next to holes on the ice.

Reviews from fishermen

I’ve always been used to doing everything with my own hands: lures and bait; spoon. I like the activity for the sake of experimentation. At home I made such a structure from a sheet of plastic, a reel, fishing line, bright material and live bait. Everything is working. The main thing here is choosing a place for fishing. It must be fishy. Grade:

Seva, 37 years old

I always went fishing in winter with a fishing rod. I read reviews on the Internet about the use of different techniques. This device is quite inexpensive and accessible. They write that you can have a good catch if you place several pieces at once. I'll probably try this method. Grade:

Stanislav, 30 years old

Every winter my comrades and I set up girders with bright flags on the ice. During the winter there is a decent catch. It is interesting to observe the structure here and hook a pike. I read reviews about making girders yourself. I can say that it is easier to buy in a store. The price for them is quite small. Making houses like this is a waste of time. Grade:

Vladimir, 40 years old

For fun, I made a zherlitsa with my own hands, attached bright flags and a reel to it. Then I bought a plastic thing from an online store and started fishing with it. I didn't notice any difference. The cost of the product is inexpensive, so I think my purchase will be useful. I can’t say that I caught a lot of fish – 5 pike. The device is designed for predatory fish. I advise you to try this design for fun. Grade:

Artem, 31 years old

I used this method once. I used purchased girders for 90 rubles. I don’t see the point in making these on my own. I remember catching 2 pike and that’s it. Now I’m sitting with Donka in the winter. Grade:

Arkhip, 29 years old

Let's celebrate! Based on feedback from fishermen, it is clear that many of them carry out the flagging themselves. Many of them advise placing them during winter fishing only when a sufficiently strong ice edge has formed. Care must be taken to avoid getting caught in the wormwood.

Designs of girders for pike fishing

There are quite a lot of varieties of girders:

With a falling flag : here the flag is raised from the very beginning, and after a bite it falls closer to the water. There is a serious disadvantage here: a predator caught on a hook cannot freely release the fishing line, creating a certain tension;
With a reel - the most popular gear device. The flag is held on the reel with the help of a special spring, which is triggered and releases it during a bite. The design sometimes jams and takes up quite a lot of space;
Under-ice system – perfect for installation at night. Here there is no flag at all, and the tackle is wound on a round stick, which is placed across the hole. When bitten, the fishing line unwinds to its full length and remains so until the fisherman pulls out the tackle along with the catch.