What fish to catch in Karelia
Lake-river fish of Karelia
The first, most popular and most numerous is the lake-river fish. Such representatives as pike, perch, roach, burbot, vendace, bream, and in the south - pike perch can be caught without much difficulty in almost any Karelian reservoir.
Migratory fish of Karelia
The second group includes the so-called migratory fish: whitefish, salmon, salmon, brown trout (one of the types of trout), smelt, grayling. These cold-loving fish mainly live in the sea and large lakes: these are primarily Onega and Ladoga, as well as Ondozero, Topozero, Kuito, Pyaozero, Samozero, Vodlozero, Segozero. However, fishing luck can smile on you on the river, where worthy representatives of this group come to spawn.
Marine fish of Karelia
Representatives of the third group - sea fish (cod, navaga, flounder, herring) - with certain skills, are caught in the White Sea. Are you impressed by the abundance of fish? Do you already see yourself tenderly clutching a huge pike or a spotted log called a brown trout to your chest? Then it’s time to answer the two main questions about fishing in Karelia: what to fish for and where?
Brook trout fishing in Karelia
We should also talk about fishing for brook trout in Karelia. It is smaller than its lake form, but it is also much more difficult to catch, which is why it attracts many anglers. Below we will mention several rivers where you can catch it, but by and large, you can find it in almost every river in the Republic of Karelia.
Prefers pools after rapids, large boulders, river bends with calm areas. It often stays close to the shore - it hunts insects that fall from trees. The best gear for catching brook trout in Karelia is fly fishing. You can also fish with a spinning rod (using small spoons). They are caught with a float rod using a worm, caddis fly or other insects as bait.
The most important thing when fishing for brook trout is to be extremely careful and camouflage. At the slightest danger, this fish moves away from the shore. They catch it in the morning or evening, and if the weather is cloudy, then you can catch it all day. If you did not spook the brook trout when approaching the river bank, then catching it will not be difficult for you.
Fishing gear in Karelia
Spinning
is popular in Karelia Any will do. Typically, a three-meter rod with a 0.35 mm fishing line is used. Don't forget to stock up on enough equipment. The bottom of Karelian rivers is rocky, snags are not uncommon. You need to have a lot of spinners: both spinners and oscillating ones. Various sizes and colors, since it is impossible to guess what exactly the fish will bite on. If you are planning to go fishing in South Karelia, you should take into account that the water in the rivers there is dark and has a brownish color, which is given to it by swamp waters. In such rivers, fish go for silver-colored spoons. In the rivers of North Karelia, the water is clear, greenish-blue. Yellow spinners have performed well there.
Read also: Rest as a savage in Karelia
In the lakes, you should not neglect the opportunity to go fishing along the path. In this way, there is a high probability of catching not only large perch or pike (Pike fishing on girders in winter and summer), but also trout, salmon, pike perch, and pike perch. For fly fishing lovers (
Trout fishing in Karelia
Trout is a cautious fish, especially in the brook form. In streams it is caught using fly fishing, float rods, and spinning rods. Lake trout in the Republic of Karelia is also caught using this gear, but in lakes, if you have a boat, the fishing method on the track will be effective.
Optimal weather is a small wave, clouds and no recent sudden changes in atmospheric pressure. It is best to fish in the morning or evening; during the white nights, you can start fishing very early (even at 4-5 am) and end long after midnight.
When fishing, lake trout in Karelia should be looked for in open parts of the reservoir; they rarely stay near the shore, and if they do, they are usually young individuals that are not desirable prey.
Most often, lake trout are caught using spinning rods; the best baits are:
- Rotating spoons;
- Narrow vibrators;
- Wobblers.
Sometimes silicone baits can give good results, but they must be of natural colors; trout do not like “acid” colors. You can also use natural bait, these can be worms, insects, maggots. If you are going to fish with live bait, then it is best to take bleak or vendace - Karelian trout prefers these fish.
Trout fishing in Karelia begins almost immediately after the reservoirs are free of ice and until the freeze-up. Before going to a specific body of water, we recommend not only finding information about it on our website and finding out when it becomes free of ice (or freezing), but also, if possible, clarifying the current situation with local residents (for example, asking on social networks). This especially applies to the northern regions of the Republic of Karelia, where water bodies can be cleared of ice very late, and fishing (including trout) can only begin in the second half of July.
But in general, Karelian trout (trout) do not have any pronounced behavioral characteristics; if you have caught this fish before, then there will be no surprises for you.
Fishing in Karelia video
Fishing in Karelia as a savage video
Travel from Moscow to the Kola Peninsula. Fishing in Karelia as a savage video: “Features of Karelian fishing or...”
A trip in the summer of 2013 to Karelia to Pyaozero and the White Sea. The video mainly shows fishing and the nature of the northern region. Overall we were pleased with the trip, a lot of fish were caught and numerous fish sites were found. The catches mainly included perch, pike, roach, and grayling. The weather was warm, you could swim every day. On the way back we stopped at the sea and caught cod.
Where do trout live in Karelia?
Brook trout is a small predatory fish, variegated colors, average size five hundred grams. It lives in fast, noisy rivers with numerous waterfalls and quiet reaches. The water in the rivers of Karelia is dark brown due to falling pine needles into the water. But transparent as a tear. The rapid current enriches the water with oxygen, which is so necessary for trout to live.
Promising places are located near natural shelters: stones, boulders, sunken tree trunks. Trout also likes to stand in places where a stormy current borders a backwater.
Varieties
Contrary to popular belief, trout is not one type of fish, but a generic name for several species at once, some of which do not even contain the word “trout” in the scientific name. Classification, by the way, is largely complicated by the fact that some varieties are very similar to each other, which is why scientists do not always come to a consensus as to whether we are talking about the same species or several different ones. Such confusion is typical, for example, for river and lake trout - not all researchers agree that the differences are significant enough to divide the fish into two separate species.
Interestingly, trout, which belongs to the salmon family, not only does not completely occupy any one of its genera, but also belongs to three different genera at once, that is, its identification as a separate fish (from the biological point of view) is generally very far-fetched. In this context, it is not even surprising that most species of this fish are named not by any characteristic features, but by the place of traditional catch.
Based on the color of the skin and the shade of the meat, white, red and golden trout are also distinguished (the latter - solely by skin color), however, from the above we already know that this is, rather, not a species indicator, but an indicator of living conditions. An exception is the rainbow trout, which is an officially recognized species by science.
As a fairly famous delicacy, many have heard of the so-called amber trout, but it is wrong to think that such a description characterizes the type of fish - here we are talking, rather, about the method of preparation, so this is the name of the recipe, and not a biological classification.
Fly fishing for trout in Karelia
Fly fishing involves hiking along a river and placing bait in promising places. This hike needs to start from the upper reaches of the river and move with the flow. Because a frightened fish moves against the current and frightens every living thing in its path.
It is this method that imitates an insect falling on water. The best bait is a dry fly, it should not sink. The retrieve must be jerky; the bait should look like an insect that has fallen into the water and is trying to reach the shore.
Sometimes trout refuse to take even a very skillfully made fly, in which case it needs to be replaced with a natural bait. A dragonfly or grasshopper is good for this purpose.
Trout
Of greatest interest to the sports fisherman are sea trout (or brown trout), lake trout and brook trout (or speckled trout).
Lake trout is found in Lake Ladoga and Onega, as well as cold-water lakes in Karelia and the Kola Peninsula. Its special forms live in the high-mountain lakes of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. It feeds mainly on small fish, as well as insects and their larvae.
Brook trout, or pied trout, inhabits many fast and cold-water rivers in the European part of Russia. Common in Karelia, on the Kola Peninsula, in the Baltic Sea basin. There are in the Caucasus and Crimea.
It differs in appearance and color from other trout. Characteristic are red or orange spots surrounded by a light rim. Brook trout are very similar to juvenile lake trout from the river life period. Even specialists, not to mention amateur fishermen, find it difficult to distinguish between them. The color, shape of spots and their number in brook trout vary depending on the characteristics of the reservoirs. Usually the weight is 300-500 g, occasionally individuals weighing 1-2 kg are found.
Trout spend most of their lives sedentary. It makes small movements in search of spawning areas and sometimes during floods, rising upstream in both cases. Spawning even in the same river continues from October to February, at a water temperature of 1-6 degrees. Spawning sites are shallow and fast riffles.
Best biting period
It feeds throughout the year, except for the spawning period, the hottest days of summer and sudden turbidity of the water. In summer it fattens mainly in the morning and evening. In the north it feeds on white nights. In spring and autumn, as well as in cold weather, it feeds almost all day.
Favorite bait
The food is small crustaceans, insects and their larvae, fish eggs, and for large trout sometimes small fish, mainly minnows.
Habitats
In summer, small trout stay in small groups on rapid rivers, choosing quiet areas. The large one prefers deep places near shelters, trees fallen into the water, and large stones. He likes to stand on dumps - the transition of shallows into the depths, near steep banks into which a stream of water hits, and on the border of fast and slow currents. From her shelter she makes a swift dash to grab an insect that has fallen into the water. Brook trout are very shy and will immediately swim away if the angler is not careful enough to move along the shore.
Fishing for trout in ponds
Igor 05/21/2015
fishingday.org
When trout go to spawn
In the third year of life, the trout are ready to spawn and are ready to travel to the places where they lay their eggs each year. Moreover, there are species of this fish that begin to spawn at two years, and there are also species whose sexual maturity is noted at 5-6 years. Regular brook trout do this at 3 years of age. Most fish species lay eggs with the arrival of spring, when nature begins to come to life. Moreover, each type of fish tries to spawn in acceptable conditions, when the water temperature begins to actively rise. Unfortunately, trout is not one of these fish species, because its spawning occurs in late autumn or early winter. This is the period when there is no longer any talk about fish spawning. Somewhere in October-November, trout go to spawn. The period may shift depending on the climatic characteristics of the region and the type of trout. The colder the climate zone, the earlier it goes to spawn.
The earliest spawning period is September, and the latest is December. At the same time, it should be noted that there are species of this fish that spawn throughout the year. And yet, the main types of trout begin to spawn in October-November.
After trout have appeared at traditional breeding grounds, they begin to actively spawn. Moreover, she does this early in the morning or late in the evening, after sunset. In the morning hours, it is not very active, but after dark and before midnight, trout activity is highest. Females get rid of all the eggs in several approaches, taking rest breaks. At the same time, she will be able to spawn all the eggs no earlier than a week.
How does trout spawn?
Having found a suitable place, the female begins to form a small depression at the bottom. All parts of the body take part in this process. After this, she lays several dozen eggs in this hole, after which the male immediately fertilizes her. The female tries to prevent younger males from participating in the fertilization process, caring for the health of her offspring.
After this, the female buries this place so that the eggs are not eaten by predators or carried away by the current. Despite the fact that the eggs stick perfectly to any object at the bottom of the river, this effect quickly disappears and the eggs are carried away by the current. Knowing this, the female does everything very quickly. Despite this, few will survive, especially since the incubation process is not fast. Moreover, even the trout fry that are born will not all make it to their favorite places, where they will spend the rest of their lives.
Trout caviar is the size of allspice peas and has a greenish or orange-red hue. The female can lay from 500 to 2000 eggs. After about 2-3 months, trout fry will be born, about 2 cm long. For some time they feed on the yolk sac, which remains from the eggs. At the same time, they stay between the stones, without leaving their shelter for a long time. After they grow a little and become stronger, the period of independent search for food begins. During this period, they switch to feeding on plankton.
The strengthened and surviving fry begin to slide downstream in the spring. There is usually plenty of food for growth downstream. From feeding on plankton, they switch to feeding on small insects that, for one reason or another, have fallen into the water. The next stage is hunting for mayflies, etc. By autumn, the “small” trout reaches a length of 9 cm. After about 2 years of life, the trout will reach a length of 20 cm and will be considered a full-fledged individual, suitable for fishing.
The fact that trout spawn during periods of cold weather is a unique phenomenon, since it is difficult to imagine how an embryo develops in such cold water. Although trout is not the only representative that breeds in such conditions. If we take burbot, for example, it generally spawns at the height of severe frosts, which occur at the end of December and January. And this amazing phenomenon is worthy of your attention. Not only that, it indicates how strong Mother Nature is and how great her capabilities are.
Trout spawning areas
With the arrival of autumn, trout begin to move up the river to their favorite places for spawning. At the same time, she overcomes various obstacles or waterfalls up to 4 meters high. This indicates how strong this fish is and how strongly the reproductive instinct is developed.
Excellent places for spawning can be sections of the river that are located near rapids and have a fast current. The bottom of such areas should be covered with stones. It is among the stones that trout prefer to lay their eggs. In addition, interesting places for trout are sections of the river, the bottom of which is strewn with small pebbles, up to 3 cm in size. If the fish for some reason could not get to a suitable place, then it can spawn in areas where the bottom is strewn with large pebbles . The depth of the reservoir in these areas is not large and can reach no more than 1 meter. Therefore, its spawning can be observed from the shore.
