Pike is a voracious river predator that can be fished all year round. Its greed and aggressiveness prompted fishermen to create many variations of artificial baits. One of the most popular inventions for catching pike with a spinning rod is a wobbler. Over its more than century-long history, fishing for pike with a wobbler has taken its rightful place among anglers from all over the world. I have acquired many varieties and some special fishing techniques.
Photo: Wobblers for pike
How to catch pike with a wobbler
The key to successful fishing of this type is not only the correct choice of gear, but also a good knowledge of the characteristics and capabilities of your lures. Despite the huge number of models, wobblers can be classified according to several general characteristics.
By immersion depth:
- superficial;
- subsurface;
- deep-sea.
By buoyancy:
- floating
- drowning
- suspenders (according to the manufacturer’s plan, such baits should hold quietly and hang in the water column)
Finally, according to design, wobblers are divided into bladed (minnow, shad, fad, crankbait, crawler) and bladeless (poppers, stickbaits, rattlins, propbaits, jerkbaits, walkers).
For confident fishing, it is enough to have 5-7 wobblers for different occasions. For example, minnows imitate fry as realistically as possible and are excellent for summer fishing, and in the fall it is better to use cranks, especially in rivers and reservoirs.
The optimal wobbler size for pike fishing is 7-12 cm.
You will also need a certain rod - a fast-action spinning rod with a fairly rigid, well-responsive tip and a reliable butt. For fishing from the shore, a rod 2.4 m long is sufficient.
More information about fishing for pike using spinning wobblers in the video:
About
Types of wobblers used
Wobblers have a large number of different models.
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All of them can be distinguished by the following main parameters:
- By buoyancy.
- By immersion (surface, deep-sea).
- By appearance.
- By weight.
- To size.
Let's take a closer look at wobblers for each of these parameters.
According to buoyancy, wobblers are:
- Fast pop-up.
- Slow pop-up.
- Sinking quickly.
- Slowly sinking.
- Medium sinking.
- Medium pop-up.
Surface wobblers are divided into the following models:
Crowler. It has a blade, due to which, when it gets into the water, it begins to rotate. It has a hook on top that can be used to control the wobbler.
Stickbait. In appearance it looks like an ordinary thick match, but thanks to its game it is able to lure a lot of fish. There are no blades.
Popper. It has a round shape, there are no blades.
Walker - when retrieving, such a bait oscillates to the sides.
Cicada - copies various beetles, flies and frogs that fish often feed on.
Deep-sea wobblers are divided into the following types:
Jerk bait. These are large baits that do not have blades or their own game. They are used only when jerking, when the angler quickly pulls the wobbler, and the fish becomes interested in such unusual behavior of the fish and swims closer. Such a wobbler requires a lot of experience and knowledge in operation from the fisherman, otherwise it will not bring the expected result.
Minnow. They have the shape of a small fish and are divided into the following categories:
- Floating.
- Neutral.
- Drowning.
Shad. They are small baits with a weight, due to which the wobbler plays. They can be either sinking or floating.
Fat are drop-shaped wobblers that have good resistance in the water due to their heavy weight. In addition, they often have noise functions, which, when deployed, attract the attention of predators.
Crank. In shape, such cages copy the fry, which moves very quickly.
Rattlin. Such wobblers have an oblong body, inside of which there is a small sound-producing device. It perfectly attracts the attention of fish.
In addition, wobblers can be classified according to their colors. There are baits in natural colors (green, brown, etc.) and bright (acid) colors - yellow, red and others. Wobblers of natural shades should be used in clear weather when the water in reservoirs is clean. Bright baits are recommended to be used in muddy water or when the weather is cloudy, since the fish will notice them better this way.
In order to choose the right wobbler, you need to decide what fish it will be used on and what gear it will work with. Depending on this, make a choice in favor of one or another bait.
Before and after spawning, pike prefers small fish due to the fact that it does not yet have the strength to chase large prey. Therefore, it makes no sense to use large baits during this period.
Which wobblers are the most catchy?
The variety of models can confuse any inexperienced fisherman. Of course, you can catch fish even with a simple homemade wobbler, or a cheap Chinese one. Many fishermen prefer inexpensive ones, because the bait may be lost forever during fishing. But there are some models of wobblers that have earned the respect of fishermen and won prestigious awards:
| № | Photo | Name | Characteristics |
| 1 | Zip Baits Khamsin-SR 70 | This seven-centimeter bladed wobbler is equipped with two tees and a magnetic system that allows you to cast it very accurately. It performs well both in still water and in currents. | |
| 2 | Imakatsu Power Bill Minnow 115SP | The Minnow is 115 mm long, equipped with three hooks, has realistic animation and a set of balls in an empty body, thus, when wired, it spreads sound waves. | |
| 3 | Tsuribito Hard Minnow 95F | This bait is famous for its realistic animation, which will not leave any pike indifferent. | |
| 4 | Yo Zury L-Minnow 66 | Perfect for depths of 1-1.5 meters, the choice of many sports fishermen. | |
| 5 | Rapala X-Rap 10 | An excellent suspender, known for its performance. Due to its significant weight, it can be cast over a long distance and is good for fishing from the shore. |
The best color of wobbler for catching pike
We must immediately make a reservation that there is no wobbler color that is guaranteed to provoke predatory fish. When choosing gear, it is necessary to take into account the weather, time of year, water transparency and fishing location. You will have to experiment often, even within the same body of water. The only universal rule is that the wobbler should be as noticeable as possible.
In clear weather, when the sun's rays clearly illuminate the water column, it is better to choose dark colors, such as “olive”. On cloudy days, on the contrary, you need to use light colors. Wobblers with bright, acidic colors perform well in muddy water.
About
Types of wobbler wiring
There is no universal wiring for pike fishing, however, several methods can be distinguished:
| # | Wiring type | Peculiarities |
| 1 | Uniform | The simplest wiring, after casting, wait until the wobbler dives to a certain depth, you need to start winding the fishing line. The method is simple, but the result greatly depends on the performance of the wobbler itself. |
| 2 | Stepped | After casting, you need to wait until the tackle is at depth and make a couple of turns of the reel. After that, lightly but sharply pull the spinning rod, so the wobbler will quickly rise in the water column, attracting the attention of the predator. The main thing in such wiring is to try to keep the tackle within the required depth. |
| 3 | Aggressive | This type of wiring differs from the stepped one only in the sharper movements of the rod. |
| 4 | Demolition | For drift fishing, you need to choose a place with a good, even current. A suspended wobbler is used, which hangs in the water column at the same depth. After casting, the current should carry the suspender away, providing animation without effort on the part of the fisherman. |
| 5 | Stop and go | After casting, you need to slowly make a few turns of the reel, wait a while, then sharply jerk the tip of the rod. Often the fish bites during a pause, so the jerk can also become a hooking movement. |
| 6 | Twitching (twitch) | This is quite a dynamic, flexible and exciting wiring. The bait moves in the water due to jerks with the tip of the rod and subsequent pauses. Twitching imitates the behavior of prey well, so predatory fish willingly join the game and grab the bait. In addition, twitch allows you to experiment with the strength of jerks and the frequency and duration of pauses. This way you can depict both active fish and sleepy fry, depending on the fishing conditions. |
Catching pike with a spinning rod using a minou wobbler
Experienced fishermen, who are well acquainted with all the habits of pike, prefer floating wobblers that dive to a depth of two meters. The predator does not miss the bait that floats up near the mouth, but it is important to take into account the color of the suspension.
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The fish perfectly distinguishes the smallest details in clear water, so you should always have at least a dozen baits of different colors in your arsenal. In principle, fishing can be divided into several moments.
- Shallow water. Mostly roach, bleak and other whitefish revolve here, so the wobbler should have maximum resemblance to the copied original. It is appropriate to use a gray-green color.
- In habitats of small perches, the bait should imitate the coloring of minke whales.
- At a decent depth, in turbid waters, and also at dusk, the eyes of a predator are not able to distinguish not only the colors, but also the prey object itself, so in this case noise baits are used.
Immediately before spawning, the activity of the pike decreases significantly; in this case, it is possible to provoke an attack with the help of a mine, the buoyancy of which allows the use of a leisurely, measured retrieve.
Zero buoyancy can be achieved by castling heavier treble hooks onto lighter ones and adding rings. It is necessary to achieve such buoyancy that the bait hangs in the thickness for some time, only then will catching pike with a spinning rod on a wobbler be effective.
In order to choose the right wobbler, you need to decide what fish it will be used on and what gear it will work with. Depending on this, make a choice in favor of one or another bait.
