Pike is a large river predator. Found everywhere in Russia. It is not difficult to distinguish it from other fish: a strong body, shaped like a torpedo, a long sharp muzzle with large teeth that grow like “bushes”, 2-4 teeth from one nest.
The caudal fin is wide, and the dorsal and lateral fins are slightly shifted back, which allows the fish to move sharply and at high speed. Protruding eyes provide the pike with excellent visibility. Acute hearing and sensitivity allow you to know in advance about the approach of danger.
The lifespan of a river hunter can be up to 30 years. The maximum length is almost 2 meters. Upon reaching the age of three years, the pike gains a kilogram in weight every year, and a large, middle-aged individual will be quite heavy.
Features of behavior
The river predator is very aggressive and swift. Always hunts from ambush. It prefers to make one powerful throw; if it fails to grab the prey, it returns again to guard. She is not inclined to chase, but the river dweller can afford to chase prey.
Pike is omnivorous. In addition to other fish, it feeds on frogs, tadpoles, and can even collect water snails when hungry. Attacks small birds and rodents caught in the water. It also does not disdain waste and cannibalism, and is capable of eating its own young. It swallows caught animals only from the head; if it is not immediately possible to grab the prey correctly, it tries to intercept it.
Tries to lead a sedentary lifestyle. In lakes there is often only one pike per body of water. And it changes its habitat very reluctantly.
This fish is a diurnal predator and does not hunt at night. Its activity depends on the lunar phases, and reaches its maximum during the young moon. He prefers any weather, the main thing is stable for a long time. Although in winter it is most active on non-frosty, cloudy days. In summer, it avoids the sun's rays and hides in the shade of grass and reeds.
Habitats
Prefers shores with hollows and overhanging bushes, thickets of reeds and other aquatic vegetation, underwater islands with grass.
It always stays in shallow water; only large individuals go deeper. The current where the predator lives should not be fast. Pike can be found in the following places:
- River turns and riffles.
- Places where one river flows into another, holes, creeks, places with reverse flow.
- Bays and backwaters.
- Stone and pebble shallows.
- Under logs and snags washed to the shore by the current.
- Plyos.
- Dams and reservoirs.
- Abandoned reservoirs.
In lakes, the predator stays in remote places littered with rubbish, often at depth. It is even found in quarries and pits left over from abandoned factories.
Biting calendar by fishing season
Pike can be caught all year round. Only the bait and tackle differ. The seasons of greatest activity can be viewed in a special calendar.
Winter
In December and the first half of January there is almost no bite. This period is called “dead winter”. By the end of the month, the fish begins to take the bait, but it’s bad, you shouldn’t count on a big catch.
February – pike adapt to winter and slowly move towards bait. It is worth fishing in baited areas and lakes.
Spring
In the first half of March, a good bite begins, hungry fish come out to feed. In clean water, where there is a lot of grass, there is most of it. Spawning follows, and after it comes the spring feast - the optimal time for a big catch.
In April, after spawning, the predator stays in the spawning area, which quickly warms up and where small fish feeding on pike eggs are found in abundance. Find such a place and you will certainly be lucky.
May fishing is the most exciting: there is no heat yet, but winter hunger makes itself felt and there is a lot of food around. Although mostly juveniles are caught, large individuals survive the change of teeth. At this time, there is no need to choose bait, the pike will swallow any.
Summer
June is the beginning of the hot period. The bite is still good, the river hunter is fattening up, the juveniles are frolicking and gaining weight, but are already staying in the shade of grass and bushes, looking for cool places.
July is the peak of summer. You shouldn't count on a good catch. The fish has eaten enough and has become less active, and is also actively hiding from the heat.
August is the harbinger of autumn zhora. The pike goes hunting again and begins to stock up on fat for the winter. It's time to catch her.
Autumn
September is the best time for the autumn bite. The predator is ready to feed all day long. Towards the end of the month it retreats to the pits, but the intensity does not decrease from this.
October is the time of autumn zhora. But in the second half of the month, the “cold-resistant” fish are already starting to look for a wintering place, and the fishing spot needs to be fed.
November - the water becomes cold and the pike goes deeper. The autumn bite has ended and it is becoming increasingly difficult to lure her out. The fish is preparing to spend the winter.
What does a circle represent?
A circle is a small fishing tackle, used mainly for pike. According to the law, you can use five pieces; more is poaching.
Fishing with mugs is welcome on a reservoir with at least some current
It looks like a circle with a small mast in the center, painted red and white. You can buy it in the store, but it’s not difficult to make it yourself.
Factory-made tackle is almost never in demand. It is made entirely of hollow plastic, the pin can be either removable or connected to a circle. It is considered a replacement for a regular mug, but experienced fishermen prefer self-made things.
This thing is also called a floating vent. It does not depend on the fisherman and moves through the water independently. Live bait is used as bait.
The main advantage of the circle is that it allows you to fish where other gear would be useless, that is:
- Far from the coast.
- In the reeds and reeds.
- Over snags and driftwood.
- In the rubble.
The device does not require control by the fisherman, and it often happens that it swims to the right places on its own.
Circle-zherlitsa
With the help of a simple device, the circle can be used as a girder. I. Soldoviev proposed the following modernization.
A plate 3 is riveted onto the base 1, under which liners 4 are placed on the right and left. A stand 2 is inserted into the resulting groove. A pin 7 is riveted into the upper part of the stand.
Circle 9 is put on it (shown conditionally). To prevent the circle from jumping off the pin, a cotter pin is inserted into hole 8 on the pin. On the opposite side of the base, a holder 5 is riveted onto it, under which an elastic spring 6 with a flag is inserted (the dotted line shows the position of the spring before the bite).
Approximate dimensions of the device are shown in the figure. The height of the stand can be different, depending on the diameter of the circle. The distance between the circle and the base is recommended to be at least 60 mm.
The device is easily disassembled: the stand is removed from the groove, the flag spring is removed. In this form, everything is convenient to transport.
Materials for making a mug with your own hands:
- base - plywood 3-4 mm thick;
- stand, plate, liners, rivets - duralumin 1.5-2.5 mm thick;
- holder - steel plate 0.8-1 mm thick;
- elastic spring 0.4-0.5 mm thick (you can use a spring that is inserted into uniform caps).
The assembled vent is placed on a hole into which a fishing line 10 from a circle is lowered. This is more convenient than fixing the pole of a commercially available pole in the ice. A fisherman engaged in crafts will spend 5-6 hours making 10 such devices.
Tackle design
- The circle is the main part of the tackle, the circle is 15-20 cm in diameter and 20-25 mm in thickness. A groove is scraped along its edge, onto which the cord is wound, and in the middle there is a hole for the pin. The upper part of the base is painted red, and the lower part is painted white, so that it is better visible on the water. On the edges of the red half, 2 cuts were made opposite each other for pulling the fishing line.
- A pin is a stick with a thickening at one end. The length corresponds to the diameter of the circle. It is inserted into the circle so that the thickening is at the bottom. A slot is made in the upper part for the fishing line.
- The weight is oval in shape and should slide along the fishing line and be no heavier in weight than the live bait that you plan to fish with.
- The fishing line should be up to 0.5 mm thick. It is needed to disguise the cord so that the pike is not afraid of the thick fishing line.
- Hook – this tackle is not for everybody. Usually we take a double or triple, the size depends on how large the pike we plan to catch.
- Cord is a fishing line 10 to 15 meters long and approximately 2 mm thick to make it easier to catch fish.
What does a fishing circle consist of?
Equipment for pike fishing circles:
The pike fishing circle is made of durable material. Wood is best suited for its manufacture. Many people use foam plastic to equip mugs; it is light and does not get wet, but wood becomes heavier over time due to frequent exposure to water.
Typically, a fishing circle is a disk, the thickness of which is no more than 3 centimeters, and the diameter should be five times the thickness. You need to make a groove on the mug for the fishing line. The circle should also have slots in order to fix it on the fishing line and a hole where the pin will be inserted.
The fishing circle is usually painted. Its upper part is red, and the lower part is covered with white.
The pin for stringing bait has a thickening at the bottom, this is done so that the bait does not fall off it. The height of the pin must be adjustable. It must be adjusted to the weight of the bait and the wind.
It is better to use a monofilament line for fishing rather than braided one. Wicker can seriously cut your hands while you drag your catch. You can use cord instead of fishing line. You need to stock up on extra fishing line. Take at least fifteen meters with you. It is better to choose a fishing line thickness no thinner than 0.3 millimeters and no thinner than 0.5 millimeters.
If the reservoir in which we will fish is deep, then, among other things, you will need a sinker and a piece of rubber. The recommended sinker weight is 15 grams. If there is a strong current in the reservoir, then it is necessary to attach live bait to the tee by two lips . If the current is small, then it will be enough to pick it up by the gills.
Features of circle fishing
- Season of the year. It is better to catch fish in circles during the summer (you need to go to the river early in the morning and late evening) and the beginning of autumn (you can fish all day). Those who wish to use them until the freeze-up. In winter, it is also possible, the devices are placed directly in the holes, but great results will not be achieved.
- Choosing a reservoir. These devices can be used both on the river and on the lake. The main thing is that there is at least a slight current. Be sure to explore the bottom and choose places where there are holes, drifts or snags; pike loves to hide there. Our mugs would also be appropriate in the river grass among the water lilies. On lakes it is better to choose a wide reach.
Features of catching pike with mugs
According to real fishermen, mugs are the best way to catch pike. The advantage of this method is that you do not need to know exactly where these predatory fish are hiding. The circle, moving, itself discovers their location. Water flow and wind help with this. Therefore, catching pike with mugs is an ideal method. But this method is, of course, only suitable for summer fishing. In winter, of course, you won’t be able to cut through the surface of the water on a boat and ensure the movement of a circle with bait.
Self-production
Materials
- Linden, spruce, pine, etc.
- Fine grain foam.
- Fishing line.
- Sinker.
- String.
Manufacturing process
- We cut out a circle of the required diameter from wood (preferably linden) or from foam plastic. We impregnate the wooden one with drying oil to prevent dampness. We paint it red and white with waterproof paint.
- We make a hole in the middle for the pin and slits on the sides for the fishing line.
- We make a groove for the cord along the edge.
- We prepare the pin from plastic (melt and pour into a mold) or from the same wood. We cut out a “bomb” from one end, and make a cut from the other (we will then thread the fishing line into it). Insert the pin into the middle hole of the circle.
- We tie the cord in a loop to the groove. We wind it, attach a fishing line to the end of the cord, add a sinker to it, and attach the string, most securely, to a swivel. It will act as a leash and will not allow the pike to bite the line. We adapt the hook to the string, and our tackle is ready.
Making a mug for pike with your own hands
At the next stage of work, you need to make a groove on the end side of the future circle. Its depth should be 1 centimeter. To make our groove smooth, we will process it with sandpaper. We make a hole in the center of the circle. Its diameter is from 6 to 8 millimeters.
You need to make two slits on the top of the circle. They are needed to secure the fishing line.
Now you need to make a pin . It is made from a wooden plank. It is ground down so that its shape eventually becomes cone-shaped. Naturally, you need to make a groove at the end so that there is something to cling to the fishing line. Next, the disk and pin need to be painted. The upper part of the disk is red, the lower part is white. And the pin is painted exactly the opposite - the bottom is red, the top is white.
The next step is to wind the cord around the circle . Its length should be at least 10 meters, but more than 15 meters, in general, is also useless. A metal leash is attached to the cord. There is a weight on the leash that must be movable. All that remains is to tie the hook, and our homemade tackle is ready.
By the way, the shape of your gear can be not only round. There are also non-standard devices. For example, a square mug. The principle of its manufacture is slightly different from what was described above. Only instead of a disk, a square is cut out. Well, to thread the fishing line, a reel is attached to the square using self-tapping screws. The square itself is left white, and the coil is painted red.
What are the advantages of a square fixture? It is less prone to windage, so false bites are excluded. Plus, you can adjust the effort needed to turn this gear over. If you fulfill all these conditions, then you will get the correct circle.
Simplified manufacturing option
The easiest option for a homemade item is to make it from a bottle. We take a regular 1.5 or 2-liter plastic one and prepare the equipment: weight, cord, fishing line, leash and hook.
- We wrap the cord around the bottle in the place where it has a “waist”.
- We secure it with an elastic band (a regular one from a bank will do).
- Then we do everything as described above: line to line, leash to line, hook to leash, and let our beauty go free swimming.
- When a bite occurs, the pike will pull out the line with ease. You need to monitor such “hiking” options very carefully so as not to be left without a catch.
Fishing technique and tactics
Preparing for fishing
As preparatory measures, you need to do the following:
- Prepare the boat, since they don’t fish with mugs from the shore.
- Check the bottom with an echo sounder or special probing wire.
- Prepare spare gear for updating the circles (hooks, fishing lines, leashes).
- Take a landing net into the boat.
Remember that it is not recommended to place the gaff in rubber boats. - Get some tough gloves so you don't get hurt when pulling out fish.
- Take a container with live bait (they should be no more than ten centimeters long and weigh about one hundred grams), preferably with a lid, so as not to accidentally spill them out.
- Don't forget the fish tank or kukan for the caught fish.
- The necessary things will be a gapper (a tool for holding the pike's mouth open) and an extractor for removing hooks. Although you can use simple pliers here.
- Be sure to find out the weather forecast for the time of fishing. If the wind is too strong, the circle will either float towards the shore all the time or turn over, which will negatively affect the catch.
Fishing process
- Preparing the mugs: unwind the length for descent. We insert the cord into one of the cuts on the circle, pull it through the hole in the pin and insert it into the other cut. We put on live bait.
- We launch the gear into the water. We leave a distance between them of about ten meters so that the cords do not get tangled with each other.
- We behave quietly and wait, carefully monitoring what is happening, because the wind or current can overturn the floating girders, and this will need to be quickly corrected.
- We will notice a bite when the circle turns over with its white side up and begins to rotate.
- While it is spinning, we quietly swim up and make a hook, then fish it out.
Tips and tricks
- When fishing in strong currents, the tackle needs to be anchored. Coastal grass, reeds, and trees are suitable as anchors.
- Change the depth of immersion, let it be different on each mug, so you can fish the entire thickness of the water.
- Arrange the circles so that if something happens you can quickly get to each of them.
- Use a buoy in wide areas of rivers to remember where the mugs were launched from.
- In places where the current is weak, it is more rational to use live bait with a lighter color, as they will certainly attract the attention of a predator.
- If fishing takes place where there is a lot of vegetation, it is better not to take char, gudgeon and loach as bait. They will try to hide in the grass and drag the mugs along with them.
- On a wide but shallow pond, lower the bait under the circle. Lower the pin here to the highest level, and it is better to remove the weight completely, then the tackle will not turn over.
- Consider weather conditions. If they change abruptly, the pike will not bite.
- It is recommended to fish with mugs in the spring immediately after the ice melts, as soon as spawning ends. At this time, she stays near snags in quiet places. Later the fish go to the pits. The biting time is only 2 weeks!
- In summer, try places where there are a lot of reeds. Rybina likes to bury herself there in ambushes.
- In autumn, when fishing with circles, you need to increase the depth from about 5 to 8 meters. The colder the water gets, the deeper the pike goes. In addition, at this time you should carefully monitor the lunar phases and atmospheric pressure, as this greatly affects the bite.
Installation of circles
So, you have made your gear and chosen a place where you will catch pike. Now you need to install fishing mugs .
Each angler is allowed to have a maximum of five fishing gear. If you fish with someone else in the same boat, you can use 10 tackles.
Take the circle and wind the cord from it. The length should be such that the bait is at a depth of half a meter to one and a half meters from the bottom. Now we attach a small float made of cork to the end. We insert the cord into special cuts on the outside of the circles. Wrap the cord around the pin a couple of times. We attach bait and lower this structure into the water. The distance between circles should be from 5 to 10 meters. You need to monitor the tackle from a distance so as not to spook the fish, and, at the same time, not to lose sight of the mugs. It's best to just have them follow the boat.
If the current is strong, then it is better to anchor the tackle , otherwise they will simply be carried away. A fishing line is used as anchors, which is tied with one ring to a pin, and the other to thickets and bushes. If there are no thickets, then they take a stick and tie a cord weighted with a weight to it, and the other end of the stick is attached to the thickest part of the pin.
If a pike pecks at your bait, the circle first turns over with its white side up, and then rotates, and the fishing line unwinds. When the movements stop, it means the fish has taken the bait. After which the circle begins to rotate again, which means that the pike is trying to go into cover. At this moment you need to drag it into the boat, pulling up the fishing line, and help yourself with the hook.
When fishing with mugs, you need to carefully monitor each tackle . While you are hooking or dragging one fish into the boat, the rest of the gear can become tangled. It is important to ensure that this does not happen.
After you have finished fishing, you need to carefully collect all the mugs, remove them from the water and wind the cords across them. The tackle is stored in disassembled form. The pins are detached from the circles and stored separately. Sometimes, after you have caught enough fish in one place, you have to change your fishing spot. Summarize. For your pike hunt using mugs to be successful, you need to:
