Fishing on a feeder from a boat significantly increases the chances of a good catch. If you are fishing from a boat, then you are already at depth. There is a real opportunity to fish a large area of a reservoir in its deep-water part. Fishing from a boat can be done for almost any peaceful fish. Sometimes a predator also gets caught on the feeder, but this is a rare occurrence, unless your fishing is organized specifically for it. It is also convenient to fish from a boat at a time when the coastline is flooded, during high water, and there is no way to get along the shore to familiar fishing spots.
Selecting a location
For fishing from a boat, the choice of fishing location is even more important than from the shore. On the water, landmarks are distorted and it can be difficult to swim to the right place. To get your bearings correctly, you first need to visually inspect the body of water and estimate where there might be edges or drop-offs. If the reservoir is familiar to you, then this is good; you can immediately determine where the promising section of the lake or reservoir is located. And if you are fishing in an unfamiliar body of water, then when you arrive at the place you need to determine the bottom topography. This can be done with a depth gauge, echo sounder, or by tapping the bottom with a sinker, which is lighter than the tip of the feeder. If there is an edge or the tip of the feeder has fallen into a tense position, this is where you need to look for fish.
Each fish has its own preferences and favorite stopping places. For example, bream fishes at great depths, while crucian carp loves a flat muddy bottom. Carp fishing works best in warmer water, usually at shallow depths. This must be taken into account.
Pros and cons of fishing on a feeder from a boat
So, let's look at the features of this type of fishing, noting its pros and cons.
Pros:
- The procedure for casting and retrieving the tackle takes a minimum of time and this is an important point for anglers. After all, you don’t need to cast over a long distance—it’s enough to do it near you, which saves time and increases the effectiveness of feeding.
- And because the feeder is cast nearby, sometimes even placed at a distance of several meters, the accuracy of casting increases, which means that the bait will be concentrated in one zone.
- Fishing from a boat is more dynamic in nature, with the opportunity to test many combinations of baits, baits, flavors, rigs and leaders. If the need arises, you can fish particularly promising areas in the reservoir. This approach will add efficiency to fishing in terms of obtaining the necessary information and gaining experience.
- Thanks to free movement by means of a boat, you can master the reservoir as much as possible and fish in places that are inaccessible when fishing from the shore. And if you have an echo sounder, you can create a detailed map of the bottom topography.
- The feeder can be cast in different directions, and an impressive area of water will be fished from the shore.
- In the process of catching fish, especially large ones, it will be easier to land it and bring it to the landing net (vegetation will not interfere, like on the shore).
The disadvantages of this method are divided into groups:
- The main disadvantage is that it is extremely inconvenient to stay in a boat for a long time. At first there is no discomfort, the person sits calmly, makes casts, you can move as you like, you don’t have to look for places like on the shore. However, some time passes, the lack of movement and the lack of a toilet take their toll. If the boat is wooden, then it will be more stable - a solid bottom will allow you to stand normally, even periodically warm up. However, you can stay here for about eight hours, then you begin to feel very uncomfortable, you will need to stretch your legs, have a snack, and walk around. It is unrealistic to take a lot of things with you; you may have to sacrifice clothes and gear, which is not always convenient. For example, you may often need something that has not been relevant for use for a long period, but you really don’t want to return to the shore from an already baited place. Added to these inconveniences is the lack of space: if the fishing line and cord overlap at the tip, then it will not be possible to leave the feeder on the stands and start untangling the cord, as on the shore. Here you need to choose a different method of action. Place the feeder along the boat, move it back, preventing the reel from plunging into the water again, while the tip should be within reach. There are many such places; for individual fishermen, they can become extremely unsuccessful and will not allow the use of a feeder.
- If there is a strong wind, a fast current, but it is extremely difficult to keep the boat in place. Such circumstances will make it difficult to observe the tip, the fishing procedure itself will be unpleasant and, in frequent cases, impossible.
Read! Catching bream on a feeder in summer
Thus, the picture of fishing becomes clearer; then we will consider individual points in more detail.
Tackle
When choosing gear, you need to take into account the characteristics of fishing from a boat.
Even from the shore, it is recommended to cast one feeder rod in order to better watch it, but you can still install up to 3 fishing rods on the shore. This is impossible in a boat. If you fish alone, you can only control one rod.
You need to prepare your gear before you get on the boat. It is better to pass the fishing line through the rings on the shore; it will be inconvenient to do this in a boat.
Rod
Fishing with a feeder from a boat can be done using a rod of 3.6 meters or longer.
Leash
The length of the leash depends on the nature of the bottom. On the flattest bottom, I tie a short leash, 40–50 centimeters long. In places where there is a sharp drop in the bottom, you can fish with a leash up to 1.5 meters long. Although choosing the length of the leash is always learned experimentally.
It will be necessary to adjust not only the length, but also the thickness of the leash. To begin with, try using a thinner, monofilament, up to 0.1 mm thick. If the bite starts, you will have to change the leash to a more reliable one. The time for a good bite is usually limited. During the feeding season, if there is a strong bite, the leash may break; it will be a shame to lose the time spent on tying it.
Line and equipment
The main line can be braided, with a diameter of 0.12÷0.13 mm. With this diameter it is easier to cast over long distances.
Fishing with a shock leader on a feeder from a boat on a lake will not be relevant. The best rig for a boat feeder is a symmetrical loop. Since there is no flow, or almost no flow, there is no need for anti-twist devices. The line will not curl.
Symmetrical loop
Feeder
Fish feeders can be light from 30 to 50 grams. I am happy to use plastic ones; they get less caught on all sorts of objects lying on the bottom.
Catching bream with a ring from a boat
Ringing is one of the most effective ways to catch bream.
It is suitable for fishing either from a boat (pier, bridge) or in winter. That is, we fish with a ring in deep water. We have a detailed article about all the intricacies of fishing with this gear. The main elements of the gear: a feeder and a ring. There are many ways to make a ring. The simplest of them is non-removable. Ring diameter 55 – 65 mm and thickness up to 5 mm. The hole in the ring should be 15 - 25 mm. A cord is passed through this hole from the boat to the feeder, and the ring moves freely along this cord. The ring also has a small hole on the side (no more than 7 mm in diameter). It is drilled at an angle to the plane of the ring (30 - 40 degrees). A leash with a hook is tied to this small hole. The other end of the line goes to the nod of the rod. Some anglers do not tie the leash to the ring, but pass it freely through a small diameter. And then this diameter should be even less than 2-3 mm. And on the side of the leash, a swivel is attached, which prevents the leash with the hook from slipping through the ring.
This is how a permanent ring is made. But if you make a thin bevel cut on the side of the ring, you can put it on and off the cord as needed. But the main advantage of the removable option is that when you bite and pull on the leash, the ring itself will come off the cord under the weight of the fish, and the line will never get tangled around the feeder.
What gear is best for ring fishing?
- The rod should be a spinning rod, that is, short. It is necessary that the nod of the rod be sufficiently rigid and react only to the bite, and not to the current. You can catch fish either using a reel or by picking with your hands.
- The fishing line for the rig is taken with a diameter of 0.2 or 0.25 mm, and for the leash - 0.15 mm. If you are using low-visibility fluorocarbon line, then take all diameters 0.08 mm larger, as it is less durable.
- The leash should lie on the bottom far enough from the feeder, so its length is not small: from 0.5 to 1.5 m. It depends on how strong the current is.
- The hook for bream is usually number 6-8. But if you are targeting a large bream and, for example, use a crawler for bait, then take a larger hook.
- The feeder should be made of metal mesh. Its capacity is approximately 5 - 6 kg of feed. A heavy sinker is welded to the bottom of the feeder so that it sinks straight and stable to the bottom. The cord must be smooth and strong: so that the ring slides along it as best as possible, and it does not break under the weight of a large bream. It is best to use thin nylon.
bream bite It is also necessary to hook: without fuss, with a jerk to the shore. Guide the fish through the water, do not pull it to the surface. A large bream will still not immediately weaken from the air, but will be full of strength even after five minutes of fishing. If the bream is tired, it will lie on its side. At this time, loosen the clutch so that when jerking, the bream does not break the leash, but smoothly unwinds the fishing line. Don’t rely on self-hooking either: even if the fish doesn’t leave, it will scare away the school in the feeding area. It’s good if your partner helps you get the fish into the landing net. If you fish on your own, then your landing net should have a long, comfortable handle.
Bream fishing is a fun and not so difficult type of fishing. The result in your cage is worth the effort. So, armed with our advice, feel free to go fishing for bream, no feathers, no scales for you!
Casting
If you are an avid feeder, then you have already achieved a certain level of perfection in catching fish on a feeder. In particular, the accuracy of the throw was worked out. But if you are new to this business, you need to pay more attention to casting the feeder, which should fly to the same place.
To send the feeder accurately, it is also important to position the rod correctly. It often happens that you feed in one place and catch, without knowing it, in another. This happens because after casting you position the rod a little differently, without paying special attention to it. But the rod must be positioned in the same way as when casting, maintaining the same tilt and position. Only then will the fishing location on the lake and the complementary food supplied to the fish coincide. On a lake, casting accuracy is very important.
When casting, so that the shock absorption of the feeder tip works and the feeder does not jerk the line too much, try to keep the rod vertical. There is no current; if cast correctly, there will be no drift of the bait.
Catching
Before the first cast of the tackle with a filled feeder, but still without a leash with a hook, you need to choose some landmark on the shore, strictly astern, to cast to. You shouldn’t rely on the stern - the boat sways from side to side, and you won’t be able to put the nozzle in the same place no matter how much you want.
The cast does not have to be long. Since there is more than 10 m of water under the boat, the bream is unlikely to be afraid of the watercraft above its head. On the other hand, the feeder is not designed for vertical fishing. Of course, I tried it for the sake of experiment, but I didn’t like it. There were bites, but I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that the sensitivity of the tackle had worsened due to a broken line on the ring of the feeder. In addition, a couple of times the leash got caught over the main line, which was the main reason for the end of this experiment.
On days when the current is quite strong, you need to find the minimum distance at which the empty feeder you are using will firmly hold the bottom. Closer, of course, is not worth throwing. On the other hand, with a heavy feeder it is easier to cast accurately at 30-40 m than at 10-20 m, and the line at the bottom “breaks” less when casting relatively far.
After the fishing point has been determined, a white mark is applied to the fishing line between the reel and the first ring from the butt. It is needed so that during subsequent casts the feeder and the hook with the nozzle are at the same distance from the boat. When the mark dries, you need to make several more casts in a row with a filled feeder so that a feeding spot is created at the fishing point.
If “braid” is used as the main fishing line, it is much easier not to bother with a marker, but to tie a small knot in the right place from a thin cord of a contrasting color.
After casting, before splashing down the equipment, the spool must be smoothly slowed down to straighten the leash in line with the main line. While the feeder is sinking, we hand over a certain amount of fishing line so that the mark is among the middle rings of the rod.
After the feeder touches the bottom and is empty, the line is tensioned and the tag takes its rightful place between the reel and the first guide ring.
When fishing with a feeder from a boat, there is one characteristic feature - the bend of the colored whip constantly changes with the inevitable rocking of your craft. You have to react to this, otherwise either the tension of the fishing line will weaken, or the feeder will crawl towards the boat. If the line tension increases excessively, turn off the reverse brake on the reel and turn it on after a few moments. When the boat goes in the opposite direction, we reel the surrendered fishing line back. You can do it differently - change the degree of bending of the nod whip by moving the butt of the rod left and right.
Hooking after a bite should not be too vigorous, especially if braided cord is used as the main line. The leash is still thin and may not withstand the impulse of fishing passion. The clutch must squeal at the moment of hooking, relieving excess tension from the tackle. If there is no sound, the brake needs to be adjusted more carefully. Then everything is simple, sedate fishing to the surface. Bream, that is, fish weighing more than 1 kg, is easier and better to take on board with a landing net. The bream can be transported into the boat by hand, taking them from above at the “back of the head”. There is no other way - the fish is slippery, you won’t be able to grab it.
How to attach a rod
Staying in a boat for a long time often hinders movement and brings certain inconveniences. It is better if the boat is spacious and does not have fixed seats. This will increase the space for placing gear. On the sides there are usually mounts for oarlocks; fishing rods can be placed on them. Fishing from a boat on a lake, I repeat, is better done with one feeder. Two or three rods will already interfere with fishing in a small boat, and it will be difficult to look after them all at the same time.
Fishing on a boat and from the shore to the feeder, you can watch in the video:
Lure
Complementary foods are prepared in advance. Best in the evening. It is usually made with porridge. Overnight, the porridge will thoroughly infuse and swell, acquiring the necessary viscosity.
It is very important to feed the area correctly. Complementary feeding can be done in two ways: using a slingshot or a feeder. For the slingshot, dense balls with a diameter of about 7 centimeters are made and launched as accurately as possible into the feeding areas. For one feeding you need to launch from 3 to 6 such balls. If there is no bite, then more complementary food will be needed to effectively lure fish. The amount of food in the feeder will depend on its size.
Lure
