Home > Winter fishing > Features of catching sabrefish in winter
Due to its special appearance, saber fish has another name - saber fish. Due to the peculiarities of its body structure, it cannot be confused with other fish - only herring is most similar. According to many anglers, catching sabrefish in winter is impossible. But it is not so. In winter, saberfish are not as active as in the warm season, but catching them under the ice is quite possible. Meanwhile, catching sabrefish in winter is a very interesting activity, since it is not easy for an angler to find fish sites and react in time to barely noticeable bites.
Selection of gear
Despite the fact that sabrefish can reach a mass of 2 kilograms, individuals over 1 kg are extremely rare, so there is no need for massive and particularly strong gear. To catch sabrefish from ice you will need:
1. Fishing rod. Any fishing rod for winter fishing - both a 20 and 50 cm rod are equally suitable. Many people prefer to use the “balalaika” - this lightweight and convenient fishing rod is already equipped with a reel, which eliminates unnecessary costs.
2. Coil. Any, at the discretion of the fisherman, if the fishing is not with a balalaika, but with another fishing rod. The reel is very convenient when changing fishing spots. 3. Fishing line. As the main fishing line, an ordinary monofilament with a thickness of 0.14-0.17 mm is sufficient. Its amount depends on the depth of the reservoir, but usually 20-30 meters is more than enough.
4. Lead line. Monofilament, thinner than the main one - 0.10-0.12 mm.
5. Nod . There are no special requirements, so the angler can use the most convenient one. The main thing is that it is sensitive enough - often bites of sabrefish in winter are barely noticeable, so you can simply not react to a nod with low sensitivity.
Equipment
The main equipment used when catching sabrefish from ice is a “garland”, or “whatnot”, which is very easy to mount yourself.
Equipment installation:
1. A sinker is attached to the end of the main line. Since sabrefish fishing occurs mainly in the current, its mass is selected so that the equipment is not carried away by the flow of water.
2. Above the weight, at a distance of 20-30 cm, a jig or hook is tied on a leash 2-4 cm long. Leashes that are too long are not very effective - the tackle easily overlaps and gets tangled.
3. Several more leashes are knitted in a similar way with a distance of 25-20 cm between them.
Light models (“droplets”, “ants”, “pellets”) of medium size are selected as jigs. It is advisable to take baits with a light-accumulating coating.
You should not take small hooks - instead of sabrefish, a variety of small fish will bite. Optimal hooks are numbers 4-5 according to the domestic size chart.
You can also alternate jigs and hooks. Their number can be different - at the discretion of the fisherman, but an excessive number of hooks will bring more inconvenience than benefit.
What to use to catch saberfish in winter
Artificial baits:
- For edible rubber. Imitates natural food. Made half from the smells, tastes of crayfish and shrimp. The size is enough 1.2 inches, hook number 12. Placed on the front of the bait.
- Microwisters, flies.
Read! Fishing for perch in winter
Animal origin:
- Maggot. Several larvae are attached to a jig or hook. The plus is that it lasts a long time. One of the best baits.
- Muckworm. Pre-cut into pieces.
- Bloodworm. Best suited for a thin wire hook. She remains attractive the longest.
- Pieces of lard and dough. Used as a last resort.
In winter, fish like to eat high-calorie foods. Large individuals can eat fry, while small ones will be satisfied with a worm on a shiny hook.
Lure
As bait, you can use a purchased mixture suitable for surface feeding of tops and bleaks.
It is quite easy to prepare the mixture yourself from the following ingredients:
• corn flour; • semolina; • powdered milk; • breadcrumbs.
All components must be thoroughly crushed and mixed. The main task of the bait mixture is to create a suspended nutrient cloud in the water, luring fish to the holes.
An integral component of winter bait for sabrefish is the animal component - bloodworms, chopped worms or maggots.
When fishing on a river, a mixture simply thrown into the water will quickly be carried downstream. In this case, upstream, in line with the fishing hole, another hole is drilled into which a feeder with the mixture is lowered. The bait will gradually be washed out and carried by the flow of water to the fishing point.
Tackle and equipment
As a rule, the weight of the fish caught when fishing with a garland in winter is small (no more than 1 kg), so the model and design of the fishing rod does not play a special role. If the goal of your fishing is a more serious fish, then you should take a more reliable fishing rod.
Read! How to catch pike perch on a balance beam
The length of the nod can reach up to 20 cm. It should be moderately rigid and have an inclination angle within fifteen degrees. Most fishermen choose flat, adjustable steel nods.
The line should not be very thick. Yes, it is stronger, but the action of the bait will not be as expressive, the fish will be scared of it, so 0.15 mm is quite suitable.
The preferred models of jigs are: “Devil”, “Uralka”, and “Ant”.
It is recommended to tie jigs without knots, for which the required piece of fishing line is unwinded, threaded into the loop of the bait, and drawn through the entire length. All that remains is to wrap the tip around the thread over the bait several times, pass it into the eye of the hook, and at the same time stretch the place of the winding.
Bait
Fishing for sabrefish in winter occurs with standing, stationary tackle, so it is necessary to use bait.
The bait is:
• Maggot – considered a universal and most catchy bait for sabrefish in winter. Usually 2-3 larvae are mounted.
• Red worm. Before baiting, it should be divided into parts, placing individual pieces on the hooks.
• Bloodworm. It is most effective when using thin hooks, which retain mobility for quite a long time. It is placed in bunches, which, for convenience, can be pre-prepared at home.
• Salo. Small pieces of fresh lard can be quite catchy if the above baits do not work.
• Dough – not used often, but there are times when saberfish refuse to take animal bait.
For successful fishing, an angler should take several types of bait with him. In winter, not only sabrefish, but also other fish can be very picky and it is almost impossible to know in advance which bait will work.
In addition to edible baits, you can use artificial ones that imitate natural baits. To do this, small pieces of foil are put on the hooks, which play whimsically on the current, as well as miniature twisters and various flies. Sandwiches perform well - different baits mounted on one hook. This can be a combination of bloodworm-maggot, worm-bloodworm, maggot-dough and others.
Tactics for catching saberfish in winter
There is no special technique for catching sabrefish from ice - the tackle is lowered into the hole, and the angler waits for a bite. The main task here is to correctly determine the location for drilling holes.
Before you start fishing, it’s a good idea to interview local fishermen who can tell you where the sabrefish are located. On a familiar body of water, it is enough to use old holes in which bites were observed the day before.
Chekhon live in schools, so several anglers can fish in one place at the same time. But here it should be taken into account that the fish are afraid of the noise when drilling the ice and the entire flock can quickly leave the parking area, leaving all anglers without prey.
It is better to start fishing in the morning. Usually more than one fishing rod is used. The holes are drilled at a short distance from each other, and keeping track of several tackles will not be difficult. At the same time, you shouldn’t sit around non-working holes - if there are no bites for 1-1.5 hours, it’s better to change the place of fishing.
The saberfish does not always bite well on fixed hooks due to reduced activity in winter. In this case, it is useful to attract the attention of sluggish and sedentary fish with small twitches and vibrations of the tackle.
On frosty and sunny days, the bite of sabrefish is quite noticeable - this is a sharp bending of the nod down, or sharp jerks. But more often than not the bites are weakly expressed and barely noticeable. Usually these are weak vibrations of the nod, which should be responded to immediately - waiting for a more significant bite will lead to the loss of bait and the absence of prey. This behavior is typical for cloudy weather and periods of thaw.
Where to catch saberfish
This fish prefers to be in that part of the water area where there is a fast current and great depth. During the day, when the saberfish feeds, it moves along different horizons and can be found near the surface of the water. With the onset of dusk, it goes deeper and only the next morning it begins to rise again closer to the surface.
The sabrefish spawns in May. Depending on the weather conditions or climate zone, these dates may shift in one direction or another. The beginning of spawning is characterized by the rise of sabrefish to the upper reaches of the river. At the same time, it can actively peck at various baits. This fish goes to spawn in schools, so you can catch several individuals at once. If sabrefish are no longer caught, it means that the flock has left and you need to wait for the next cluster of sabrefish to arrive.
The movement of sabrefish to spawn has its own peculiarity. It moves only through the deepest parts of the reservoir. At the same time, it does not approach the shore, especially during the daytime.
Each school contains individuals of the same size, so the catch is characterized by fish of the same size. Although mixed flocks can be found, this is very rare. After laying eggs, this interesting fish returns to its original place. Chekhon should be looked for:
- near deep holes;
- on the border of slow and fast currents;
- in deep waters;
- in areas with fast currents;
- in areas of rifts and underwater spits;
- in large bays free of vegetation.
The saber fish are caught in the upper or middle layers of water. This means that sabrefish are not caught from the bottom and some equipment used for catching other types of fish from the bottom is not suitable for catching sabrefish. At the same time, it prefers to stay in clean areas without aquatic vegetation that have significant depth. You will never find her in the shallows.
After spawning, saberfish return to permanent habitats, where they constantly move around the water area. At the same time, she does not stray far from her favorite places.
If a sabrefish bite occurs, it means the fish is in the area of this place and the probability of subsequent bites is quite high. This fact can serve as a guide to a promising location and in the future you can count on a good catch.
Chekhon does not like to come close to the shore, so catching it will require long casts.
There is no point in catching saberfish at night, since it sinks to depths or hides in safe places.
They catch saberfish mainly using bottom gear, which uses leashes up to 2 meters long. It is desirable that the nozzle has good buoyancy and can be in the water column without sinking to the bottom. If you place a foam ball on the hook along with the bait, the result will not take long to come. The sabrefish grabs the bait as it slowly sinks to the bottom. You don’t have to use polystyrene foam, then the hook with bait will reach the bottom and then bites from other fish, such as roach, silver bream, bream, etc., are possible.
Useful tips for increasing your catch:
• When fishing with several gears at the same time, bright red balls are attached to the tips of the nods - against the background of white snow, the slightest movements of the alarm will be noticeable. • Quite often, instead of a weight, a “Uralka” is attached to the fishing line - a heavy jig that can hold the tackle in the current. This installation is convenient when the gear is frequently twitched. At the same time, the bait also clings to it. According to anglers, it is with this jig that large kilogram specimens bite. • The sabrefish bites not only in the light, but also in the dark - often night fishing can be much more successful than daytime fishing. • Hooks and jigs can be decorated with bunches of multi-colored threads or hairs that imitate an insect. • Catching sabrefish in winter with a spoon is very inconvenient - you need light baits designed for perch, which are easily carried away by the current. • The lips of the saber fish are weak and break easily, so the hooking must be careful and smooth.
Catching sabrefish in winter is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. Not only the wrong choice of place, but also unnecessary noise can leave a fisherman without a catch. Nevertheless, ice fishing for saberfish has a lot of fans due to its rather sporting nature. Although the gear does not require the constant participation of the fisherman, it is very difficult to notice the slightest bites of this fish. But if you approach fishing responsibly, the reward can be several dozen sabrefish, which have fatty and tender meat, especially revered when dried.
Features of winter fishing for saberfish
Fishing for sabrefish in winter is not among the traditional and widespread fishing activities, like, for example, perch fishing. And the best chance of catching this fish during the winter period is on the first and last ice. Even in the fall, flocks of sabrefish move from relatively shallow places and riffles at the boundaries of holes to deeper places with a reverse current. Unlike in summer, when saber fish most often stay on edges with strong and moderate currents, in winter flocks of sabrefish stick to places with weak currents. This is probably to some extent due to the economy of energy during the winter season, when saber fish spends its vital resources to withstand the cold. In addition, in winter, this fish feeds less and less frequently. Therefore, the life cycles of saberfish slow down. Regarding the choice of fishing location, it should also be noted that sabrefish dislike grassy areas. This dislike of her also extends to winter.
At the beginning of winter, sabrefish can also be found in old places where until recently they were caught in the fall on a donka with a rubber shock absorber. Towards the middle of winter, this fish goes to the pits. And its feeding exits occur on the borders of these pits at a depth of three to five meters. It is best to catch saberfish during long thaws . And the longer the thaw and the closer spring is, the more often it will be possible to catch saberfish in the surface layers of the water. Chekhon does not tend to the bottom even in summer and often stays in the middle and upper levels of the river. Only in the dead of winter does it stay near the bottom. With warming and fresh water entering under the ice, flocks of saberfish rise upward. Especially large concentrations of this fish occur at the mouths of rivers and streams flowing into a large river, for example, the Volga.
