Best winter fishing season
In many paid reservoirs, trout is the only fish that is caught in winter. It is necessary to understand that trout practically does not grow in fishing ponds, but is brought in tanks from special fisheries, where it is grown to marketable weight on artificial feed. Trout is a cold-loving fish and is caught from the freeze-up period (late November - early December) until spring (late March). The trout bite often does not weaken even in the middle of winter, in the most frosty or inclement weather, in the so-called dead winter, while other fish are caught very poorly.
Best time to catch trout
Like many other fish, the winter trout bite begins early in the morning, at dawn, and continues until lunch (11–12 o’clock). This is followed by a short break, and towards the evening (15–16 hours), there is often an “evening outing” of fish, not as long as the morning one (up to one hour), but often just as active.
It’s better to arrive at the reservoir while it’s still dark, and with gear prepared in advance at home, so that by sunrise you’ll be ready to start fishing. If you didn’t manage to catch a fish in the morning, you should wait for the evening bite and leave as soon as it gets dark.
At night fishing on paid reservoirs is usually prohibited, but where it is allowed, there are small bursts of fish activity at night.
Active winter tackle for trout fishing
Tackle for winter trout fishing is divided into two categories. The so-called “asset” and “liability”. The active tackle is constantly in the fisherman’s hand, with it he goes around promising holes.
Passive gear is placed by the fisherman in promising places, and the bite on them occurs without the participation of the fisherman. The bite is reported by special indicators that can be seen from afar.
I recommend having a separate winter trout fishing rod for each type of tackle. Fishing rods for winter fishing are not expensive, and do not take up much space, and wasting time on re-equipment often carries the risk of missing a fish bite.
Spoons and rattlins
I spoke in detail about fishing with spoons in a separate article. With a trolling rod you can not only fish with lures, but also use some other lures.
Rattlins, or as they are also called, “vibes” because of the peculiarities of their game (from the English Vibration - vibration).
Silicone (“rubber”)
Equip the second fishing rod for catching trout in winter with silicone baits, or as fishermen say, “with rubber.” The fishing rod has the same design, but is equipped with a guard to control the bait. Bites on silicone baits are often delicate, and playing with the bait requires less active play, which is why it is equipped with a guard. To deliver silicone bait to depth, “jig heads” of various modifications weighing 1–5 grams are used. For winter trout fishing, they must be equipped with a good, sharp and durable hook.
If thick winter fishing lines are acceptable for trolling - 0.25-0.3 mm, then for fishing with silicone a thinner line is needed, 0.23-0.25 mm. A small jig head on such a line looks more natural, this has a beneficial effect on the fishing result. The line supply on the reel for fishing in ponds is enough for 10–15 meters.
Trout baits and lures
It was said above that the type of bait is selected taking into account the gear used.
It is known that trout are omnivorous aquatic inhabitants, so they are excellently caught both with live baits and with artificial baits in the form of spinners and wobblers. Also, when choosing baits, the individual characteristics of the reservoir are taken into account, because if in one place the fish reacts well to one bait, then in another it may completely refuse it. For more effective fishing, it is advisable to take several different options with you to the pond and conduct experiments.
If we talk about popular baits, then among them are the following:
- Shrimp (can be used either cooked or raw).
- Worm.
- Bloodworm.
- Maggot.
- Live bait.
- Trout pastes.
Read: Catchy jigs for winter fishing
These components demonstrate good results when using any winter gear, be it a float or nodding fishing rod, or a girder.
Live bait is used to search for large prey, so it will be effective for those reservoirs in which individuals weighing 500 grams or more are found.
Shrimp is considered the best trout bait, because it can interest even the most inactive and lazy predator, provoking it to become active. In winter, you can take both cooked and raw shrimp for fishing, although, according to experts, the first option is much more effective.
When setting the bait, it is important to ensure that the hook point does not remain exposed. In this case, the number of bites will drop sharply
Having been pricked by the hook, the fish will immediately spit out the bait, so you won’t even have time to hook.
If you are going to cook shrimp, do not use spices for this. It is enough to lightly salt the water.
As for traditional baits in the form of bloodworms, worms and maggots, they are especially effective when catching small representatives of the species. Although hungry individuals also often greedily pounce on such easily accessible food.
In addition, retail outlets sell special pastes for trout fishing, which enhance the attractiveness of the bait, making it especially aromatic.
Passive gear
Passive gear popular among fishermen is a trout “post” and a trout girder.
The trout fishing rod is made from a winter fishing rod with a nod, equipped with a 0.25-0.3 mm fishing line, a nod with a bright red ball at the end, and a pellet weight weighing 0.5-2 grams. The tackle ends with a hook 2–6 according to the Owner classification. Depending on the bait, it is used either natural (shrimp, squid strips, caviar, topsink) or artificial (usually trout paste, different colors and flavors, but from the same manufacturer Berkley).
An important element of a trout setup is a crossbar, no less than 5 centimeters long longer than the diameter of the hole. The crossbar will not allow the fish to drag the fishing rod into the hole, while ensuring that the fish that bites will self-hook. A fishing rod turned over in a hole is visible from afar and informs the fisherman that a fish has bitten.
Use several such fishing rods, placing them in promising places in the reservoir, to determine the location of trout. Their number is limited by the rules of the reservoir. 2-3 fishing rods are enough, as well as a couple of spare fishing rods in case of damage or broken fishing line.
Also check out the ratings of ice fishing boxes and find out how to choose a quality model.
Description
It is quite difficult among salmonids, as in principle among other fish, to establish their specific type. Since there are many species that are close to each other. But this individual is easy to distinguish from other fish thanks to some characteristics. Her body is flattened on both sides. The nose is shortened and pointed. The teeth are on the vomer. There are also 3-4 pcs. on a triangular plate in the background. And on the palatal surface there are 2 rows of strong and strong teeth. Number of rays: in the dorsal fin – 3-4 simple and 910 branched. In the chest - 112. In the abdominal - 118. In the anal - 317-318 and in the tail - 17-19.
Read How to assemble carp tackle yourself
The color of trout is extremely rich. The back is usually olive or green. Its abdomen is grayish-white or copper-yellow. But the sides are greenish-yellow with red, white or black spots with a blue border. Sometimes a darker color is observed, that is, it can even be black. There are also light-colored or almost colorless individuals. There is a direct dependence of the color of trout on food, water color, bottom and time of year.
As a rule, males are much smaller than females. But their heads are larger. They are superior to females in the number of teeth. In old male trout, the lower jaw, or rather its end, sometimes bends upward. The color of the meat is sometimes white, sometimes red, sometimes yellowish. Depending on the variety. Most consumers prefer red meat. Since its taste is more pronounced. In length it reaches a maximum of a meter. And in weight - up to 20 kg. The diameter of the eggs of these individuals is 4-5 mm. And their color is yellowish or red. During the development of eggs, deviations are quite often observed. For example, hermaphroditism, albinism and two-headed fish. Therefore, they become the subject of many embryological studies.
Natural baits for trout fishing in winter
Let's look at the natural baits that most often catch trout in winter.
Shrimp
The basic, simplest and most accessible attachment is a small shrimp from the store, previously defrosted. The head comes off the shrimp, which we throw into the same hole to attract fish.
You don’t have to remove the shell from the body of the shrimp, but leave some elements to attract fish, for example, legs. The shrimp is attached to the trout like a worm, along the hook, with the sting brought out. Shrimp is a sinking bait, and when installing a fishing rod, it should not lie on the bottom, but should be in the water column at a distance of 10 cm to half the depth of the reservoir ( depending on the depth of fish activity ).
Trout paste
Trout paste is popular as bait. Fishermen use paste produced by Berkley, which has specialized in the production of products for trout fishing since 1945. The paste has different flavors and comes in different colors. The most popular are cheese and garlic. Roll a small ball from the paste and stick it around the hook of a trout hook or jig. Keep in mind that the paste used is floating, and the hook with the paste will float and be above the level of the sinker.
Verkhovka
No less catchy bait is a small live fish: verkhovka, or top-melting fish. Verkhovka is caught independently, using a lift in non-freezing areas of ponds, or sold in fishing stores, and requires careful storage. Often the verkhovka is sold directly on the reservoir.
The tip is placed either behind both lips, piercing them with a hook, or under the dorsal fin, but without damaging the spine. Often the verkhovna is the only bait that causes trout to bite in a pond, especially if the fish were introduced into the reservoir a long time ago and managed to switch to feeding on the existing verkhovka in the pond.
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Squid strip
A strip of squid, which is cut from a thawed squid carcass, also shows good results. The strip should decrease towards the end, its thickness at the hook is up to 5 mm, and towards the end of the strip, about 5–10 cm long, the thickness decreases to a minimum. This bait looks good in the water column and moves with any movement of the water, provoking the fish to bite.
Red caviar
Large salted caviar from the store, such as chum or chinook caviar, is one of the best natural baits for passive fish when no other bait works. 10 grams of caviar is enough for one fishing trip.
Place 4-5 eggs on the hook of the bait, and carefully watch the guard of the fishing rod. Sometimes move the nozzle, barely playing with a nod. When biting, the nod begins to bend slightly. Unlike other natural baits, trout rarely swallow eggs, so such a fishing rod requires constant monitoring and timely hooking. Caviar fishing is a transitional type of fishing, from passive to active. When fishing for caviar, choose a fishing rod with a thin line.
Caviar ovaries
There are also exotic, but no less catchy baits for supply, for example, frozen oysters cut into cubes of about 1x1 cm with fresh red caviar. You can use eggs with pink salmon caviar, which are often found in the store along with the purchase of uncut fish, but more often fishermen use frozen caviar of the trout itself from previous catches, preparing underdeveloped caviar for bait, which is of little use for consumption.
Useful tips for trout fishing in winter
- During the thaw, you can use the usual summer rig of a float rod, when the tip of the float is on the surface of the water, and the sinker is suspended near the bottom. The leash is made about 15 cm long. The hook with the nozzle should lie on the bottom.
- In cold weather, when a crust of ice quickly forms, the float sinks. The equipment is made similarly to that intended for catching trout from the bottom. It is also possible that a 10-centimeter leash with a hook is installed 5 cm above the sinker attached to the end of the main fishing line. Trout fishing line is used with a diameter of 0.2–0.25 mm, of good quality, since trout in farms reaches a weight of 3-5 kg. The hook is taken No. 3–8.
- Dung worms or subleaf worms are also excellent baits for trout. Several worms are placed on the hook, piercing them through the middle. But the most fantastic bait for winter trout fishing turned out to be an ordinary large bloodworm. This fish finds six to eight ruby larvae attached to a hook and lowered to the bottom quite quickly. She grabs them into her mouth very decisively and smoothly, but assertively, and takes the float under the water.
- If the depth at the fishing site is more than 3 meters, then the bait is delivered to the bottom using a feeder, which is filled with balls of steamed feed and opens 30–40 cm above the bottom.
Lures for fishing with silicone
Winter trout fishing with silicone baits is also popular. Let's consider working options.
Edible trout rubber
Edible trout rubber appeared in the arsenal of anglers only a few years ago, but has already become popular among anglers due to its catchability. It shows excellent results in fishing competitions, and has recently become very popular among anglers fishing for trout from ice.
Its main difference from conventional baits is the often aggressive, provoking colors, as well as the pungent smell and taste of flavorings, which have a magical effect on the fish. The small size of the rubber is convenient for attaching it to a single hook or to the hook of a jig head.
Such rubber is best stored and sold in jars with a tightly screwed lid. Due to the pungent smell, it is better not to open these jars at home, as you risk incurring the wrath of your relatives.
There are many varieties and manufacturers, for different fish, with different smells. The most popular flavors for ice fishing for trout are cheese and garlic.
Popular manufacturers – Trout Zone, Native Trout, Jara, Milmax, STL and others.
Ordinary silicone
Nymphs and vibrotails, various imitations of worms and larvae, silicone imitation of eggs - these are the main artificial baits for trout fishing.
If edible rubber attracts fish primarily by smell and taste, then ordinary silicone attracts fish with its game, or rather, the game that the fisherman gives to the bait. Often a nymph becomes a fisherman’s lifesaver when the trout bite is capricious. The flagship among manufacturers is the mentioned Berkley company.
Fishing for trout in winter on paid platforms, equipment and tackle
Fishing for trout in winter on paid platforms is far from an easy matter. Pulling one fish after another, like hungry crucian carp in an overpopulated pond, will not work. This fish requires a special approach and tactics. The stability of the bite depends on the time and winter and when the reservoir was last stocked with fish. When stocked, the population begins to quickly develop the water area, moving randomly, eating or aggressively attacking everything. Then the fish calms down and takes up promising places to stop. At night she hardly feeds, but stands still. Activity begins with the first rays of the sun, at the parking lot. Then the flock circles the pond in search of food. These routes change frequently and are difficult to predict. It is better to make inquiries in a particular body of water from the locals or the administration, where fish often appear.
Choosing an ice drill
To fish for trout, use an ice screw with a diameter of at least 150 mm. It will be problematic to get large and active trout into a narrower hole. Domestic ice drills, such as “Nero”, “Barnaul”, and imported Mora, Rapala are suitable. Imported ice drills require slightly less effort when drilling, and are also suitable for girls, who, fortunately, are increasingly seen on trout fishing. Domestic ice screws are a little more difficult to operate, but have cheap “consumables” - replaceable knives.
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How to choose a fishing spot
Places are chosen based on many factors. For a novice fisherman, it is better to choose proven places where they have recently caught fish. Ask the administrator of the reservoir about this, from whom you buy the ticket. As a rule, the employees are interested in you becoming a regular visitor to the pond, and will be happy to tell you about places where you are likely to catch trout.
Places where people actively fished yesterday are usually heavily trampled, and traces of fishing and blood are visible near the holes. Surely, if you drill a hole near such a place, there is a chance that trout will bite here today. It is possible that the hole has not yet frozen over night, and you can fish in the old hole. It is not customary to occupy any holes in advance when trout fishing.
There are also favorite trout habitats. To live, in order to obtain oxygen, the fish constantly moves, passing water through the gills. The second option is to strive for a source of additional oxygen in the pond - these are working aerators that create underwater currents. Winter trout often linger near the aerator and are well caught. Also, moving along the perimeter of the reservoir, trout likes to linger in the corners - this is also one of the most promising fishing spots. Having drilled 2-3 holes from the shore, measure the depth; usually trout, like other fish, moves along the coastal “edge”.
Where to catch trout in winter
Nowadays, in every city, there is a paysite with rainbow trout launched into it. Just a few kilometers from the city you can have a good time fishing for trout. But even though the probability of catching a utilitarian catch is guaranteed on a paid site, knowledge of the places where trout can potentially congregate will give you a much better result. There are options here. And the choice of place for trout fishing in winter depends on how often trout are released into the reservoir. The fact is that trout, which were released into the reservoir several years ago, have already taken a fancy to the established areas of the reservoir and try to stick to them throughout their lives. Trout can be scared away from their favorite spots only by the feeling of danger, so in no case should you allow yourself to stomp, talk loudly or simply behave carelessly on the ice. Trout, recently released into a pond, does not stand at the point. It is in constant motion along the perimeter of the reservoir and interception fishing operates here. For interception fishing to be successful, you need to know the trout's route. And as you know, such trout always move along the edges. If you do not know the topography of the bottom of the reservoir, there are several options for calculating the trout’s route through the reservoir:
- Calculate the location of the edge yourself. To do this, you just need to drill holes from the very shore, going more and more bottomless to the middle of the reservoir. As soon as a sharp change in depth is detected, the edge is noticed. It is optimal to fish at the very beginning of the relief decline.
- Check with the toll guard. The guard or huntsman of the reservoir is always aware of where the probability of catching trout has increased, and where you should not hope for results. Find out where you can sit if this is your first time on a pond and they will show you maybe not the best places, but you will be guaranteed a catch.
- Take advantage of the knowledge of fishermen who have been to this body of water for more than their first time. Typically, fishermen hunting for trout gather in groups at the most promising places. Don’t be shy and join one of these groups.
- Find old holes. In places where trout have already been caught, the likelihood of its presence increased. Most likely, this is where the edge passes or there was simply a good bite.
The depth of trout fishing is not always the same. Trout can walk near the very bottom, and then suddenly move to the upper layers and look for food there. Therefore, if the trout bite is interrupted, you should first change the fishing depth and only then think about changing the fishing location.
Fishing depth
Trout is an active fish that explores all fishing horizons in search of food. It can be actively caught near the bottom, and after an hour it can move higher, right up to the ice edge. An important task for the angler after choosing a place is to determine the horizon where trout are active. To do this, after several swings of the bait, raise it a little higher, up to half the depth of the reservoir. If this does not bring results, try playing the bait 10–20 centimeters below the ice edge, gradually lowering the bait into the depths.
How to catch trout in winter using active baits
Let's take a closer look at fishing with rattlins (“Vibes”). Like spinners, these baits involve catching active fish, that is, in the morning and evening hours. Fishing with rattlins also consists of periodically tossing the bait with a fishing rod and long (2-10 seconds) pauses. When the bait is lifted upward, vibration from the unique play of the bait, which gives it its name, is transmitted to the angler’s hand. Do the toss either quickly, with a small jerk of 10–20 centimeters, or more smoothly.
It is important to try to select the fishing technique that interests the fish. If there are no bites in the hole, you should rattle to another. Often the result is achieved simply by changing the color of the bait to another.
It is worth raising the bait higher, at half-water, and playing it high for a while, and then sharply dropping it half a meter down.
Silicone fishing technique
The technique for catching trout with silicone baits is similar to catching peaceful fish with a jig in the water column. Having touched the jig head with the bait to the bottom, slightly raise the bait higher and shake it slightly. Raise it a little higher and swing it again, or hold a pause. Thus, we fish half the depth of the reservoir. If there are no bites in the holes, change the color and shape of the bait. Usually, passive fish are caught with silicone, which is difficult to get to bite on other baits.
If everyone in the pond has stopped catching fish, then fishing with silicone can bring success. You can simply put the fishing rod on the ice and watch the guard; a passive fish may not be able to stand it and bite after a long pause.
When biting, if the fish carefully touches the bait, wait before hooking. The signal to it will be a downward nod movement, this will mean that the fish has completely taken the bait into its mouth. Sometimes, with passive biting, more than a dozen seconds pass between the start of the bite and the hook.
Often the trout misses when attacking, if there is a single bite, pay more attention to this hole, usually you can catch this fish.
Some tactics will surely bring success. We must not forget that if today we picked up the bait and game, this does not mean that tomorrow the fish will be caught just as well with this bait. Trout fishing is unpredictable, which is why it attracts such a large number of anglers.
Fishing for trout with a jig
Fishing for trout with a jig differs from classic fishing mainly only in additional types of bait, often exotic in the form of pieces of squid and shrimp. Edible rubber that smells like shrimp, crayfish and the like is also widely used in jig fishing. Usually these are bait species: nymph, crayfish, the so-called Hogy Hog. Externally, these baits resemble some small crustaceans, often reddish in color, with many tentacles, tails, and claws that move when the bait moves, which have an additional game, in addition to the movements of the jig. These baits are mounted on golden-colored, slightly flattened, medium-sized . Jigs that are too small simply won’t play. There are no particular differences in the game of the jig. Everything is the same as when fishing for perches and other predatory fish: the same oscillations with different speeds and amplitudes, upward movements, fishing in different horizons.
For jig fishing, durable rods with a short handle and an open reel with a diameter of 50 mm are used, for example, Salmo fishing rods. Such fishing rods are combined with long nods, which respond well to the weakest bite. The advantage of such winter fishing rods is that the line does not overlap in the reel, and the large volume of the reel allows you to quickly deliver the bait to the desired water level and just as quickly reel out the line. In addition, there is a reliable key-type brake, which also makes the operation of the fishing rod more reliable and convenient.
Fishing technique with passive baits
Passive baits are placed on an unfamiliar body of water in potentially attractive places to determine the location of fish. If there are no bites at the chosen place for a long time, move the bait to another place, or change the fishing depth and nozzle.
If the fish is slightly interested in the bait, the nod on the rod twitches a little, but no bite occurs, or the fish quickly spits out the bait. First of all, change the nozzle to a fresh one. If this does not help, look, sometimes the nozzle is too large, and you should reduce it a little. Try moving the fishing rod to another place, and try fishing in this hole with a silicone bait, or using a spinner.
A fish that has bitten should not be pulled out of the hole by force; before the hole, the trout begins to frantically shake its head, and if at this moment you apply too much force, you can tear even the thickest fishing line with expensive bait, or break the hook.
The caught trout should be carefully brought to the hole and pulled out onto the ice when its movements subside a little. It will be good to pick up the fish in the hole with your hand without loading the fishing line. If the catch is so large that you cannot get its head into the hole, use a hook to hook the fish, or ask other fishermen to help. Perhaps an experienced neighbor can find a hook.
