In September, the summer heat subsides and the fish enters the comfort zone. At this time, all aquatic inhabitants react more actively to all the bait supplied by the fisherman, and this gives a good chance to go fishing. If there are no sudden cold snaps or pressure surges at this time, then fishing will definitely be successful and there is even an opportunity to catch another trophy.
It should also be noted that in rivers the water cools faster than in standing reservoirs and crucian carp loses its activity only as the water gets colder. That is why in cold weather it is best to catch crucian carp in still waters. September is a turning point month for crucian carp fishing, so this month should be divided into two halves, which will differ in fishing tactics. But the most important thing is the weather.
In the first half of September the weather is generally good and fishing is very active at this time. It is best to look for fish on the coastal shallows near reeds and other vegetation. In the second half of September, when the weather is not so warm, the fish gather in schools and go deeper, biting best at a depth of about 2.5 m. It is best to look for places with at least a slight difference in depth, and if there is also a snag in this place then this place will be absolutely ideal for fishing. As the weather gets colder, crucian carp slightly loses its activity, but it becomes possible to catch quite worthy specimens from the depths, which are unlikely to be caught in the summer.
Fishing for crucian carp at the end of September
After the water cools down, the crucian carp almost does not leave their holes, and practically does not move. In cold water, even bait is not able to stir up crucian carp, so there is no point in using it. In late autumn, only steep river banks can bring success in fishing. The direction of the wind is also important; it is best to choose a surf shore.
It’s best to find the edge of the hole and cast it there; there’s no point in waiting a long time for a bite. If your bait did not fall next to the fish, then the crucian carp itself will not move towards it. After casting, you can wait no more than 15 minutes and transfer to a new point. Crucian carp can become active only if it warms up, if the weather improves and the sun warms up shallow areas of water. Crucian carp bites just as well in warm, cloudy weather.
With the advent of cold weather, the feeding preferences of crucian carp also change, this is due to a change in the natural food supply. The baits change in the protein direction, bread, pearl barley and corn that worked in the summer stop working. Now only bloodworms, maggots and worms work. But if you take only one of these baits, you can make a mistake.
In the fall, crucian carp are very capricious and can only bite on one thing today, and on something else tomorrow. It is possible that these baits individually will not attract fish, so you will have to use sandwiches. As sandwiches, maggots and bloodworms or maggots and a worm are combined on a hook. Can also be combined with vegetable baits such as corn or pearl barley.
It is worth noting that small specimens do not bite at all on plant baits, but it is still possible to catch a trophy specimen, you can wait a long time for a bite, or you may not wait at all, but the fact that in the fall large crucian carp bite on corn, pearl barley or bread is a fact!
Accordingly, using a sandwich you can catch both small crucian carp and large specimens.
Fishing spot
As you know, crucian carp need ponds with thickets, where there is a lot of rich plant food, bottom organisms and easy to hide, because it is not a predator.
Therefore, the main place for fishing is ponds on dammed rivers and lakes overgrown with reeds. In deep reservoirs saturated with oxygen, autumn crucian carp is caught especially large.
If the weather is clear and warm like summer, you can catch crucian carp:
- near the shore of a lake or artificial pond, luring with bait;
- in winding small rivers, in pre-channel holes or depth changes;
- in silted areas of reservoirs, thickets of sedge or water lilies.
With an early September cold snap, a decrease in water and air temperatures, you need to look for crucian carp:
- on ponds and lakes in holes at a depth of 3 to 5 meters;
- far from the river bank, in reservoirs with an uneven bottom.
The crucians move more slowly than in summer; with the onset of early autumn, they stay in close flocks where they are deeper. There is the most favorable environment for September goldfish.
On warm days you can successfully fish from the shore using a fishing rod. Only the fishing spot needs to be fed in advance. It is worth considering that sometimes good luck is brought by a light breeze that drives the waves towards land. There should be a good bite in the coastal area.
With the onset of cold weather, fishing from a boat far from the shore becomes better. If you first study the bottom topography of the reservoir where crucian carp hunting will take place, then the chances of finding schools of thick crucian carp in their shelters will be much greater.
Fishing for crucian carp in October
With the onset of October, the water cools down significantly and forces the heat-loving crucian carp to go to depths, where the temperature background is more stable and does not have sharp changes. At this time, there is a chance to catch fish near the shore only on quiet and sunny days, when the water can somehow warm up and lure the crucian carp in search of food.
At this time, the point of morning fishing completely disappears and it makes sense to go out only towards noon, with fishing lasting until dusk. Vegetable baits do not work at all, you need to focus on the protein component.
Complementary food is either not used at all, or in small quantities, otherwise the crucian carp that has eaten its fill will immediately go to the depths, stopping any activity. A tiny amount of attractant is used in bait or not used at all. Frosts in the morning and bad weather greatly interfere with the bite, so on such days you can waste time on the pond.
Weather and fishing location
Crucian carp are accustomed to camping in small lakes or ponds with dams and other hydraulic structures, where there is a depth of 4-5 meters and a changeable bottom topography. The exact placement of fish in a pond depends on current weather conditions.
If the weather is expected to worsen, you can postpone the trip for crucian carp to a more favorable time. Regardless of the concentration of fish in a reservoir, successful fishing directly depends on climatic conditions and time of day. Crucian carp are active well on clear days with little wind. At this time, it can be caught en masse near the shore.
To increase the activity of crucian carp, the reservoir must be carefully fed. For such purposes, a nutritious bait mixture is used, which can be purchased at any fishing store.
Read: Catching crucian carp. Fish diet
At the beginning of the autumn season, the food supply for fish is seriously reduced and becomes less extensive than in the summer. Therefore, the bait you choose should be dense and appetizing. It is better to avoid combining the mixture with sand, as this will negatively affect its effectiveness.
When searching for promising places for casting equipment, you need to pay special attention to the following points:
- Coastal and riverine edges.
- Areas with variable terrain, holes and depressions at the bottom.
- Points near hydraulic structures and an abundance of snags.
- The boundaries between clean water and thickets of snags.
- Areas near overhanging trees.
Bait for crucian carp in autumn
Feeding crucian carp in the fall may have absolutely no effect, but there is no need to completely abandon it. Be that as it may, there is a possibility that the fish will be drawn to the baited place; anything can happen. But the bait at this time should be soft and easily sprayed in the water and very little is required. It is also important to add to this bait the components you will be fishing with. You can also mix it with soil; this will prevent you from overfeeding the fish and keep it longer at the fishing point.
To catch crucian carp in the fall, even a kilogram of the mixture is enough. The bait recipes are simple; they are prepared using breadcrumbs and mixtures of mixed feed with bread, a little loaded barley or corn. The attractant is used only in warm water. You can, of course, use store-bought bait, but do-it-yourself bait is still more effective, because it is fresher and less saturated with calories, and this allows you to avoid overfeeding the fish.
Tackle for catching crucian carp in autumn
For autumn crucian fishing, you can use both a float rod and a feeder. It is advisable to change the summer equipment to a thinner one, since in the fall the water becomes not only colder, but also clearer, and the crucian carp becomes cautious at this time. Thus, for fishing with a float rod you need to use a fishing line of 0.1 - 0.15 mm, and for a feeder up to 0.18 mm. A float in the form of a goose feather or a pencil is best suited because it is as sensitive as possible, and the bites of crucian carp in the fall are very careful.
There are no special requirements for the equipment, the only thing you need is:
- The rod should be 5 - 6 meters, because you will have to cast the rod quite far.
- Line from 0.15 to 0.2 mm. The diameter of the fishing line is quite thin and does not cause caution in the crucian carp, and at the same time it is quite strong.
- Hooks are used No. 5 - 7, according to domestic numbering, best with a long shank.
- The float is most often an individual choice, but I would recommend using a type of quill pen or pencil, because they have better sensitivity and bites are clearly visible.
Feeder equipment is used when fish move to depth, as a rule, this is the end of September - beginning of October. The rods use a semi-fast action for 100% self-hooking of fish. The feeders are loaded with bait with a dusting effect, which can attract the attention of sluggish crucian carp that has not yet fully settled into the pits. When there is a significant drop in temperature, feeders are excluded from installation, using only a weight, and for mating they use very sensitive structures that transmit even the smallest bites.
Donka for crucian carp with your own hands
In fishing supply stores these days you can find any type of gear assembled. However, as a rule, it is assembled from the cheapest components that will not withstand the tugs of a decent trophy. That is why experienced fishermen assemble everything themselves from components that have been proven over the years.
In order for the installation to be strong and not scare away crucian carp, you need to be able to choose everything of the right quality and size.
The basis
To assemble the gear, first of all, you need to select a high-quality base on which our gear will be mounted in the future.
- monofilament fishing line, and the diameter for catching crucian carp is selected in accordance with the season and the expected catch. In the spring you can put on donks 0.25-0.3 mm thick, in the summer from 0.35 mm, but for autumn crucian carp the tackle is mounted on a monk 0.35-0.4 mm. The color is usually chosen to match the bottom of the reservoir; rainbow or chameleon is considered a universal option; it will be hardly noticeable on any reservoir.
- Braided cord is no less popular among fishermen; it sails less in the wind, and the thickness for the line can be selected thinner than that of monofilament line. Depending on the season, the diameter of such a base also differs; for spring it is set to no more than 0.1 mm, in summer and autumn from 0.14 mm or more, depending on the expected catch. You shouldn’t use bright colors for donkey, it’s better to leave them for spinning; here you can choose a dark green or olive color.
Experienced fishermen recommend assembling the installation itself on a cord; it will be more reliable when casting and fishing for trophies. It’s worth taking hard options, then the tackle itself won’t be flimsy.
Tackle for crucian carp fishing
Tackle for catching crucian carp: choosing a fishing rod, feeder fishing
Read more
For spinning
To catch bottom crucian carp from a spinning blank, use a cord; it will be the most convenient. An important point will be the reel, or rather the spool, it must be metal, otherwise the cord will simply cut it.
They also install a monk, but it is used much less often than braid. There are several reasons for this, primarily discontinuous characteristics.
Hooks
This component is one of the most important; without high-quality hooks it will be impossible to achieve a worthwhile result. Donkey hooks for crucian carp are selected according to several criteria:
- depending on the bait used;
- pay special attention to the size of the expected catch.
It is worth understanding that the use of plant and artificial baits will require hooks with a short or medium shank, while animals only use hooks with a long shank.
Victoria Leshchenko
I've been working hard in the fishing tackle department for the past six years. I can help you assemble almost any gear.
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It is best to use self-hooking hooks for fishing with bottom gear; the angler will need minimal cutting when biting, and the result will always be excellent.
Among experienced fishermen, the best products for fishing with this method are products from the kaizu, feeder and aji feeder series. For larger representatives of cyprinids it is better to use iseama.
For animal baits, hooks made of thin and medium-thick wire are used, but artificial and vegetable ones will allow you to try a thicker hook base.
Accessories
For installation, in addition to the main elements, auxiliary elements are also used; their quality should not be relegated to the background. Clasps, carabiners, winding rings, beads, rubber or silicone stoppers must also be of excellent quality.
It is important to be able to choose the right size, because small ones will not always be able to withstand the required loads, and large ones will simply scare the fish away from the tackle.
- Swivels and fasteners No. 6 are considered a universal option for almost all installations for crucian carp; for catching crucian carp from a kilo and carp of decent weight, this size will not be enough.
- The beads are selected individually; for collecting “crucian carp killers”, large ones are taken; for installation with one feeder, medium ones will be enough.
- Winding rings in any gear are used in the smallest possible size, but it is worth taking into account breaking loads.
- Stoppers are suitable for large and medium-sized ones; you shouldn’t use small ones, they are rather weak for bottom fishing.
Let's take a special look at the bead with a clasp for the float. A tackle with a “banana” feeder will require the use of a sliding type of float, and this component will help secure it to the base. So, take it not very large, a medium or small size will be quite enough for casting.
Holder
It is better to collect each type of donkey for crucian carp on a separate holder; for some it is better to use rods, for others they are simply not suitable. What and where to place?
- for the classic, donkey with a feeder, nipple, makushatnik, Japanese, “crucian carp killer”, the ideal option would be spinning telescopes with a length of 2.4 m to 3 m;
- with a rubber shock absorber, the installation is best wound on a special reel with an elongated one end;
- Donka without feeders and the option with a sliding sinker are best stored and cast from self-dumps;
- Banana tackle is perfect for a regular float blank, 4-6 m long.
There are other, homemade, types of holders, but they are less popular among bottom fishermen.
Alarms
Seeing a bite on a donk is not always easy without special devices, so-called alarms. For a donkey assembled on a Bolognese form, the indicator will be a regular float, but for other installations they use completely different ones:
Bells
bells are used for feeders and telescope spinning rods; they are hooked at the very tip of the whip and when hooked they very often fly away. There are several modifications, the usual ones with a clothespin are quite easy to lose; those with a twist or latch hold on more securely and do not immediately fly off.
Bells
Bells are used on elastic bands and self-resetting mounts. Usually, bells are attached with clothespins and when playing they are simply removed for convenience.
Floats
Sagging floats are now being used more and more often; they have several modifications. There are products that can be used both during the day and at night. There are options with sound effects, so-called rattles.
Firefly
At night, a firefly will signal about a vole; it is a stick 40-70 mm long, which must be broken a little before use.
Electronic signaling devices
More advanced anglers use electronic alarms with swingers. The electronic product is powered by the crown, its structure is designed so that when there is a bite, the lights on it blink and a sound is made that can be adjusted. Swinger comes as an additive; there are many varieties of this product, the most popular with magnetic balls and an additional soldered LED for fishing at night.
When using feeders for baiting crucian carp, bites are based on the tip; a properly selected quivertip will rattle strongly when a fish is on the hook.
Only a donk equipped with high-quality components can bring pleasure from fishing, and the catch is sure to be excellent.
