Night fishing on a feeder

Fishing on a feeder, choosing a place

In the context of feeder fishing, we are most interested in catching bream on a feeder. At the same time, it is worth remembering that bream sites have pronounced daily variability, and places where bream were well caught in the morning will be unpromising for night fishing.

In the morning, bream feeds on the riverbed edges, where it is interested in Dreissenna colonies. During the day it settles on the bed of the riverbed, but you can’t expect a bite from them. With the onset of dusk, the edges become promising again, and at night..... At night, the bronze beauty favors the shallow waters with its attention. The sandy beaches are of particular interest. Yes, exactly those where the water was seething with swimmers during the day. But not every beach will be promising.

It is important that behind the beach there is access to the depths, and that the shallow water itself is located not far from the channel dump. The ideal, from our point of view, beach will end with either a slightly silted area or a rocky edge. The first option is typical for slow rivers, the second – for rivers with a pronounced water flow.

A good place for fishing would be moderately overgrown bays that meet the above requirements. In cities, fishing from embankments can be effective.

What kind of fish is caught on the feeder at night?

Feeder fishing with feeders is mainly aimed at peaceful fish species. During the day they hide from predators, and at night they come out of hiding in a hungry state.

At night you are more likely to get hooked:

silver bream, crucian carp, bream, roach, mainly large specimens. In reservoirs without a current, the fish become active and sometimes only swim out to feed. Night fishing is the only way to catch the listed fish in noisy places;

How to catch carp on a feeder?

Night feeder fishing is a very interesting type of fishing, which can also give the angler wonderful trophies

tench. It is best caught during the morning and evening dawns. Adults feed all the time in the dark; they swim quite close to the shore;
carp, carp They are caught in large numbers, because they remain active both during the day and at night, but they tend to move closer to the shore, entering shallow waters;
ide, chub. They are an exception, since they are predatory fish, but they like to go out at night to hunt for nocturnal insects that find themselves in the water. They are also caught using traditional baits: worms, maggots. Sometimes the night bite alarm for the feeder becomes a deterrent;
Infrequently, pike perch or catfish may be hooked, but mostly young specimens are caught.

Equipment for fishing spots for night fishing

If during the day the requirements for a parking spot are limited to the ability to cast without catching bushes and other obstacles, and a relatively open mirror of the reservoir without snags and other strong places that impede successful fishing, then at night the requirements become stricter. Darkness is what makes adjustments. If during the day we can clearly see a bush located behind us or a root sticking out under our feet, then at night this will not be visible. Therefore, it is worth putting things in order at the point where we are standing, removing excess vegetation, branches and debris - in general, everything that can interfere with us in the dark.

Now let's look at the question of how to cast a feeder at night. If it is known that there will be reliable light landmarks on the opposite bank, then the casting direction should be tied to them. If this is not the case, then two pegs are driven in on the shore along the casting line. At night, positioning the rod so that the butt is pointed at one peg and the tip at another, you can accurately cast to the baited point. In this case, all movements must be performed exclusively in the vertical plane.

A good reference point for night fishing is the tops of individual trees projected against the sky. But these landmarks only work in the presence of distant lighting, for example, from a nearby city.

Night fishing equipment

Night feeder fishing requires the angler to be highly organized. If during the day you can put a box of bait or a container with an attractant somewhere near you, then at night everything should be in its place. Items that are not regularly used should be placed in appropriate bags or boxes and stored in the tent. In general, in addition to a place to spend the night, the tent should also serve as a warehouse for all fishing devices. Agree, it’s easier to find something in a tent with limited space than on the shore. You just need to develop the appropriate habit. By the way, a tent for night fishing should have a waterproof bottom and a mosquito net.

It is impossible not to consider such an issue as flashlights for night fishing. There should be two of them. The first is a headlamp. This is the main flashlight. The second flashlight, of higher power, serves as an auxiliary one.

And of course, a night bream hunter should have a comfortable chair. It is advisable to buy a fishing chair with a backrest, but you can skip the armrests. Feeder fishing is active fishing, so comfortable carp chairs are not entirely appropriate here. But feeder stands for the rod will be very useful.

Choosing a place for fishing and preparing it

It is possible to determine a promising location only if you have basic knowledge about the reservoir: the type of bottom, the presence of whirlpools, holes and shoals. It is advisable to select areas with minimal current, a bottom made of clay or sand and without excessive thickets at the bottom. It is better to choose a place with a flat shore; the main factor is a simple approach to the water. The presence of protruding tree roots, boulders, stumps, stones, and reeds will complicate movement and can provoke loud noises. They prepare the place for night fishing before dark and immediately begin to feed the area.

How to choose a reel for a feeder?

In the dark it is difficult to determine the baited place and throw the tackle there. To make your task easier, you should select a site in advance and install a large illuminated float on it. An inflatable boat will be useful for installation.

When setting up a fishing spot, fishing gear must be arranged so that it is not within walking distance, but at arm's length

At night, luminous floats perform the task of beacons; they are used as a guide when casting. One feeder is installed on the left, and the second on the right. To control the casting distance, put an elastic band on the spool on top of the line; it slows down the movement of the line beyond the required length. The feeder will always end up in the feeding area.

Features of fishing on a feeder at night

Night fishing for bream will require the use of two rods (read more about choosing the length of the feeder rod and selecting the test of the feeder rod).

The fact is that one point will not work all night. The bite will begin at a distant point. This will be the bream coming out to feed. He can linger on a well-fed table, but keeping a flock is unrealistic. Therefore, after several shots, the point will calm down until the next flock approaches. When will it come out? As the bream enters the coastal zone, the nearest point will start working. In the context of night fishing, this will be the most catchy point. Closer to the morning, the bite on it will stop, and the feeder, thrown over a long distance, will start working again. After sunrise, the nearby fed zone will come to life, but the coastal small fish will start pecking.

Above we described an approximate scenario for night bream fishing. It all depends on the depth, the amount of bream in the reservoir, its activity and other factors. But it can be noted that you can catch bream at night immediately after sunset. The bite will last up to two hours . Then follows a relative calm, which ends about an hour and a half before dawn. But the above time intervals are also valid for unregulated reservoirs. Fishing for bream in reservoirs and canals depends on the operation of hydraulic structures. When the water begins to be released, the bite usually intensifies, but at the peak of the rise it can fade away, since the strong current will force the fish to change their standing points.

Since small fish do not interfere with fishing at night, you can focus exclusively on marketable fish. One trick may come in handy here. In the summer, bloodworms are not used for two reasons. Firstly, it is difficult to obtain and preserve, and secondly, the bloodworms are inevitably eaten by small things. But at night, fishing with a bunch of bloodworms can be effective, especially during periods of reduced bream activity.

Some observations

Although the article is about night feeder fishing, the peak bites in my fishing trips were observed late in the evening and early in the morning. Therefore, it is these periods of time that should be given attention. According to my observations, the evening bite is still longer and more active than the morning one. I would like to emphasize that this applies to feeders on small rivers. Perhaps things will be different in a float on a serious river. A fairly active bite can last until midnight, gradually fading away.

Both in the evening and in the morning I noticed the cyclical nature of the bite. Especially when it comes to such schooling fish as roach, silver bream and dace. When fish approach, there may be frequent bites on two feeders, thrown quite far from each other. While in the dead of night, after midnight, the bites are most often single. Although the same fish can be caught.

And I dare say that it will still be active. The fish can not only peck frequently, but also feed heavily. For example, the dace caught at night quite abundantly “watered” me with semi-digested bait from the corresponding hole. This suggests that feeding at night is just as important as during the day - some fish species are still actively feeding at this time. At the same time, they also lose caution.

It seemed to me that at night the fish are completely picky about the equipment. I usually use two feeders. One is aimed at smaller fish, therefore, its equipment is more “light” - for example, a leader ∆ 0.15 mm, a hook of 10-12 sizes. I usually adapt the second feeder for large fish. The leash is already about 0.2 mm, the hook is number 6–8. Naturally, the volume of the nozzle also differs. So, on both feeders in the dark the fish can bite equally well. I definitely concluded that after sunset the fish is not picky about the diameter of the fishing line. There is also an interesting observation about hooks. For example, a fairly large hook Kamasan B983 No. 8 is very successfully swallowed by small roach and silver bream. Often, even without a visible bite - the fish is so small - you can find a catch on the hook.

If we talk about the nature of the bites, there is an opinion that at night the fish takes more confidently. This is noticeable from what is mentioned above - how deep it can swallow the hook - but at the same time, I would not say that the tip signals a bite any more than during the day. So far I have not noticed any difference in my observations. Here it must be emphasized that river fish, in principle, bite more aggressively than fish from reservoirs without a current.

Of course, the nature of the bites also depends on the bait used. My most popular bait when fishing on the river is corn. Some may be confused by its large size, but rest assured, the fish are definitely not bothered by it. Even a small fish can effectively bite on just two pieces of corn. However, although corn is a favorite for night fishing, interest in it may wane slightly after midnight. One of my observations is this: the evening and morning “corn” bite weakens in the middle of the night. And then the plant attachment is replaced by an animal one. First of all, I mean maggot. I plant it in a bunch, up to 10 pieces. The disadvantage of maggot is that, while on the hook, it causes a large number of incomprehensible bites that cannot be realized. Gentle twitching intermittently can continue for quite a long time. In fact, instead of fish, we end up with a bitten and sucked maggot on the hook. To be honest, I have not yet revealed the secret of such mysterious bites. There is an assumption that it could be crayfish. Or the bleak just takes it very reluctantly.

A similar story happens with the worm.

It is also often eaten by someone with impunity. At best, the hook ends up being a ruff. So I refused to use the worm, at least in its pure form.

The source of the constant short twitching of the top and the jingling of the bells are bats. These constant companions of night fishermen in flight touch the stretched fishing line, which causes pseudo-bites. So don’t hook it in vain - it could be the tricks of flying bats.

Specifics of feeding when fishing at night

Without dwelling on the issue of choosing the bait itself (you can look at the fishing bait rating), because this issue is not specific to night fishing, we will move on to feeding tactics. And here there is its own specificity: how to feed bream at night if it moves along its own paths to the shore and back?

Based on what was discussed above, you need to feed two points at once. Before sunset, a distant point feeds . It feeds on both finely dispersed mixture and large components. Small creatures will still be active in the near zone, so they do not feed until dark. Feeding the near zone should be plentiful, because this is where we will catch bream at night. The distant zone is supplemented with standard feeder feeders during the night, and it is useful to carry out massive feeding two hours before dawn.

Let's also consider such an issue as bite alarm . The classic approach is to install chemical fireflies on the top of the feeder. It is attached with the tubes included in the firefly kit. If the tubes are too hard, you can heat them over the flame of a lighter. But this is done before putting it on the tip, otherwise the tip itself can be damaged. Here it is impossible not to mention the moment of preparing the feeder for fishing. The fireflies are attached to the rod before threading the cord through the rings. There are also special connectors for signaling lights, but they are more bulky and increase the likelihood of the cord getting tangled.

Light indicators work great when biting is active. But at night, in the pauses between bites, he inevitably falls asleep. Accordingly, an audible alarm will be required. The simplest solution is to install bells on a feeder stand. Since the feeder is installed at an angle to the fishing line going into the water, any pulls will inevitably be transferred to the stand. After hooking, the bells remain on the stand, and you can land the fish. This approach has two main advantages over installing bells on the rod. Firstly, the likelihood of the cord getting caught behind the alarm is eliminated. The second point is purely ethical, and allows you to reel out the equipment without unnecessary noise.

Feeder installation options We analyze feeder equipment and installation options. What should be the feeder rod and reel, which feeder to prefer, options for mounting equipment.

Baits and groundbait mixtures

At night, fish respond to the same baits as during the day. There shouldn’t be any particular difficulty with bait.

Feeder Rigging Basics for Beginners

Main attachments:

animal origin: bloodworms, worms, maggots;
vegetable baits: pearl barley porridge, corn in any form, peas, semolina;
dough, mastyrka.

To catch carp and carp, you should take large bait.

In the dark, fish react especially actively to bait; it is important for feeder fishing.

The bait mixture should be homogeneous and easily washed out of the feeder.

Mixtures are mainly used; they are prepared according to the following rules:

It is better to select bait with a color that matches the bottom. The best way to create the desired color is to mix several bases with the addition of breadcrumbs or flour;
to attract large fish, add peas, corn or wheat to the bait;
A few protein components have a positive effect: maggots, bloodworms.

Add a little water to the mixture, in an amount sufficient to create a lump, but not too dense so that the bait is washed out of the feeder. It is better to use water from the selected river or river so that it does not differ.

Fishing process

As a rule, you can’t count on fish activity after sunset.
Interesting and productive fishing begins around 11-12 o'clock at night. But if there are bites, they are mostly reliable. The firefly actively signals to us that it is time to strike. Often at the other end of the fishing line you can catch a good bream or crucian carp. You need to fish it out without fuss. Another important point concerns fixing the fishing distance. While it is still permissible to clip the fishing line during the day, this should not be done at night. It is better to use an elastic band, and mark the place of fixation with a bright marker for a length of 15-20 cm. In case of strong bites, when the rod simply breaks off the stand, the line simply rests against the clip, and a breakage or loss of fish occurs. When the rubber band is installed, there is room for maneuver. If a lot of fishing line goes away and we lose a point, it can always be restored, since the area painted over with a marker will be visible even at night by the light of a lantern or the moon. A few words about baits and baits. It is different from "daytime". Since we are targeting qualifying specimens, we add grains, peas and large fractions to the mixtures. We also add chopped worms and maggots to its composition. If there is a significant flow, then add clay or soil to the mixture. Since we make infrequent casts at night, the baits should be voluminous and look appetizing and beautiful. Be sure to replace worms and maggots if they have lost their presentation. It is better to turn on your headlamp at a low brightness to see where the fishing line is during the fishing process. The task remains the same: to pull the fish closer to the shore, not to let it go into the grass or snags. It would be ideal, of course, if you put her on her back or at least tire her so that there is no strength left for further resistance. When fishing at night, it is better to use a landing net with a long handle and a medium head to make it easier to land fish. The first peak of fish activity occurs at 23.00 - 1 am. The second starts around 2 and lasts up to 4 hours. During these hours the largest bream are caught. With experience comes an understanding of when you need to be prepared for such bites, and when you can take a break and drink coffee. It is, of course, possible to use electronic signaling devices, but at a moderate volume level. We'll leave the bells to the donkers and old fishermen. The night session smoothly flows into the morning. This transition looks especially brief in the first half of summer. Around 4 it begins to get light, and the fish begin to actively bite. Bites become more frequent. And even if the fish are not as big as they are, the process is hectic and the fisherman has no time for sleep or other activities. If we used large feeders, then the table has long been covered with suitable food for fish. You can change the feeder to a more modest one and continue to successfully catch bream, silver bream and crucian carp. If you study the reservoir well, spend 4-5 fishing nights on it, check different places, then you can count on successful night fishing. Night fishing requires patience and a certain amount of regularity from the angler. There is no point in going on such fishing if you are tired or if you are not in the mood. Source