Predator behavior in January
With the formation of a thick layer of ice, perches do not scour the entire water area of the reservoir in search of easy prey. They gather in small schools and stay close to the bottom.
The lower layers of water are less cold. There the temperature is constant - about + 4° C. And since fish are not warm-blooded animals, their body temperature directly depends on the temperature of the water and affects life processes: metabolism and metabolism. The colder the water, the slower the body absorbs the oxygen and food necessary for life. In addition, fish, being in austerity mode, need water saturated with oxygen in order to spend less energy on breathing.
Therefore, in January, the lack of oxygen in the water layers and the drop in temperature force the perch to lie in the pits almost motionless. But short feeding trips occur from time to time. Although the perch does not go far from its winter rookery. He does not want to leave his habitable place for the reason that he does not have the strength to make long journeys.
Where to look for perch in January
Upon arrival at the reservoir, you should look around and determine the wintering place of the perch. First, start fishing the coastal zone.
You should not look for perches where there were thickets of underwater grass in the summer. In these areas there is very little oxygen; rotting algae saturates the water with methane, which is unsuitable for breathing, and oxygen is taken from the water.
If there is enough oxygen in the water and the temperature is not lower than + 5°C, the prickly predator hunts close to the shore. It lies in ambush next to the reeds, at changes in depth and in places with cliffs and a hard bottom. At temperatures below five degrees, there is a chance to find perch at depth: in holes and other bottom depressions.
On a pond or lake, try fishing in places where a stream flows into the reservoir or underground springs flow. As a rule, perch always strive for fresh sources - they contain a large amount of oxygen.
Perch in January – where to look
Fishing for perch in January combines both early winter features and wilderness tactics. Depending on the region, weather and reservoir conditions in January, you can experience varying degrees of perch activity. You can also catch it on a relatively active raid in places with shallow depth; it is also very likely that the predator will be found already at the points of permanent winter moorings in pits. Therefore, you need to check large areas, starting from smaller places. You can find out where perch is currently caught in a particular body of water from local anglers. An article about the general patterns of winter behavior of perch.
Therefore, finding perch in January, especially in large areas, can be a labor-intensive task. But the successful completion of such exploration often brings excellent catches. You need to search in the entire range of places where a predator may be present, except for coastal shallow areas with vegetation:
- The upper or lower boundaries of coastal slopes, edges, and flooded channels.
- Areas with a hard bottom and holes.
- Snags, exits from pits, banks in the depths, underwater ridges and slopes.
- Small perch can spend the winter in the coastal zone next to the remains of summer vegetation.
Features and subtleties of perch fishing in January
When going perch fishing in January, you need to take into account the weather conditions. It is better to fish on a windless January day with a slight frost. When the atmospheric pressure is constant, the predator is more active than in bad weather. The most promising time for catching a predator is thaw. At this time, he is more active than ever in January.
During the day, the intensity of the striped predator's bite may change. Sometimes he bites better in the morning, sometimes in the middle of the day or in the late afternoon.
When fishing, do not forget about the holes that were drilled first. Perhaps after a while there will be a perch under them. Therefore, it is worth returning to them. A few movements with a jig or spinner will not take much time, and the result may be positive.
In the middle of winter, in order to tempt an inactive predator to bite, you can experiment with lures. Instead of the classic game with a jig, it is worth offering the striped robber other options: tapping and moving along the bottom, slowly raising the spoon with long pauses. There is no need to make sudden movements with the tackle, as the January perch is sluggish and cautious. This may scare him away and he will leave the fishing area.
Perch fishing in January, where to look for a predator?
So, when you come to a pond, you should immediately look around and try to identify several of the most promising points. If you have already fished in a reservoir before, then there will be fewer problems with choosing a place for fishing. It is more difficult to find a promising place for catching perch in January on an unfamiliar body of water.
What can you recommend in the latter case? Start fishing from the coastal zone, but only if the depth in the area exceeds 2-2.5 meters. It is important to know that in January the oxygen concentration decreases significantly and this is the reason why the fish become lethargic.
If the winter turns out to be warm, then you can try to catch the predator in the same areas where fishing took place on the first ice (which we naturally wrote about in our article “For perch on the first ice”). When choosing a location, it should be taken into account that the predator prefers areas with a hard sandy or clay bottom, always with the presence of snags and other shelters. Searching for perch among thickets of underwater vegetation (grass) is not a very promising activity; an area a few meters from the reeds, among the stems of which the predator likes to ambush small fish, is another matter.
In January, perch will stick to deep holes, as well as areas with sharp changes in depth. The predator does not move far from its parking areas, as is observed on the first ice, so it must be constantly searched for. The most promising days for perch fishing in January will be during thaw periods. In cold weather and also in snowfall, the predator goes into the depths and becomes completely passive; it is very difficult to provoke it to attack.
What gear to use to catch perch in the middle of winter
Lures for perch fishing in January determine the choice of fishing gear. Catching jigs for perch, regular and baitless, require a winter fishing rod of the “filly” or “balalaika” type equipped with a reel. The reel can be built into the rod, which gives fishing some comfort.
A nod made of lavsan or metal can be used as a bite alarm. Its length should not be more than five to six centimeters. The fishing line is usually selected according to the expected size of the object being fished. Winter perches weighing up to two hundred and fifty grams do not offer strong resistance. For fishing them, a fishing line with a thickness of 0.06 or 0.08 mm is suitable; for larger ones, the thickness can be increased to 0.10 or 0.12 millimeters.
For fishing with spinners, you need winter hard rods with a nod-spring or a rubber signaling device made from a nipple. Some amateur fishermen prefer to fish with sensitive spinning rods up to one meter long. This gear is designed for ice fishing. It uses a 0.16 mm fishing line, since it is supposed to catch large perch. There are also fans of winter fishing who, instead of monofilament, successfully use braided cord 0.06 millimeters thick in such fishing rods. It is highly sensitive - the angler feels even light bites from a half-asleep perch.
In addition to active fishing with jigs and spoons, hunting for freshwater predators can also be carried out passively. To do this, they use a well-known tackle - a girder. It is somewhat different from the pike: it does not have a metal leash and the hook is much smaller in size. The baits are designed for catching large perches, the so-called humpbacks. Small minnows and bleaks are usually used as live bait, which large perches can swallow whole.
What to catch perch in January
In January, a special approach to fishing is needed, and therefore we will consider the nuances of fishing for perch during this period with different baits.
Jigs
To successfully catch perch in the middle of winter, you can use jigs with or without bloodworms. Among jigs with a natural attachment, the most popular are tackles in the form of a drop, a pellet, or a curved pellet called a “uralochka”. They work equally successfully depending on the appetizing nature of the bait attached to them. In this capacity, you can use maggots, pieces of earthworm, dragonfly larvae, poultry meat, fish fins and eyes and, of course, fresh bloodworms.
The second group includes various shaped jigs without a reel for perch, called goats, devils, witches, and all kinds of nail balls and nail cubes.
Fishing for perch in January with a jig requires the use of a special game. The movements should be smoother and less frequent, the more passive the striped predator behaves. It is important to be able to choose a jig game that will attract fish and force them to grab the bait.
The material used to make jigs is lead or tungsten. Tungsten jigs are more in demand among fishermen, since, compared to lead ones, their weight is less and the same size. This gives them smooth movement in the aquatic environment. For standing water at shallow depths, jigs weighing from two to three grams are suitable, for flowing water - heavier ones.
The color of the jig should be golden, black or silver. Such colors more often provoke perch to swallow the bait.
Spoons
Usually experienced anglers who are not interested in small perch catch perch using lures in the middle of winter. In winter, small fish do not hunt for large objects of food. Therefore, only large predators fall for the lure. For such fishing, spinners from one and a half to five centimeters long are used. They can be copper, brass and even silver. The tee of the spinner is decorated with a bunch of bright threads, multi-colored beads or cambrics.
In order for the spinner to play better horizontally, its center of gravity must be in the middle, and it itself must be wide. When fishing in pits, it is more advisable to use narrow spoons with a shifted center of gravity downwards. The so-called “maropeds” or “carnations”. This lure is better suited for vertical trolling at depth.
Balancers
A balancer is a bait that imitates the shape and movements of a fish. Its size depends on the size of the predator being caught - the larger the perch in the reservoir, the larger the balancer should be. Basically, baits with a length of two to five centimeters are used. The color, if perch fishing occurs at shallow depths, should correspond to the natural color of the simulated fish; if fishing at depth, it should be a bright acid color.
Rattlins
Rattlins are bladeless wobblers. They allow you to experiment with bait play, since there are several (usually three) attachment points on their back. Rattlins are used when catching large perch, because they were originally designed for catching not perch, but pike perch. You can also catch perch using amphipods from the ice, and this bait shows good results in the middle of winter.
What to use to catch perch in winter in January
Striped fish often appear as by-catch on a float rod when catching winter roach, bream and other fish. When targeting perch in January, you can use the entire range of gear. There is an opinion that in the middle of winter, baited jigs are the most catchy. They can be used by a generalist fisherman. In addition to bloodworms, maggots, pieces of worms, strips of chicken fillet, cow's udder, and liver are used as bait. Supporters of specific fishing methods (reelers, jiggers, spinners) should not despair - in January they can successfully fish with their favorite gear.
It is more reliable to catch with bloodworms - it is difficult to tempt a low-active perch with an iron, but with a natural larva, and even with additional feeding, it is easy. However, by properly organizing your search and fishing tactics, you can achieve success with artificial baits, and no worse than with bloodworms.
Provocateurs
When fishing with spoons and balancers, you need to use small baits, preferably with hanging hooks and decorations on them. Above the main bait, it is worth placing an additional hook with red beads as a provocateur and point of attack. If during the first ice you don’t have to worry too much about the playing technique, using regular jigs or tossing a spoon, then in January it’s worth showing all your skill in seducing fish. Various combinations, deceleration and acceleration, raising the haze - this is just the beginning of the list. Fishing in January shows good results.
Tandem with balancer (Finnish method)
Fans of long contemplative fishing can try fishing for girders. In January, the striped robber does not always take fry, but during the day it can make short forays into juvenile fish. But in this way you can catch the largest individuals. If the location of the predator is known, then fishing with perch girders can be combined with other types of fishing. If you have live bait, you can set up stands, and in the meantime engage in fishing with a spinner, or, for example, with a jig. It is better for novice anglers to try catching perch in January with a spoon or jig - it’s easier.
