Advertising in the modern world is the main reason why even a novice angler has heard about the variety of spinning lures available. Separately, you can pay attention to minnow-type wobblers, which are often used for catching pike, the popularity of which continues to constantly grow.
There are a large number of types of wobblers, but minnows are probably the most famous and popular
What are minnow wobblers?
Minnow class wobblers look like a small narrow-bodied bait. The movements of the wobbler can resemble a wounded fish or a feeding fry, thereby prompting the predator to grab. They stand out in that almost all models do not have their own game and the animation of the bait is set by the fisherman himself.
The optimal size of a wobbler for catching pike is 9-12 centimeters in length and 7-20 grams in weight. For catching spotted predators, this weight/length option will be ideal; it allows you to catch fish of different sizes, and its main purpose is to catch medium and trophy fish.
Many manufacturers have acid colors
Varieties of minnows for pike fishing
There are three options for wobblers - sinking, floating and neutral.
Let's look at each type specifically:
- Minnow is sinking . When retrieving, it sinks during pauses, so the wobbler can be deepened to the required depth. The easiest type of wobbler to learn. They are best used in reservoirs with an active current; it attracts predators due to active twitching, and the current increases the effect.
- Floating type . It floats up during pauses, well suited for fishing in reservoirs where the grass rises strongly to the surface, and the pike stands in this vegetation and looks out for prey swimming above it. It is worth paying attention to the blade of the wobbler; if it is wider than the wobbler itself, then the bait will move more naturally and widely. The ideal conditions for fishing with floating minnows are bodies of water no more than 2 meters deep, where there is a cover of algae. It is especially interesting to watch pike in shallow water, where everything can be seen with the naked eye.
- Neutral, or as they are also called - suspenders . Wobblers of this type sink slowly and emerge no less slowly. Inside the bait there is a system of balls that makes it make smooth movements down and up. The most common type of universal direction.
The main working horizon of minnows is 1-3 meters. Only deep-sea minnow deep-sea wobblers allow you to catch pike at depths of up to 4-5 meters.
A set of minnows - in a box, wobblers with different depths.
Neutral type wobblers, which are designated as “Suspending”, are extremely popular when catching a toothy predator. With their help, you can adapt to the behavior of the predator, take into account the characteristics of the reservoir and perform many animation techniques, aggressively driving the bait deeper, or let the minnow slowly sway its sides to walk in one horizon of the water area.
Fishermen's opinions regarding the color of the bait vary; some believe that color plays a major role, while others do not even think about this characteristic. You can adhere to basic recommendations when choosing a color, or you can rely on personal beliefs. The main thing is to be able to move the wobbler correctly in order to interest the pike and provoke it to throw.
Basic information from which you can build: natural colors are good in clear water, acid and fluorescent colors are good for muddy dirty water, for cloudy days and great depths.
Wide range of colors
Tactics for catching pike in shallow water
The main object of fishing in shallow water bodies is fish that feed near the shore. Many fishermen prefer areas abundantly overgrown with aquatic vegetation: it is believed that this is the most successful solution for catching pike in shallow water. You can fish with almost any bait.
Traditionally, in shallow waters, pike are caught using jigs or spinning rods. The main rule of shallow water fishing is the successful presentation of a spinner or popper. In this case, you should start with close casts, since with a high degree of probability the fish may be in close proximity to the fisherman: a cast that is too long will simply scare it away.
Remember that casts must be as accurate as possible, even if their length is 30-40 meters (otherwise you may get caught on grass or snags).
Before catching pike, decide on the point from which you will cast the spinning rod and try to fish the entire accessible fishing area. In this case, you need to move as silently and carefully as possible, since fish that feed in shallow water react very sensitively to any external stimulus.
Minnow fishing technique
The bait in question is designed for jerk fishing. Twitching is something that can literally bring wobblers to life and make them move extremely realistically.
All specific models of minnow wobblers require an individual approach. After purchasing wobblers of this type, anglers prefer to fish for them and try different techniques. This is necessary to select acceptable options for presenting minnows and fishing techniques that will show consistent results.
A good option is to go out into shallow water with a new wobbler and pull it with different animation methods literally at your feet and see how it behaves.
There are several twitching options for pike fishing:
- Uniformly aggressive . Using this method involves performing sharp jerks with even pauses. Preferable for catching active predators.
- Chaotic aggressive . This method is similar to the previous one, but does not require precise pauses between the jerk and stop. The strength of the jerks can vary or be completely reduced to zero. Chaotic nature attracts pike and helps provoke the lazy predator.
- Soft-uniform . Accompanied by a series of light and smooth jerks/stretches with intermittent stops. If the fish is prone to a bad reaction to bait (passive), this method can become indispensable.
- Softly chaotic . Similar to the previous wiring, but does not require precise jerks and pauses. The fisherman makes them at his own discretion.
- Stretches, almost without pauses . Not suitable for all minnows. We need to experiment.
To catch an aggressive predator, pauses should be of minimal duration. The passive predator loves long stops. This wiring creates the illusion of a fish running away.
How to twitch minnows when fishing for pike - video tips from an expert on how to catch catfish in autumn, spring and summer:
Do not forget about uniform wiring. If there is no bite, you should try to present the bait evenly. This technique is good for its versatility; it can be used at any time of the year.
Pike behavior in autumn
You can catch pike almost all year round. But, in winter, spring and summer, biting activity is short-lived. The duration of the zhora at different times ranges from one to three weeks. And that's the maximum. And only in the autumn period, from approximately mid-September to mid-November, the duration of active feeding is much longer. From the second half of November, pike can also bite in open water, but not as actively.
With the onset of autumn cold, peaceful fish leave the coastal zone, moving to deeper places. Following it, predatory fish, including pike, change their location. By its nature, the spotted beast is not inclined to migrate unless there is a serious reason. Having chosen a certain territory, it leaves it only in exceptional cases. One of the reasons for autumn migration is the movement of the food supply.
In autumn, you should not go fishing too early. During this period, experienced fishermen advise arriving at the reservoir no earlier than 12 o’clock. It is at this time that the pike begins to become active. In good weather, the peak of zhora occurs at 15-16 hours. As dusk approaches, it drops sharply.
The best minnow wobblers for pike fishing
Typically, pike prefer to be at the bottom of a reservoir or in the middle of the water, where you can quickly hide from threats and find food.
However, when pike are active, they prefer to come to the surface in search of bait. During the period of passive behavior of the predator, it can be provoked to bite if you hold a wobbler near the place of activity.
Trying to catch a pike at a depth of five meters with a “meter-long” wobbler will turn out to be a rather stupid idea. It is necessary to know well the place where the fishing process takes place in order to choose the best wobbler option.
It is important to compare the depth of the wobbler with the depth at the fishing site.
List of the best minnows for pike, as well as their descriptions and the most suitable options:
- ZipBaits Rigge 90F - this wobbler will become indispensable in spring and summer. The main advantage of the bait is its triangular shape. This minnoha weighs 9.5 grams and is 9 centimeters long. Universal purpose. ZipBaits Rigge 90F acidic in opaque water - perfect for pike on active twitching
- Jackall Squad Minnow 80SP — The main advantage of Squad is his active play. The model weighs approximately 10 grams and is 8 centimeters long. Jerking movements with chaotic or even pauses will attract the attention of a predator, and the mid-frequency sound will not scare off fish nearby.
- ZipBaits Orbit 80SP-SR - one of the most versatile and popular minnoh models. It has a natural structure that resembles a well-fed fry. Contains characteristic curves on the body shape. The low resistance of the wobbler when casting allows it to be used when fishing with a light rod.
Zipbaits Orbit 110 sp - a typical autumn wobbler for pike - DUO Realis Minnow 80 — a rare minnow, suitable not only for jerk animation, but also for uniform wiring. The wobbler performs well when catching pike, as well as other predatory fish. Due to its neutral buoyancy and relatively small depth, the minnow allows you to fish inaccessible points, such as flooded trees, algae, reeds and other places. With a length of 8 centimeters, it weighs only 4.7 grams.
- Megabass KANATA is the largest and most intimidating wobbler we are considering. It weighs as much as 30 grams, and its length is 16 centimeters. The Megabass company makes its products from high-quality plastic, so even the most toothy pike will not be able to chew through the bait. Separately, it is worth highlighting the perfect detailing; every scale, notch, and depression on the body imitates a real fish.
Fishing for pike in winter at shallow depths
Seduced by a perch the size of a little finger.
Photo: Andrey Yanshevsky. To begin with, copy the tackle and fishing technique as much as possible, and only then you will optimize them according to your own considerations.
Usually, by the middle of winter, catching medium-sized perch, roach, and, especially, small bream becomes somewhat boring. The time for catching large peaceful fish is shifting to night hours.
You can go fishing for pike perch and bass on the river, or pike on the lake. It is somewhat easier to catch pike in the middle of winter on large, but shallow, weakly flowing lakes.
| It’s easier to find fish in a group. Photo: Andrey Yanshevsky. |
Here predators are distributed over numerous points, and when there are many places, then they are easier to detect. In addition, small pike periodically migrate from deeper places to shallow ones, hunting for perch, roach or crucian carp.
As the main tackle, you can choose 4-6 pieces of girders and active tackle in the form of a spinner, balancer, vibrating tail, vib or cicada.
Read the material “On Thin Ice”
I advise you to start by installing three vents in a supposedly promising location. If the point is not known, then I make about two dozen holes in a pre-selected direction from the shore. Depending on the size of the reservoir and the topography, holes can be made with a distance of 10 to 20 m.
It is important that the gear is initially placed at different depths. Ideally, there are holes with the maximum depth for a given reservoir and with a depth of only 20-30 cm under the ice. Let me clarify that we are talking about a lake where the average depth is 2-3 m.
Read the material “My debut in sports”
After the first bite, you can place a couple more girders at the same depth.
If some gear sits for an hour and a half without a bite, then I prefer to rearrange it. At the same time, live bait is checked. By the way, live bait needs to be checked every hour. Very often it happens that there was no bite, and the live bait disappeared without a trace.
| Catch of the day using lures and spoons. Photo: Andrey Yanshevsky. |
As live bait, I prefer to use small perch, caught here with a small jig near the shore. It often happens that on some days the pike prefers imported crucian carp or roach, and on others it takes only local live bait. In order not to guess and not to bother myself, I catch live bait on the spot.
It is important to guess with the descent on the girders. By mid-winter, pike usually hunt in the middle and upper layers of water, that is, the descent on the girders must be done within a meter. There is one subtlety here. To prevent the live bait from floundering right under the hole in a bright spot, I lower it about a meter and a half, but remove the sinker so that the bait goes to the side.
Read the material “Labrador on the hunt”
The live bait moves away from the hole, remains active longer, finds the horizon in which the local fish now prefers to stay, and the pike finds it faster. Here you also need to take into account the specific behavior of live bait of a particular breed.
Crucian carp and perch can rush to shelter at the bottom, but roach, on the contrary, can rise right under the ice. This is another reason why I consider local live bait to be optimal. It is he who will look for the horizon that is familiar to a given body of water and time of day.
It is very important not to fuss and stick to the chosen fishing pattern. The task becomes much easier if at least one bite occurs. If there are no bites, then there are two options.
Read the material “Pike perch theme with the smell of reeds”
You can rearrange a number of girders in a checkerboard pattern, moving in some chosen direction. It's good if you get under the nose of an active predator. But it is very likely that there is no bite because the time has not come.
It is well known that pike have periods of hunting. When it starts, bites are visible throughout the entire pond. This outing can last only 10-15 minutes, which is not enough to quickly move gear, especially since bites occur at different depths.
Read the material “Bersch of the Volga backwaters”
Again, you need to keep in mind that if a predator rises to feed above the bottom, then the bottom topography is no longer of decisive importance. The main thing is that the gear is located near the predator’s parking area.
If the lake or quarry is familiar to me, which means that specific patterns are known, or there is information from friends, then I put the heels of the piers and begin to check all the free and new holes using active gear.
| Silicone vibes. Photo: Andrey Yanshevsky. |
Many years of statistics on different bodies of water have led to the fact that I always try to fish with three different types and characteristics of the game of bait.
In the first place I have oscillating spoons - large and light. The two most important characteristics of a spinner are how slowly it glides or “sprays,” and how long it oscillates at the bottom point.
| Classic summer bait. Photo: Andrey Yanshevsky. |
Elongated spoons with a shifted center of gravity glide better and move further away from the hole. Spinner baits like “Williams wobblers” shed perfectly, that is, they fall in the water like a leaf from a tree in the calm. The wider and lighter the spinner, the longer the cycle of its oscillations from the moment of release to complete attenuation. I am a supporter of just such spinners.
Even if the pike is very active and grabs the bait not at the stage of almost complete attenuation of vibrations, but at the moment of active movement, such spoons are more universal. You can always shorten the pause or play along with a short push, that is, add additional movement.
Read the material “In autumn on the channel”
However, with the end of the bite on the first ice, the pike does not chase active bait. She almost always grabs the spinner during a long pause after the fall, when the spinner is already weakly oscillating or rotating around its axis.
In most cases, the pike not only waits for the moment when the bait almost freezes, but also tries it and pushes it with its nose. Moreover, this applies not only to spinners, but also to live bait. If nothing alerts her, then on the next stroke (or the frightened movement of the live bait) a bite may follow.
The hard metal of the bait will probably alert the predator. If the bite does not happen after pushing the spinner, then I change not the spinner, but the type of bait. The spoon is replaced by either a silicone twister on a light jig head or a “vib” made of plastic. I stopped using large balancers on small bodies of water.
Read the material “On live bait”
The advantage of such baits is not that they are softer, but that there are no phases with sharp fluctuations in their game. In this case, you can always make a sharp acceleration.
And the less active the pike, the more often the twister or vibrotail comes to the rescue. It even happens that a predator tries the same soft vibrotail several times. You make five or six approaches to the hole and on each one, almost immediately, the pike pushes the bait. And only after this, during the next attempt to seduce the fish, a clear bite occurs.
| Seduced by the oscillator. Photo: Andrey Yanshevsky. |
So you walk around for half a day, changing holes and baits, looking at the girders.
The interesting thing is that not only the result of fishing is never known, but also which bait will work best. It happens that they only bite on live bait. And it also happens that the catch is half and half between live bait and twister or spoon.
Andrey Yanshevsky January 9, 2021 at 05:11
Choosing a minnow for pike fishing at different times of the year
To catch a toothy predator, many factors must be taken into account, one of them is the time of year.
Spring
In spring, living organisms awaken in reservoirs. Predators begin to eagerly obtain food with the first increase in temperature; in particular, fry become more active. Before spawning, pike need good nutrition. At this time of year, it is easy to catch it with surface minnow-type wobblers, since the spotted one stands near the surface.
In early spring, during the pre-spawning activity of pike, it is best to use a bait that does not cling to old grass and easily changes the fishing horizon. Plays actively, actively lays down glides during twitching.
A floating class minnow is ideally suited to these requirements. It will make it easy to fish promising places, as well as use bait with several tees among last year’s vegetation.
Summer
Summer time is one of the most unproductive times for pike fishing. The shallow water is overgrown with grass, fry are swarming everywhere, then aquatic vegetation begins to bloom, at which time the predator is not particularly active.
Of course, now that there are many variations of baits, fishing efficiency can be increased significantly. However, you still can’t argue with the fact that it’s much more difficult to catch pike in the summer.
It is recommended to use a wide range of baits with different behavior under water.
Twitching wobblers are especially good for active pike
Autumn
Autumn is the best period for catching pike with minnow wobblers; it is time to catch trophy predators. Before frost, the predator actively feeds, which means going fishing at such a moment guarantees an excellent catch and colorful emotions.
It is worth giving preference to floating or neutral models in cool shades. At this time, the pike actively rushes to a moderate retrieve with quick jerks and short pauses.
It is necessary to take into account the speed of ascent of the bait, feel the duration of stops and use floating models when fishing close to vegetation.
Lures for deep pike
Any artificial bait can be used, but it must be large in size. Deep pike attack bait that swims into its territory indiscriminately, so it doesn’t matter whether it’s silicone, twister or wobbler, the most important thing is to find the pike’s parking spot. The bait must be attached to the main line through a tungsten or steel leash. It is necessary to use a leash, but it happens that even it does not save you from pike teeth. In some cases, you can use two leashes at once, but this installation is mainly used when catching deep-sea pike over 15 kilograms. The pike attacks the bait with lightning speed. The attack begins from the head, followed by a sharp turn and movement to the side, resulting in a powerful blow. Pike, especially deep ones, are very strong, so it is best to use monofilament with a diameter of at least 0.4 mm as a fishing line.
When do minnows show the best results?
Minnow wobblers are most effective from late spring to the very end of autumn. In other words, they are quite effective throughout the open water season.
Other types of wobblers have a pronounced seasonality, but this is not typical for minnows.
In autumn and spring, minus class baits will show maximum effectiveness. The main thing to consider is one factor - the water should be relatively shallow (up to 3-4 meters) and there should be an active predator present in it.
Shallow water fishing
In warm seasons, most pike prefer to live in shallow water, where there is a lot of food. The pike ambushes and attacks the fry. Large shallow waters on large reservoirs, shallow bays and rivers are excellent places for hunting for predators using minnow wobblers.
Any reservoirs contain last year's dead grass until the beginning of May, and then become overgrown with new aquatic vegetation. Therefore, you need to work the top layer of clean water, where you can place the bait with a pair of tees without any problems.
How to choose the best minnow wobblers for pike fishing, shallow for shallow water and deep for holes:
The depth may occasionally change, which means a wobbler is suitable for these purposes, the depth of which can be quickly adjusted. The universal floating wobbler minnow is ideal for these purposes.
Jackall Mag Squad is one of the best minnows for shallow and medium depths when fishing for pike
Fishing for deep (bottom) pike
Experienced fishermen know that pike are divided into two types - grass (shallow) and deep (bottom). Thus, grasshoppers are young individuals weighing up to three to four kilograms; they live mainly in coastal accumulations of reeds and algae thickets. As the grass grows older, it moves deeper (when the water body allows this), since the food supply there is richer and larger in quantity. In turn, deep-water pikes are significantly larger (approximately ten to fifteen kilograms each) and despite the fact that they bite less, and not every bite can end successfully, “hunting” for them is much more fun. As a result, the current article concerns catching large, deep-water pike.
In appearance, these monsters are similar to a crocodile. Just imagine, a long (about a meter) dark green body with a large head and an elongated mouth full of teeth. When you have caught zander or perch at least once, you definitely remember the adrenaline from their strikes. Now just imagine fighting such a creature! The excitement is off the charts. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that it is worth catching large pikes in dark and muddy places, from three to ten meters deep.
Let's talk about where the deep-sea pike lives. First of all, it’s worth checking the upper channel of the river; it is in such places that fishing will be the most effective. When there is no such body of water nearby, then turn to large lakes and bays. The most promising places for catching our monster are considered to be large snags located at a considerable depth. If you notice, for example, a log at a depth of five to ten meters, you can say with ninety percent confidence that a pike is lying nearby. In addition, the more intimidating this place looks, the muddier and darker it is, the greater the likelihood of finding a toothy predator there. When fishing, you should use different types of retrieves; you can start with a regular uniform retrieve, then move on to a stepped retrieve. The site should be studied from all corners. When there is a dredge in a bay or lake, this is the main motive in favor of opening fishing in this place. It is worth fishing in areas near the base of the dredger, very often, nearby you can find large piles of garbage - sticks, barrels, building materials, etc. At night, deep-sea pike prefer to go into underwater edges and riffles. Large, deep-sea rocks arranged in a cascade may also be a promising area. And of course, it’s worth exploring various kinds of holes and snags.
The pike is a very wild and bloodthirsty representative, it rushes to the prey as soon as it sees it, and does this with great speed and aggressiveness. This fact should be taken into account when choosing gear.
In general, you need to choose a rod with a rigid action, such as light; you can choose an even heavier one. Regarding the reel, we only take an expensive power reel, of high quality, with a very massive clutch. When there is a pike at a fishing spot, it will definitely rush to our bait, so there are basically no restrictions here. You can use a wobbler, twister, toad or fish. A big pike can break through any thickness of fishing line! So, as the main fishing line we use a cord or high-quality monofilament 0.4 - 0.6 millimeters. The bait is attached using a tungsten leash, with a length of about 40-45 centimeters.
Twitching tackle
The main part of competent assembly of tackle is the correctly selected fishing rod. For twitching, it is necessary to choose a rod with minimal weight, rigid and with an overestimated test by 15 percent of the mass of the intended minnows, due to their tenacity during twitching.
When choosing a reel, you should also pay attention to its weight and the overall balance of the assembly.
For any spinning rod, the balance between the blank and the reel is important.
Both multiplier and spinning reels are suitable for twitching.
A thin braided line with a break within 10 kilograms will be an ideal option for twitching.
Tips and secrets
Summer time is one of the least efficient times of the year. Especially if the fishing process occurs at noon. Usually there is nothing to do fishing at this time.
A huge mistake would be going to a pond without information about the weather forecast. Catching good prey during sharp fluctuations in atmospheric pressure, temperature fluctuations and changes in wind movement will not be easy.
Pike can be found on the bottom if there are no visible shelters in the form of algae or other aquatic vegetation.
The floating type of minnow is the choice of an experienced spinning fisherman for small fish. Such a wobbler can hover in the water for 10 seconds and slowly float up, thereby provoking even the most passive pike.
Wobblers for pike - a wide range of models
Brightly colored wobblers should be used in the early morning or evening, in the shade or in cloudy weather, in muddy water or at depth.
