vendace
- freshwater fish from the Salmon family. Varieties of vendace: European, Siberian and coregonus albula, which in our country is also known as the “Pereslavl herring”, although it has absolutely nothing to do with herrings, except that it is somewhat similar in appearance.
The size of vendace is 13-20 centimeters. Particularly large individuals can reach 35 centimeters in length. The shape of vendace resembles a herring, its body is somewhat compressed on the sides, the upper jaw is shorter than the lower jaw, and there is a notch on the lower jaw. The body of the fish is covered with large scales, the sides are silvery, the back is gray-blue, and the belly is white. The fins of the fish are white, except for the dorsal and caudal fin, which are gray.
Appearance and varieties
European vendace
Vendace as a species of the whitefish genus has subspecies:
- European vendace
. The Pereslavl species is distinguished separately, but in fact it belongs to the European subspecies; - Siberian vendace
; - Belomorskaya
.
European vendace
popularly known as kilets, or ripus. The average size of this fish is from 13 to 20 centimeters, but the maximum recorded length of its body was 35 centimeters and weighed about 1000 grams. The body shape of the fish resembles a herring: it is flattened on the sides, and there is a notch on the lower jaw. The lower jaw also extends beyond the upper. The scales are quite large, but 91–96 scales fit in a row on the lateral line. The back is painted blue with a gray tint, the belly is white, the caudal and dorsal fins are gray, the remaining fins are painted white or another color close to white.
The vendace, which lives within Siberia, has a similar appearance. Even its dimensions remain the same: vendace grows up to 35 centimeters, and its weight does not exceed 1 kilogram. This type of fish lives up to 12 or 15 years. And it reaches reproductive age at 6 years, when body weight reaches 200 grams.
White Sea vendace has the smallest size: it is no more than 25 centimeters in length and weighs no more than 300 grams. The bulk of the fish is about 16–17 centimeters in length and 50 grams in weight. If it lives in a lake, then the size of the vendace becomes even smaller. The body of the White Sea vendace is narrow, the back is flatter, and the belly is convex. The body color is the same as that of other species of vendace, with the exception of the fins, which are painted white, and only their tip is blackish. The fish's mouth is facing upward.
How do you catch vendace?
Vendace has a slender herring-like body. It has a relatively small cone-shaped head and a sharp snout. The scales of vendace are larger than those of salmon. In addition, she has large, beautifully shaped eyes. The vertical section of the narrow mouth is directed upward along the oblique. Her lower jaw protrudes slightly forward. The color of the vendace's back can be dark, gray, blue or greenish with a tint. The side and belly are silvery. You can't help but notice her fins. Their contours seem to be outlined with a marker. The average length of the fish caught is from 15 to 30 cm. Occasionally, individuals up to 45 cm are found.
The natural habitat of vendace is quite extensive. It lives in England, Scotland, and southeastern Norway. In Russia, this fish is found in its northwestern part (Baltic, Upper Volga, etc.). Thanks to recent acclimatization, it can now be found in southern Russia, as well as in Bavaria and France. In the lakes of Sweden and northern Russia, up to Siberia, a closely related species of vendace, C. baunti, is widespread.
The fish that live in lakes live in schools. The basis of its diet is practically limited to cladocerans and small cyclops. To lay eggs during the spawning period, she tries to find a sloping shore with a sandy or pebble bottom. In the Baltic countries, vendace is considered an anadromous fish. Here, during the spawning period, which runs from September to early December, it rises upstream of rivers flowing into lakes, where it simply attaches its sticky eggs to pebbles and stones lying at the bottom.
Here it can be found without any problems on extensive pebble shallows, at depths of 2 to 4 meters. You should not look for fish in the rapids. She doesn't love her. For the most part, flocks of vendace are found in areas where the river current twists or simply significantly loses its speed.
The vendace fishing season begins at the end of winter, after the last ice. During winter fishing, the best bait for catching it is a chironomid larva. As artificial baits, the most catchy ones are considered to be: from light jigs - “cone”, from ordinary ones - “droplet” and “diamond”. The latter is tied with red or brown woolen thread, and the hook is baited with bloodworms or a piece of fresh white fish.
Of the spinners, the most catchy are the vertical, oblong models, equipped with double or triple hooks attached to the winding ring. Their maximum dimensions should not exceed 70 by 10 mm. The bait used is bloodworms, as well as a piece of worm or fresh white fish. During fishing, the spoon is sharply raised by 40-50 cm, each time holding the bait for 3-5 seconds.
Used for catching vendace and bait. To do this, a special feeder is filled to capacity with crushed meat of mollusks or various crustaceans.
When it comes to summer gear for catching vendace, a lightweight 4.5-meter telescopic rod equipped with a spinning reel is used. The use of sliding equipment will make it possible to make long casts. Of the hooks, No. 4, which has a long shank, is most suitable.
The vendace bite is characterized by sharpness. It is very reminiscent of the rudd bite. The float or nod first begins to tremble slightly, after which it sharply goes under the water.
Fishing for caught fish does not cause any difficulties. The main task in this case is not to scare away the gathered flock.
Happy fishing!
Distribution and habitats
Pereslavl vendace
The European species of vendace lives mainly in lakes, but it is often found in rivers, as well as in the bays of the Baltic and the sea: in the Finnish and Bothnian. Vendace loves to stay on a clay or sandy bottom and avoids warm water. You can meet it in Finland and in the northern regions of Russia, Denmark, Scandinavia, Scotland, Germany, Belarus and Lithuania. The Pereslavl species is found exclusively in Lake Pleshcheyevo.
Pereslavl vendace
lives in the only lake called Pleshcheyevo. It is located in the southern region of the Yaroslavl region: this vendace is cold-loving, since it ceases to feel comfortable already at a water temperature of +16...+17 degrees Celsius. Due to anthropogenic impact, vendace in Lake Pleshcheyevo is observed only at certain horizons that meet the requirements regarding water temperature and its oxygen saturation. You can find it at a depth of 10–25 meters, but with sunset it is found higher. Recently, individuals in the lake began to grow very slowly, and their average life expectancy decreased by 2 years.
Siberian vendace
lives in the Laptev Sea basin. This vendace is considered a typical migratory fish that can live in very salty water, but during the spawning season it rises into rivers. The White Sea species is found in sea basins belonging to the Arctic Ocean. Such vendace is popularly called herring, or Zelda.
What kind of fish is vendace?
Of the entire large salmon family, which includes whitefishes, the ray-finned fish vendace is most similar to herring. Therefore, in some places it is mistakenly called herring (for example, large specimens are found in Lake Pleshcheyevo and have the popular name “Pereslavl herring”). The official names recorded in encyclopedias are vendace, kilets, ripus, and the Latin name is Coregonus albula. There is also a North American species, Coregonus artedii, and an Arctic species, Coregonus autumnalis.
Appearance
The neat body of the ripus is covered with shiny scales. Ripus are mobile and gather in large schools, so it is easy to determine the path of movement by the characteristic shine of the silver flock. Fishing boats are advised of “fishy” spots by seagulls that flock to the bays when a school of ripus appears at the surface of the water.
Although the average size of each fish does not exceed 20 cm and 80-100 g, in some reservoirs it is possible to catch relatively large specimens. It is believed that growth rate is influenced by the composition and abundance of food. For example, in many reservoirs there are fish that are quite small in size, but in Russia there are Lakes Ladoga and Onega, where animals stay at a depth of about 15 m, feed on bottom crustaceans and grow up to 40 cm, and weigh 800-1200 g.
The body of the vendace is flattened, the sides are silvery, and the belly is white. The tail and dorsal fin are gray, and the remaining fins are white. The fish's mouth is small, with the lower jaw protruding forward and upward and longer than the upper.
Spawns in late autumn; the female lays about 4,000 eggs, which mature at the bottom of the reservoir for 160 days.
Habitat: is it a sea or river fish?
Vendace is a cold-loving freshwater fish. Prefers bodies of water located up to 69° N. sh., with a muddy bottom, in which the water temperature is not higher than +16...+17°C. There are such lakes in Scandinavia, Scotland, Germany and other countries. White Sea and European vendace lives in lakes of the Russian north (Baltic, Karelia), in the basins of the Baltic, Barents and White seas. Since vendace fish is also found in the brackish waters of the bays of the Baltic Sea (it enters rivers for spawning), it can also be considered that it is both river and sea.
The southern border of the ripus distribution area is the lakes of the Upper Volga - Beloe, Vselug, Seliger.
Siberian vendace (Yenisei, Lena) lives in rivers and desalinated bays of the Arctic Ocean basin from the White Sea to Alaska.
Where is it found?
Diet and lifestyle
White Sea vendace
European and Siberian vendace feed on small crustacean organisms such as cyclops and daphnia. To hunt them, ripus comes out in schools to shallow depths. The White Sea vendace uses not only zooplankton for food, but also small insects. The larvae of these same insects are also eaten.
All individuals, with the exception of those from Pereslavl, become sexually mature at approximately 6 years of age. The Pereslavl vendace acquires reproductive functions at the age of two or three. The spawning period is very short, and it begins at the end of autumn, and sometimes ends in winter. The female lays yellow eggs on the sandy or muddy bottom. Its fertility is approximately 7–18 thousand eggs with a diameter of 1.5 millimeters.
Lifestyle and spawning
Vendace is found mainly in lakes, less often found in rivers, but is also caught in the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea. It prefers a clean sandy or clay bottom and stays in lakes mainly at depth, avoiding very warm water.
The food of vendace consists mainly of small crustaceans (daphnia, cyclops, etc.), for which vendace often comes out in schools to shallow depths. Spawning occurs in late autumn and early winter: in lakes Peipus and Pleshcheyevo from mid-November to mid-December, in northern lakes - earlier (from September).
The way of life of vendace is not much different from other fish of the whitefish family. The vendace can be described as a peaceful fish that prefers a school life. The fish feeds on animal food and tends to move around the water area in search of food. Fish growth is slow. It reaches sexual maturity only at 6 years of age. The exception in this case is the Pereyaslovskaya variety; its reproduction process occurs already by 2-3 years.
Vendace spawning begins in late autumn. It does not last long and goes away within two weeks. Depending on the year, the end of spawning may occur in early winter. To reproduce, the fish gather in large schools and settle in shallow areas in places where the bottom is sandy or muddy, preferring underwater hills, slopes and dumps.
Vendace spawns at night. In one approach, the female, depending on her body weight, is capable of laying from 7 to 15 thousand eggs, measuring about one and a half millimeters in diameter. Hatching occurs in the spring. A significant part of the eggs is eaten by ruffes, perches and other inhabitants of local reservoirs.
It also happens: How to catch mugs
Benefits and properties
Vendace meat, despite the fact that it is a freshwater fish, contains a fairly large number of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. However, in the meat of this fish they disintegrate too quickly, which is the reason for the relatively rapid spoilage of this fish; vendace remains fresh, even if stored in ice, for no more than a day. This quality was the reason to make vendace from Lake Pleshcheevo in Pereslavl-Zalessky a royal dish, because during transportation to Moscow it should not have lost its freshness and the characteristic aroma of a fresh cucumber.
Indeed, in the 15th-17th centuries, vendace was exclusively royal food, which was even part of the coronation ritual for the Moscow principality and the kingdom. The choice of the princes was based on the fact that the nutritional properties of vendace provided adequate nutrition not only to the heart and muscles, but also to the brain.
For long-term storage or long-distance transportation, vendace is subjected to a deep-freezing procedure, due to which, if the freezing technology is followed, all its beneficial qualities are preserved for a long time. The combination of elements such as magnesium and histidine ensures that vendace meat stimulates the functioning of the immune and nervous systems of the human body.
The small size is compensated by the fact that vendace has very few bones - no more than 9%. All the beneficial properties of vendace are preserved even when it is smoked and salted.
What and how to cook from vendace
Vendace meat is tender and very tasty, especially when fried, pickled and smoked. In cooking, vendace is generally considered a universal fish.
Vendace meat has low calorie content, which is very beneficial for the human body. It contains a lot of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and microelements, a lot of magnesium, which is so useful for the normal functioning of the human nervous system.
There are a great many recipes for preparing fish dishes from vendace. Without straying far from fishing customs, I want to offer you another fish soup recipe.
Fishing for vendace
Siberian vendace
In summer, vendace is caught from a boat and from the shore. From the shore - with a bottom tackle, fly rod or Bolognese rod, and from a boat - with an onboard fishing rod equipped with a nod. Float tackle is not the best way to purposefully catch these fish, which are caught by chance.
The most interesting is winter fishing. From the ice, vendace is caught using a garland, a jig and a hook. The nod is given firmly. Fishing takes place at a depth of more than 20 m, so in windy weather there is nothing to do on the ice without a tent. Where vendace is found, locals set up houses on the pond and fish comfortably.
Interesting information
Vendace, which is found in Lake Pleshcheyevo, was not only part of the coronation dinner, but was also included in the Lenten menu of the royal persons. Large and fatty fish from this lake, which was also called (“Pereslavl herring”), in the 16th century, according to the tsar’s decree, could not be caught or, moreover, sold; for such an offense, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, concerned about the state of vendace stocks, threatened the fishermen with the death penalty to the elders.
Smoked vendace is featured on the official coat of arms of the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky.
And in Finland, at every street festival you can see how the Finns’ favorite fish, vendace, is cooked in a huge frying pan, after having rolled it in rye flour. Vendace is fried in Finnish rep oil, making sure to add butter during the cooking process.
