Summer vertical trolling for pike from a boat

Sheer luster technique

Experienced fishermen recommend the following techniques for vertical trolling - playing with a spoon:

1. It is necessary to lower the spoon to the bottom and secure the fishing line. Start gradually lifting the spoon from the bottom by 25-40 cm, then sharply immerse it by 20-35 cm. After 8-10 repetitions, if no bites are felt, then we move on to standard lures. We move the spinner smoothly up and down and pause for 3-4 seconds. We perform about 20 repetitions. If there are no bites, then they drill a new hole 10-15 meters from the old one.
2. Teasing the fish with short sharp jerks, after which the spoon is lowered to the bottom. After 2-3 seconds, light twitching of the spinner begins. Then they sharply lift the spoon 25-35 centimeters from the bottom and plunge it sharply. The cycle is repeated 10-15 times.
3. In shallow water (up to 2 meters) on hard rock, the so-called “dragging” is performed. Having lowered the spoon to the bottom and moved it a little, the tip of the rod moves to the opposite edge of the hole and twitches again. Then everything is done as in the second method. To determine the horizon in which the fish is standing, perform the usual trolling, each time pulling the line 40 centimeters. Repeat 5-8 times.

Techniques and tactics of vertical fishing

The methods of placing bait in a vertical lure are no different from winter techniques. Having “found” the bottom, the bait is lifted and pulled from this level with a sharp and short jerk if fishing occurs at great depths. On spits and shallow waters, the rise of the bait should be smooth. Sometimes a pause is crucial, which is about 5-8 seconds.

Typically, vertical fishing occurs while a boat is rafting down a river or downwind on a large reservoir. And the wind speed often does not allow the bait to play stably and optimally. To reduce the drift speed, a floating anchor is used, which is a cone or square made of durable fabric with or without a frame. This “anchor” is released from the boat 7-10 meters on a strong cable and always keeps the boat with its nose to the wave and reduces its speed to almost zero. Read more about floating anchor here.

Features of winter plumb glitter

Lure fishing in winter often requires the angler to move extensively across a body of water in search of a school of fattening fish. It is impossible to accurately indicate the best depths for fishing with a spinner, but most often at the beginning and end of winter the most suitable depths are from 2.5 to 5 m, and in the middle of winter - 6-7 m.

As mentioned above, they depend on fishing conditions:

• when fishing in still water, a relatively slow rate of lure is allowed and lighter lures are used;
• in the middle current the pace will be more accelerated, the movements of the spoon will be sharper, and the spoons themselves will be heavier, otherwise they will be carried and lifted by the current;
• In a strong current, you should not lure from the ice (the lure is carried away and lifted towards the ice), and an overly heavy lure will not give the necessary game.

Baiting techniques largely depend on the fishing period. So, on the first and last ice, hand movements can be more energetic, but in the middle of winter, when oxygen conditions deteriorate and the fish become lethargic, it is better to use slow and smooth movements. In reservoirs with poor oxygen conditions, trolling is generally possible only in the first days of freeze-up.

The length of the winter day is of great importance. In the middle of winter, the bite begins late, after full dawn, usually from 10 a.m., and then after a break it occurs again around 2-3 p.m.

To find an edge for trolling predatory fish in winter, you need to determine its intended direction and cut holes perpendicular to it, at intervals of 4-5 m, until the edge of the edge is exactly visible. It is advisable to mark the holes above it with poles in order to find them after a snowfall. It must be remembered that during the winter the feeding areas of predatory fish change, for example, pike is caught:

• at the beginning and end of winter - in shallow places;
• in the middle of winter - in deeper ones.

It should be taken into account that near the edge, a change in the depth in two adjacent holes, even by 0.5 m, matters. It may turn out that a hole with a depth of 3 m will give several bites, and a neighboring hole with a depth of 3.5 m will give none.

In regulated reservoirs, the bite is greatly influenced by a drop in water level, as a result of which fish move from shallow places to deeper ones. This usually affects the top of reservoirs most dramatically, where a drop in water of even 0.5 m causes fish to move. The bite of predatory fish usually occurs during low water hours and stops when it stops.

Knowing these features of the winter flashing of predatory fish, in an unfamiliar body of water, first of all, you need to find out the depth at which the predator has so far been successfully caught. By adhering to the explored depth, you can find the right fishing spot.

On sunny days, you should sit so that the angler’s shadow falls on the hole. If this cannot be done due to the wind, the hole must be covered with something, for example a plywood circle with a slot for the line, or dusted with snow. When fishing on sunny days in an open hole, it is better to keep the line at its edge, in a less lit part.

Features of bites during winter trolling:

• pike: in the form of a sharp jerk or a strong pull, depending on when the predator grabbed the spoon - when rising or lowering it;
• pike perch: often takes the lure at the moment of free immersion after rising, while the bite is often not felt at all;
• chub, ide, asp and salmon: fish are transmitted by a short and sharp push.

When landing a large fish, it is sometimes possible to get it into the hole on the first approach, while the fish is moving relatively calmly. If this fails, normal fishing begins. Moreover, in winter, fish get tired due to oxygen starvation faster than in summer. You just need to make sure that when fishing there are no sudden jerks or that the moderate tension of the line is weakened.

Read: Catching grayling with a fly

In the practice of lure fishing, it has been noticed that sometimes after several bites the bite in the hole being fished stops. In this case, you should immediately leave it and, stepping aside, cut down a fresh one. If there are no bites in 2-3 new holes, you should change your fishing location.

The above, however, does not apply to the tactics of catching pike on the last ice. If there were bites in the hole on the fish trail in the morning, then there will be bites later, you just need to wait for the right hour, otherwise you may miss the bite.

When fishing with a spoon, we must not forget that predatory fish come out to feed on the fry moving around the reservoir. Therefore, when looking for a place to catch predatory fish, you don’t need to chain yourself to one place only on the grounds that fish were caught well there yesterday.

From my experience and according to the article by Ya. Krasnoselsky

Spinner for vertical trolling from a boat

For vertical trolling, larger, heavier lures are taken from the boat, since fishing is often possible in stormy currents and great depths. The fishing rods used are medium hard, small spinning rods up to one and a half meters. The coils are installed simple, inertial. The color of the spinners is selected based on the weather and the transparency of the reservoir. If the water turns out to be cloudy, the depth is large, it is twilight or cloudy weather, then it is better to fish with a light spoon, otherwise a dark one will be more catchy.

Sometimes, when there is a strong current and a sufficiently deep depth, they make a tackle with a heavy sinker at the very end. Load up to 100 gr. it is attached tightly, and a diverting leash with a gliding or diving vertical spoon is installed. Here you can already place fairly small spinners with good results.

Sheer lure - features of a simple fishing method

At great depths in the absence of a current, vertical fishing can be a worthy competitor to such a popular method of fishing in the bottom layers as jig. Knowing the location of holes, channel edges and other deep-sea promising places (or using an echo sounder), you can quickly check such interesting places for the presence of an active predator. This method of fishing involves minimal movement of the bait in the horizontal plane, which means that vertical fishing is quite justified in snagged areas of the reservoir, as well as in places with abundant underwater vegetation. Also, many anglers are attracted by the low cost of gear - the simplest reels are suitable, and rods can even be made from broken spinning or feeder blanks.

The popularity of the fishing method is not least due to the low cost of gear - the requirements for a rod and reel are minimal. Short winter and side rods are excellent, and a wide variety of homemade products are often used - hard feeder quivertips; what is left of a broken spinning rod or other rod can, with minimal modification, be used for vertical lures. How to make a plumb line and what to make it from is a matter of personal preference, but you can always buy ready-made fishing rods. On some bodies of water, when fishing from the shore, long (from 6 meters) rods can be used, but in most cases, vertical lures involve fishing from a floating device. For small boats, fishing rods 60-80 cm long are suitable; more than a meter will cause inconvenience, although on a large boat, a 2-meter spinning rod may well be suitable for vertical fishing. It is also advisable to install a nod on the rod for better bite control, although this is not necessary.

Photo 1. Compact fishing rod for vertical fishing.

There are also quite a lot of suitable reels. Ideally, the best option would be a multiplier reel, since significant depths often contain worthy specimens, which will be much easier to catch with the help of a powerful multiplier. However, such devices are not cheap, and many fans of sheer trolling use inertial reels made in the USSR, as well as inexpensive spinning reels. It is highly desirable that the reel allows the use of braided lines.

In this type of fishing, the use of both monofilament and braided lines is allowed. However, the cord is still preferable, since the low stretchability of the braided line when trolling vertically provides two significant advantages:

1. The minimum stretchability of the braid allows you to maintain sufficient sensitivity of the gear even when fishing at great depths.
2. In addition to making it easier to control the bait, the braided cord, due to its low elongation, makes hooking more efficient and comfortable.

Also, do not forget about the greater tensile strength of the cords.

A wide variety of baits are used for fishing, however, these are primarily different variants of spinners. There are a large number of different models in use:

• Summer oscillating spoons.
• Almost all varieties of winter lures, including those with balancers (in fact, vertical lures are the same as winter fishing, only in open water).
• Offshore jigs.
• Tubular spoons and castmaster models.