For hunting rudd, the fisherman’s knowledge of what role aquatic plants play in the life of this fish and what level of the reservoir the fish are at at different times of the year is of great importance.
From this article you can find out whether the rudd is a predatory fish, how to cook it after catching it, and why its meat is not very valued by chefs. In addition, you will learn the individual characteristics of this fish, thanks to which you can easily distinguish it from other representatives of cyprinids.
Rudd fish: description
She prefers to live in warm bodies of water. In most cases, its size does not exceed 35 cm and weighs about a kilogram. The corners of its mouth are directed upward, which suggests that this fish is accustomed to feeding from the surface of reservoirs. The dorsal fin is located significantly further than the ventral fins. In addition, despite its external similarity to roach, rudd has much less mucus.
Rudd is a fish whose photo allows one to judge its visual similarity to roach. However, it has a number of individual characteristics that make it possible to distinguish it from other representatives of cyprinids. First of all, this concerns its eyes, which are a rich yellow color, while most other fish have eyes that have an orange-red tint.
When fishing, most people are interested in what the rudd fish looks like, because depending on the habitat, the color of its scales can be different:
- silvery shades - thanks to them the visual resemblance to roach is enhanced;
- The yellow-green colors make the rudd look similar to other cyprinid species.
The first species lives in large bodies of water, while the second prefers to live in ponds and in close proximity to river vegetation. Such differences in color are directly related to the habitat of the rudd, because any fish that prefers not to swim into the light and sticks to the bottom will be pale in color.
Rudd and roach - differences
Very often, our today's heroine, the rudd, is confused with another fish - roach, and for good reason, because they are very similar in appearance. But, nevertheless, there are significant differences between them. Next we will tell you how roach differs from rudd.
In the photo above is a rudd, below is a roach.
Individual characteristics
The rudd is a fairly beautiful fish, but not very proportional in appearance. Its sides are quite strongly flattened, making it resemble a bream rather than a roach.
The main distinguishing feature is the fins of a rich red hue. The only exception is the dorsal fin, which can be yellow or bright orange. This fish prefers to live in reservoirs with calm currents. It is noteworthy that the rudd, a fish that has its own ecological niche and always tries to hide among algae and reeds, spends most of its life in the middle or upper layers of reservoirs.
Due to its unpretentiousness in choosing food, this fish is one of the most common. It feeds mainly on plankton and various underwater plants.
The weight of adult individuals rarely reaches a kilogram, but in some cases individual fish can weigh several kilograms. First of all, this is due to the peculiarities of its development. It is noteworthy that at three years the fish weighs approximately 30 grams. At 5 years old - 60 grams, at seven years old - from 100 grams, and at 9 years old - up to 500 grams. Moreover, its lifespan is approximately a quarter of a century. Sexual maturity occurs in the third year of life.
Features of spawning
In the southern regions, spawning occurs in mid-spring, and in the northern regions in May-June. It begins as soon as the water warms up to 10-18 degrees. That is why in some reservoirs the rudd swims to spawn at different times. She does not swim far from her permanent place of residence, trying to spawn in the nearest water sources. Spawning takes place near the shore, in shallow waters and at river mouths.
Rudd is a fish that often attaches eggs to the remains of last year's algae. In rivers it often piles it on rocky ground. Before spawning begins, the color of its scales becomes much richer. Males have special bumps on their fins. During this period, the fish are more friendly and flock together.
Spawning
When the water warms up to a temperature of 14 degrees, the rudd begins spawning. She chooses the same places as spawning grounds where she spends most of her life. Eggs are deposited on the stems and leaves of aquatic plants. During spawning, it behaves very calmly, only occasionally you can see small splashes created by the spawning rudd.
The amount of eggs laid depends on the size of the fish. As a rule, individuals approximately 20 centimeters long produce about 50 thousand eggs. The rudd reaches sexual maturity at the age of three to four years. It grows very slowly. One-year-old fry have a body length equal to three centimeters. By the age of three, their length becomes about 20 centimeters. Even adult individuals are not particularly large in size; for example, in fishermen’s catches one can rarely find individuals weighing more than 600 grams.
Nutrition
The river rudd fish feeds throughout the year, but is most active in search of food when it gets warm (July-August). The grown young fish prefers to eat crustaceans, algae and insects, which it has no difficulty in catching.
The diet of adult fish largely depends on where it lives, because in some reservoirs vegetation predominates, while in others crustaceans predominate. In the first case, she has to eat algae, and in the second, live food.
Where to fish?
Rudd is a fish that forms small schools in the warm season. In lakes it stays close to the shore, trying to hide near plants. In calm, windless weather, it moves far from the shore, hunting in the upper layers of water for various insects.
If there is not enough vegetation in the lake, it is found far from the shore on rock or sandbanks. In such places it tries to stay near the bottom, rising to the surface only before noon.
If the river flows quickly and there is little vegetation, it will try to catch all living organisms. In this case, it can be seen at a shallow depth. Typically, rudd prefers to live in rivers with a sandy or rocky bottom.
Catching this fish is quite difficult because it always hides near plants. Moreover, large adult fish are already so experienced that they almost never leave their shelter.
Thus, we can conclude that this is a very smart fish, which rises to the surface of reservoirs in the summer, sometimes making a lot of noise. This is the game of fish, which for any angler should be a signal that it is rudd that is found in this reservoir.
Benefits of rudd
Healthy rudd, when consumed regularly, not only pleases with its pleasant taste, but also has a beneficial effect on the body. In particular, freshwater fish:
- strengthens the cardiovascular system and protects against the development of heart attacks and strokes;
- helps maintain skin elasticity and maintains healthy mucous membranes;
- regulates metabolic processes and improves the functioning of the stomach and intestines;
- has a positive effect on bones and joints, prevents the development of arthrosis and osteoporosis;
- protects teeth from caries and strengthens enamel;
- regulates water and acid-base balance in the body;
- helps maintain healthy body weight due to its high amino acid content;
- promotes the removal of waste and toxins from tissues;
- relieves constipation and improves the condition of a tendency to diarrhea;
- responsible for the normal functioning of the liver and pancreas.
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Eating rudd is useful if you have a tendency to edema and frequent surges in blood pressure. Fish removes excess fluid from the body, strengthens blood vessels and prevents the development of atherosclerosis. Rudd has a beneficial effect on the nervous system - when included in a regular diet, it helps fight stress and tension.
The calcium and phosphorus in rudd are especially beneficial for older people suffering from brittle bones.
Bait
Most people going fishing are interested in two main questions: what to use to catch rudd fish and why the catch is not always successful? At the first sign of the onset of frost, it forms schools and tries to stay near the bottom. If during this period you do not throw the bait deep enough, it simply will not notice it.
For fishing, use bait, focusing mainly on the type of reservoir. The easiest way to catch fish is using insect larvae. It is worth noting that in warm regions, the best results are shown mainly by vegetable baits. In cold regions, it is better to use small worms and fly larvae as bait.
The rudd completely ignores earthworms if they are attached to a hook as a whole, but greedily swallows their individual parts. You just need to cover the hook with a piece of a worm - and successful fishing is guaranteed. Another good bait is caddis flies and snails collected along the river bank.
It is noteworthy that the location of the fisherman in the reservoir (ideal for fishing) is chosen only after inspecting the river and determining the nature of its flow.
Lure
If you want to preliminarily feed rudd, you should prepare it with such a consistency that it stays in the upper and middle layers of the reservoir for as long as possible, and does not fall to the bottom.
If you choose bread as complementary food, buy wheat bread and wait until it gets a little stale. The ideal mixture for attracting fish is soaked bread mixed with chopped bran or breadcrumbs. Small balls are made from the prepared mixture, into which maggots, parts of snails, dung worms, corn, small grasshoppers and other living creatures that live around the reservoir are added.
Description
The rudd
has a fairly tall body, covered with small but tightly fitting scales. The head makes up a small part of the whole body, the mouth is located in its upper part. The back is dark brown with a slightly greenish tint, the sides are slightly golden with a yellowish tint, and the belly is almost white. The fins located on the back and abdomen are gray with reddish tints, while the anal and caudal fins are bright red, which is what gave the fish its name.
Drawing of a rudd.
Fishing gear
The fishing technology is quite simple. In waters with calm and moderate currents, it is better to use a fishing rod with a float. This will keep the bait on the surface. The depth to which the bait should be lowered largely depends on both the characteristics of the reservoir and the bait you use before fishing.
In the first half of the day, if the weather is calm, the rudd remains at the bottom, and towards noon it swims straight to the surface. If there are a lot of insects above the water, the rudd will watch for them on the surface of the water at any time of the day. In spring it stays much closer to the bottom.
A rod with a light, thin and flexible tip would be ideal for fishing. Its length largely depends on the characteristics of fishing, but it should not exceed 3-4 meters. It is rational to use a reel only for long casts when catching large fish.
In some cases, it is caught on the bottom hook. The sinker is positioned so that the bait does not touch the bottom.
How to catch rudd (fishing technique)
The rudd is extremely cautious and timid. The fisherman must follow all possible camouflage methods: wear dark, preferably camouflage, clothing, hide behind bushes, do not make unnecessary sudden movements, and most importantly, do not make noise or talk loudly. If possible, prepare the fishing area in advance, remove interfering plants and snags.
When fishing with a float rod, you must start by casting bait to a depth of 30-40 cm, and then, if there is no bite, fish the bottom and surface areas.
If necessary, use bait:
- One effective fishing technique is to cast bait onto a lily pad. After waiting a few seconds, you need to carefully pull the bait into the water. This will allow you to not create any noise and catch fairly large fish.
- You can use a slow-sinking float technique that allows the bait to travel from the surface to the bottom. To do this, it is necessary to attach an additional sinker under the float itself, which will disrupt its buoyancy.
- For fishing near the surface, you can use a water-filled float, which also serves as a sinker. In this case, the bait will lie on the water; insects and bread are best suited for this.
Fishing methods
Rudd is a fish (photo below) that is extremely intelligent.
For catching it, a floating bait is ideal, which should be slowly submerged to the very bottom and removed from the water in the same way. If the depth of the reservoir where you are fishing is no more than three meters, it is better to use a movable float. At the same time, she will eat the bait only after she is convinced that it does not pose a threat to her.
It is worth considering that the bite will be much more intense if the rudd living in the reservoir of your choice have grown to 20 cm in length.
If the fish reacts to the bait, the float will sharply go under the water and immediately move to the side. In this case, a large rudd will first make several test twitches, and only after making sure that it does not pose a danger to its life will it grab the bait. In addition, keep in mind that when the bait is slowly moved under water, even the bream living nearby can react to it.
The hook should be quick and short. This is due to the fact that the lips of a rudd are quite delicate, and if you do not have time to remove it from the water, it may simply jump off the hook. In addition, this fish puts a lot of effort into freeing itself.
Lures
My favorite bait for catching large rudd is canned corn. Yellow grains have an unusually attractive power. If the fish are too timid to bite, I put one or two corn kernels on a No. 8 hook. To make the corn sink more slowly, I add a good-swimming artificial pollen from Drennan to the hook. At the same time, I make sure that the artificial maggot is different in color from the corn. The bright red color has proven itself well. The more artificial maggots there are, the slower the bait falls.
The combination of red corn with strawberry flavor (from Pescaviva) and yellow maggots also worked well. Another bait I trust when catching rudd is breadcrumb pieces. The bread crumb is unsurpassed on ponds where passers-by constantly feed the ducks. There is enough bread left for the fish, and they have become accustomed to this extra food.
Catching baits
Since rudd are fish that readily take food from the surface, they can be caught using drifting bread crumbs. It is best to throw a few pieces of bread crumb into the water before fishing while walking along the shore of the reservoir to see if the rudd are interested in the bait.
If you are interested, use a hook with an attachment made from a piece of bread crumb. A carp controller serves as a casting weight. Rudds swallow midges and other insects from the water surface. Therefore, it would be good to try to catch these “gold bars” with grasshoppers. A water ball will provide the necessary mass for casting here.
Floating baits
When fishing for rudd, the bait should sink very slowly. Therefore, it should be given a little buoyancy. This is best done using artificial maggots, artificial bread and foam rubber. You will need a buoyant body that will allow the bait to float only slowly and balance the mass of the hook.
Critically balanced (balanced almost to neutral buoyancy) is what the British call this bait. So, the hook must sink as slowly as the portions of loose bait, otherwise the rudd will become suspicious. When it comes to making baits buoyant, your imagination knows no bounds. You can take a piece of foam from Ohropax earplugs, plastic maggot or caster (Balzer), a piece of artificial bread crumb (Enterprise Tackle) or foam rubber of various colors.
Most often, buoyancy is adjusted using scissors so that the bait really slowly sinks to the bottom. It is advisable to check in shallow coastal waters whether the desired effect is actually achieved. Floating bait near the float rarely brings bites.
How to cook rudd fish
Despite its beautiful appearance, lovers of delicacies will be greatly disappointed by the taste of rudd meat, which quite strongly tastes like mud. If cooked incorrectly, its bitterness is felt much stronger than that of roach.
This fish must be soaked in milk for several hours, only after that it can be used for preparing various dishes. In addition, rudd is a bony fish. She has an extremely large number of intercostal bones, so thin that their appearance resembles human hair. When eating the meat of this fish, you should be extremely careful, because the small bones are quite easy to choke on. That is why its meat has no special value. The best thing that can be prepared from it is cutlets, for which it must be thoroughly cleaned and washed. When subsequently chopping into mince, small bones are easy to see and remove.
In stores, rudd is most often dried or salted fish, because such preparation requires a minimum amount of time and effort to process it. In addition, large specimens can be smoked hot or cold directly while fishing.
