Sopa fish: description, nutrition, habitat and interesting facts

What does Sopa fish look like? Description

The white-eye belongs to the carp family. In appearance it is similar to the freshwater fish bream. It is distinguished by a more elongated and flat body and a radiant long anal fin. Huge eyes with silver-white irises are located on a swollen, thick and blunt-shaped snout. Single-row pharyngeal teeth, long and dense gill rakers. The fish has a short dorsal fin, with three simple and nine branched rays, the upper lobe is shorter than the lower one. The body color is predominantly whitish-silver; on the dorsal part it is a darker shade with a bluish-lilac tint.

Of course, the sopa fish looks like a not very beautiful inhabitant of river spaces. However, its highlight lies in its large silver scales, which shimmer very colorfully under the sun’s rays. The scales fit tightly to each other. The fins are colored gray, and the tips on the dorsal and tail are black. Sopa lives for about 15 years, but they rarely live to that age. Sometimes you can find quite large specimens weighing up to 1.5 kg and about 50 cm long.

Description of the species

It is often confused with blue bream or bream, but upon proper examination you can see the differences:

The body is more elongated and relatively smaller in size than that of bream.
The snout is blunt, and not pointed, like that of the bluegill.
The white-eye has larger scales, while the bluegill, in its strongly laterally compressed body, has small scales.
The color of the Sopa fish is silvery, iridescent, darkening after catching, only the fins are grayish. The bluefish, judging by its name, has a bluish back and a yellowish belly and fins.
The difference between freshwater fish can be hidden even in a small detail - the white-eye differs from the silver bream in its more elongated anal fin, which extends almost to the caudal section.

In any photo you can see a pronounced sign of the white-eye fish - the silver-white iris of the large bulging eyes. Because of this feature (large eye size), its head appears relatively small. Her nose looks thickened, slightly protruded above her mouth and turned downward. Sapa, or klepets (outdated names) grow in length to a maximum of 46 cm. Their weight is up to one and a half kilograms. They live up to a maximum of 5-8 years.

Habitats

Where is the sopa fish found? She prefers fast-flowing rivers flowing into the Black and Caspian seas, river basins:

Ural;
Dnieper;
Don;
Kuban;
Dniester,
Vyatka;
Buga.

It is practically not found in the waters of the Lower Volga and Kama. The South Caspian white-eye can be observed off the coast of the Caspian Sea. For example, in the Saratov region this is a very well-known catch for professional fishermen. Despite its seemingly widespread distribution, it is still a rather rare species and its catch is mostly accidental when hunting blue bream and bream. Sopa fish looks like a small bream fish with a humpbacked and blunt snout. And the presence of huge bulging eyes was one of the reasons for the different names of this fish in different regions of the country: glazach, goggle-eyed. Almost every region calls it differently.

Lifestyle

Sopa is a river fish and very cautious. Young animals stay near the spawning grounds for a short period, and adults choose deep, more than three meters, clean areas of reservoirs with a fairly strong current.

They lead a sedentary lifestyle, living in small flocks, which become larger before winter. For the winter they go downstream, choosing deep depressions, and in early spring they return to the spawning grounds. In case of lack of oxygen, the white-eye tries to stay near the springs.

Catching white-eye (sopa) in January, February

If the white-eye population in the river is large, then before the freeze-up you can count on productive fishing. The main thing is to successfully determine the wintering site of the sop. Safe ice for fishing allows you to approach areas where fishing from the shore was unavailable during open water. To quickly move over long distances, you can use a snowmobile for fishing.

After identifying a promising area for fishing with sopa, it is necessary to maintain camouflage. Shoes must have soft soles. Excessive noise alarms the fish. Holes are drilled “with a reserve” - 10-12 pieces. After the ice crust appears, it is silently removed. Regardless of the fishing method, it is advisable to lower the bait into the holes made. Prepared winter bait for white-eye is unlikely to attract fish from other areas. Complementary feeding in winter is intended to keep a flock of white-eyes in the fishing area.

Reproduction

Sopa fish reaches sexual maturity at the age of 4–5 years, when it gains a body weight of 100–200 g and a length of about 20 cm. Male individuals mature a year faster. Before breeding and throughout this period, males develop a pearly white rash on the body and head. Sweeping occurs when the water temperature is not lower than 10 degrees in the floodplains of the rivers in the second half of April. Spawns simultaneously on the rocky clean bottom of the reservoir. The number of eggs varies among females of different age groups. In large individuals, weighing about 500 g and body length 27 cm, there are from 18 to 20 thousand eggs, in smaller ones - from 8 to 12 thousand, according to available data, relative fecundity ranges from 30 to 80 eggs per gram of body weight fish. The eggs are large, 1.7 mm in diameter.

Does Sopa feed on young fish?

The growth and nutrition of the clawfish varies throughout its life. The young grow quite quickly, adding up to 5 cm in length every year. At the age of three years, the white-eye weighs approximately 65 grams. After maturity, after reaching five years of age, growth slows down.

After spawning, the eyefish feeds intensively. The diet depends on the age of the fish. The fry prefer small-sized zooplankton floating in the water surface. Grown-up juveniles add amphipods and aquatic insects to their diet. At an older age, the fish feeds on crustaceans, bottom crustaceans, toothless crustaceans, and pearl barley. Sopa fish obtain food in the bottom layers and often swallow sand along with it.

Description of the sopa fish (white-eye), behavior and fishing methods

Sopa fish, or white-eye, is found in many rivers in the middle zone. However, many anglers, due to their very similar body structure, confuse this fish with other related species. The white-eye is very similar to blue bream, bream and silver bream. But there are anglers who prefer to catch this particular fish whenever possible. Despite the fact that outwardly sopa has a great resemblance to these fish, it is distinguished primarily by the taste of the meat - it is tender and fatty, but perishable after being removed from the water. Sopa soup also turns out to be very successful. Therefore, sometimes it is caught purposefully; this is quite possible if you know certain behavioral features of the fish (although bream will often be caught in the by-catch, and you still need to be able to distinguish it from the white-eye). Catching white-eye will be successful only with the use of gear suitable for fishing in currents.

The body shape of this representative of the carp family strongly resembles bream (as well as blue bream and silver bream). However, its body is somewhat smaller in height, more elongated and to a certain extent denser than that of the bream, and the white-eye is inferior in size to it. The head of the fish is thick, blunt (which distinguishes the sopa from the bluefish, which has a more pointed snout), with large eyes, the iris is painted silver-white, which gave rise to one of the names of this species. The scales are larger than those of the same blue bream and have a silvery shimmer, which can serve as another distinctive feature. The coloring is relatively uniform, silvery, the fins have a grayish color and darker edges. The body length and weight are relatively small - up to 35 centimeters and up to a kilogram, but more often fishermen come across individuals of more modest sizes.

These fish reach sexual maturity around the fourth or fifth year of life. To start spawning, the reservoir needs to warm up to about 10-12 degrees, which usually occurs closer to the second half of April or early May, depending on weather conditions. The white-eye spawns simultaneously, its eggs are larger than those of the same bream, and are swept onto the rocky bottom in areas of the reservoir with a pronounced current. A week or two after the end of spawning, the sopa feeds most actively, which means that this time will be the most promising for fishing.

Sopa is a fish with an average growth rate; the increase in body length in the first years can reach up to 5 centimeters per year, but later growth slows down significantly. The diet largely depends on the age of the fish. Sopa larvae, as well as fry, feed mainly on zooplankton floating in the water column, and as they increase in size, various aquatic insects and amphipods are added to the diet. This should be taken into account when choosing bait - the sop does not have many plant components in its diet, which is why it is better caught with worms or larvae.

White-eye fish is a typical inhabitant of rivers. She prefers reservoirs with a pronounced current, as well as a rocky bottom, and her lifestyle is bottom-dwelling. In this regard, it is extremely rare to catch a sopa on float gear (although this largely depends on the characteristics of a particular reservoir; if you can throw the equipment into the current using a Bolognese or match fishing rod, then you can quite count on catching a white-eye), if this happens, only during the post-spawning feast, when the white-eye may move away from its usual habitats in search of food.

Photo 1. Sopa spawning time.

It can be difficult to look for this fish in a reservoir; even if there is a lot of it in the river, it will be unevenly distributed. Sopa is often found behind sandy islands, along channel edges, and also at the border between fast and slower currents. The white-eye prefers a clean, rocky or sandy bottom, but it usually avoids muddy areas or areas overgrown with aquatic vegetation. With the onset of autumn, this fish, like many other species, gradually begins to slide into wintering pits.

Features of hunting white-eye

They catch sopa with a bottom bit. The fishing line is taken 0.2–0.3 mm, the hook is used in the size range from 4 to 6. The role of bait is performed by maggots, bivalve meat, and worms. It is very difficult to catch it, due to the fact that the white-eye feeds on animal and plant food. Nevertheless, this bait can easily attract representatives of the carp family, but not sopa. White-eye also lives far from the coast, at depth with strong currents - all this creates difficulties in catching. According to fishermen, sopa fish like dung and earthworms as bait. You can catch this fish on a long-cast bottom using a spinning rod with a spinning reel and a sinker of about 40 g. In addition, for a successful catch you need:

Spring flood.
The right place, namely, the bottom of the reservoir should be solid. Sopa is a careless fish, so a bite may occur when the bait is on the bottom.
Evening time.

Fishing in summer

The best time for biting sopa fish (its description is given above) is considered to be the period after spawning. For fishing, choose a deep place. Choose a fly or bottom bit; it is important to have sensitive tackle.

The thickness of the fishing line and the size of the hook must correspond to the parameters of the fish being caught. The size, weight and quantity of cargo are selected depending on the strength and depth of the current. The main thing is not to overdo it with bait. Due to the fact that the white-eye is not voracious, once it is full, it will simply leave and you will be left without a catch.

Fishing in winter. Interesting Facts

During this period, the amount of oxygen in the reservoir is important for the sop, so it actively moves towards the greatest oxygen saturation of the water expanses.

And one of the tasks facing fishermen is to find the place where the fish stopped. If such a place is found, a successful bite is guaranteed. If the bite suddenly stops, you should look for a new place, since the school of fish has moved up or downstream. During the fishing process, you should constantly monitor new movements of fish and follow them. There is no point in waiting for a catch in one place; the effectiveness will be practically zero. The success of winter fishing depends on how thoroughly the angler has familiarized himself with the features of the reservoir: what the bottom is, the topography, whether there are underwater keys, and other equally useful information for successful fishing. Basically, sopa fish (described above) are caught using a moving bait with a nod and a jig or a stationary bait with a float. The action of the jig should be smooth with a small range of motion without sudden twitching. When fishing with fixed gear, the float is sunk into the hole one centimeter below the water level.

This method of fishing is due to the fact that the fish’s bites are weak and barely noticeable, so if even a thin crust of ice forms, it will delay the float and the bites may simply not be seen. There are cases when fishermen, who did not observe a bite, pulled out the tackle to check the bait, and there was a sopa fish on the hook.

Catching Sop

Sopa belongs to the category of fish that are caught both in summer and winter. Therefore, white-eye fishing can last all year round. Given the random nature of her capture, few people go out to specifically hunt for her.

Choosing a place to catch sopa

Favorite habitats for flocks of Sopa are:

deep areas of the reservoir, it is there that they find the necessary food for food;
channel ditches;
bottom pits;
under the slopes at the lower edges;
rare, but you can find them near hydraulic structures and bridge piles.

The white-eye prefers reservoirs with a rocky or sandy bottom, where there are no strong thickets, and the optimal depth for its habitat is more than 3 meters.

At shallow depths, most often, the young generation of sop is found, feeding together with bream and silver bream. Successful catching of white-eye in winter can only happen if its wintering holes are discovered at the bottom of a ditch near the coastline.

Tackle

To catch sopa, given the characteristics of its habitat, there is no point in using float gear.

Here it is more advisable to use all kinds of bottom equipment:

ordinary donka;
elastic band;
snack;
feeder.

To equip the fishing rod and bottom tackle, use:

Bait

It is recommended to use bait of animal origin as bait. In the spring and autumn season, Sopa gives its preference to bloodworms, maggots, dung worms, as well as tasty sandwiches (various combinations of these baits).

For the summer period, it is better to focus on vegetable attachments: pearl barley, dough, mastyrka.

It should be remembered that regardless of the nature of the bait, it must sit securely on the hook. This is due to the unique ability of the sop to pull the bait and not catch on the hook.

The white-eye bite is cautious, so even the slightest movement of the float or quivertip (top) can signal an upcoming bite.

The hook should not be sharp, so as not to injure the lips of the prey. Otherwise, the sopa will break down and leave.

Fishing for the sop occurs carefully, slowly, without sudden movements, so as not to scare away the remaining flock.

In general, the fishing process does not cause any particular difficulties for the fisherman.

Bait for catching sopa

Bait for catching sopa is used extremely rarely; places for hunting bream are often baited, and other species of aquatic inhabitants come here. Small fish appear first, then silver bream and sop, and only after a certain time bream and carp.

The optimal complementary feeding option for sopa is considered to be a mixture of grains and various cereals in combination with animal ingredients: chopped worms, bloodworms, maggots, chopped toothless meat.

You can also use a dry mixture for baiting white fish, purchased at a specialty store.

Fishing for sopa in winter

Fishing for sopa in winter has its own characteristics:

Given the severe oxygen starvation of the white-eye during this period, it can be found near springs, on the edges of the river bed, near coastal gullies, and at river bends.
It is advisable to study or collect information from local fishermen about the underwater landscape of a particular reservoir, otherwise you may be left without a long-awaited catch;
after the place has been chosen, it is necessary to drill the hole as quietly as possible so as not to scare away the object of fishing;
feed the area using vegetable baits with the addition of chopped pearl barley or bloodworms;
Bloodworms, maggots, worms, and burdocks are ideal baits. It will also be relevant to use a jig in the form of a doll, cone, or pellet;
To hunt sopa in winter, a nod and a float fishing rod are used. The fishing rod must be of high quality and strong enough;
equipped with a hard nod and a jig weighing 10-15 grams. Recommended line thickness 0.1-0.15 mm;
hooks No. 3-5;
The length of the leash is 30-40 cm, knitted at a distance of 10-15 cm from the jig.

Even if all winter fishing conditions are met, do not forget about the rules of fishing: the movements of the bait must completely imitate the natural movements of the white-eye food.

Fishing for sopa, regardless of the time of year, is quite exciting and varied. By carefully preparing and collecting all the necessary information about the reservoir where you plan to hunt for sopa, you can not only have a good time, but also get a significant catch.

Use in cooking

The meat is tender, but spoils very quickly, and is inferior in taste to blue salmon and superior to bream. Consumed fried, smoked, salted, boiled. To prepare cold-smoked white-eye, cutting methods are used: gutted with the head, fillet, carcass, balyk. For hot smoking, fish is used gutted, with or without the head, cut into pieces. Sopa dried fish is very tasty. Prepared in this form, it even competes with sabrefish for the title of the best fish for beer. Whole fish is used for cooking. They dry it in the following way:

Fresh fish is placed in a saturated saline solution.
Keep in solution for several days.
Wash well.
Dry in a cool and dry place.

The fish soup has an unusual and memorable taste, the broth in this dish is transparent, and silvery specks of fat float on the surface.

Some people mistakenly believe that blue fish, sopa and bel belong to the same breed of fish, but this is an incorrect judgment. Belle are non-predatory fish, weighing no more than 500 g. Bluefish and sopa belong to completely different species, although they are slightly similar in appearance. Sopa has larger scales and eyes. These fish prefer to stay away from the shores, closer to the bottom in places with fast currents.

Where is it found?

It lives mainly in the European part of Russia, in Ukraine. Distributed in all large rivers, lakes and reservoirs, but the population size of the white-eye is declining due to deteriorating environmental conditions and changes in living conditions.

The white-eye is a fish that is not prone to migration. The habitat in reservoirs is approximately the same as that of bream and silver bream - places with great depth, current, and clean water. Due to the fact that it prefers to stand on the current, it is less common in reservoirs, lakes and ponds. Schooling fish. In the warm season, it stays in places with great depth and current, preferring a sandy and sandy-pebble bottom. It is found in mountain rivers, but in their lower reaches.

White-eye spawns in May, in warm areas, at water temperatures above 16 degrees. In the fall, it begins to migrate across the reservoir - moves to wintering areas (pits). It lies in pits from mid-October and feeds throughout the winter.