Fishing rod for trolling - varieties, ways to make it yourself

How to choose a fishing rod for fishing with balance beams

A balancer is a bait for catching predatory fish in a vertical line, its appearance reminiscent of small fish. The fisherman’s task is to use the fishing rod to make the bait behave like a fry and provoke the trophy to bite.

A winter fishing rod for balancers is chosen or made with your own hands so that it:

guaranteed the reliability and strength of the tackle (after all, trophies weighing 1-3 kg, or even more, are caught on hooks or tees);
was resistant to low temperatures, there are materials that lose their properties in the cold;
it was comfortable and light (fishermen are on the pond all day long and do a lot of fishing during fishing);
made it possible to quickly replace a failed section or element of equipment;
folded quickly and did not take up little space in a fishing bag or box.

Hunting for perch or pike perch from ice requires good physical preparation from the fisherman, because in search of fish you have to drill more than one or even five holes. And waving the fishing rod up and down while retrieving is not as easy as it seems from the outside.

A light fishing rod helps the angler to conserve strength and energy and not miss even subtle movements of the nod.

The weight of the fishing rod also depends on the weight of the baits used, and taking into account the fact that when fishing you have to select a catchable balancer, there should be a considerable choice of them.

There should be a separate fishing rod for each group of artificial fish, and it is better to have in stock:

fishing rod for balancer, for deep fishing with heavy baits;
equipment for the middle category of balancers, both in weight and size;
ultra-sensitive rod for the lightest lures.

It is clear that it is difficult to work with large and heavy balancers with a light fishing rod, and when using a powerful fishing rod and ultra-light baits, the sensitivity decreases.

Choosing only one gear option means losing both pleasure and catch, so fishermen carry three or five fishing rods of different designs and weights for winter fishing.

The interchangeability of equipment elements, nods or even fishing rod handles allows the fisherman to feel confident and will not have to go home due to a minor breakdown.

Tackle for lure fishing

A winter fishing rod for trolling traditionally has a handle and is larger in size compared to a fishing rod for jig fishing

Before you start assembling a fishing rod for vertical trolling, you need to determine in which bodies of water and what kind of fish you will have to catch. It’s one thing when catching a perch weighing 300 g is considered a great success. But if “humpback whales” weighing about 1 kg are often found in a reservoir, then it will be possible to cope with such fish with the help of durable and reliable gear.

For a novice fisherman, we can recommend the following fishing rod configuration.

The rod is suitable with a neoprene or cork handle with a total length of 30-35 cm. It is advisable to have a reel with a diameter of about 50 mm. When choosing a fishing rod, you should pay attention to the rigidity of the whip and the ease of rotation of the reel. It is preferable to use a whip of medium hardness, and the reel should move freely without jamming. Stiffer whips can be used when using balancers.
About 50 m of fishing line with a thickness of 0.12-0.18 mm should be wound on the reel. The optimal diameter will be 0.14-0.15 mm. Due to the fact that perch fishing is carried out at shallow depths, the fishing line must effectively absorb the jerks of large fish, and if necessary, the reel must release part of the fishing line. In order not to be left with broken tackle at a crucial moment, at the beginning of each ice fishing season you need to reel in fresh fishing line.

Principles of catching perch on a balance beam

Perch is a small, but quite cunning predator. Therefore, when using a balancer to catch this fish, strong rods with coarse bait, designed for pike or humpback salmon, are not always suitable. Having standard fishing gear, a fisherman may simply not notice the moment of a bite.

The main factors here are the possibility of prompt action after a bite and, accordingly, the sensitivity of the fishing tool. Depending on the situation, you need to use several varieties of this gear.

Catching perch on a balance beam

At the same time, any fishing implement that ensures optimal operation with a balancer must:

have a rod length that provides maximum comfortable work with the selected type of bait;
have high strength without compromising sensitivity;
be able to withstand frost and frequent impacts on ice;
have a quality reel and handle.

How to assemble

Step by step, the correct equipment equipment looks like this:

It is necessary to select a fishing rod depending on the weight of the expected trophies and bait.
We wind the fishing line onto the reel, taking into account the fishing depth with a reserve in case of a break.
We install, if necessary (if you are going, for example, for perch) a whip.
At the end of the fishing line we fasten the “American” fastener.
We attach removable balancers to the “American” one.
Some models of balancers are not equipped with a tee; it is better to attach one, just watch the weight of the gear. so that the tee does not outweigh the action of the bait.

Winter perch fishing with a balancer

Ice fishing for perch is based on active search and special tactics of drilling, exploring and fishing holes. This kind of fishing is similar in activity to summer coastal travel spinning - you need to walk a lot, search, and if there are no bites, don’t stay in one place for long. A separate article on our website discusses in detail the features of tactics for catching striped robber in winter. We also recommend that you read the article about catching perches using a balance beam. Here we will take a closer look at winter fishing rods for balancers for perch. Let's look at how a set of such gear differs from the basic one (for any predator). Working and catchable balancers for perch: https://podlednik.ru/lovlya_zimoj/khishhniki/balansiry-na-okunya

Winter fishing rod for balancer

Every year, winter fishing attracts more and more lovers of outdoor recreation. There is nothing surprising. In winter, you can not only take a break from the bustle and dirt of the city, but admire the snow-covered forest, lake and glimpses of prey under the ice. It is during the cold season that you can fully realize your potential and demonstrate all the skills of a successful fisherman. However, in order to return home not empty-handed, but with a catch pleasing to the eye, you need to be properly equipped and carefully select all the gear.

Perch hunting will certainly bring pleasure to both experienced fishermen and those just starting to get used to this difficult but very exciting business. One of the most reliable methods of fishing is catching perch with a special bait in the shape of a small fish with two hooks and a balancer. Choosing a balance rod to help you succeed in bass hunting requires careful consideration.

Fishing with a balance beam is not just outdoor recreation, but also productive work. With the support of a fish-shaped bait, you will definitely not go home empty-handed. But how do you choose the best balancer rod?

What is a balancer in fishing?

This tool appeared in the equipment of domestic fishermen relatively recently, around the 70s of the twentieth century. It was invented in one of the Scandinavian countries, in which one - history is silent, but most experts consider the Finns to be the pioneers in the use of this equipment.

Did you know? Not everywhere such a familiar accessory as

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fishing rod. In some parts of the African continent they fish with shovels. This is how they catch a protopter

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fish that hide in the mud during drought. The balancer is a small artificial fish with hooks at the beginning and end of its body. Rings for additional tees and connections to the fishing rod are attached to the “belly” and “back” of this fish. The color of this equipment depends on what kind of predator the fisherman is going to catch.

This tackle consists of:

stabilizer;
main body.

The stabilizer is made of plastic and may include synthetic or woolen threads. The main body of the bait is made of lead or iron; it has a pendant in the middle. If, when lifted on a fishing line, the tackle lifts its head part slightly, it means that it is well adjusted and will “play” correctly in the water. After being lowered into the hole, such a balancer will move in different directions, draw figures in the form of a figure eight - behave like a real fish, thereby luring a potential “victim”.

It will be useful for you to learn about the features of an electric drill for winter fishing.

Different types of baits each move differently when lowered into the water; their trajectory of movement depends on the material from which they were made and their size.

The choice of this gear depends on:

Which fishing rod is suitable for fishing in winter?

When choosing a fishing rod for winter fishing, there are several important factors to consider:

Light weight so that the hand does not get tired of holding;
Flexible end of the whip;
Strength;
High quality;
Lifetime.

Also, before choosing gear, you need to decide on the fishing spot and find out its depth. It is very undesirable to choose plastic whips on your fishing rod, because during severe frosts the plastic hardens and can no longer be flexible and breaks very quickly. You can choose from those models that have a removable whip, this will make it much easier to carry the fishing rod from place to place.

Gear made of carbon fiber, equipped with a reel with a lock, has become extremely popular. They make it much easier to control the entire operation of the structure.

The material from which the fishing rod is made is very important, especially for winter hunting. After all, the material must meet certain requirements in order for the structure to perform its functions. It should not freeze or become brittle in the cold, because it will not be able to work fully.

The handle should be made of wood, not plastic. Finnish fishing rods are considered quite good; their high quality materials allow you to fish even during severe frosts. There are universal tackles that can be used to fish in both winter and summer. Such fishing rods are most suitable for fishing with balancers, jigs or spinners.

Features of choosing a coil

A very important part of the tackle is the reel. The choice should be approached with all seriousness. It is best to choose reels with an open drum that rotates quite easily. Its diameter can reach approximately 60-70 mm. For greater comfort, you can take a design with a line release key and a ratchet brake.

When the drum is open, you will see how the fishing line lies, whether there are any knots, and how much is left. This is very important so that you can monitor the amount of fishing line, especially if fishing takes place in a very deep place, and even with a strong current.

The Salmo winter fishing rod, for example, can be equipped with a simple baitcasting reel. It is quite convenient to use, especially if prey needs to be pulled from the depths. It has a brake that rotates and can save the line from breaking.

Features of line selection

You should choose a fishing line that is strong and thick, because the balancer is quite heavy. The diameter can be different, it all depends on what kind of prey you need to catch and what its weight is.

If you plan to hunt perch or other peaceful small fish, then you can safely take 0.15-0.20. If you plan to catch pike perch, then a diameter of 0.3 is ideal. To catch predators, the thickness of the fishing line should be slightly larger, approximately 0.3-0.4 mm.

Rod length

Many anglers debate which rod is best for balance fishing, especially when ice fishing. You can often come across the statement that everything is decided by the length of the rod.

But it is not so. Experienced fishermen say that the issue of length is not important, the main thing is that everything is within reasonable limits - 25-50 cm. There are several simple rules that will help you determine the most suitable length.

You need to choose depending on the fish you will catch and whether you will move around the pond or stand still.

For example, if you plan to catch pike perch or pike, and you will have to move around the entire reservoir, then you should choose a length of 40-50 cm. After all, you will have to fish mainly while standing, and it is much easier to control a long rod. If you need to catch perch, then you can take a shorter rod, because this fish is caught while sitting, and swinging a long rod while sitting is inconvenient.

Winter fishing rod for balancers – Salmo Pro Pike

For large fish, we recommend the Salmo Pro Pike winter fishing rod; it is well suited for fishing with a balance beam. The rod blank consists of high-modulus graphite, the guides and reel seat are very reliable. There is also an eyelet for attaching balancers and other baits. The weight of the fishing rod is only 54 grams. Withstands even trophy pikes.

Also a great winter fishing rod is the Salmo Pro Perch

Fishing rod handle size and material

It was not for nothing that he said at the beginning that over time he would have to become self-made. A winter fishing rod for a balancer (and for other baits) is a conductor’s baton in your hands. It will be a foreign body - fishing is lost. Therefore, you will have to touch more than one model in the store.

What should you pay attention to? I won’t even say exactly what to put at the top of the list. Every feature of the handle is important.

The plastic handle is usually cold. In cold weather, and in the wind, playing with bait with your bare hand is inconvenient. I prefer foam or cork. Lightness and comfort in the hand.

It so happened that I almost always carry mittens or mittens in my pocket. Even if it’s minus 30 on the river. Therefore, I select handles exclusively for the “bare” hand. If this option is not suitable, then the size of the fishing rod handle should be commensurate with the grip in the mitten.

We also decide on the shape of the handle ourselves.

Can be summarized in one sentence. The fishing rod should lie in your hand without straining. I repeat - consider it a conductor's baton.

Examples of equipment for different types of lures

The easiest way to assemble a winter fishing rod for a balancer or spoon is based on specific examples of proven gear. Let's consider working options in light and heavy “weight”.

Photo 4. Heavy spoon assembly.

Equipping a light fishing rod for perch fishing

Winter lure of perch allows you to successfully cast a fishing rod with the following parameters.

A fishing rod with a cork handle and a soft whip with a total length of 30-35 cm.
A desirable element would be the presence of a small inertial plastic coil with a diameter of 5 cm.

Tackle for pike and zander

If you have an old unnecessary spinning rod, it’s enough to simply make a working homemade fishing rod for a heavy balancer or spinner.

First of all, you need to shorten the handle. The optimal size is 20cm.
The butt is equipped with a tube into which the whip is mounted. If the spinning tip is too rigid, then you can purchase a carbon fiber tip and equip it with rings. A good option would be a heavy feeder quivertype.

Modern anglers have a wide selection of fishing rods for winter fishing. You can not only buy good tackle in a store, but also assemble it yourself. It's time to start preparing for the winter season!

Advantages and disadvantages of a balancer

This fishing equipment has its supporters and opponents.

Most experienced fishermen agree that the advantages of a balancer include:
Catching speed. You can catch several fish at once with one bait.
Standardization . Suitable for any depth and other conditions of the water body.
Convenience . There is no need to put bait on the fishing rod; you can fish without taking off your mittens.
Variety . At the moment, there is a large amount of this equipment, each fisherman can choose the one that he likes best and is better suited for his purposes.

The disadvantage of this device is the removal of the catch from the hooks. Provided that the fish is caught intensively, it takes an inadmissibly long time to pull it out of the balancer.

A simple and convenient homemade handle for a fishing rod

If anglers themselves make nods for winter rods, then making a handle is much easier. For this, three champagne corks are used. Cork is a lightweight material and is not afraid of any frost, but the size of the handle should be larger than in champagne.

Expert opinion

Alexander Popov

Expert fisherman

To increase the size, the corks are placed in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and they instantly “inflate”. All that remains is to sand the homemade handle and it is ready to go.

Reels

Whether to equip a fishing rod with reels for balancers is a fisherman’s decision, because in winter fishing from a hole, every extra gram of weight of the gear matters. It’s quite difficult to swing even a super-light fishing rod for 3-5 hours straight, and without this you won’t see a bite. Breaks in fishing are also undesirable, because a school of predators appears unexpectedly and there is not much time to catch fish.

Reels must be installed when fishing is carried out at a depth of more than 2 meters and it is necessary to have a supply of fishing line to lower the balancer and land the caught fish. In addition, a supply of fishing line is necessary if there is a chance of catching a trophy fish, so as not to break the rod (especially when it is expensive).

Advantages of fishing with a winter rod and reel:

a thin main line is used, because when pulling the fish you can quickly “bleed” the required amount of line;
rod breakage is prevented;
transportation of gear is simplified;
if it breaks, the tackle is quickly tied up (after all, there is a supply of fishing line).

There are anglers who use cheap plastic reels, but this is of little use. Such products are fragile and become brittle in severe frost, and they rotate much worse. Ideally, the line should unwind freely from the reel under the weight of the balancer, which speeds up its delivery to a given depth.

The smooth “stroke” of the reel is also important when fishing out strong fish from a hole, when every centimeter of line won increases the chances of success. For a good winter fishing rod with balancers, you also need a high-quality reel, and it is unwise to save on this, because a breakage of the blank will lead to significant financial losses.

A reliable metal multiplier reel will solve the problem; it does not “stick” in the cold, and thanks to the correct setting of the clutch, fishing is simplified.

Types of tackle

Fishing rods for fishing with balance beams and winter lures are not fundamentally different. All winter fishing rods come in two types by design: with reels (“fillies”) and those on which the reel is placed. It is impossible to attach the reel to the “filly”.

Fishing rods with a reel have the following advantages (which, accordingly, fishing rods with reels lack):

light weight;
the ability to determine changes in depth when moving from place to place;
the ability to make a comfortable fishing rod with your own hands (although you can also cut an acceptable handle for the reel).

Expert opinion

Knipovich Nikolai Mikhailovich

Zoologist, hydrobiologist. I am interested in fishing at a professional level.

There is an opinion among anglers that it is possible to quickly reel in a fishing line on a fishing rod and reel when changing places and quickly drop the balancer into a new hole.

In fact, with enough skill, you can quickly wind the line across the handle, and then throw the bait into the hole , and the line flies off the handle in the same way as from the spool of a spinning reel.

Lures

A winter fishing rod on a balancer can be used not only with these baits. The box should also contain other baits - spinners, winter wobblers, amphipods. When fishing, it’s worth experimenting and using different options. The variety of baits is great, there are hundreds of manufacturers. This information is presented in separate articles about the types of balancers. Accordingly, large baits are used for fishing with a balancer on a heavy winter fishing rod, and small ones on a light one.

Equipment

The tip of a winter fishing rod for fishing with a balance beam is quite elastic, a little softer than the tip of a spinning rod

When the perch is trolling vertically, an important point will be fine-tuning the operation of the bait and nod. If the rod is equipped with an end guide ring (tulip), installing the nod will be problematic. But it is enough to evenly heat the tulip in the flame of a lighter so that the ring can be easily removed from the tip of the whip. Now you need to choose a nod that matches the mass of the bait.

Perch spoons and balancers often differ significantly in both size and weight. Therefore, the entire arsenal of baits in a fisherman’s box should be divided into groups according to weight. Then it will be easier to select a working nod for each group. It is best to equip 2-3 fishing rods with nods of different rigidity. Then you can simply change the spoon or balancer to a bait of similar weight.

Nods are made from different materials, including:

rubber nipple tube
clock spring
coil spring
lavsan plate
silicone tube

The main requirement for the nod is that when loaded it must deviate from the horizontal line by 20-30 degrees. The working length of the nod should be approximately 5-6 cm. To prevent overlaps over the protruding parts of the nod with frequent swings of the fishing rod, the fastening should be streamlined, and the protruding part of the nod at the rear of the fastening should not be more than 1-2 cm.

How to properly equip a winter fishing rod with a balancer

When equipping a fishing rod with this tackle, you should monitor its balance. A rod equipped with a bait should be lightly loaded at the end. In order to understand whether it is balanced or not, you need to hang the balancer on the upper ring, the end should not fall lower than 12–16°. If this condition is met, then the tackle will perform well when fishing. The fishing rod will receive the necessary sensitivity and will become easy to control. The rest of the use of the balancer depends on the landscape and the fish that are hunted with it.

Rigging a winter fishing rod for perch under a balancer

To equip a fishing rod for striper fishing, you need to decide on the nod, choose a reel and fishing line, and then the bait.

Nod

There is no clear answer to the question of whether it is necessary to put a nod on a winter fishing rod to catch perch on a balancer. If this element of equipment is used, it serves only to register bites on the rise. Modern light fishing rods display the rest of the bites well even without nodding. In addition, this element practically does not improve the performance of the bait (as it does with a jig).

Whether or not to use a nod when equipping a winter fishing rod for catching perch on a balancer is a personal matter for everyone. If you have such a desire, you can make it from lavsan, a silicone tube or a watch spring.

Coil

A fishing rod for catching striper from ice on a balancer can be equipped with a reel or reel. Reels are used quite rarely. Reels are inexpensive, but at the same time they are much more convenient. This element of equipment, like the fishing rod, is not involved in fishing, therefore there are no special requirements for it either.

Many fishing rods sold in stores are already equipped with “built-in” inertial reels. On other fishing rods, you need to install this element of equipment yourself, choosing the appropriate one. For catching perch on a balancer, a small conventional inertial reel with a diameter of up to 90 mm is well suited. It can be either plastic or metal. The advantages of the first option are lightness and price, the advantage of the second is maximum strength.

To equip a heavy fishing rod, you can also use a lightweight spinning rod of around 1000 in size or even a small multiplier. But when fishing for perch, they are rarely used.

fishing line

Monofilament fishing lines are best suited for equipping winter fishing rods for fishing with balance beams. Diameters can be very different - from 0.1 to 0.25 mm:

for the main tackle, a fishing line with a thickness of 0.14-0.2 mm is suitable;
for heavy – 0.18-0.25 mm;
for light – 0.1-0.16 mm

The less fishing experience, the more correct it will be to use a thicker monofilament. A leash made from a thinner fishing line can be omitted so as not to complicate the rig.

Balance

For catching perch, models with a length of 2 to 9 cm are used. As a rule, these are baits with a narrow, purlined body. You need to be able to select them for fishing conditions.

Typically, the larger the perch and the greater the depth in the fishing area, the larger the balancer should be. But sometimes, both for hunting for small stripers and for fishing at shallow depths, more substantial baits are needed. The main thing is to start by collecting at least a small collection of different balancers, including baits of all the required sizes, so that you can choose the most catchy ones every time you go to a pond. In addition to length, these models should differ in body shape and color.

How to equip a fishing rod for perch with a balance beam in winter, you will learn from this video:

Application of balancers

Fishing for pike in winter using balance beams is usually carried out together with other baits - spoons and ratlins. Fortunately, the fishing rods and tackle for these baits are the same. Winter fishing for pike with a balance beam differs from fishing for perch or pike perch - larger baits are used, and a smoother, more sweeping game is required to attract a toothy fish.

The best places for predators to stay are grass and snags. Therefore, you need to understand that baits in such conditions are consumables. In such places, due to the nature of the game, baits are often lost on blind hooks. This can be solved by being careful in exploring new places and using a special cutter.

Fishing technique

Fishing with a balance beam involves constantly moving around a pond and drilling holes in increments of 10-12 meters. On each hole, 15 to 20 entries are made.

Standard balancer wiring is as follows:

The bait is lowered to the bottom;
Using a rod, raise the bait 2-3 cm above the bottom soil;
Performing a short and sharp movement with the hand, the lead fish is thrown 30-50 cm above the bottom;
Allow the bait to glide to the starting point;
Wait for a pause of 3-5 seconds;
Perform a new toss.

When the bite is sluggish or uncertain, they perform a technique called “teasing” - a series of smooth tosses without pauses.

When fishing with balance gear, hooking is done with a tangible hand or a visually visible bite on the nod. They hook with a sharp swing of the rod, after which they throw away the rod and pull the fish out by the fishing line, picking it out of the hole.

The difference between winter fishing on a balance beam and summer fishing

In the summer they fish on a balancer from boats using equipment consisting of:

Side fishing rod 50-70 cm long;
Spinning reels size 2000;
20-30 meters of braided cord with a thickness of 0.12-0.14 mm;
Tungsten leash 10 cm long.

Among the baits, medium and large models of natural colors, 50-60 mm long, weighing 7-10 g are used. In the summer, predators are caught with this gear in pits and snags, on the dumps of riverbeds and coastal ditches, in river backwaters and oxbow lakes.

small sparklers;
powerful fishing rods for trolling.