14.06.2018
Among the many ways of catching fish, fishing on a boat is particularly unique and individual in the installation of a set of equipment assembled for fishing. The bait boat, so as not to initially mislead the reader, has absolutely nothing to do with this type of hunting and even in design terms is strikingly different from the device used for fishing.
Modern fishing boats are followers and improved models of equipment that has long been used by fishermen on large rivers. Only these fishing elements looked quite primitive and were an ordinary log modified for fastening a cord, the course of which could be adjusted from the shore, releasing the equipment over a long distance. Carried away by the force of the river current, the piece of wood pulled the thread with bait, thereby attracting cautious fish far from the shore, and made the fishing itself more successful in terms of the quantitative catch.
The bait boat has a mechanical drive, powered by batteries, and serves only to accurately supply food to the fishing zones, not being a direct element of the fishing equipment, which is what a fisherman who is not familiar with the technology of a fishing boat needs to understand.
Important! The method itself is suitable for long-distance fishing in vast water areas with currents or in windy weather, without the use of a swimming device and the need to cast bait.
These parameters allow you to catch cautious fish that stay far from the shore and feed in the upper layers of the water. The trophies of the boat's tackle are mostly chub, ide, bleak and grayling. Under certain conditions you can catch pike, pike perch, trout and salmon. The presented article will tell the fisherman about this ancient, but fascinating and prey method of hunting with a bias towards the presentation of already modernized, modern equipment, methods of its production, the process of fishing itself and the differences between bait boats for fishing and its fishing options.
Places of application
A fishing boat requires a certain specific reservoir where this fishing device can work effectively. If the depth of the reservoirs does not particularly affect the fishing technique, then the strength of the current, the wind speed, the size of the reservoir and the intensity of its overgrowth with aquatic plants create significant both positive and negative conditions for successful fishing.
Important! First of all, it is worth noting that fishing with a boat is a priority for large rivers, flowing lakes and reservoirs with the presence of traction. On the presented types of reservoirs, fishing can be carried out, regardless of weather conditions, throughout the open water season. In stagnant bodies of water with vast water areas, fishing is possible only with the presence of wind and waves, the energy of which is the propellant of the device.
Due to its principle of operation, the bait boat is not limited in any way by these conditions. The intensity of the thickets on the surface of the reservoir and in the horizons of its upper layers creates difficulties for fishing, interfering with the passage of the device. Bottom vegetation, reaching to the average water horizon of 1.5-2 meters, does not affect the quality of hunting and rather contributes to more successful fishing sessions using the presented set of equipment. Important circumstances for using boat fishing are fishing places under trees and bushes overhanging the water, where there is no way to deliver bait using the ordinary method of supply, spinning casting and bottom mounting.
Operating principle of a fishing boat
The operating principle of a fishing boat is based on the resistance of the working planes of the product to the forces of the current of the reservoir. The very forces of the flow of a reservoir can be caused both by the direct flow of water as a result of the natural slope of the river bed to lower elevations of the earth, and by the creation of surface movement of water masses through wind load. The force of the current presses on the surface of the device. The product held by the cord is subject to the action of two multidirectional forces, the difference between which creates the direction of movement. If the force of the current is beyond the fisherman’s control, then by manipulating the magnitude of the holding force of the fishing tool, it is possible to reduce or increase the difference between the two driving components of the effort, thereby causing a general controlled movement of the boat’s hull along the desired trajectory.
It is the adjustable stroke that provides the required conditions for fishing, delivering bait to the necessary and promising places for fishing in the reservoir, in combination with the range of coverage of the water area. The design of the boat is designed to attach a cord, which performs a dual function. At the same time, it is designed to adjust and correct the stroke and directly represents a fishing tool, equipped with leashes with hooks and bait.
Bringing the structure onto the required trajectory, the fishing tackle is held and waiting for the fish to bite, after which the equipment is pulled back to the shore, removing the trophy and re-equipping the hooks with fresh bait, sending it off for the next working move. The principle of fishing is similar to the principle of fishing with peret tackle, only instead of a partner on the other side of the reservoir there is a so-called water kite, directly installed on the surface of the water.
Fishing on a boat: the secret of catchability, principle of operation and how to do it
The old-fashioned method of fishing on a boat has been known for a long time. Whatever tricks the fishermen go to, whatever they come up with, our jacks-of-all-trades have more than enough imagination.
Monuments can be erected to our fathers and grandfathers, for their simple and not so simple equipment.
Nowadays there are a lot of all kinds of fishing miracle gadgets in stores, but before you had to be content with what you had. Well, rely on yourself, that is, on your own head, hands and mind.
How to make a fishing boat
Perhaps, to those unfamiliar with the fishing tool presented above, it will seem that its design is complex and causes a lot of technical problems that need to be solved in the manufacture of the product, but in fact, the water snake is quite simple to assemble. A bait boat will require much more knowledge and resources for its installation.
If you have the material for the work and the electrical tools needed to perform the operations, installation of the structure, taking into account painting and drying of the surfaces, will take about one day. In addition, the fisherman will have to take care of purchasing the main fishing line, preferably in a braided version starting from a diameter of 0.5 mm and a length of up to 300 meters. Preparation of monofilament leashes of 0.15-0.2 mm, lengths from 0.5 meters, which are equipped with hooks selected based on the type of bait used for fishing. It is comfortable to hold the assembled structure and control its progress using a powerful feeder rod 3-3.5 meters long, with tests starting from 200 grams in a combined action. It is more convenient and rational to equip such a fishing rod with an inertial reel like the Nevskaya, where there is plenty of line laying and reliability under overloads does not raise fears about the failure of the mechanism.
Next, we’ll talk directly about material preparations, the choice of tools and methods of carrying out installation and assembly work, presenting a detailed guide to making a fishing boat. An important point for the fisherman is the fact that the fishing equipment described in the article cannot be found in the form of a factory product. Manufacturers, due to the low demand for this specific product, are not involved in the production and sale of gear anywhere, and only a boat for delivering bait is available to the fisherman in the retail chain.
Features of fishing for grayling on a boat
The boat earned particular popularity among Ural fishermen. The rivers there have their own specifics, and standard casts often do not bring any results. Situations arise when the bait needs to be thrown into an area with riffles, and even kept in the right place and in the required position. This is where the peculiarities of fishing for grayling on a boat are best demonstrated.
This device is often called a “water kite”, drawing an analogy with a kite. It consists of the boat itself, a reel with fishing line and leashes with baits attached to the main fishing line. One of the most popular boats is the catamaran. This design is the most stable and reliable, suitable for both flowing reservoirs and standing water.
When fishing with a boat, different baits are used. Many experienced anglers fish traditionally with dry flies. But other small-sized baits - jigs, spinners - perform quite well. The success of grayling fishing depends on many factors - time, weather, temperature and others. For example, fishing usually starts at dawn. And you can continue until the shadow of your fishing line begins to fall on the water. This is 100% likely to make the fish wary. Consequently, the chances of a bite will drop significantly.
This tactic works very well. Make a steady descent downstream. Then lightly tap the line with the stick. At the same time, you transmit vibration of the desired amplitude to the bait. Outwardly, this resembles the convulsive attempts of an insect to get out of a water trap. You can simulate both the rise of the “insect” and the descent. Both options will look very convincing to hungry fish.
Carrying out preparatory work
To make a hunting kit, you need to stock up on wood in the form of a linden or alder board 12 mm thick and no more than 20 cm wide.
Important! Ordinary and common lining made from these types of wood is suitable for finishing.
This material will form the basis of the working fluid of the structure. To connect the elements and fasten the cord, purchase a metal pin with a diameter of 6 mm, complete with hardware in the form of washers and nuts corresponding to the thread pitch and diameter of the pin used. To load the wooden base of the catamaran, in particular its keel part, weights in the form of lead plates are used, which are attached to the workpieces with self-tapping screws. To process parts of a product from wooden blanks, you will need to purchase products that prevent moisture absorption. The most famous component is ordinary drying oil. The drying oil will also serve as the basis for further painting the catamaran with oil paint.
Important! The paint is white, which is used to paint the boat above the waterline, and blue, for painting the lower, underwater part of the catamaran, which makes the fishing tool less noticeable to fish in the water.
Drawings developed in advance will simplify installation and assembly work. A boat for delivering bait with your own hands, unlike a fishing catamaran, will require the purchase of an electric mechanism, which, together with the blade, will act as the engine of an auxiliary boat, which greatly increases the cost of the homemade product.
A useful tool is a jigsaw for cutting wooden surfaces according to templates. A small cutting machine for rounding shapes and sanding wood, as well as cutting and trimming metal studs. A screwdriver is used for drilling holes and tightening screws when securing loads. Metal drills are selected based on the diameter of the metal pin used, in our case 6 mm. Open-end wrenches for tightening nuts and fastening hooks are selected according to the size of the nut used. A tape measure and a drawing tool are prepared for carrying out work on marking the material.
Simple manufacturing method
You need to make a boat for fishing in the likeness of a catamaran with cans of excellent size. Wooden blanks are marked according to trapezoidal templates. To compare the dimensions of a medium-sized boat, let’s start from the size of the larger can (the first length, the second width) 350x120 mm, and the smaller one 300x90 mm. The sharper the angle of the part, the steeper and faster the speed of the structure increases, but its control parameters deteriorate. After cutting the workpieces with a jigsaw, the sharp corners are smoothed to smooth shapes, and the side surfaces and ends are polished, which will give the catamaran greater streamlining.
The polished parts are marked for installation of transverse fasteners, the length of which varies between 13–18 centimeters, and holes are drilled. A small can has a hole for a fastening hook in the center of the outer surface. In this form, the pieces of wood are treated with an impregnating composition and, after drying, they are painted using the method described above in two different colors. Metal studs are cut to a certain size for the width of the boat and their ends are trimmed to allow the workpieces to be screwed together. The painted wooden parts are connected along the drilled holes by tightening the studs, without fail installing spacer washers on the studs before tightening, to prevent damage and crushing of the wood.
Important! To prevent the connection from unwinding, nuts are placed from the inside and outside, and the screwing must be additionally tightened.
A hook is installed in the fastening hole, which is made from a pin and a pair of clamping nuts. To ensure the stability of the catamaran, increase its submerged mass, and therefore increase the parameters that contribute to the quality of control, the keel of the larger can is loaded with a lead plate. The plate is cut to the shape of a wooden blank and mounted, pressing it to the surface with self-tapping screws. To achieve stability, in some cases they resort to loading a small can, carrying out an operation similar to the one described above. Upon completion of loading, the do-it-yourself fishing boat is basically ready. Now all that remains is to test and adjust the stroke by adjusting the load and the fastening element.
Important! On a pond, adjustments are made on a cord similar to what will be used for fishing, performing all the adjustment operations.
Having achieved the required result of the vessel’s hull settling into the water and ease of control of the progress, the product is equipped with elements of a fishing rig and full-fledged fishing begins. Testing a bait boat with your own hands will require debugging the running mechanism at speed, practically determining the amount of idle speed when braking at different speeds, and checking the operation of the mixture release, which can be imitated by ordinary river sand.
How to catch grayling on a boat
Let's move on to the most important and crucial point - how to catch grayling on a boat? The ideal moment is the period when there is a mass emergence of insects. They often fall into the water, and your flies will not appear “lonely” in the background. You can fish almost all day. Especially if the weather is cloudy. If the current in the reservoir is strong, then the launch is carried out directly from the shore, next to the place where there is a riffle.
You will also have to tinker with baits. You never know which bait will attract fish today. Moreover, it happened more than once that grayling chose green baits in the morning, but in the evening they turned up their noses, preferring, for example, red ones. The best remedy in this case is alternating baits based on color. This way they not only determine the color preferences of grayling, but also determine the distance from the shore.
You tie on the flies and gradually send the boat in the direction of the place where, according to your assumptions, or data from the echo sounder, the fish is currently located. Your job is to simply unwind the line slowly. If the reel is lowered to the very surface of the water, or raised, you can adjust the behavior of the bait, imitating the movements of insects. As soon as your first fish successfully bites, remember the location. You can return in half an hour. Now you can fish the area around to find out the radius of grayling in the surrounding area. Sometimes it’s worth repeating even if you fail. Take into account the caution of the fish. Often she will leave the area if she sees a shadow cast by your fishing line on the water.
An improved method for making a reversible boat
Fishermen who use a water kite in practice to catch fish have noticed the inconveniences associated with returning or, more correctly, catching the trophy using gear. Pulling up required some effort and constant control of the tension of the cord with instantaneous reeling, which clearly did not provide comfortable fishing. These inconveniences are especially noticeable when hunting at long distances, 100 meters or more, on rivers with moderate currents and at rapids, where the water jets are even stronger.
The inquisitive mind and ingenuity of the fisherman gave rise to the construction of reversible boats, which, with certain manipulations with the controls, change the trajectory of movement to the opposite one. Thus, bringing the cord to the shore, by influencing the direction of movement of the boat by the same water flow, but without the discomfort of winding up the cord in an emergency mode with uncontrolled fishing for the trophy. The possibility of reverse is provided by the additional placement of a metal bracket with a ring, which is attached to the outside of the small can of the swimming device. Unlike the simple method of regulating the stroke, where the thread is fastened to a stationary hook, in the reverse version the cord is knitted to a movable ring.
At the moment the boat is launched at a distance, the tension ring takes a certain position, moving the product away from the shore. If, after catching a fish or checking the bait, the cord is given slack and then sharply pulled, the position of the ring spontaneously shifts to the opposite part of the bracket. After changing the position of the fasteners, the trajectory of movement also changes, returning the vessel in the opposite direction. The bracket is the most primitive way of organizing reverse movement. Fishermen have also developed more complex mechanisms for changing trajectories, which are based on the forces of displacement of attachment points and require additional materials, tools and sketches for production, which is already within the power of experienced mechanics and mechanics.
What is a boat?
This tackle is simple and complex at the same time. It consists of the boat itself, a fishing line with attached leashes with baits, and a reel on which this fishing line is wound.
There are several ways to construct a water kite. Let's look at one of them in more detail - a catamaran boat. This option is the most traditional for the Urals.
This option is preferable to others in that it is more stable and does not float on the water, as a result of which its use is also possible in standing water.
By its design, the boat consists of a sail and a hull, located at a distance of about 20 cm from each other. The fishing line is attached to the hull, and leashes with bait are attached to it.
To avoid such troubles as tangling of leashes, they are tied through special spacers made of suitable material. They are fixed on the fishing line with knots.
The leading line should have a diameter of 0.5 mm, while the leads should be knitted with a soft line with a diameter of approximately 0.10 mm.
Often the number of leashes with baits is 4-6 pieces, but other options are possible. The distance between the leads should be 70-100 cm. You can make the reel yourself by cutting it out of thick wood or plywood.
You can also use the lower leg of an old spinning rod. This will give the fisherman a slight advantage if fishing is carried out from a high bank and access to the water itself is difficult.
Boat fishing technique
Fishing on a boat begins with launching the device into the water and its subsequent bringing it to the hunting distance. Regardless of the fishing conditions, the launch technique is absolutely identical. The equipment is placed on the water along the flow of water and begins to move independently. At this time, the fisherman unwinds the thread and places it on the shore, without interfering with the progress of the boat.
Important! The main point of the launch is the supply of leashes with bait to the water. It is necessary to ensure that the fishing line leashes go into the water without overlapping or tangling with the main thread.
The force of the current immediately picks up the bait and, already in a working, deployed state, the tackle moves to the required holding point with the possibility of fish biting. Having reached the destination, the cord is pulled and a bite is expected, which is noticeably transmitted to the tip of the rod, expressed by a small twitch or when fishing at short distances, noticeable by white snowstorms on the surface of the water in the area where the leashes are located. There is no hooking in the fishing technique, since the trophy is self-hooked and fished up to the first leash by winding the thread onto the rod's reel, and the rest of the tackle is taken out of the water by hand. We will talk in more detail about some features of hunting tactics, depending on the conditions on the reservoir, in the continuation of the material.
Fishing on moderate rivers
Such rivers are fished along the flow in places with bushes and trees hanging over the water. The trophy for the most part becomes ide and chub standing near the shore. The baits are floated freely, with alternations of tapping the bait on the water as a result of cyclical holding of the gear. The leashes are placed 2 meters long, equipped with small numbers of doubles with a grasshopper, dragonfly or chafer. The bites are sharp, almost never empty.
Using a boat on wide rapids
Rapids are fished in places where it is difficult to go far into the water to accurately deliver bait to certain promising fishing spots. This method is great for hunting grayling. Artificial fly fishing flies are used as bait, which are tossed in the water column with intense and short movements of the spinning rod. The boat is equipped with three leashes without guards up to 3 meters long.
Fishing on slow-flowing rivers
A bait boat in such conditions would have greater efficiency in delivering food due to its high-speed qualities, but our gear takes a long time to install in a slow current, but can successfully raise a large predator standing in the thickets at the bottom of the reservoir to bite. Live bait is released over the underwater grass on meter-long leashes, alternating free movement with holds, during which the fry can even enter the thicket zone. The bite is felt as a strong blow with the predator immediately moving away from the point of attack. The moment the thread departs from the trajectory requires the start of fishing for the trophy.
Operating principle of the boat
The operating principle of this boat is based on a kite, but instead of the wind they use the force of water flow. In shape it is not much like a boat, but more like a catamaran. A fishing line or cord with leashes and hooks is tied to one side of it. For sport fishing, the hook limit is no more than 5 pieces. Remember this so that you don’t have problems with the fisheries authorities later.
And so we put our boat on the water and send it sailing against the current, gradually unwinding the fishing line. Having reeled off the desired amount, we keep the boat at a distance and wait for the bite to occur. As soon as the fish is hooked, release the tension and tighten the line again. At this moment, the cord is thrown to the other side and the boat begins to move downstream towards the shore.
Having unhooked the fish, we again throw the line to the other edge and the boat returns to its original position. It should be noted that you should choose places with a clean, empty bank, since you won’t feel comfortable walking through bushes and overgrown shores and unhooking fish. But from the video I think everything will become clear to you.
