Why do you need a picker when you have a float and a feeder?
Despite the ingenious simplicity and success of the float fishing rod, it is not always and everywhere capable of demonstrating all its best qualities. Often the entire pond along the shoreline is densely overgrown with aquatic vegetation. And this strip of hornwort and mud, and on the lakes - of water lilies or water lilies - simply does not allow you to cast a fishing rod. In such situations, it is impossible to reach clean water with a float rod with blind equipment. In another case, casting a float rod can only occur in shallow coastal waters, where in the summer mostly small fish are found. The slope to the hole and the fish “path” are somewhere further away, where you can’t reach with a fly fishing rod... Then you can use long casting using match, Bolognese or plug tackle. But there are days when it is impossible to catch with float tackle at all due to strong wind and waves. And here a picker will help, which is a type of English donkey, like a feeder, only in a more elegant and miniature version, which does not involve ultra-long casting of heavy feeders. Just right for slow-water fishing for crucian carp, carp, rudd, roach, silver bream and bream.
Similarities between pickerel and float rods
Simplicity and lightness are to some extent similar to a pickerel and a float fishing rod, since both of these tackles are designed for catching active fish with frequent casts and quick catching of prey. There is another similarity between a pickerel and a fly float rod: fishing is often done in weight, without supports. But, despite the lightness and subtlety of the equipment, large fish are also caught with a pickerel, sometimes even trophy ones. This is facilitated by the presence of a spinning reel and the general flexibility of the gear.
Advantages and disadvantages of picker
Advantages
- A light sinker scares the fish much less and bites follow much faster and more confidently, even when fishing at shallow depths.
- Handling light equipment is much easier than physically handling heavy equipment (you don’t have to quickly reel in the reel and constantly hold the rod tip to the top so that the heavy feeder load does not get caught on a snag-covered or rocky bottom).
- Feeding must be done using separate means , or first feeding using a feeding weight, and then connecting a replaceable sinker. Although using a light feeder weight is also acceptable, it will not be as effective.
Flaws
- Rarely usable in bad weather. In a strong wind, the tension of the fishing line from the tip of the rod to the picker equipment will weaken greatly, you will not be able to fish in the designated place, and you will not be able to get clear bites on the rod.
- It is less suitable for fishing at a great distance from the shore , as well as for catching large fish due to the equipment being too light.
What is a picker?
“Trembling” tip – quivertip
As already mentioned, a picker can also be fished in strong winds, which is completely unsuitable for a float rod. It is clear that the wind also affects the thin tip of the picker, which plays out the strongest gusts, but the bite is still clearly noticeable. The picker rod is equipped with bite alarms based on the “quivertip” principle, that is, interchangeable tips of varying strength and flexibility. To catch crucian carp, known for its delicate bite, you should choose the softest tips. They are similar in their qualities to the nod of a winter fishing rod. But so that the bite does not go unnoticed, the tip must be in a tensely bent form. And to do this, immediately after casting, you need to reel in the line and take out the slack. Then any touch of soft crucian carp lips will be marked by the so-called “trembling” tip - quivertip. These can be small jerks and twitches, and sometimes the tip, on the contrary, moves back to its original position. There is an analogy here with a crucian carp biting on a fly rod when the float rests on the water.
Picker rods
When equipping a fishing rod according to the “quivertip” principle, it must be taken into account that picker rods are not designed for casting massive feeder feeders. Since this is a light and sensitive tackle, small weights are often used for pickerel fishing. With this method of loading gear, the bait is simply thrown in by hand if the chosen fishing spot is close to the shore. To feed more distant fish paths, a special slingshot is used.
The most common length of picker rods is 2.7 meters and they are usually double legged. They can be called relatively short when compared with rods for feeder or fly fishing, but active fishing requires just such rods. In addition, picker fishing is aimed at coastal areas of water bodies, where there is no need for ultra-long casts. The range of test indicators is in the range of 10-30 grams. The weight of the weight or feeder must exactly match the test, otherwise, in addition to the risk of breaking the rod or tip, the angler will receive incorrectly adjusted gear.
When installing the tackle and reeling in the fishing line, a rough tip will inevitably move the feeder or weight at the bottom if their weight is lighter than the test weight. A flimsy quivertip can suffer when casting an excessively heavy load. When using feeders, you should also take into account the weight of the bait, since a filled feeder can be almost twice as heavy as the test indicator.
Picker reel
An important element of picker tackle is the reel. When choosing it, you must take into account the correspondence of the mass and balance of the gear as a whole. An excellent balance of gear is achieved by installing a reel of size 3000, but sometimes, when maximum speed is important, when sport fishing on a pickerel , reels of at least 4000 or even 5000 are installed.
When using heavier reels, the center of gravity of the tackle is almost in the hand. In this case, it is more comfortable to work with the rod, since the weight of the blank and equipment is felt less when casting and retrieving.
However, when installing a large reel on the picker, beating may occur on the first ring (closest to the reel seat) when the line is reeled out or overlapped during casting. This problem is solved by replacing this ring with a larger one. The reel must also lay the line on the spool efficiently and have a sensitive drag.
Read! Practice catching roach on a feeder
Picker equipment
Weight or feeder
Although in pickerel fishing a weight is more often used, in some cases light spiral feeders weighing about 15-20 grams come in very handy. Their use is appropriate in places with little current. Therefore, you should always have a set of such feeders in stock.
Just like in the feeder, cage feeders are also used for picker fishing, but usually the lightest of them, corresponding to the action of the rod. Of course, at long distances they will be inferior to modern feeders such as Method and in particular Flat, which are more often used in feeder fishing, but an angler with a picker does not need ultra-long throws.
What coils do you use?
For picker fishing, both spinning spinning reels and match reels are used. Match reels are considered more successful in use because they lay well and reel in the line faster due to the large gear ratio. And this is important when actively fishing. The presence of a rear clutch is also welcome. It is easier and faster to adjust when luck strikes and a big fish takes you. When leaving the gear, even for a short time, you should always loosen the friction brake, so that later you don’t have to catch up with the rod, foaming the pond with sweeping “seedlings”. And for some reason, large fish have a habit of pecking just when the fisherman is nodding or going to collect brushwood for an Indian fire... If the reel has a baitrunner system, then when going about your business, you should turn it on.
The match reel has another advantage. This is a shallow spool, which is designed for thin fishing line from 0.12 to 0.14 mm, which is most often used for rigging a picker. In addition, the match reel kit includes spare spools. They are usually used as interchangeable spools with monofilament of various diameters and braid. Replaceable reels allow you to quickly build the desired fishing tactics, where long-distance casting can be used or the main emphasis will be placed on fishing near the shore.
Braid or fishing line?
Braid is better suited for long-distance casting, since it does not stretch and even at a great distance from the shore, the tip reacts sensitively to even the most sensitive bite.
The monofilament, on the contrary, with each additional meter stretches more and more and becomes less controllable. However, it is used more often than braided line, since pickerel fishing is mainly focused on casting near the coastline.
Picker rod structure
The classic picker action is slow, but today you can find fast and medium action rods.
- Fast action is more suitable for sport fishing, as it allows you to make a very accurate cast, and not stand on ceremony when fishing.
- The middle tuning is also found. It is better for beginners not to consider this option at all, since such a rod does not have the advantages of a fast action, and absorbs almost all the disadvantages of a slow action.
- Slow action is very good when using thin lines. On picker it is best to use monofilament lines. Slow action combined with monofilament will allow you to pull out a decent trophy without losing the equipment. It is more appropriate to use braids in places where frequent snags occur.
Picker fishing. Feeding the catch point
Feeding or, as they also say, feeding the catching point is of great importance in pickerel fishing. As a rule, for fishing near the shore, bait is simply thrown by hand in the form of balls. To throw bait over a long distance, they use special slingshots, not much different from the combat slingshots from the arsenal of snotty and dirty boys of the twentieth century... Despite the difference in the methods of delivering bait, the goal is always the same - to always get to the same place in order to create in this place such the so-called feeding background, where the fish should approach and where it will stay during the entire fishing. But in order to then accurately throw the equipment into the baited place, you need to note the casting length and landmarks on the opposite bank. If a bush on the other side of the pond or a fisherman sleeping under a bush is suitable as one of the coordinates, then the casting length can be fixed by pinching the line in the clip on the reel. If the clip does not have a Teflon gasket, then the line where it is pinched in the clip may deform over time and lose strength. In order not to pinch the fishing line directly in the clip, you can grab it on the reel with a thin elastic band, the ends of which can be inserted into the clip. By the way, this way of fixing the length of the fishing line is safer if a large fish takes it. A fishing line pinched in a clip may not hold up when fishing for a large fish. The rubber band will simply break or slip out of the clip.
Another way to indicate the length of the fishing line is to mark it. In the right place you just need to mark it with a white marker. This will be the casting distance threshold.
Now about the other details of the picker equipment...
The average length of leashes is 20-50 cm. Such a wide range in indicators is due to the fact that sometimes the length of leashes has to be changed right on the shore, depending on the biting activity. Often, during a sluggish bite, all you have to do is make the leashes longer, and the bite picks up. This is especially true for catching bream and large roach, which like to take slowly sinking bait. But when an active fish begins to swallow the hook up to a certain section of the rectum, it is better to shorten the leashes...
To avoid tangling, leashes are often twisted, making them double and more rigid. Everything is simple here. The fishing line is folded in half and a knot is tied at one end. Then, at the bend in the fishing line, a rod or nail is inserted, the rotation of which creates something similar to the braid of Vasilisa the Wise... The leash becomes more elastic and less tangled.
The choice of hooks depends on the attachment
Hooks with a short shank and a special curve, called carp, are suitable for fishing with maggots and plant baits. If the bait is worms and various “sandwiches” of worms with maggots, as well as with the addition of foam balls, then hooks with a long shank will be required. Feeder hooks made in Japan are unrivaled as they are the thinnest, sharpest and most durable. The size of hooks for pickerel fishing is usually selected according to the condition of the potential prey. The smallest hooks are used for catching crucian carp. Although there are reservoirs where crucian carp look like strong and broad-bodied village peasants, and weigh more than a kilogram. For such fish and hooks you need appropriate ones. “Swallowers” will not work here. But usually hooks No. 6-18 are used for pickerel fishing.
An important part of the picker is the various equipment that each angler chooses to suit his taste.
Anti-twist devices have begun to be used noticeably less often, although they work quite well in strong currents. The most popular rigs are those named after the way they are knitted and the location of the leash. These are symmetrical and asymmetrical loops. In the same row is the so-called paternoster from Steve Gardner, also known as the “Gardner rig.” The listed equipment is quite simple and sensitive to the most careful bite. But light spiral feeders, working as a sliding sinker, are in some cases most successful for fishing in weak currents. They do not sink into the muddy bed and quickly respond to a bite. Just like in the feeder, cage feeders are also used for picker fishing, but usually the lightest of them, corresponding to the action of the rod. Of course, at long distances they will be inferior to modern feeders such as Method and in particular Flat, which are more often used in feeder fishing, but an angler with a picker does not need ultra-long throws.
Differences between feeder and picker, their advantages and disadvantages
What are the fundamental differences between a feeder and a picker?
Feeder and picker are the so-called English tackle (or English fishing rods). The basis of both types of fishing is the use of a weight and a hook with bait on a leash. The equipment is thrown into the designated fishing spot, often at a sufficient distance from the shore, the line is stretched and the angler begins to expect a bite on the tip of his rod. The rod is installed on a special stand, everything is very simple and accessible.
Pickerel fishing. Lure
Lately, there is no need for anglers to rack their brains over the composition of bait. Now there are many ready-made and effective feeder mixtures for a wide variety of fish and for any season. But there is still room for creativity, because the saturated modern fish sometimes begins to get weird, showing interest in fruit yoghurts, garlic and kerosene. You can opt for domestic mixtures. They attract fish and are relatively inexpensive. But the angler always finds his own bait, for a specific fish and a certain time of year.
Bait
The worm has been and remains the classic and most common bait for almost any fishing. Picker is no exception. Small dung worms, white and colored maggots, caster, bloodworms, “sandwiches” in various combinations, semolina, rye bread, pearl barley, polystyrene foam - this is the main set of baits and attachments for pickerel fishing.
With the onset of autumn cold, many fish leave their summer camps and move closer to the dumps to the pits, where the water is now warmer than in coastal shallow waters. In addition, these pit dumps, their upper and middle edges, sort of floors along the perimeter of the pit, can be called residential areas where algae live and reproduce, and various underwater insects live in them. And this is food for many fish. In addition to insects, on such improvised terraces not only plants edible for fish grow, but also entire colonies of river mollusks - zebra mussels, toothless mussels and barley mussels - breed. This is already food for large fish - bream, ide and chub.
However, any large fish will not refuse a tender mollusk if it is possible to get to it. But if large mollusks are not always available for fish, but only open during illness and death, then zebra mussels bream, ide, and large roach “crunch” like sunflower seeds. Therefore, in the autumn, zebra mussel, which is called a shell, can also be bait for pickerel when fishing at depth. And the picker, together with the feeder, in the fall is the most popular tackle for catching “white” fish.
