Shore fishing for pike on donka: installation of equipment and application

Catching pike with a donk is not something original. However, despite its “bearded” history, bottom tackle today is not always associated with catching toothy ones. Another thing is bream, crucian carp or burbot. And pike appears more as a trophy for spinning anglers, fishermen using mugs with poles, and less often for floaters.

By and large, I agree that catching a predator using a wobbler or spoon, and then skillfully telling how the spinning rod went into an arc, the friction sang and she (the pike) made her sweat is much more enjoyable. And sporting interest has now become a characteristic feature of modern fishing. However, there are times when wandering along the cluttered shore just gets boring. I want to sit by the fire, drink tea, talk with a companion. And since the shore and the reservoir allow you, you can also try your luck in fishing with “passive” gear.

Catching a dozen live bait is not a tricky matter. Just like with your own hands, make a rig right there on the shore. On trips with overnight stays, someone always has either a “crocodile” or a Soviet aluminum spinning rod in their arsenal. Yes, just in case. It is on the basis of this “unfashionable” type of fishing rod that you can build a simple donkey. And then, as Neptune allows. If we catch it, that’s good, no, it’s not just the fish that makes fishing worthwhile.

However, I'll tell you a secret. With a well-chosen area of the reservoir and at least some interest in donka without pike for dinner or, as happens more often, we don’t always stay for breakfast. It happens that we fall asleep and miss the bite. Sometimes we just shrug it off with a smile that it’s not a cool day. Things happen. But if you set a goal... But I will be consistent. First, I’ll tell you what a donka is like for pike from a spinning rod for fishing from the shore with my usual form, then about choosing a place for fishing, and so on. I hope I don't forget anything.

Elements of bottom tackle for pike for fishing with live bait from the shore

What is the simplest donkey for catching pike? This is a strong and strong rod with a wire or spinning inertial reel. The rod is either an “oak” Chinese telescopic fishing rod, in which the upper leg is usually removed or replaced with a metal rod, or the spinning rods indicated above. Long sticks are not required, since long casts are not intended.

The coil can be installed with an inertia-free coil, but somehow it has already become customary that an inertia coil is used for such purposes. If you install a wiring one, it is advisable to have a lever with which it is convenient to turn the brake on and off. If there is a rarity, as in the photo below, then it’s a fairy tale. You catch fish and remember your childhood.

My rarity from distant childhood

The fishing line is ordinary nylon monofilament with a diameter of 0.35 - 0.4 mm. There is no point in winding it thicker. No crocodiles had to be pulled out yet. If we don’t lie, the largest pike in all our fishing trips weighed 2 kilograms, maybe a little more.

Braided cord may be thinner and stronger than monofilament, which is a pity. Initially, you won’t buy a crappy cord, but paying a thousand or more for a purchase that you catch 4-5 times during the season (usually in the fall) is it reasonable? No, if you decide to purposefully engage in catching pike with bottom tackle, you specifically go to the store to buy a strong rod and reel, then Neptune himself ordered you to buy braided line. Just how practical is this?

A tee or a double is a given. The sinker is homemade, “spoon” type, with a size appropriate for fishing. It is absolutely not necessary to buy “convenient” olives for this. Even a piece of ordinary lead will do just fine. Metal leash. I know that some fishermen use thick “Klinskaya” or modern fly, but somehow I get around this perversion. I’m used to, you know, quickly knitting leashes from Pontun material for supplies, girders and donks.

Strong, flexible, lightweight. The skein is always in the fishing “first aid kit” and does not take up much space.

Now let’s look at how to use everything described above to make a donkey for pike with your own hands.

What does bottom equipment for catching pike perch from the shore consist of?

Bottom tackle for pike perch from the shore is simple and cheap to manufacture. Even a novice fisherman can assemble it himself.

In fact, donka refers to several options:

With spinning;
Rubber;
Feeder;
Snack;
Running bottom tackle.

Each has certain pros and cons, but the most common is the classic donka. Consists of a short rod, reel and line. The equipment includes a leash, a sinker and a hook with bait (live bait).

Victoria Leshchenko

I've been working hard in the fishing tackle department for the past six years. I can help you assemble almost any gear.

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The rod must be reliable in order to fish out a good fish from the depths. It is on the donk that trophy fish are caught. It is worth purchasing an inertial reel. Monofilament works well as a fishing line. The weight of the load should support the live bait, but do not overload it. This may scare off a predator.

Classic bottom tackle is easy to use. Easily thrown into the right place. You can attach it anywhere on the shore. In addition, there is no need to spend a lot of money to collect it.

How to mount a bottom pike rig on a spinning rod

A branch with a diameter of 0.25 - 30 mm with a sinker is attached to the end of the main line. The length of the segment is 15 centimeters. There is no need to be tricky with knots; the convenience of “loop to loop” outshines all other known options. I use a sinker on a line of smaller diameter so that in case of bottom debris getting stuck between the bottom, I can save the working part of the equipment.

10 centimeters above the sinker attachment point, a leash with a tee is attached to the fishing line through a carabiner.

The length of the leash is standard 20 - 25 centimeters. From time to time I come across recommendations that the release of live bait should be increased by 40 - 50 cm. They say it needs to wander along the bottom and attract pike. It is quite acceptable if fishing conditions allow it. I was unlucky (just kidding) - I was fishing on the banks of a young reservoir - the hook was on the hook. Try to give live bait a chance to swim in such conditions - only frustration will occur.

Finding live bait at such a close distance from the main line does not affect the quality of bites. Fishing takes place at a distance from the shore of no more than 12 - 15 meters and the inclination of the fishing line in relation to a sufficiently deep bottom allows the baitfish not to get confused.

Another way to catch pike on a donk is to arrange several rigs, depending on the length of the “path”. But here you can’t do without a boat. By the way, fishing in the current with this setup works quite well.

Tackle and fishing tactics

To catch a predator with a float, it is best to take a fast action form with a reel and rings. A light rod must be a must, since fishing takes place with the rod suspended and often throughout the entire morning or day of fishing. Only sometimes, in an attractive pool, where there is no current or the current is reversed, you can put the fishing rod on the reeds and for some time watch the float, which moves in circles and is slightly submerged by the fussy movements of the baitfish. But usually after the first minutes of waiting it becomes clear whether the predator is standing in the hole or not. If pike or perch live here, then the bite follows immediately. And after catching prey, it is better to move further along the shore, since only one or two predators can stand in such a small pool. You've already caught one, but the other probably left, frightened by the inevitable noise when catching the first fish.

Fast action implies relative rigidity of the rod. A rigid rod will be able to perform timely and reliable hooking. A somewhat whip-like rod with a slow action will be difficult to control and obey the hand, since the equipment of a live bait rod is quite bulky and heavy. It consists of the main fishing line on a wire reel, a large foam float with a carrying capacity of up to 10-50 grams , an “olive” sinker, a soft and thin metal leash (preferably made of titanium and similar material) and a small sharp double or tee No. 7-7.5 Russian numbering . In addition, there will be another fish on the hook - live bait. The length of the rod can be within five meters. For a small river, no more is required.

Live bait on a hook is thrown to the grass, preferably half the depth in this place. If you move the float higher so that the bait is at the bottom, then it often gets caught up in bottom vegetation and snags.

Catching pike on donkeys from a boat in channels, creeks, and narrow rivers

The installation described below is used permanently in local creeks, whirlpools, channels, streams and rivers, where the distance between opposite banks allows.

A strong cord is pulled through the channel. Prepared bottom rigs are attached to it from the boat. They are pieces of monofilament 0.4 mm in diameter and 5 - 7 meters long, to which a metal leash with hooks for live bait is attached to the end.

At 50 - 70 centimeters from the leash, a weight is attached directly to the main line, which prevents the bait fish from pulling the bait to the side.

You attach live bait and cast out the rig. If there is a current, then you swim to the shore with the current. Once every hour or two, if you couldn’t detect a bite using a stretched cord, check.

Installation of gear

The installation of a donkey consists of several stages: preparing the rod, making a leash, tying the tackle. A telescopic fishing rod is suitable as a fishing rod. We attach a reliable coil to it. We wind the fishing line around it. We pass the edge of the fishing line through all the rings and fasten it to the spool.

Leash preparation:

We prepare a fishing line of 40-70 cm.
Hooks with a long shank.
At one end of the line we make a loop, and at the other we attach a hook.
Tighten the knot (for reliability, the fishing line can be wetted).

Tackle mating:

We measure 45-50 cm of fishing line.
We fold the fishing line in half so that one end remains 10 cm longer.
We fix the swivel.
Below we knit a double knot.
We make small loops at the end of the fishing lines.
Cut off 1 m of fishing line.
We knit a hook at one end, and make a loop at the other and attach the feeder.

This concludes the production of the gear. All that remains is to choose a suitable fishing spot, set the bait and enjoy fishing.

Another popular tackle is the “elastic band”. Includes:

A fishing line with a diameter of 0.3 mm and a length of 50-100 m;
Elastic band 5-10 m;
Fishing line 0.2 mm and 20 m long;
Hooks (N8-10) with a long shank;
Bells as a bite alarm.

A reel is required for installation. You can make it from plywood or buy it ready-made at the store. It will need to be secured on the shore, so you should take care of this in advance.

As a load, you can use improvised means (hammer, stone, or make a lead weight).

Installation of rubber donuts:

We wind on the reel the cutting that comes first in the above list.
At the end of the fishing line (usually the last two meters) we knit 4-6 loops (the leashes will be attached to them).
We make the leash from 0.2 mm fishing line up to 30 cm long.
A hook is attached to one end of the leash, and a loop is made from the other.
We attach a washer to its end to which the elastic band will be attached later.

It is worth considering that the elastic band has a 5-fold stretch. Minimum 3 times.

The opposite end of the elastic band is attached to a 100 cm rope. A sinker is attached to the other end of the rope.

The “elastic band” is ready for use. It can be used both for fishing from the shore and from a boat. The retractable leash also has good catchability.

Choosing a section of a reservoir for catching pike on a donk

You can catch pike on a donk in the current, in reverse currents, or in calm water. In all cases, an area with uneven bottoms, the presence of snags, driftwood, edges that go to depth, and the boundaries of dense aquatic vegetation transitioning to “clean” water is required.

In general, any anomalies of the bottom or coastline attract a predator.

Recommendations that sometimes sound that when installing bottom tackle you should choose a place convenient for casting and retrieving pike are not always correct.

If the plan is to fish for pike, then you need to cast into difficult places. The toothy one loves to hide near the shore, grass, and under bushes. What if there's a snag? Even if the hook is completely broken. The worldly wisdom of fishing - whoever didn’t fish, didn’t catch.

Features of catching a predator on a float

A float rod is most effective on small forest rivers, densely overgrown with grass. You can often see a narrow channel on such rivers, completely covered with algae curling along the flow, reminiscent of the hair of mermaids. Rare areas of clear water cannot be used here for placing not only classic oscillating spinners, wobblers, “spinners,” but even for surface baits like gliders.

Meanwhile, among the thickets of grass, the blows of the heavy tail of a predator are often heard. Despite the small size of many meadow and forest rivers, pike and perch of quite decent sizes can live in them. But how to get them?

Among the passive, although the most productive, effective gear for catching predators are summer girders, and for lovers of active fishing there is nothing better than a banal “float” to catch pike or perch. This kind of fishing is popular and resembles spinning fishing. Only here, instead of artificial bait, live fish are used.

Other fish

At one time, having become interested in catching pike perch with a spinning rod, I decided to try to catch it with live bait - with a float. My brother and I studied a lot of information on this fish and learned that, first of all, pike perch are caught with live bait using bottom gear, so our attempt to use a float rod looked a little naive. But we did not give up, trying and gaining experience.

In summer, pike perch prefers to feed in the dark, so we tried to go fishing in the evening or morning twilight, or even at night. We tried fishing from steep banks, throwing bait into areas with a reverse current. To do this on the current itself, as you understand, would be very difficult. In the pre-dawn twilight, we also fished in sandy shallows, where the fanged predator comes out to feed from the depths. Closer to autumn, we tried fishing in this way during the day, from a boat, choosing snags in the river with a measured current. There were catches, the results were there, but not as often and successfully as, say, when catching pike. Minnows, dace, roaches and perches were used as live bait.

And once, fishing from a boat in early autumn, I was pleasantly surprised when the live bait I offered to the perches was attacked with varying success by quite decent roaches, as soon as I moved my tackle a little further down the river, into the current. As I then assumed, my rig was located next to underwater snags in which active fish were walking. Subsequently, I managed to diversify my catch with silvery beauties several more times, but, as I understood, this was largely an accident and luck, because... schooling ide prefers to stay in underwater shelters, to which it is not easy to bring your fry to without the risk of snagging and breaking the gear.

We managed to catch burbot with live bait and a fishing rod a couple of times. To do this, having determined in advance the exit point from the hole on the river, I stood a little higher upstream and floated my gear to that place. I used small brushes and minnows as live bait. I was fishing in the darkness of autumn nights (photo 18) - and the sensations of unexpected sharp bites surfaced in my memory for a long time. It is customary to catch burbot using bottom gear, but if the place is chosen well, then it is quite possible to catch it using a float rod with live bait.

Fishing with a float rod with live bait is, I’m not afraid to say, one of the most emotional and energetic fishing experiences. And if you approach it wisely, then in addition to positive emotions you will also receive quite decent catches of good fish.

Bait requirements

Pike is considered a very voracious predator. Millions of years of evolution have endowed this fish with many adaptations for successful hunting: a pointed torpedo-shaped body with a narrow head, sharp teeth that easily bite through the scales of the victim, a fin structure that helps to attack from an ambush

The same useful skills include caution and excellent instincts - the predator detects underwater living creatures from afar and evaluates them as potential prey. That is why, despite all the achievements of modern technology in creating artificial baits, pike will always prefer real live fish

Bait requirements

Only in moments of hunger, when the fish loses its vigilance and rushes at everything that shines and moves, can high-tech baits, spoons, wobblers and other expensive tackle compete on equal terms with live prey. Alas, such periods of fishing happiness do not last long during the season.

Therefore, an important condition for successful pike fishing with live bait on a float rod is that the small fish used for bait must remain attractive from the point of view of a predator for as long as possible. The result of fishing for a sluggish or completely dead fish will be doubtful - after all, the pike is not enough for carrion

Where and how to get live bait

Although pike is distinguished by its omnivorous nature, on occasion it will not disdain cannibalism of its smaller relatives. But there are varieties of fish that are more likely to interest her:

Minnows. A good option for a reservoir of any size and current strength. A favorite food of predators due to the narrow, elongated shape of the body, which can also fit into a small mouth.
Roach. Distributed everywhere, therefore it is well known to pikes and serves as their favorite food. Average endurance will preserve the viability of a hook-injured bait, which will ensure the catchability of the tackle for a sufficient period.
Rudd is another common river inhabitant. Used along with roach.
Rotan - recently appeared in the natural reservoirs of the middle zone, but pikes have managed to get used to it as a worthy prey.
Crucian carp. Recommended as bait for large lakes and large rivers, not particularly effective in thick grass. But they are extremely durable and retain their “marketable appearance” for a long time, even during long-distance transportation or many days of fishing.
Perches. Not very popular with pikes due to their sharp spines. In captivity, even in a cage they do not live long. However, due to the characteristics of the reservoir, perch can be a successful bait.

Where and how to get live bait Methods for catching live bait are quite traditional for fishing. Small, light fishing rods equipped with thin fishing line and small fish hooks baited with worms or white bread with sunflower oil are suitable. But not every fisherman who sets his sights on pike fishing is ready to spend hours preparing, waiting for the bait to bite. More effective ways have been developed:

Netting or “spider”. Throw an ordinary net in a wire frame, secured in the center with a rope, into the water, preferably in a pre-fed place. Then sharply remove the tackle. Usually it contains fry and small fish suitable for fishing.
Plastic bottle trap. Cut a regular one and a half rack, insert the upper part into the lower one with the neck inward. Place bait (worms or bread). Small fish swim inside and cannot find a way out.
Basket for scooping up sludge. Use this device to collect bottom suspension. When pulled out, it is filtered, and there may be loaches or rotans inside. From the point of view of pike, both species are quite good food.

Read How to choose jigs for winter fishing for bream

Proper placement of live bait

The main task when baiting is to minimally injure the small fish so that the bait remains alive for the predator as long as possible. The method used depends on what type of hook is used. Here, the creativity of fishermen has given rise to dozens of tips and tricks, but the general rules are simple:

For a double hook, take a metal leash and pass it into the gill slit. They bring it out through the mouth and hang the hook, recessing it inside the body of the bait.
The attachment behind the nostril is made with a triple hook, one tip of which is passed through the mouth into the upper part of the head.

Attaching live bait All other methods (by the dorsal fin, by the tail) are unsuccessful because there is a high risk of damaging the ridge, and the fish will quickly die. A pike will always grab its prey by the head, and not across the body, and especially not by the tail. Therefore, the risk of prey that has already pecked increases manifold if hooking is untimely. Although the debate about which gear for catching pike with live bait with a float is “the most catchy”, has long since moved from being purely applied to the category of fishing tricks.

What is a leash used for?

The leader and its length for a fishing rod is a piece of thin thread intended for attaching hooks to the base fishing line.

This component is required for the following:

Protects the equipment from damage when the fish is caught tightly, or when the prey is strongly hooked and pulled out - only the leash with the hook breaks;
Thanks to the small diameter of the fishing line, the fish are not so scared.

Allows the angler to quickly reset hooks to suit the situation.

Leashes for float length 10 cm

This length is good for catching small fish. It is recommended to use bloodworms of any size as bait. In case of attaching a joker (vtkrjuj bloodworm), small hooks will be required. This means that the hook will have to be done immediately, as soon as the fish bites. Otherwise, it will eat the bait and swim away.

Suitable for bleak and minnow too. This fish tends to swallow the hook deeply. Then it is difficult to remove it, which takes a lot of time and slows down the process. Therefore, the optimal length is 10 cm.

Leashes 15 cm long

When fishing with a plug, a length of 15 cm is preferred. With this size, the bait is more convenient to play in the water. In addition, the weight is located in such a way that it allows you to instantly respond to a bite and make a hook. When hunting for carp, it is recommended to replace the pellets with one sinker, attached near the loop to which the leash is fixed. This type of equipment is productive when fishing in shallow water. When hunting for white fish, it is better to use pellets. One is secured next to the leash loop, the rest are sequentially secured at some distance.

Read How to choose the length of a leash for a feeder based on fishing conditions

Length 20 cm

When fishing for fish in the current from a boat or shore, you can use a 20-25 cm cord. Then the bait falls more naturally on the bottom and the weight is evenly distributed over the equipment. Fishermen often use a similar size when baiting bread or hemp bait when fishing in still waters.

Length 30 cm

When fishing with sticks or wagglers, thirty-centimeter leashes are optimal. The principle of such fishing is as follows: the fishing line is lowered to the bottom of the reservoir and dragged for some distance, thereby creating turbidity around. A similar float is required when using a flat float. Then he lies calmly on the ground, and the under-grazing is located a little higher. In this case, the equipment is motionless and the fish does not notice it.