Preparing for net fishing in winter
Winter fishing attracts many fishermen due to the tricky nature of the procedure. In the cold season, fish move from the shores to the middle part of the reservoir. She is less active than in spring. When going fishing, you should carefully select equipment, tackle and food.
In winter, they also fish with nets, but not very often. With this method of fishing there are features that must be taken into account. How to fish with a net under ice will be discussed below.
When installing the gear, the specificity of the reservoir is taken into account, namely the bottom topography, which is located under the ice and hidden from the eyes of the fisherman.
Box fishing net.
This fishing net is shaped like a box (sometimes several boxes in a row).
It is usually used with a feeder.
Installed on the bottom of the reservoir.
Afraid of strong currents.
Effective for catching bottom fish.
These networks are further divided into several types:
- knotless,
- nodal,
- knotless with retention,
- nodal with retention.
Nodeless networks.
Nodeless networks are those networks in which the forming cell has no nodes.
Such a network allows cells to become smaller or larger.
Basically, this is a big plus, since when catching small fish, it can escape into a large, extended cell.
The downside of such a net is that after fishing you need to sort through the net and arrange the cells according to size.
Nodal networks.
The first time you use a knotted fishing net, you will feel a big difference compared to a knotless net.
Such a network has a cell fixed on all sides by nodes.
The knots prevent the cell from deforming and it is much easier to operate.
But there is also a minus - this is the size of the network cell.
For each type of fish, you need to select a specific net with a mesh size.
Another disadvantage is that the fish gets entangled in it a little worse, since the cell is not deformed.
Knotless fishing nets with retention.
Similar to the principle of nodeless networks, these networks have a sliding cell.
An addition to a nodeless network is one end of the network assembled into a node.
In my practice, I came across one of these.
After fishing, it was necessary not only to disassemble the net, but also to lay it out correctly for the next use.
I didn’t like fishing with her, although it can be noted that the catch was simply enormous.
I have no idea what caused the big catch.
Knotted fishing nets with retention.
These networks are popularly called a casting network.
It can be cast both from the shore and from a boat.
Very common among fishermen with different experience.
It has a central part with a rope and a bypass leash for closing the net.
I can’t point out any particular shortcomings. The only thing is probably the small area of water coverage.
You will feel the advantages yourself when you fish with it.
Selecting a location
When choosing it, you should pay attention to the following:
- The reservoir must be a large lake or a wide, high-water river.
- Install the network closer to the middle of a river, lake or other body of water. In winter, fish are found in the depths, escaping the cold, where there is food in the muddy soil. Closer to spring, on the contrary, nets are installed near the shore where the fish move to make it easier to breathe in oxygen-saturated water.
- There should be no snags, trees or other objects at the bottom of reservoirs.
- In the selected area, the ice surface is cleared of snow.
Why is it necessary to cast nets in the winter cold?
Moreover, to be waist-deep in unfrozen water or in an already thawed river, and pull a seine. Are there not enough warm days? Let's try to figure this out too.
The Germans probably love this cold fishery very much, because in their language there are several names for it: eisangeln, eisfischen and unterseeangeln. In the meantime, watch the video - fishing with nets in winter.
One more thing. Net fishing is not only strictly licensed, but is also under the watchful eye of numerous regulatory authorities.
Whether you are an individual fisherman or a large fish farm. Just a citizen with a net of a couple of meters is already a potential violator of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, nicknamed a poacher.
So who are they, winter fishermen with seines, if these are not the southern territories of Russia?
So, a group of law-abiding persons with a license decided to start fishing in a certain body of water (pond, lake, wide river, etc.).Someone in it should know more than others about the reservoir, its population of underwater fauna, where it is better to set up the seines, at what time of the day or at night, and many more rules that will ensure a rich catch.
Read here Spider-lift: how to make and fish with a spider. Step-by-step fishing instructions for beginners (105 photos + video)
Preparing the ice hole
The place where fishing with a net will take place has been selected and prepared, it’s time to drill an ice hole:
- There are marks on cleared ice, usually two of them, which are equal to the length of the net.
- In the marked places, two ice holes are made, one meter long and half a meter wide. Their shape should resemble a rectangle. This ice hole got its name “mine”. Cut out the ice using an ice pick or chainsaw.
- Additionally, two holes are drilled between the holes, 3 m apart.
- The edges of the holes are slightly widened and carefully trimmed so as not to damage the network in the future.
First way
A pole and a rope are placed into the lane. A weight is tied to its lower part, and a rope to the upper part. The pole is moved under the ice, adjusting its position in the intermediate holes.
One angler threads the net under the ice, while the other pulls the rope from the side of the pole. In the intermediate holes, the passage of the pole is observed. From the last lane the pole is pulled out and tied to sticks that are laid across the holes. To prevent the net from freezing to the ice, foam plastic is tied to the top of the net.
It is a difficult and difficult task to pick out a wet net with fish from the water. When installing new nets, a prerequisite is their dryness. Fishing with a net on the river allows you to avoid drilling additional holes. The pole will float with the flow of the pond. When fishing on the first ice, the progress of the net can be observed through it by tying a foam buoy to the tackle. Instead of knots, carabiners are installed on the tackle - this will make the work easier.
Fishing with a torpedo
Netting fish under the ice becomes less labor intensive with the use of a device called a torpedo. This is a conical device made of metal that helps a fisherman pull a rope with fishing gear under the ice. It can be used when the ice thickness does not exceed one meter. In this case, the identification signals of the device are visible through the ice. It weighs only one kilogram, which allows you to take it with you on winter fishing. To use it, two holes are made in the ice, one of which will be used to launch the torpedo, and the other will be used to reach the surface.
The device consists of a hollow cylinder having:
- compartment with eight batteries;
- two lights that signal the movement of the gear;
- two wheels with sharp teeth that cling to the ice surface when moving.
Fishing with a net in winter is carried out using a single method. The main thing to do is to set up the tackle. Then you should wait until the fish gets entangled in the net and swims up to the bait.
While waiting, it is recommended to monitor the traps from time to time. It is very difficult to set up the tackle alone. Catching fish with a net is a group hunt.
Gill fishing nets. Types of fishing nets.
ATTENTION!!! Gill nets are PROHIBITED by Russian law.
I have included a description of this network for informational purposes only.
You won’t find it in stores, unless of course the store breaks the law.
Fishing with these nets is PROHIBITED .
You can guess that the name of these networks comes from the fishing method.
The fish becomes entangled in the nets with its gills or entire body.
I won’t list any of the advantages, since I haven’t fished with such nets.
In my opinion, fish die quickly in this type of fishing net.
Naturally, if such a net sits for enough time, the fish may not be the freshest.
How to make a “kerchief”
In general, fishermen treat winter fishing with trepidation and experiment, using different gear and trying different fishing methods. Sometimes a “kerchief” is used. It has proven itself well when used in the first half of winter hunting and at the end of winter fishing. It's easy to do:
- An isosceles triangle is cut out of a fishing net with cells from 2 to 5 cm. The size of the cells is selected depending on the size of the fish that they plan to catch.
- Attach a metal rod or thick wire to the base of the resulting triangle, which will serve as a sinker.
- The rope is pulled through a loop made at the top of the triangle. Using it, the tackle is lowered into the reservoir and raised. The sides are sewn with nylon thread
Fishing with a "kerchief"
For a good bite, the fish should be fed. To do this, prepare the food yourself or buy it ready-made in a specialized store. In winter, fish are at depth and hide in holes, so it must be lowered to the very bottom. The bait must be of good quality and not crumble before it reaches its destination:
- Immerse the scarf under water.
- After immersing the scarf, the rope is fixed on the ice surface using a cross stick.
- The hole is masked with brushwood and snow in order to protect the fish from the rays of the sun and noise.
In winter, in places where roach and perch are found, “kerchiefs” can be a catchy tackle, especially on the first ice, when the fish are still very active, and during spring thaws.
How to catch fish with a net with an elastic band?
The gear appeared quite recently, correctly it is called a net with a rubber shock absorber, and there is almost no difference from fishing with a donkey with a shock absorber.
The fisherman throws a heavy load to which a rubber thread is tied into a pond. The elastic band, gradually contracting, inserts a fixed net into the water, which is mounted on two cords: a floating one and a cargo one. The net does not take part in casting. The elastic band and fishing line are connected to each other by two metal carabiners.
After throwing, the carabiners are unfastened and attached to the loops, which are located at the ends of the pontoon cord. The weight of the carabiners is balanced by two foam floats that support the net in the water in the form of a rectangle.
The size of the net mesh is directly dependent on what kind of fish they are going to catch. The net is 1.5 meters high and 7 meters long if cast from the shore.
There is another design where a nylon thread is used instead of a cargo and pontoon cord. The net is stretched vertically by slats, and horizontally by the tension of the fishing line and elastic band.
Tackle made using the second method has less resistance when pulled into a body of water. This makes it possible to use longer nets, up to 20 m. They are used only in still waters, because any current bends the slats to the bottom.
Fishing with a small net gives a rich catch only to those who know the body of water well and the habits of the fish living in it. You can use a larger net, but in this case the elastic should be 4 times longer, and the load should be thrown from a boat.
In shallow water bodies, the load is sometimes not used. In this case, on the contrary, a rubber shock absorber is tied to a wire ring, which is placed on a stake driven into the bank. With this method, it does not break off when the load is pulled out of the reservoir. In other cases, they place a small piece of fishing line, the reliability of which is half that of a rubber shock absorber, between the load and the rubber. But this measure will not protect the shock absorber from rupture every time.
A bell will notify you that a fish has gotten lost in the net. There is no point in leaving the tackle unattended, since one caught fish can entangle the net and the rest will not get there.
Fishing with a net with an elastic band is very convenient in small bodies of water located near large cities where there are concentrations of fishermen.
Is it possible to catch with a casting net?
Recently in Russia the option of fishing with a casting net, which is also called a parachute or cape, has appeared. This is one of the most effective fishing tools today, the main thing is to cast it correctly. The law allows the use of a casting net in fishing. With it, if you have certain skills, you can fish from the shore or from a boat.
Some fishermen do not intentionally use a casting net because they believe that it is a poaching tool. But this is not true at all. Yes, in several regions this fishing option is prohibited, but in most regions the casting net is allowed, provided that its diameter does not exceed 2 meters.
To use a parachute net for fishing, you need to pay a license to the fisheries authority, then a fishing quota will not be required. Fishermen consider a casting net as an attribute of sport fishing or recreational fishing. In order not to accidentally break the law, it is better to fish with such equipment on paid lakes, and release small fish back into the reservoir.
Network care
Networks made even from the most modern materials lose strength for three reasons:
- physical – temperature difference, load, ultraviolet rays;
- chemical - from the decomposition of fish scales and mucus;
- microbiological – dead fish that remain in nets for a long time, uncleaned remains, damaged gear.
Experienced fishermen note that fish are reluctant to go into unclean nets, and in warm weather in places where there is no current, they do not go at all. Nets made of linen and cotton threads are most susceptible to severe contamination; nylon and monofilament nets are considered the most resistant to dirt.
Fishing with a net will be successful if it is checked at least twice a day. If there is a small amount of fish caught in the net, fishermen often get it out without pulling the gear ashore. After 4 days, the tackle should be removed to dry land, carefully cleaned of all impurities and rinsed in running clean water.
Fishermen from Karelia recommend smoking nylon nets with smoking spruce branches. They claim that this results in a sharp increase in catches.
After the end of the fishing season, the net is dried in a place protected from direct sunlight. Clean fishermen, before storing their gear for long-term storage, wash it with soap. After drying, the net is folded so that it can be quickly prepared for work the next season.
Thus, we looked at how to catch fish with a net. The variety of methods and the large number of fish species predetermined the emergence of many types of nets and methods of their installation. They can be placed near the bottom, along it or at an angle, at a certain depth and near the surface of the reservoir.
Overview of types of nets for catching various fish
The easiest to use and most convenient for beginners and even experienced fishermen are simple set nets. But they are simple only at first glance. This is because networks with the same cell size may have different applications. The catchability of the mesh also depends on the landing (compression) coefficient, which determines the degree of opening of the diamond of each cell. For some types of fish, it is enough to plant the net in a ratio of 1:2 or with K = 0.50 (smelt, vendace, whitefish, pike, salmon and similar oblong fish). Other fish species that have a wide body require less tension on the horizontal corners of the mesh diamond. For more successful catching of such fish (bream, crucian carp, carp, tench, etc.), you need to choose a net with a landing ratio of 1:3 or with K = 0.33. Some types of fish, for example, ide, roach, wild carp and many others, have an intermediate body shape and will fall into both nets. Let's consider the question in more detail.
Entire scientific treatises have been written on determining the size of the mesh for catching the desired fish. Almost 100 years ago, one Soviet ichthyologist derived a formula by which you can find the size (size) of a net mesh for fish of different body shapes.
A=K 1*L Here: A – cell, in mm; L is the biological length of the fish, in mm; K 1 - empirical coefficient of body shape. Fish were divided according to body shape into:
• wide-bodied (carp, bream, crucian carp, tench, roach, flounder, silver bream and others), K1=0.2; • medium-bodied (ide, fisherman, rudd, pike, whitefish, peled, and others), K1=0.15; • narrow-bodied (salmon, pike perch, pink salmon, asp, dace, vendace, smelt), K1=0.1.
Life has made its own adjustments to these theoretical studies. In Russia, for each fishing area (RU) where it is allowed to provide services for organizing fishing with nets, the species allowed for catching with nets are strictly defined, the length of the net and the size of its mesh are indicated. Any deviations from the requirements are punishable by law.
Fixed nets have a variety of fits and additional equipment. They can have a ryazh, a special large-mesh net, planted on the same selections as the main mesh. Working together, the yarn and the canvas (a double-walled net) create bags for large fish. If there are 2 rows, then the net becomes even more catchy (3-wall). Some of the nets are arranged with vertical or horizontal veins, forming large cells - frames. Such frame nets are similar in properties to rownets.
The material from which the net is made is also of great importance when choosing a net for catching a particular fish. The main modern materials for the factory production of nets are synthetic threads:
• nylon or polyamide – traditional high-strength threads for nets; • monofilament thread (monofilament) – transparent fishing line made from a single polyester fiber; • multi-monofilament thread (multi-monofilament) – a transparent thread twisted from several mono-filament lines.
Nylon nets are good in many respects, they are durable and wear-resistant, however, such nets require constant cleaning and drying after each fishing trip. These nets tear less on snags and are cut less by sharp shell rock, especially on the edges of deeper places. Gradually, fishing nets made of nylon are losing ground in the face of new achievements in science and technology for the production of fishing gear, which, a little later, always become available to amateurs. Modern, advanced net fishing enthusiasts are looking to buy fishing nets made from new materials.
