Winter fishing - gear, tactics and techniques for fishing from ice

For an understanding ice diver, winter fishing is not just a hobby. For many people, ice fishing in winter is more than just a fun weekend activity. What makes millions of fishermen leave their warm homes on harsh winter days and wander across the icy expanses in search of big fish? Probably echoes of ancient hunting instincts, love for nature, unity with it. All you have to do is go out on the ice once, get caught up in fish, and a person “gets sick” of it for the rest of his life. For people living in the regions of the North and Siberia, fishing in winter is still not just an interesting activity, but a process of extracting resources for survival. Fishing from ice attracts, beckons, fascinates. Its true essence is not only in the catch - the process of being in harsh environmental conditions and overcoming difficulties is important. Let's look at the basics and main features of winter fishing.

Ice fishing

The main secret of winter fishing is practice. You can read books and articles for as long as you like. Theoretical preparedness is, of course, necessary. But you can’t become a fisherman without practice. Even with a minimal set of knowledge and equipment, you can visit your first winter reservoir and enter your name into the large legion of winter fishermen. You can catch a couple of perches on your first fishing trip in your life in any winter body of water. But how to catch a lot of fish in winter? To do this, you need to get into the process, study the features, nuances, theory, and constantly go to the reservoir. And luck will come sooner or later. In terms of catchability, fishing in winter is no less trophy than in summer. Experienced fish even manage to catch carp from the ice, which, it would seem, should sleep in the mud in winter. Beginners can begin their journey into the world of winter road fishermen by catching rotan, roach, perch, and bream - this is the easiest way. Let's give a short excursion into winter fishing.

Winter fishing. The best time and bait for successful fishing

Winter fishing is the best time for ice fishing. In this article we will look at catching different types of fish. What time and what bait to use for successful fishing.

Winter perch fishing

The first few weeks after the ice has set in are the best times to fish for perch. Thin ice drives the perch away from the shore, and after the entire reservoir freezes, it sinks to the bottom. For fishing for perch, a jig, as well as a vertical spoon, is most often used. Small bloodworms, pieces of fresh fish or dragonfly larvae are usually used as bait.

Winter crucian fishing

The main advantage of crucian carp is that it lives in water with low oxygen levels. Basically, it buries itself in the mud on the river bottom and goes into hibernation. In habitats where there is a lot of oxygen and other species of fish (predators) are present, crucian carp actively feeds all winter.

Crucian carp is a fairly heat-loving fish; it is most often found near power plants, as well as in places where there are sources of warm water. In winter, crucian carp bite with caution. Therefore, gear for catching crucian carp must be very sensitive. The fish may try the bait for a long time, but still not bite. To avoid this, sunny weather or a thaw is suitable for such fishing.

Winter carp fishing

The most cunning and intelligent fish is perhaps the carp. He chooses places where there is a muddy bottom and standing water, where he feels safe. Basically, it lives not far from fallen trees or reeds.

To ensure that fishing in winter does not disappoint, bait for carp must be introduced in the fall. And then the active bite will not depend on the time of day. Choose a winter fishing rod with a light-colored jig or spinner.

Winter pike fishing

In winter, pike are not easy to spot under the ice, and just as difficult to pull to the surface. At this time of year, pike prefers deep holes, places near snags and stones, which creates difficulties for catching it.

This predator actively bites at the beginning and end of winter, that is, when the ice has not yet covered the reservoir or a thaw has already set in. It is better to catch a predator in cloudy weather.

Pike often bites the line or damages the gear. The angler needs a quick reaction, and it is not unimportant to hook it in time and correctly. To fish for such a predator, they most often use a balance beam or a pole baited with small fish.

Winter fishing for silver bream

The silver bream lives in shallow bodies of water. They will actively peck at river mouths or springs. When melt water enters the reservoirs (closer to spring), the appetite of the silver bream increases, and it begins to actively feed.

It is better to catch it in places where oxygen levels are high and fresh water flows. To catch silver bream, use bait and tackle as for catching bream.

If the winter cold is not scary, then fishing in winter will bring a significant catch and even more impressions.

Types of winter fishing and gear

Just like in the summer, the fishing process requires certain equipment and gear. Let's consider the basic fishing accessories depending on the type of fishing, as well as those items without which ice fishing is in principle impossible.

Equipment and accessories

Every beginner winter skier should understand that going out on the ice in the cold for several hours is in itself a test for the body, even without fishing. Therefore, you should always prepare for such an event carefully, taking into account the weather forecast, reservoir conditions and your own health. Therefore, first of all, ice fishing requires personal equipment that will protect the fisherman from negative environmental factors:

Warm clothes. You need to think through everything in the smallest detail, from underwear to outerwear. The best option is modern multi-layer protection. It consists of thermal underwear, warm fleece underwear, woolen items (for example, a sweater), and an outer winter fishing suit. Of course, branded equipment is expensive; most fishermen use the usual set - underwear, sweaters, jackets, a slide stitched with fleece on top or a windproof waterproof suit or overalls. In severe frosts - military, hunting or construction cotton pants, jackets.
Shoes. When going out, you should always pay maximum attention to your legs. There is often water on the ice even in severe frost. Therefore, winter fishing shoes must be warm and waterproof. You can use both special winter fishing boots and PVC boots with warm liners, felt boots with stockings from old army military equipment. Feet should always be warm and dry when fishing. If your feet get wet in the cold, you will have to go home if there is no way to dry them or change them.
Hat, scarf, balaclava, gloves, knee pads, etc. There's a lot of people here. The main thing is to be warm and comfortable. The most notorious winter travelers fish even in forty-degree frosts, but they are packed for such outings as participants in polar expeditions.

Fishing equipment

Having protected your loved one from frost, wind and getting wet, you can actually think about fishing. Minimum set for winter fishing:

Warm clothes, shoes (already discussed);
Fishing ice auger (screw) or pick if the ice is thin;
Skimmer (for removing sludge from the hole);
Actually, a fishing gear with bait.

If the fisherman did not go to the neighboring pond for an hour for a couple of crucian carp, but for normal fishing in search of an active bite, then you will also need:

Winter fishing box with lines, hooks and all other fisherman's swag;
Winter fishing tent or windproof wing;
Sleds for fishing;
Food, thermos with hot drink;
Snowmobile, motorized dog, motorized towing vehicle, all-terrain vehicle, ATV, caracat (usually in dreams).

We can talk about winter fishing equipment for a long time; special articles are devoted to this topic on the site.

Tackle

The choice of gear depends on the fisherman himself. There are many varieties of winter fishing methods. The website Podlednik.ru is dedicated to all this diversity. The articles provide comprehensive information on all methods of fishing from ice. Here are the main directions:

Catching a predator by trolling with artificial baits - spoons, balancers, ratlins, cicadas and other decoys.
Catching predators with fishing gear (flags, supplies).
Catching peaceful fish (sometimes predators) with float or nodding rods passively (on a riser).
Active fishing with a jig or reelless.
Bottom gear for the current - helicopters, rollers, pull-ups.

The set of necessary fishing accessories depends on the chosen fishing method. The baitfish will need a winter can for live bait, and the floaters will need a bloodworm with a bloodworm.

Tip #2: Choose the right time

The most abundant catch will be in the first 2-3 weeks after freeze-up. During this time, the fish are still off the coast and actively moving around the reservoir. Towards the middle of winter, and especially during severe frosts, it goes deeper. Perch, for example, looks for holes on the bottom that are surrounded by smooth areas. It is here, in the flat areas, that the roach, tasty for a predator, will hide. Therefore, for winter fishing you need a fishing rod of at least 20-40 cm with a sensitive and hard rod. This type of tackle is also suitable for bream. He also loves depth. But the roach always stays at 2-3 m and does not like to migrate.

Next good period for fishing:

end of winter - before the thaw,
periods of winter warming,
clear weather without precipitation,
partly cloudy weather with slight wind loads.

It bites better in the early morning and at sunset. But during the period of snowfalls, strong winds and frosts, the bite actually stops.

How to fish properly in winter

Regardless of the method of winter fishing, biting and fishing are only the final stages after preparation, search and identification of a catchable bait supply option. By the way, the capture may not take place if something was done incorrectly at the previous stages. The fisherman must take into account a lot of factors in order to go out at the right time in the right place with the working gear and the established fishing technique. Here are some aspects:

General scientific attitude to the process. Fish is a living organism that lives, feeds and reproduces in a body of water according to certain laws.
Study of the bottom topography and features of the reservoir. You can’t just take it, throw the tackle in the first place you come across and catch it (with rare exceptions). Each fish has its own habits, characteristics, special parking and feeding places.
Correct selection and equipment of gear, bait, bait.
Tactics (active, passive, mixed).
Accounting for weather and seasons.
Angler's instinct (inexplicably, developed with experience).

Winter fishing for perch

In the previous article we talked about different methods of catching perch from ice. Now let’s take a closer look at one of them, namely catching perch in winter with a jig.

Where to look for perch

So, the best time to catch perch is on the eve of winter. A week later, after the ice has formed, the activity of the perch increases sharply (it can be compared to a meal before spawning). Now, until severe frosts hit, the perch is in the coastal zone in its natural habitat. Preference is given to grassy or snagged shallows, headlands and bays. Perch loves a hard, pebble-sand bottom, strewn with snags.

It also lives on the bottom covered with silt, but there should not be too much of it. It can also be found on the border with aquatic vegetation or in places where other artificial and natural shelters are available.

Towards the end of December, the activity of perch decreases significantly, and in addition, previously large schools that formed in the fall disintegrate. Nowadays, finding a school of minke whales numbering over 10 individuals is a great success. The perch leaves the coastal zone, but as before, it tries to stick to the shallows that are adjacent to holes, river beds or dumps; there is a high chance of meeting it on the shallows between the holes.

It also happens: Small Simaginskoye lake fishing - About fishing

You should also look for perch in old river beds and in areas where rivers and streams flow into the reservoir. The depth at which perch prefers to stay is 2 - 3.5 m. You should look for perch in holes and pools only during periods of severe frost. Due to the decrease in the activity of stripers, catching perch in winter with a jig will be most effective, because a jig is the most delicate equipment.

At the beginning of spring, perch becomes active again and disperses throughout the entire reservoir; moreover, it can more often be found in various layers of water. This is especially true for large perch, which can be located a few centimeters from the ice edge.

In winter, perch bite throughout the day; it is quite difficult to say which time is best for fishing for stripers, since now they are very capricious and can be passive all day long; once they start feeding, they feed only in the evening. It has been noted that the evening bite is the shortest.

Perch loves windless, frosty days, the main thing is that the atmospheric pressure is stable and the frost is not lower than 15˚C.

We start making holes from the shore, and the colder and longer the winter lasts, the further we begin our search. We drill 10-12 holes in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of 5-10 meters from each other. When you drill holes near the shore, you must be careful not to let the drill come into contact with the bottom. Also, the knives of the drill can be dulled by sand blown onto the ice from the shore.

First, using not too thin equipment, catch all the active fish from the holes. Then go back and feed each hole with bloodworms, a pinch will be enough.

If you are fishing on a still body of water, it is enough to simply throw the bait into the hole; in the current, you need to use a feeding feeder, and the stronger the current, the lower at the bottom we should open it; as a rule, the feeder is opened by a strong hook. There is no need to knock the feeder on the bottom. After feeding, we check whether the fish has arrived, for which we make 4-5 retrieves. It is advisable to use several different jig movements. Moreover, winter fishing for perch using a standing jig is often successful.

The more confident the bite is and the more perch in the hole, the more often it is necessary to feed it, while reducing the number of bloodworms to 10-15 pieces.

Some anglers who have no problem with bloodworms feed the holes immediately after they have been drilled. In cases where there are not many bloodworms, throw only into those holes where stripers have bitten.

If the bite on a hole is weak, it makes sense to make an additional 1-2 holes within a radius of no more than 2 meters, perhaps the flock is standing somewhere nearby.

And remember, complementary feeding is secondary, if there is no bite, we move on and make the next series of holes. Winter perch fishing is an active type of fishing, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a jig or a spoon. The larger the water area you fish, the more substantial the catch will be.

The best fishing for perch in winter is the first couple of weeks after the ice sets in, when the still thin ice does not drive the fish away from their previous stop. The perch moves further from the shore only as the ice grows, and the best bite in our latitudes lasts until the end of December. Later you have to look for it throughout the entire reservoir, but it does not move long distances and winters in small flocks near coastal dumps, flooded ravines, and in old river beds. Most often it prefers areas with a hard bottom and snags.

Extremely cold water forces perch to sink to depths, from which it can be quite difficult to lure them out, even if you use the most attractive baits. It is best caught with a jig or a vertical spoon. The action of the bait is very important for him, and when fishing for perch in winter, the fisherman will need good skills in using tackle. For bait, small bloodworms, pieces of fresh fish or worms, and dragonfly larvae are used.

It also happens: When does pike bite in the fall: at what pressure, in what weather, when does it start to eat, optimal conditions for fishing

What is the best way to fish in winter?

Winter fishing is done using a variety of gear and bait, artificial or natural. The use of one or another depends on the conditions of the reservoir and the chosen fishing method.

Artificial baits:

Spoons;
Balancers;
Rattlins (winter wobblers);
Cicadas;
Jigs;
Front sights;
Rubber and silicone baits.

Natural baits:

Live bait, whitebait;
Dead fish, sliced;
Meat, lard, offal;
Bloodworm;
Maggot;
Worms;
Burdock (Chernobyl grass).

This is not a complete list, but only the most common baits. Often, especially when winter fishing for white fish, it is necessary to use bait. You can use store-bought mixtures. Many fishermen make their own fertilizer at home.

Winter fishing on first ice

Winter fishing on first ice is very productive. During this period, most fish are still quite active and respond well to bait. But winter fishing on first ice is also fraught with danger, because the ice is not yet strong enough, and fishermen, who have waited so long for the water to become covered with ice, rush to fish without waiting until it is safe to go out on the ice.

In order to protect yourself as much as possible at the beginning of the winter fishing season, you should go out on the ice only when it is strong enough to support the weight of the fisherman and use an ice pick. An ice pick is a long stick with a sharp metal tip designed to break through ice or test its strength. Before each step, tap the ice with a pick to make sure it is not washed out and is strong enough.

During the period of first ice, fish are actively caught from morning until evening, and some species of fish continue to be caught at night.

When to catch fish in winter

Ice fishing depends on the correct choice of fishing time, globally and locally, throughout the day. Some species feed more actively at night (burbot, bream, pike perch). Perch is a purely diurnal predator. Crucian carp, roach, pike are caught around the clock. The behavior of fish differs in different bodies of water. Therefore, there is no exact schedule. In one reservoir, fishing in winter will be successful at night, in another - before lunch or after. Here you need to study the patterns, features of this particular body of water, and the winter behavior of the fish in it.

It is impossible to accurately answer the question of when fish bite in winter. There are too many variables. Winter weather also affects the bite - wind, temperature, atmospheric pressure. Each fishing trip needs to be approached comprehensively. It’s better to tune in to fishing for a specific species, selecting equipment and tactics, and not go to the river just like that, to catch “whoever will bite.”

How does water temperature affect fish bite? Autumn winter.

There is not a single fisherman in the world who is not aware that there are many factors that indirectly or directly affect the feeding behavior of fish and the temperature of the habitat is one of such factors. Moreover, a change in this indicator by literally 1C during a fishing day can significantly affect the effectiveness of fishing; accordingly, with a sharp increase or decrease in temperature, all attempts to catch some types of freshwater fish are generally reduced to zero. Analyzing the knowledge gained empirically, our grandfathers did not rush to the reservoir with the first rays of the spring sun in search of “white fish,” for example, bream, but waited for a more favorable time to feed it. It is probably no secret to many that with even a slight increase in water temperature in the coastal zone, the bite of this fish is more stable and regular. Nowadays, there are many scientifically conducted studies that, coupled with the observations of naturalists, help fishermen to better systematize the dependence of a particular fish on water temperature (ecological niche) and since we are talking about bream, let’s start with the peculiarities of its behavior.

Bream.

A desirable fish for the overwhelming majority of feeders in most of the post-Soviet space.

As the water temperature drops, bream begin to gather in large schools, the density of which reaches its maximum size by the time the ice forms. However, one of the peculiarities of the behavior of bream is that this fish moves in the fall and at least in the winter, moreover, from time to time the bream feeds well. For example, carp also gathers in flocks, but at T + 8C - + 6C it occupies a certain area of the reservoir (usually riverbed holes with a slight current) and practically stops feeding. At the same temperature, anglers who purposefully go fishing for bream can be recommended to spend more time searching for schools of bream (the most likely aggregations) than trying to attract them to the fishing point with bait. Often, summer habitats have long been abandoned, and the bream is reluctant to follow the scent trail, while at the same time it is unlikely to miss the opportunity to feast on food and bait that are in the visibility zone.

Roach (roach).

This fish, like many other types of whitefish, will not feed when the water temperature drops sharply (1-2 degrees, for example, after night frosts), however, the trackfish feeds quite well during “stable water” and becomes inert to food only in severe frosts, when the water cools to +2C. These data suggest that on boring autumn/spring fishing days, it makes sense to tune in to catching the track, which in cold water responds well to bloodworms, maggots, caster and medium-sized worms.

Perch.

A more summer fish, since in warm water the activity of digesting food is faster. But, nevertheless, with the proper approach and skill, you can catch perch almost the entire period of cold water. According to ichthyologists, perch becomes inert and stops feeding if the water temperature is +4C or lower. At the same time, it is noted that if this temperature remains for several days, then short-term activity of the “striped” is possible.

Carp.

It is distinguished by its heat-loving nature. At the beginning of autumn, it gains strength, actively feeding during lunch hours, while its feeding preferences change in favor of animal components and, as mentioned above, when the temperature drops to +6C in many rivers, catching a carp is more likely an accident (the bait got under the nose), than a pattern. Despite the fact that as the water gets colder, this fish is capable of eating all living things, including small fish, often the carp continues to respond to bait with sweet aromas (for example, strawberries) and bait in the form of canned or fermented corn. This should not be forgotten. Also, in the fall, a daily increase in water temperature by 0.5 - 1.5 degrees can radically change the situation and force the carp to feed.

Chub.

This is the most voracious species of “white” fish, whose metabolic system is “tuned” in such a way that it eats well, digests food and, most importantly, reacts to bait by following the scent trail. Fishermen have long figured out this feature of the chub, and for many skilled fish who are not afraid of the cold, this fish is the target until the moment the fastest river is frozen in ice.

Rudd.

Heat-loving fish, whose metabolism is highly dependent on water temperature. Rudd is very good to catch in spring and autumn when the water temperature rises (even slightly, sometimes by only +0.5C), feels good in the summer heat, feeding at the very surface, but closer to winter its metabolism decreases sharply, and you can count on catching this fish in winter - utopia. Even during moments of stable spring warming, on the last ice, the rudd is in a comatose state, so it practically does not feed and is not caught from the ice. The most preferred fishing time is late spring – summer – early warm autumn.

Crucian carp.

Despite the fact that crucian carp, like rudd, is classified as a heat-loving fish species, it can be successfully caught until late autumn and on the last ice. The fish leaves and returns from suspended animation at a water temperature of about +4C. In the autumn, crucian carp can be actively caught when the water temperature rises by at least +1C or is stable for several days. A distinctive feature of fishing for crucian carp in cold water is the search for this fish in local shallow areas where there are no dying algae. The crucian carp leaves the grass because fallen and decaying greenery displaces oxygen, saturating the water with toxic decay products.

Tench.

A pronounced representative of the summer species of fish of the carp family. Feels good in warm water with a sufficient amount of oxygen dissolved in it. During a sharp decrease in the temperature of the habitat, the tench stops feeding for a long time; in the fall, the metabolism slows down greatly and by winter the tench falls into suspended animation. In exceptional cases, tench can be caught in late autumn and early spring, but targeted fishing at this time is only possible in places where there is an artificial influx of warm water (for example, a discharge from a city thermal power plant)

Pike.

Pike, similar to chub, can feed until the water temperature drops below +2C. A peculiarity of pike behavior is that in the cold season, the “spotted” one does not spend much energy chasing the prey, but if you present the bait/bait within visual contact with the latter, the pike is unlikely to miss its chance. All winter long, pike is a great trophy for fans of fishing with girders, however, these amateur fishermen are well aware that “the legs feed the wolf” and often rearrange the girders (flags) along the walls of the reeds or in other places where the predator is supposed to stop, every 10 - 20 minutes .

Zander.

A kind of unique person who has two reconfigurable types of metabolism. When the water temperature reaches + 18C, the metabolism of pike perch is adjusted to the growth of the individual, i.e. Throughout the post-spawning and summer period, the fish feeds to increase growth, and in the fall, when the water cools to the same +18C, the zander’s metabolism begins to work to gain weight. By winter, a layer of fat accumulates in the abdominal cavity, which helps the pike perch survive hungry times and maintain viability during and after the spawning period. As the water cools to +5C, the fanged fish begin to gather in large schools. Ichthyologists claim that the maximum size of a school of pike perch concentrated in one area of the water area is formed when the water temperature equalizes to +2C throughout the entire column.

If the oxygen regime of the reservoir is favorable, then pike perch can be caught all year round, although searching for sites and calculating the activity period of this fish can take a very long time. The fact is that in winter, pike perch feed for a short period of time (literally 20 - 40 minutes), fishermen call these intervals “exits”, and finding a school, and even getting to the “exit” is not an easy task. Of course, if you present the bait “under the nose of a predator”, while presenting it as plausibly as possible in the understanding of the fish, then the pike perch will “reciprocate”, but despite the fact that this predator can feed, and most importantly it feeds in cold water, in its choice When using fishing baits in winter, pike perch is very picky.

Som.

Choosing a fishing spot

Choosing the right location for winter ice fishing is fundamental to any fishing method, both strategically and tactically. First of all, you need to answer the question of where to go fishing in winter, to which body of water. To do this, you need to understand the behavior of the fish that the angler will hunt. On this body of water itself, especially if it is large (large river, reservoir), you also need to choose the right place. During the first ice, most species stay close to the shore, at shallow depths. Even those who love pits, pike perch and bream on the first ice, can bite well at shallow depths. In the dead of winter, the fish are located deeper, in holes, on the edges. Closer to spring, underwater inhabitants return closer to coastal vegetation, enter the mouths of tributary rivers, and ascend them to spawn. Always promising fishing spots are edges, snags, patches of vegetation in great depths, underwater thickets of algae, boulders, in general any shelters and distortions of the relief. Here you already need to know and understand the features of winter fishing for a particular species.

What fish are caught in winter?

Some fish hibernate in winter, some lose activity, but are still occasionally caught. In general, in winter, all fish, with the exception of burbot, which loves the cold, become less active than in summer. But still, catching some types of fish in winter is quite relevant and, with certain skill, can bring good results.

The following fish bite most actively in winter:

pike;
perch;
roach;
bream;
zander;
rudd.

It is more difficult to catch fish such as:

crucian carp;
carp;
carp;
silver carp.

Safety

Fishing from ice is, in principle, dangerous - the fisherman is at risk of getting, at a minimum, hypothermia. Therefore, thinking through equipment is extremely important. Particularly dangerous are fishing periods in the spring, when the ice is melting. On fast winter rivers, especially in the south, even in January and February there may be gullies covered with snow. You should always be careful on ice.

Website Podlednik.ru

On our website you can find comprehensive information on all areas of winter fishing:

Ways to catch fish in winter.
Tricks and secrets of winter fishing.
Ice fishing gear.

We will tell you how to properly fish in winter, what to use, with a description of all the details and nuances. The site information is the quintessence of fishing knowledge from experienced winter skiers. There are no hidden advertisements here - only pure fishing experience and the theory of fish ichthyology. Ice fishing is not just a hobby. It's a way of life.

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Ice fishing

With the onset of winter, fishing is carried out both on non-freezing reservoirs and from ice-covered surfaces.
Moreover, most fishermen prefer ice fishing, which is associated with certain difficult moments and requires appropriate equipment. Ice fishing begins immediately after the installation of strong ice on the reservoirs, capable of supporting the weight of a person. Most often, a lot of fish in winter can be found in the same bodies of water as in the warmer seasons. But when cold weather sets in, the fish begins to look for a place where it will be more comfortable - with better temperature and oxygen conditions.

If the amount of oxygen and food is insufficient, then many fish hibernate and become active only with the arrival of a thaw. For successful fishing, it is very important to learn as much as possible about the reservoir and its inhabitants in advance. This will be very useful in finding fish habitats after everything is covered with a thick layer of ice.