How to catch whitefish - where and what to catch? Whitefish. Whitefish fishing

Whitefish catching in summer is an interesting activity, because this fish is considered the most cherished catch of fishing enthusiasts. This fish belongs to the salmon family, and therefore is considered a valuable commercial species. The most suitable time of the year is the period that begins before the ice covers the water bodies and ends in early spring. However, the climate on the Kola Peninsula is special. Here, even in summer, the water temperature is quite low.

The body shape is elongated, slightly compressed from the sides. Small size of head and mouth. The color of the scales is silvery, the back casts a bluish or greenish tint.

This tasty fish is found in almost all lakes and rivers of Siberia, the Far East and Primorye. The place of fishing is reservoirs, rivers, lakes, where it is often artificially bred.

First of all, you need to take care of the fixtures before going fishing. As a rule, in the summer time, the fly fishing method or a float rod in the line is used for this. However, according to experienced fishermen, spinning for whitefish is the most convenient.

In this case, you need to take into account a number of features:

Whitefish are quite active fish and often resist more strongly than grayling. Therefore, a thin cord may not cope with such a task.
Thin PE cord is most suitable. It is most commonly used for perch.
At first, an inexperienced fisherman should not use a rod, because with sufficiently heavy baits (about 2 grams), it can be difficult to provide a high-quality cast.
It is more convenient to work with a thin line, since it provides the casting of the bait to the desired distance. In addition, it allows control of the wiring and practically does not sail.

More experienced fishermen use spinning rods, for example, "rock fish", which show up to 3 grams in tests. At first glance, the rod is quite stiff, but in the case of northern fish it is very comfortable and helps to observe the lead.

It is better to choose reels for sports models that are equipped with fine adjustment of the brake.

Of course, in order to successfully catch whitefish you need a good bait. According to experienced anglers, the Lazer Rocker Minnow is considered one of the best at the moment. It is an artificial silicone worm. If it is not at hand, then a spoon, resembling a narrow spoon, at the end of which you can attach several artificial worms, is quite suitable.

We throw the bait to the bottom, and then move it several times so that the whitefish can see the cloud of turbidity. Sometimes the fish does not seek to attack, but observes the bait. In this case, it is lifted up, after which the fish immediately reacts.

As a rule, in rivers, this fish will be found in places where there is a widening of the channel. Most often, he lives there. Smaller fish can stay near the shore, the largest swim at depths. In the event that fishing for whitefish in the summer, then it is best to use fly fishing. A medium-sized nymph and hook number 4.5-5 are suitable as bait.

How to catch:

Make a cast in order to achieve good penetration of the bait. For a small whitefish weighing no more than 0.5 kg, a dry front sight is more suitable.
In autumn, use a wading line that allows you to cast the bait upstream for a long distance and with a small angle.
If you go to a lake where fish are artificially bred in lakes, then most often they can be found in the area of shallows.

Casting on a whitefish is done in a direction parallel to the shore, and then pull up. In this case, the rod and the line should be one line.

It is worth entering from the leeward direction. In such conditions, the fish get lost in schools. Therefore, there are often difficulties with what she prefers to bite.

The most suitable rig would be a bait that mimics a mayfly, amphipod or nymph. You should pay attention to the hook with the size 3-4.

This is a predator, so the whitefish bites the bait quite aggressively. He lies down on one side towards the bait, grabs it and tries to go into the water column. It is very time to make a quick hooking even at the moment when the fish is playing with the float. And do not forget that this fish is stubborn and strong. Therefore, it is best to hunt together. In addition, in the summer, large individuals are most often encountered. In any case, one will be engaged in fishing, and the second will be pulled out by the landing net.

In addition, this fish has not only strength and tenacity, but also cunning. The moment you catch him and pull him to the shore, he is able to make a sharp movement and get off the hook. Therefore, you need not only to attract the fish to the hook, but also to pull it out of the water. You need to fish out very carefully and quickly. In addition, the fish begins to make sudden movements and make noise, so all other living creatures can scatter.

The shape of the fish, which we talked about at the very beginning of our article, also creates certain difficulties for the fisherman when trying to extract his prey from the water. The fish will easily slip out of the hand. Therefore, you need to take with you to the pond not only tackle, but also a net, equipped with a net made of nylon monofilament. However, in addition to whitefish, trout, perch, and white fish are often found on such reservoirs. Putting our simple tips into practice, you will return home with a big catch and enjoy the taste of this interesting fish.

The amazing and little-known species include fish from the family whitefish... It is noteworthy that it is rather difficult to systematize this type of fish, this is due to the fact that whitefish originate from the Ice Age and represent relict organisms that combine many races, tribes and forms.

Description of the cig family

According to the generally accepted opinion, whitefish belongs to the salmon family, however, many scientists distinguish it into its own group of whitefish, on a par with nelma and white fish.

The appearance of the whitefish is notable for its flattened body, which is protected by medium-sized scales; a distinctive feature is a small mouth with missing teeth on the vomer and upper jaw. In other areas, the teeth are extremely poorly developed and eventually fall out altogether.

Another unusual feature is highlighted. In whitefish, the bone of the upper jaw does not extend into the eye, as well as depending on the type and shape, the location of the mouth may differ, from the final to the typically lower.

How to catch more fish?

I have been active fishing for quite some time now and have found many ways to improve my bite. But the most effective was and remains.

It attracts fish in cold and warm water with the help of pheromones and stimulates their appetite. Suitable for both summer and winter fishing.

Fish of such species are notable for their average size, the standard length can reach half a meter, and the weight will be no more than one kilogram. The body has a light color with a slightly prominent darkish back and a grayish abdomen.

Naturally, depending on the subspecies, the color intensity may vary slightly in one direction or another. The fins, on the other hand, always differ from the light body, and have a dark, almost black color. It should be noted that whitefish never have any spots on either the fins or the body.

Whitefish meat, even if most researchers attribute it to the salmon family (red fish), has a white color. It is noteworthy that it is distinguished by its tenderness and amazing taste.

By the way, in addition, it contains many vitamins, a significant amount of protein, and substances extremely important for the body, such as fluorine, nickel, chromium, malibdenum and zinc. Well, it's not even worth mentioning the excellent nutritional value and satiety.

The growth rate of fish directly depends on the temperature of the water, the oxygen contained in it and the amount of suitable food. It feeds on whitefish plankton, and as it grows, fry and small fish are included in the diet.

Whitefish species

Despite the fact that there are a lot of whitefish species, and at first glance it is not possible to streamline this system, there is still a classification.

Whitefish are divided according to their habitat, into three main types:

Lake whitefish
Pass-through sig
River whitefish

River whitefish is more common than others. It comes to rivers from the seas and small lakes for spawning. Its distinctive feature is a darker color of the back and abdomen, as well as a small head with a blunt and rounded nose. The pelvic and pectoral fins stand out with pointed ends.

There is also a classification of whitefish depending on the place of residence:

Pelagic
Coastal
Deep sea

Habitat

Whitefish is a commercial fish species due to the fact that it is acclimatized in most of Russia and the rest of the post-Soviet space.

Particularly successful whitefish fishing grounds are located in the Gulf of Finland, Ladoga and Peipsi lakes, on the Kola Peninsula, where it predominantly lives in large lakes such as Seydozero, Lovozero, Pankunyavr, etc. Whitefish is widespread in the interval between the Barents and White Seas and up to Chukotka.

It is found in the Baltic Sea, but in Transbaikalia there is an extremely amazing whitefish, isolated as a special species. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that he throws his eggs in early spring... Whitefish can be seen in the water bodies of Alaska and Canada, less often in the seas and large lakes, where whitefish wait out the cold.

Whitefish spawning

Regardless of habitat and subspecies (with rare exceptions) whitefish spawning begins at 4-5 years of life cycle in males and for 5-6 years in females... The beginning falls in the fall, while it stretches and often spawning includes the winter months. This is primarily due to the length of the reservoirs where the whitefish goes to spawn.

It also plays a role in the fact that in the whitefish habitats there is a rather long autumn and cold weather comes late. More specifically, the beginning falls in mid-September and ends in November or December, the decisive factor here is the type of reservoir. Whitefish prefer shallow water bodies for spawning, which is why whitefish leave the seas and large lakes for spawning and come to the river environment.

The comfortable water temperature for whitefish spawning will range from plus five to plus two degrees. Adults feed in shallow water, but in some cases, whitefish can go to deep, up to twenty meters, places. The fecundity of females ranges from twenty thousand eggs to fifty thousand in some species.

The color of the caviar is slightly lighter than that of the trout. Sigils her whitefish mainly on rocky areas.

Whitefish fishing

If we talk about commercial fishing for whitefish, then it is carried out in reservoirs specially equipped for this, where its artificial breeding is carried out.

The main whitefish fishing season takes place in the summer. While fish are in search of food, it is especially possible to find whitefish in pits where there is a reverse current and on rifts in warm weather. Whitefish fry often live under high banks, where they unite in flocks and stand under the coastline.

In turn, adults and large individuals opt for deeper places. For the winter, whitefish remains to winter in deep pits, and for successful fishing it is precisely necessary to find such a pit.

The most effective fishing period is considered to be fishing at the moment of the last ice, i.e. in fact, already in the spring. In this, by the way, the whitefish has a similarity with its brother - the grayling. After the water is again enriched with oxygen, the whitefish begins an active search for food in order to replenish the fat lost during the winter.

It is worth remembering that because of its high fat content, whitefish, as well as grayling, are classified as quickly perishable fish, therefore, after fishing, you should either cook the fish, or subject it to salting and smoking.

Whitefish tackle

You can catch whitefish with absolutely any tackle, because in this regard, it is a very careless fish. However, some features are still worth considering. The telescope of the fishing rod should have a length of about three meters and be durable enough. The reel should be selected for playing large fish.

In the case of using a classic float rod, the depth of the fishing spot should not exceed three and a half meters. In other cases, it will be much more expedient to use the sliding float technology.

Whitefish lures

In the natural environment of the reservoir, whitefish behaves very aggressively, and often displaces other fish species from their usual habitat, therefore, whitefish fishing is possible with live bait, and in general whitefish can often be found in the habitats of fry or any small fish. In winter, by the way, successfully, it turns out, catching whitefish for worms and fry.

Conclusion

Whitefish is a very valuable type of fish, it is often compared to omul. But at the same time, unlike its famous counterpart, whitefish is much more widespread. It is found not only in most rivers and lakes of our Motherland, but also in the near and far abroad.

This fact is associated with a huge variety of whitefish, because living in different parts of the planet leaves an individual imprint on the entire species, creating many subspecies.

Sigi are the brightest representatives of this outlandish world, vividly showing by their example all the greatness and beauty of nature in general and its water component in particular. In conclusion, I would like to wish everyone a great mood, success, good luck, and of course, always only a big catch.

How long have you had a really BIG CAPTURE?

When was the last time you caught dozens of HEALTHY pike / carp / bream?

We always want to get the result from fishing - to catch not three perches, but a dozen kilogram pikes - this will be the catch! Each of us dreams of this, but not everyone knows how.

A good catch can be achieved (and we both know this) thanks to good bait.

It can be made at home or bought at fishermen's shops. But it is expensive in stores, and to prepare groundbait at home, you need to spend a lot of time, and, in fact, homemade bait does not always work well.

Do you know that disappointment when you bought groundbait or cooked it at home, and caught three or four perches?

So maybe it's time to use a really working product, the effectiveness of which has been proven both scientifically and practice on the rivers and ponds of Russia?

It gives the very result that we cannot achieve ourselves, especially since it is cheap, which distinguishes it from other means and you do not need to spend time on manufacturing - you ordered it, brought it and go!

Of course, it's better to try once than hear a thousand times. Moreover, now is the season! when ordering this is a great bonus!

Find out more about the bait!

In each of the seasons, fishing has its own characteristics, which leave a lot of impressions for both professionals and amateurs. Even severe frost cannot make an avid fisherman deny himself such a pleasure. Fishing of a rather large representative of salmon - whitefish is no exception. Whitefish inhabit almost all regions of the northern hemisphere, so ..

- fish of the salmon family. The body of the whitefish is compressed, the scales have a silvery color, turning into dark on the back. The fins are dark, sometimes black. The mouth of the whitefish is lower, although in some individuals it is almost finite, depending on the water body. Whitefish generally have many species that may differ in appearance, habitat, spawning time and much more.

Whitefish is common in the cold countries of the northern hemisphere of the planet. In Russia, whitefish lives in almost all water bodies of the Arctic Ocean.

Maximum weight - 12 kg;
Maximum length - 1.25 m;
Life expectancy is 20 years.

Best whitefish bait

The best whitefish bait depends on how you fish it. If we talk about fishing with a line, then by far the best bait for a whitefish will be live bait. For fishing whitefish, live bait about 8 cm long is used. As live bait, you should use narrow-bodied small fish - this is the whitefish's favorite food. The following live baits are best suited:

When fishing for whitefish with a spinning rod, a jig will be the best bait for it. Whitefish is excellent for jig lures, especially for orange, yellow and beige fish colors. The jig head should be chosen not very heavy and round in shape, it is these jig heads that show the best results when fishing for whitefish with spinning.

Best whitefish fishing spots

It is worth noting here that small whitefish are always caught near the shore, while large ones prefer to catch closer to the middle of the river. When fishing for whitefish, the most important thing is to guess at what depth this fish is now. The fact is that whitefish often moves in the water column and can be both at its surface and in the middle or at the very bottom.

Most often, the whitefish stays slightly above the middle of the depth. That is, if the depth in a given section of the reservoir is 10 meters, then the whitefish will most often keep at a distance of 4 meters from the surface of the water. But sometimes the whitefish goes into the pits, expelling other fish from there, or rises to the very surface of the water. Therefore, if fishing for whitefish in the water column does not bring bites, you should also fish other layers of water.

Best time to catch whitefish

Whitefish is caught all year round and in winter this fish, if it loses its activity, is insignificant and its catching continues. Active whitefish fishing continues until mid-June. Around this time, the whitefish's favorite food, the Dergun mosquito, flies out. During this period, whitefish begins to feed on almost only this insect, but some fishermen make baits similar to this mosquito and continue to quite successfully catch whitefish in the bite-free zone.

After whitefish was caught very poorly from July to August inclusively, in September-October the whitefish pre-spawning fire begins. At this time, the fish are very active and rush to any proposed bait with particular greed. The autumn period is very successful in fishing for whitefish.

As for the time of day, whitefish is more of a nocturnal fish than a daytime one. Therefore, catching it is more relevant in the evening-night-morning period. In the daytime, whitefish can only actively feed during the autumn zhora, in cloudy weather, or when it is very hungry.

Well, you will learn more about whitefish fishing in this section.

A story about grayling on the first ice

The weather in our North this year is simply unpredictable. Early frosts, which were below -20 C in mid-October, quickly froze small rivers and lakes. Not far from the town of Mezen, in the Arkhangelsk region, there is a small forest river called Pyya, which lovers of ice fishing visit during the entire winter period. I am no exception among fishing enthusiasts, and I also used to fish on it before. The river is interesting in that it has a small width, its depth is no more than a meter. The water level in it is affected by tides. The fish “living” in it are grayling, ruff and a little whitefish. The current is not very strong, except for the period when a large amount of water flows into the river at high tide. At the same time, part of the water is poured onto the ice, which grows rapidly in cold weather.

At the end of winter, it becomes impossible to fish on it, as the thickness of the ice becomes greater than the length of the ice screw.

On October 25, I met a neighbor who managed to go to this river in the morning. He boasted of a good catch, which caused me a fit of white envy. In the evening I called Alexey, my constant partner on fishing and hunting. Consent followed immediately. We agreed to leave in the dark so that we could be in place by dawn. How long does it take for a fisherman to get ready? All the tackle is in order from last season, the worms are prepared, in the morning tea in a thermos, a few sandwiches and off you go!

We left on Alexei's snowmobile, I was in the sleigh. All 11 km to the river seemed like hell. There was very little snow in the swamps and in the forest, everything was frozen, it shook just incredibly. Only the anticipation of the first ice fishing filled with excitement. But it all ends at some point.

When we arrived at the river, it turned out that it was impossible to go down onto the ice on a snowmobile. The banks are steep enough, and there is little snow, so there was no comfortable descent. After walking about 300 meters on the ice, we stopped at a small "saucer", where we usually catch grayling. The absence of holes gave hope that the place was not fished out and that one could count on good luck. It was easy to drill the ice, its thickness did not exceed 10 cm. Having made 4 holes, we baited and lowered the fishing rods. As soon as I lowered the first one and began to prepare the second fishing rod, a sharp bite immediately followed. Did not have time. Hoping that the grayling did not go far, he began to twitch her slightly. A bite followed almost immediately, but the grayling was not detected again. We put up 4 fishing rods and began to wait. Bites occurred on those tackle, near which we were not.

Analyzing the situation, we came to the conclusion that the fish sees us. This place where we settled was not covered with snow, and we fished in the area with bare ice.

From time to time the grayling pecked, it was inconvenient to run to the fishing rod on slippery ice, it was especially difficult to stop. But the catch gradually increased. It was interesting to pull out the grayling, under the ice it could be seen a couple of meters before the hole.

Two bites were very powerful. Grayling pulled fishing rods into the water, and only a lucky chance saved our tackle. As usual, the largest fish remained in the river. In total, we caught 16 grayling weighing from 150 to 300 grams. Quite large specimens are also found in this river. Closer to noon, a weak blizzard began, the biting practically stopped and we went home.

For many years I have been using small jigs as bait. From below they are copper and brass in color, from above they are covered with lead. They have a decent weight that can handle the flow. A little higher on an additional leash, I tie various flies, both on a tee and on a single hook. The color of the flies is green, red and brown. According to many years of observations, this is the color preferred by grayling. I use a line no more than 0.2 mm. The nozzle is usually an earthworm, which we try to prepare for the whole winter, maggot and bloodworms. Sometimes we use groundbait. The real country cottage cheese is considered the best. It is very difficult to get it, although we live in a rural area. Grayling completely ignores cottage cheese from the store in packs.

A few days later a thaw came, all the snow and ice on rivers and lakes melted. We went on a hare hunt on the blacktrope, but that's another story. It's just that in more than 40 years of fishing experience, there has never been such a sequence in hunting and fishing.

Features of fishing on the Amur

About the Amur River ⇩
What kind of fish can you catch here? ⇩
What gear should you use? ⇩
Features of fishing in different seasons ⇩
In winter ⇩
In spring ⇩
Summer ⇩
Autumn ⇩

The Amur is a great river that flows through the territory of the Russian Far East. From the point of view of fishing, this river is very interesting, but the greatest attention of fishermen is focused on the Lower Amur: here this river is full-flowing and there are a lot of fish in this place.

In this article, we will tell you what kind of fish you can catch in the Amur, what tackle you need to use for this, and also what are the features of fishing in different seasons: summer, autumn, winter and spring.

About the Amur river

The Amur River flows in the Far East in East Asia. The length of this river is 2824 kilometers.

The name of the river comes from the base "amar", "damur" - "big river". The Chinese called the Amur River "Heihe" or "black river", and then "Heilongjiang" - "river of the black dragon." According to the legend, in ancient times, the good black dragon living in the river defeated the evil white dragon that drowned fishing boats.

As a result, the black winner was left to live at the bottom of the river in the area of the Khingan cheeks, located on the border of the Amur and Jewish Autonomous Regions. Therefore, this river got its name: "River of the Black Dragon".

The Mongols called the Amur "Amur Khara-Muren", which translates as "wide black river".

River basin Cupid is located on the territory of three countries:

Russia (995 thousand km², more than 50% of the total area of the basin),
China (44.2%),
Mongolia (1.8%).

What kind of fish can you catch here?

In terms of fish diversity, the Amur holds the palm among many Russian rivers.

More than 100 species and subspecies of fish are found in this reservoir, of which more than 35 are commercial.

So, in the Amur you can catch the following types of fish:

Far Eastern brook lamprey and Pacific lamprey,
Kaluga
Amur sturgeon and Pacific (Sakhalin) sturgeon,
Siberian sterlet,
Chum,
Pink salmon,
Red sockeye salmon,
Coho salmon,
Sima,
Kamchatka salmon,
Malma,
Kunja,
Common taimen,
Lenok,
Ussuri (Amur) whitefish,
Sig-hadar,
Amur grayling,
Asian smelt, as well as alorothy river smelt,
Fish noodles,
Amur pike,
Ide (otherwise it is called the Amur chebak),
Far Eastern rudd (otherwise - ugai or Brandt's rudd),
Black and white cupids
Lake minnow, as well as Manchurian lake minnow,
Minnow Chekanovsky, minnow Chersky and minnow Lagovsky (or Amur minnow),
Chinese minnow,
Common minnow,
Amur flat-headed (red-fin) asp,
Chinese aphiocypris,
Mustachioed chub,
Amur chebachok,
Various types of minnows: Siberian, Lensky, Soldatov's gudgeon, Amur white-finned (long-wattled), Khankinsky, Chebakov-like (Amur), Cherskog sloth gudgeon, Sloth gudgeon, as well as Chinese (Amur) false gudgeon, Chinese lizard gudgeon, Amur gudgeon gudgeon,
Vladislavia,
The grub-horse,
A motley (spotted) horse,
Amur black-belly (podust-black belly),
Small-scaled yellowfin,
Black and white Amur bream,
Mongolian khanodikhtis,
Ordinary skygazer,
Mongolian rudf ("sungarik"),
Gorbushka,
Beehive (or Amur ostroshrudka),
Vostrobelushki: ordinary, Ussuriyskaya, Buinnurskaya, Korean,
Zheltocheek,
Amur trogub (triguba),
Bitters: common, prickly, Khanka, Light bitterness,
Common goldfish,
Amur-Chinese carp,
Silverhead (crowd),
Bighead speckled (bighead),
Usan char (Siberian char),
Eastern (Amur) loach,
Far Eastern lefoy (or - octopus char),
Amur (Manchurian) leptobotia,
Common spike,
Som Soldatova,
Amur catfish,
Killer whales: squeaky killer whale, Ussuriyskaya (whip), Brazhnikov's killer whale (malach, or blue), Herzenstein's killer whale and baby killer whale,
Perch-auha (Chinese),
Common pike perch,
Common perch,
Decorated butter,
Rotan firebrand,
Eleotris,
Japanese goby, striped three-toothed goby and Amur goby,
Southern flat-headed broadhead (or Far Eastern slingshot),
Amur broadhead,
Spotted sculpin,
Burbot,
Far Eastern navaga (or vahnya),
Snakehead,
Three-spined stickleback and nine-spined (small) Amur stickleback,
Star-shaped (Pacific river) flounder,
Striped polar flounder,
Loban.

Often fish caught in the Amur have damaged areas and ulcers on their bodies. It is not recommended to eat such fish.

What gear should you use?

What tackle to take with you for fishing depends on the season.

So, according to the reviews of fishermen, in the spring you should give preference to:

float rod,
bottom gear,
spinning.

Features of fishing in different seasons

In winter

For lovers of ice fishing, this river offers truly unlimited possibilities. On the Amur, freeze-up begins in November, and the ice stays until April-May.

Fish can be caught here in any weather, and even in spite of severe frosts, there can be excellent catches here.

So, if the day is clear, you can catch:

pike,
taimen,
lenka,
whitefish,
bream.

The first three representatives, as a rule, are caught with live bait and bait, and bream and whitefish - with a winter float rod.

In the upper reaches of the Amur, where the river does not freeze in winter, a grayling is pulled onto a Bolognese rod.

Basically, in winter, fishermen on the Amur use simple tackle, for example - a wooden fishing rod about half a meter long with a small reel and a spoon. However, some anglers make their own fishing rods.

The main thing is to pick up a catchy spoon. Homemade spinners are also very popular.

The size of the catch depends on the fisherman: some manage to catch many specimens, including trophy ones, while others - only a couple of dozen. As a rule, whitefish is caught as a by-catch.

In the spring

Active fishing for predatory fish begins immediately after the ice drift - in April-May. At this time, you can catch:

carp,
crucian carp,
taimen,
Lenkov,
whitefish.

Crucian carp are caught with a float rod - hungry individuals greedily grab their prey. Such fishing is especially effective in the morning and during the day.

Also, on a float rod during the spring, with special luck, you can catch bream, whitefish, carp, and also burbot, but most often at this time this fish is caught on donks, using bread pellets, fish slices, and worms as bait.

You can also catch a catfish or a killer whale with a fishing rod with a float, where there is a fish thread or a worm as bait.

In spring, flax and taimen are actively caught on spinning, usually fishermen come for this fish in the mountain tributaries of the Amur. And in the river beds you can find:

Amur pike,
top gaze,
horse,
burbot,
whitefish.

Summer

With the onset of summer, the float rod perfectly catches the goldfish, which remains in the bays and in shallow water after spawning. He is caught with a worm or pearl barley. You can also catch a carp weighing 1-2 kilograms for corn.

When using bottom tackle, catfish, whip killer whales, small pikes often come across the worm.

Closer to autumn, salmon come to the Amur, so the “high season” for fly-fishing fishermen comes.

In autumn

The most active fishing on the Amur begins with the arrival of the autumn months.

It is during this period of time that chum salmon, pink salmon and other salmon are raised in the river for spawning.

At this time, on the feeder, using a worm as bait, you can catch:

bream,
crucian carp,
carp,
burbot.

Spinning along with fly fishing is a true autumn tackle on the Amur. You can catch a completely trophy specimen:

pike,
yellow-cheeked
lenka,
taimen,
top gaze.

During the autumn months, a spinning rod can be fished around the clock, using wobblers during the day and using artificial “mouse” lures at night, which imitate the movements of small rodents.

In October-November, burbot and whitefish, as well as asp, are very active.

Fishing on the Amur River is wonderful almost at any time of the year, moreover. You can pamper yourself with catching trophy specimens. And if the catch suddenly did not turn out to be too rich, then just a rest in these beautiful places will bring a lot of pleasure.

Fishing along the shores of the White Sea

Of all our northern seas, the White Sea is the most accessible for visiting due to its relatively small distance and good transport links. Its coast, with high granite rocks, bays, bays, coniferous and deciduous forests, life-giving sea air, is especially attractive.

The flora and fauna of the White Sea is diverse and abundant. There are up to 470 species of plants, 800 species of invertebrates, more than 60 species of fish. The main habitats of fish in the White Sea are coastal zones of the sea with depths of up to 20-30 m, especially rich in flora and fauna, which is favorable for sport fishing.

In the sea, twice a day, the tidal current is replaced by the ebb. The height of the tides does not exceed 2-3 m on average, and only in places close to the exit to the Barents Sea do they reach 7 m. The most favorable hours of sport fishing are considered to be the period from the beginning of the middle of the tide to the end of the first half of the low tide. At this time, fish approach the coastline especially intensively and are better caught on sports equipment.

In terms of its depths, bottom topography, different salinity, and therefore different distribution of fish, the White Sea is not homogeneous. The number of marine species of plants and animals is sharply decreasing in the highly desalinated Dvinsky, Mezensky and Onega bays. There are no typical marine fish: cod, haddock, catfish, pollock, etc. But in the Kandalaksha Bay and along the northern shores of this sea, with their saltier waters, many purely marine, brackish-water fish live and enter from the Barents Sea.

It is extremely exciting to hunt such highly sporting and valuable fish as salmon and brown trout. These are large marine, anadromous fish that live part of life in the ocean, and go to rivers during spawning. Fishing for these fish in rivers is prohibited, and only in the sea can they be caught with sports equipment. The average weight of a salmon is 8 kg and the largest is 18, the largest weight of its related trout is 12 kg.

These fish keep at relatively shallow depths of the coastal zone of the sea, stand between the unevenness of the bottom. Their approach to the coast is enhanced during periods of high tidal waters and winds from the sea. High waters facilitate their massive flow into rivers or from rivers. This is the most convenient time for fishing.

You can successfully catch salmon and trout in the coastal waters of the sea near almost all rivers, but especially on the Karelian, Kandalaksha and Tersk shores of the White Sea. For fishing, you need a sufficiently strong spinning tackle or sea hook tackle "tyrant". The latter is especially successful if luminous and noisy (with pellets embedded) underwater floats are used.

Lures with high acoustics or animal baits are used as baits: shrimps, sandworms, small fish, etc., and especially various aromatic baits (liquid animal fats or vegetable oils) that affect the sense of smell, which are very finely developed in these fish.

One of the most valuable salmon fish, nelma, also lives in the White Sea. True, this fish has already become quite rare, but nevertheless it sometimes falls for the bait. Nelma spends most of its life in the coastal freshened waters of the sea, where it feeds mainly on small fish. In the sea, nelma does not make significant migrations and usually does not go beyond the bays located at the mouths of large rivers.

Nelma reaches a length of up to 140 cm and a weight of up to 40 kg, but usually its length is up to 1 meter and a weight of up to 12 kg. Nelma is a very cautious fish, feeding more at dawn and at night. Caught by spinning, on the track, sheer trolling. Small fish are used as bait, and spinners are small, oscillating, interspersed with light composition.

Sea whitefish in the White Sea is found along the entire coast, but in small quantities, with the exception of some places where it is especially abundant, for example, near the Karelian coast, in the Kandalaksha Bay. Inhabits pre-estuarine areas and lower reaches of rivers. The average length of a sea whitefish is 30 cm and a weight of 500 g. There are fish weighing up to 3 kg.

Whitefish is caught with bottom and fly fishing gear; the baits are shrimps, sea and earthworms, molluscs, and when fishing with fly fishing - various insects, as well as small white woodworms. White Sea vendace, up to 23 cm long, belongs to whitefish fish. It lives in the near-delta areas of the sea and in the lower reaches of rivers. It is caught with float and bottom fishing rods. The bait is the caviar of various fish, especially the pinagora.

Herring is the most abundant schooling fish in the White Sea, it is the main commercial fish, but it is also caught with sports equipment - on very small hooks, and fish roe serves as baits. They catch herring with the eye of a tyrant.

Cod is a particularly sporty fish. It inhabits and spawns mainly in the Kandalaksha Bay, near the Karelian and Tersky coasts, the waters of which are very saline.

They catch this fish both from the deep coast and from the boat, at some distance from the coast, at great depths. They fish from the shore using a rod, and from a boat - holding the line with their hand and pulling it all the time. Cod is especially attracted by the vibrations of the bait. Natural bait-baits are also used: pieces of fish, sandworms, etc. But even these baits must be supported - this makes fishing more effective. Cod comes across from 25 to 70 cm in size.

It is well caught by the sheer trickle of haddock. It differs from cod only in that it has large black spots on the sides, under the first dorsal fin, below the lateral line. Haddock, like cod, is a bottom fish, purely marine, not tolerating strong desalination; reaches weight up to 9 kg, length - up to 70 cm.

Among other cod fish, especially in winter, there are navaga, as well as small fish pollock and Arctic cod. They catch them with float and bottom fishing rods, as well as tyrant, using small hooks with a nozzle of sea or earthworms (in winter they use dried worms collected in the fall). Navaga is caught using narrow, short (5-8 cm) pieces of white oilcloth as bait.

There are five flounder species in the White Sea. Of these, three species - river flounder, polar and ruff - belong to local fish and are found in almost all areas of the sea. The other two species - sea flounder and ruff flounder - come from the Barents Sea for fattening in summer. Flounder is caught with float rods and tyrant, on small hooks, with a nereis worm attachment, which can be found in abundance on sandbanks at low tide.

Fishing for large bottom fish - catfish is of sporting interest. She lives in areas where the waters are less desalinated. Catfish are solitary. Sometimes fish up to 80 cm in length are caught. The catfish feed on mollusks, crabs, shrimps, sea urchins, stars and other invertebrates, and occasionally grab small fish.

The catfish have highly developed conical and chewing teeth, which serve to crush and grind the dense skeletons of mollusks, echinoderms and crustaceans. Fishing for catfish with bottom rods begins in May; at this time, fish appear in coastal waters at shallow depths (10-15 m).

The rest of the time they stick much deeper, where catching them is already difficult. When fishing, you must use a steel leash; the catfish bites easily on other leashes. Catfish meat is very tasty, and large caviar is slightly inferior to chum salmon.

The caviar is also very tasty in the fish of the pinagor, which is successfully caught at shallow depths in coastal waters. Fish such as snake-like eelpout, smelt, capelin, goby, gerbil are also found, and sea bass is less common. Various freshwater fish can be caught at river mouths; rather large pikes are especially often encountered.

Sharks and rays are found in the White Sea, but they are among the rare fish in this sea. Only in the funnel and throat of the White Sea, as well as in the Mezen Bay, sharks are kept almost all year round, and often in large numbers. Sports shark fishing is very interesting, it is carried out with strong sports equipment, with bait made from fish meat, seal and especially on pieces of lard of a seal or other animal.

Sports anglers can recommend two main routes. In the first case, from Arkhangelsk by regular steamer it is necessary to sail to the Zimny, Tersky or Lyamitsky coast of the White Sea. In the second case, the train "Moscow - Murmansk" or "Leningrad - Murmansk" will deliver to the coast south or north of Belomorsk. The railway runs right on the shore of Onega Bay, and the fisherman, getting off the train, will immediately find himself on the seashore.

Or they get from the Kem station to the seashore by changing to a local train (Rabocheostrovsk). Here you can fish both at the shore and out on a boat into the sea. From Rabocheostrovsk you can take a very interesting boat trip to Solovetsky Island. Such a trip is interesting not only for the opportunity to fish in the coastal areas of the sea or numerous freshwater lakes on the island, but also to get acquainted with the architecture of the ancient Solovetsky monastery.

From the Chupa station by bus (or on foot - 4 km) you can get to the village of Chupa-Pristan, located in the depths of a long, deep and very picturesque fiord - Chupinskaya Bay. This fiord stretches for about 30 km and goes to the Kandalaksha Bay. From Chupa there are regular small boats going to the village of Keret; in two hours you can get to the Keretsky timber plant and the village near it.

There is excellent fishing and interesting walking areas. You can also fish well in other parts of the coast, leaving at other stations following the Chupa to the north up to Kandalaksha itself. From Kandalaksha on the ships of the local shipping company you can get to the Kandalaksha and Tersky coasts. On the Kandalaksha coast, it is especially interesting to visit the village of Umba.

Thus, there are many good places for sport fishing on the shores of the White Sea!

There are types of fishing that can only attract people of a special kind. These include spinning whitefish fishing, difficult, prepared for sophisticated anglers. Relatively little has been said about it, there are practically no explanatory articles explaining the features of this unusual fishing, the information given in the specialized literature is, alas, so basic that it is very, very problematic to draw knowledge from it that can serve as an aid. Only occasionally, no, no, and this topic will slip through in some program, and even then, it is unlikely, it will turn out to be through in it.

Spinning whitefish is sport fishing in the highest degree. It is not for nothing that in everyday life there is an opinion that whitefish should be caught in winter, with a jig or a vertical spoon. They fish on a jig, by the way, in the summer. In the summer, of course, he is also caught with fly fishing, float rod, donkey, so-called. excursion. The most exciting thing, in our opinion, is to catch whitefish, nevertheless, on spinning, light or even ultralight. His bite is sharp, the fight with him is fascinating, and it is difficult to compare the emotions from her with something. The first who of similar fighters comes to mind is a large chub. Whitefish does not give up at any stage of the game, until the last one keeps the nerve of the outcome of the fight.

In Finland, catching whitefish weighing three kilograms or more is not uncommon (the very name of the fish, by the way, etymologically goes back to Finnish). Therefore, fans of the thrill of fishing can try their luck on whitefish fishing. One thing is for sure - this fishing will not disappoint you, having tried it once, you will certainly want to hunt again and again for a sparkling, flawless silver fish, which is not an easy task to catch.

We will probably deal with the nuances of spinning whitefish fishing in future articles, and below we will indicate the range of lures that this beautiful fish comes across best of all. First of all, we note that, mainly, whitefish are not caught by trolling - although sometimes, in the form of a bycatch, they come across while hunting other representatives of the ichthyofauna - but by throwing them. Whitefish is a schooling fish, if one is caught, you can safely wait for a bite of several more (sometimes, more than a dozen fish can be taken from one place).

The favorite lures for whitefish fishing are spinning lures, or rather, lures, because their size will fluctuate in the range from No. 00 to No. 1. A cautious fish prefers "turntables" with a feathered tee, a colorful core, a bronze-yellow wide, "pot-bellied" petal. Blue Fox Supervibrax, Aglia Mepps, Lotto Nils Master can rightfully be called the best whitefish lures. Their more budget-friendly counterparts (for example, Abu Garcia Droppen) will also do a good job. The average weight of the bait should be 3-12 grams.

The lure itself is carried out in the bottom layer, which means that it will be difficult to avoid hooks. Going on a fishing trip for whitefish you need to be prepared for the fact that the arsenal of your lures can thin out. But you shouldn't attach any special importance to this. After all, spinners are just a consumable.

In addition to spinning lures, it is worth mentioning among the "hunting" lures and oscillating baits. The Castmaster we are accustomed to will have to taste. The size of the lure also plays a decisive role in the success of a fishing business. The lures are taken the smallest, weighing up to 14-17 grams.

Some anglers, within 15 centimeters from the lure, tie a leash with a fly or amphibian, which increases the number of bites. The bait game does not get lost with this upgrade. Under water, the effect of a fry hunting an insect is created. Whitefish is more than bought for this provocation.

Sometimes they also use winter perch vertical spoons, however, in the absence of any activity in the fish, when other baits have not brought a positive result.

Another very interesting whitefish lure is the feather jig. To use it correctly, you will need a certain skill, but if you delve into the intricacies of wiring the bait, you can seduce even passive fish into a bite. A feather jig is, roughly speaking, a fly connected to a jig head. It is not at all necessary to puzzle yourself with needlework - Finnish craftsmen make this kind of bait, and the price of jigs is humane.

There is also a factory version of the pen jig - "MA Super-Leech" is gradually acquiring the status of a legendary bait. The two-gram MA Super-Leech, as well as its counterparts, will help you catch not only whitefish, but, without exaggeration, any fish in the fishing zone.

Microblowers for whitefish fishing are also useful. Companies such as Duel, Spider, Akara, Daiwa provide a wide range of bait selection. A wobbler with a length of two to four centimeters (which is less than the length of a match) will not leave indifferent representatives of the whitefish tribe. There are a lot of analogs of branded microwobblers now, you can always choose the best price-quality offer.

Practical tip: do not use too thin tees. Sig has very delicate lips. With a sharp sweep or playing right through, you can easily deprive yourself of a trophy by cutting the lips of a fish.

P.S. In southern Finland, in the Munio region, on Lake Erisjärvi, there are opportunities for fishing for whitefish with nets (that is, having paid a certain amount of money, you can set up a net yourself). In our opinion, this is not at all interesting. How can an authentic angler enjoy a trivial fishing? But there are hunters on this score (they know that whitefish is one of the most delicious fish, and they simply get gastronomically valuable meat). There are, however, and those who experience the joy of delicate, delicate, complex whitefish fishing. They really are artisans.

N. Kuznetsov