Pike fishing on small rivers in winter time

Spinning fishing is very versatile and interesting everywhere in its own way. Each method of spinning fishing has its own charm and for this it has no seasonal barriers.

In the middle zone of our country, the choice of spinningist is not much and the main predator, no matter how you look at it, is pike. Not everyone likes to catch it and consider it their cherished trophy, but for me “toothy beast” has always been the most desirable prey.

Pike, even without taking into account its external attractiveness, the strongest and smartest predatory fish of our waters. It is enough only to remember how it behaves on the wrenching, such pirouettes do not write out no one, the arsenal of ways to get off the hook in the pike is definitely the biggest. And the fish is the most dangerous – an awkward movement and the fisherman urgently needs a first aid kit. Pike – always a worthy opponent!

And a separate pleasure to catch it on small rivers, where the whole fight takes place in front of your eyes, and the fishing itself is often “in sight”.

In the warm season small rivers carry a lot of problems – thickets along the banks, heat, biting animals around … Therefore, a separate pleasure begins with the arrival of frost and falling snow, winter on small rivers is beautiful as nowhere!

But before going on such a fishing trip, we face several difficult choices at once.

The choice of tackle

A small body of water does not mean that small fish will swim in it, especially many of these rivers have steep banks, various bushes, trees both on the shore and underwater. For this reason, with all others our rod should be reliable and have some reserve.

Since the throwing range on small rivers is not so important, and the places of fishing are difficult to access, the length of the rod is more conveniently small. On average, I use spinning rods from 2 to 2.3 m.

When crossing along the river and getting into the most cherished places, it makes sense to fold the rod and penetrate wherever you want. Usually, the place is “stronger”, the less visitors were there, and the fish is not frightened, which is almost equal to a peck.

Everyone has his own preferences, but if we try to average, it is a fast line, due to the fact that the main methods are fishing for wobblers and jigs, as well as the need to sometimes force the fishing, throw pikes on the high bank, etc.

And it is desirable that such a rod had rings of large diameter, after all, often fishing takes place in the cold and even with the use of improvised special means small rings will be constantly covered with ice and interfere with fishing.

As for the reel, negative temperatures suggest the use of inertia-free reels. There are no special requirements for them, so it should be selected in accordance with the overall balance of the tackle.

There are different arguments about the quality of fishing line, but I believe that no matter how you spin it – braided cord compared to mono and flurocarbon lines has greater sensitivity and strength with a smaller diameter, as well as the minimum stretchability, which provides better contact with the bait, its full control and more acute sensations from the bite.

Its thickness, despite the small width of the described water bodies, should give good strength and breaking load.

I at the beginning of my winter spinning way more than once messed up on the choice of the thickness of braiding. So, in pursuit of the proverbial balance wound on the reel size 2000 on Shimano cord size #0.6 on the Japanese classification and lost in the first fishing all the largest pike, which tore the fishing line and on the bite and when fishing, because the banks were high, snags a lot and any forcing ended miserably ….

After that I do not put less than size #1.0 (diameter 0.165 mm) on such fishing trips.

There is also such a moment – leashes. Everyone knows that pike just loves to cut our baits and when fishing without “protection” can not do without.

But if in the period of its high activity leashes are better to put metal, then in winter the pike is less mobile and more cautious, so flurocarbon leashes in priority. The main diameters used are 0.45-0.6 mm.

Choice of baits

As noted above, the main baits are wobblers and jigs (mainly rubber).

Since pike in winter time is little active, it prefers smaller baits than at other times and with a less active game.

Of course, there are cases when our desired prey and on jerky reacts, but it is more like exceptions to the rules.

In general, both rubber and wobblers are used from 6 to 10 cm.

Among wobblers the most effective are”minnows” and”shads”, which often should be carried out as slowly as possible and with long pauses.

In the ratio of noisy and noiseless wobblers in my practice, the latter won in efficiency.

As an example of my most effective winter wobblers on small rivers I can cite ZipBaits Khamsin 70SR, Lucky Craft Pointer 65, Kosadaka Mirage 50 XS.

With silicone baits the situation is similar, most often for catching pike in winter time suitable rubber from 3 to 4 inches.

The ratio of edible and inedible rubber about equally. Although it is believed that the pike is indifferent to the taste characteristics of the bait and odor, but sometimes, in days of special passivity of the predator, edible rubber is more preferable. Perhaps it is not the “edible” itself, but the softness of such baits, the smoothness of their movements and naturalness, if I may say so.

In addition, edible silicone allows you to increase the effectiveness of hooking, which is especially important when fishing in snags, where it is often necessary to hide the sting of the hook in the body of the bait or special holes (if any).

As examples of catchable edible rubber for winter – Keitech Easy Shiner, Sawamura OneUp Shad, Kosadaka / Pontoon 21 Awaruna, Lucky John Tioga, inedible – Lunker City Shaker, Bass Assassin Turbo Shads, Gambler EZ Swimmer.

Wagering to match the wobblers – often slow, pauses are welcome. It is especially worth paying attention to the relief of the bottom and snags – knock on the spot on them and lure the pike.

Because of the passivity of the predator should use weights lighter, in places with a very slow current and without it you can catch and without shipping or put 2-4 grams (although in these I prefer wobblers).

In general, the main weights when fishing on small rivers in winter are 6-8 grams and rarely go beyond these values.

Choice of fishing spot

The nature of small rivers is unique, it takes us as if into another world from all the usual fuss. And the main thing – they are interesting to study, they are understandable.

Most of the small rivers are visible and you can identify potential pike stands “by eye”. Of course, and on other bodies of water there is a visual search for places where the predator stands, but the small river is an ideal example!

Where to look for pike on a small river? It can be anywhere, but the main theses are as follows:

– like everywhere else, pike likes hiding places, so first of all you need to pay attention to snags, especially in deep water conditions – I myself check all snags where the bottom is not visible (usually from 30 cm and deeper, ideally a meter +);

– the second item on the agenda of the pike meeting – pits, which can be calculated both externally by the color of the water (darker than next to it), and by the reverse current – if there is some “whirlpool”, most likely under it depth;

– pike is an ambush predator and likes quiet water, where you can merge with the underwater landscape without unnecessary movements, so it is worth paying attention to the various “calm”, often overlap with the above thesis;

– it is worth checking all anomalies in a small river, be it snags, grass, berm, current boundary, etc.

When arriving at an unfamiliar river, I always follow these rules and rarely when I leave without nibbles.

Sometimes pike can stand and on straight areas without visible changes, but this does not happen often.

This should be taken into account, in particular when selecting sections of small rivers on the map. The most promising areas are most often turns, where because of the current are washed up berms, formed holes, washed up banks, from which fall trees, forming snags.

But the main thing to remember is that a small river is always a search and winded kilometers. As they say: without labor … and pike in a small river do not catch!

With Respect.