Despite my special love for the use of various sinking baits when catching studs, the bites on them are many times inferior to those when fishing with topwaters. This is due to the fact that all the contacts occur right in front of your eyes, and it is an indescribable pleasure, especially when you realize that you have done everything right and it is entirely your merit. That’s why in this article I decided to pay attention to surface baits and my developments concerning their use during the hunt for the river corsair.
This time I will not keep you long, so let’s begin….
Catching places
The fact that the stud is most active during the morning or evening twilight, I hope everyone knows, as well as the fact that it is at this time he most often goes out to feed in shallow water. It can be the mouth of a small river that flows into a large river, the usual roll or no less usual sandy spit, washed by spring floods. Also do not forget about the tips of small islands, located right on the main stream and splitting it into two parts. In general, we are interested in all places where there is shallow water bordering with areas of fast current.
But the most important point is the presence of fry on this point, which is the main object of hunting for the gutter. Very often I go to the planned points even in advance and just observe what time the sheresper comes out to feed, his route, the most frequent points of attack or whether he comes out here at all. This data will be useful to us more than once, because at times there may be no surface fight at all, and the stud, despite this, is very actively feeding and just does not show up on the surface. By the way, it is this behavior can be well considered in the doldrums, when the presence of sherespera give out diverging here and there circles on the surface of the water.
Návnady
Poppers
These baits during wiring are capable of emitting loud squelching sounds with a characteristic “bump”, reminiscent of a predator hunting on the surface. All this is accompanied by a sea of splashes and perfectly attracts both pike and perch. But at least at our place on the Dnieper or Sozh River, the stud prefers a faster version of wiring, in which the popper does not have time to “gurgle”, but only produces a fan of splashing water.
Despite the variety of models presented in our market, in fact there are only a few basic types of these baits. They differ only by the shape of the body or the location of the bait in the water during the pause. In terms of shape, they are either quite fat lures cone-shaped with a large surface notch, or on the contrary very skinny – with a small “patch”. The first are very stable to the wave, give more splashes, when wiring go almost straight, and during the pause, as a rule, take a position in the water with a slope of about 45 degrees. The second will be useful to us in shallower places, because when the ducking they practically do not sink and “go” a little more widely with a small amount of splash.
I have already written above that the stud prefers a faster version of wiring than standard predators. But at the same time, as strange as it may sound, he also likes pauses, especially if fishing occurs in the presence of a wave. Withstand “mkhatovskie” 5-6 seconds as when catching pike, of course, it is not worth it, but 1-3 seconds to allocate for a pause is quite possible and even necessary. During this time, the popper has time to swing a couple of times on the wave, resembling a stunned and disoriented fry. Well and the stud, as well as any other predator, can not miss such an easy prey and immediately attacks. Sometimes there were even fishing, on which the number of nibbles during the pause was much greater than during the active phase of wiring.
As for the size of the popper, I choose it, as well as any other bait, based on the specific conditions in the place of fishing. As a rule, I start with bigger baits, and then if there is interest in them, but no bites – I go in the direction of reduction.
On the colors do not really bother, as they say, take what is, but still prefer “naturals” and preferably some contrasting spot on the back for ease of visual control.
Obľúbené položky:
Walkers (walker).
And this type of bait is even more popular among the “zhereshatniki” than poppers, and in small sizes is generally the only option that can whet the capricious “summer” zherekh. The shape of the body in the bulk resembles a slightly curved cigar and, as a rule, all of them between themselves something similar. Also a very characteristic feature of this type of bait is the location of the fastening loop – it is not directly on the axis of the wobbler, but with a slight downward slope. During the wiring resembles a fish running away in terror from the predator on the surface of the water, very good when fishing in the shallowest areas or in the gaps between the grass. It is thanks to these movements, reminiscent of a snake or walking the dog on a leash (English – walking the dog), it owes its name.
Waulker wiring when catching exactly sherespera also slightly different from the “pike” – instead of wide glides we need a variant that resembles “perch wank”, but at a slightly faster pace and with a very small amplitude. Unlike poppers, I prefer not to make pauses at all, and even vice versa – if I see that the stud shows interest, I speed up the wiring. In case of a fish misses the bait in no case should not stop, because in most cases will follow at least one more attack before the stud completely lose interest and turn back.
There is another most typical mistake – many beginners focus only on the surge and immediately make a hook-up. As a result, it turns out that they themselves do not let the corsair normally swallow it and just snatch the wolfcaster right out of his open mouth. Naturally, the realization on surface baits and so “lame”, and here we also reduce our own chances of a successful catch.
Obľúbené položky:
There is also a slightly less common subtype of these baits – gliders. This is probably already a slightly different class of baits, but despite the negative buoyancy in the conductivity they perform the same “snake”, significantly farther fly and very stable even on a strong wave. In addition, if you make a small pause, you can spend them and under the surface.
Actually, the most famous representatives of this type of stud baits are Jackson Debu Nyoro 85 and Megabass Coayu Slide Sinker.
“The queen gave birth in the night…” ©
In addition to the classic surface baits there are also a bunch of different “hybrids” that combine the common features of both poppers and wolfers. The only lure in my arsenal that has such characteristics is the Lucky Craft Gunfish. I can’t say that I remember about it very often, but there are times when the outcome of fishing was decided by a wolker “snake” with a small amount of splash, which from my arsenal only he is able to do.
Or, for example, Skagit Design Hide Sweeper – it is generally quite exotic in our area sinking bait, which I still can not allocate in a certain class. However, it performs an exemplary “herringbone” when wolf wiring, sometimes dives under water and at the same time perfectly catches studs.
Here you can also safely include floating sticks or propbeit, which are quite and quite used when catching studs on the surface, but due to the low prevalence of just to get them, you have to try very hard.
Bottom line.
In addition to all of the above, I note that even in a small size, any surface bait, as a rule, has excellent flight characteristics. That, in turn, allows us to minimize the risk of frightening this cunning and cautious fish, getting closer to it. Another interesting feature that unites all types of surface baits, is that it is when catching grayling the presence of at least a small breeze is mandatory – in a complete calm in our area they practically do not work. I can only guess what this is due to, but the stud in such conditions prefer baits going under the surface or in the water column. It may be completely different for you, but that’s the way he behaves here.
In general, you should only once pick up the “key” and “feel” the bite of the stud on the surface, as you will definitely not want anything else. Because the spectacularity of this action can be compared to little else, and it is this factor will constantly “chase” you to the river for a new portion of adrenaline.
Autor: Mgr: Bob Nudd je rybársky odborník s viac ako 20-ročnými skúsenosťami a víťaz mnohých súťaží.
Man, fishing for bull trout on topwater is a game changer! I once used a popping lure and had multiple hits in minutes. You’ve got to try it—those aggressive takes are unbeatable! Just make sure to bring a solid wire to handle the action. Trust me, you won’t regret it!
Bull trout on topwater is such a thrill! Last summer, I used a popper, and it was a game changer. The excitement when they hit is unmatched! If you’re into fishing, definitely give it a shot. Trust me, the action is totally worth it!