The boxes of experienced spinners hide many secrets. Perhaps the main one is catchable baits. The same ones that the pros prefer on reservoirs in which they especially “believe.” Wobblers, spinners, rubber - everyone has their own favorites. They are selected experimentally, through years of successful and not so successful fishing trips, sometimes by accident.
In my box there are also “favorites” of pike and perch - bitten, inconspicuous in appearance, but consistently bringing fish. Not all fans of spinning rods are ready to put their “workhorses” on public display, for various reasons, but I don’t see a problem with that. I will be glad if your catches become larger after reading the article.
Grandfather's old spoon
She hung under the shed's canopy unattended for ten years. From the very moment the previous owner of the house I moved into died. According to neighbors, grandfather loved to fish. I accidentally came across it when I was clearing the yard of various rubbish. Rusty, thin, primitive in shape, with a blunt tee, it seemed to me then completely hopeless. I almost threw it in the trash, but something stopped me at the last moment.Fishing sense? Or natural curiosity? May be. So the spoon “settled” in the far compartment of my fishing box.
And then one day, during the next “revision” of the baits, I decided to bring the unsightly piece of iron to mind. First, I removed the layer of rust from it with fine sandpaper, then cleaned the surface with tooth powder and a brush to a matte shine, and equipped it with new winding rings and a sharp triple hook. I put a red cambric on the tee. The spinner has changed. Now all that remained was to test it on a pond.
Imagine my surprise when, on my first fishing trip, the lure was “eaten” by seven pikes! Its light weight (10 g) and its sweeping action, unusual for a spinner - swaying from side to side just under the surface - are ideal for fishing in shallow areas with thickets. It practically didn’t catch the grass, although I did the wiring slowly (evenly).
And this was not an accidental hit on target: I take pike on a spinner all the time, on almost every outing I do with a spinning rod. Thanks to grandpa, may he rest in peace!
Silicone baits
On the Chelbas River, where I most often fish, pike are caught mainly at shallow depths (1–2 m), near reeds or algae. Unfortunately, over the past ten years the river has become shallow and overgrown. You can’t install “iron” everywhere and not always. I usually fish with it in early spring and late autumn, when the grass is at the bottom, or in places where the depth allows (channel holes). In conditions of overgrown shallow water, silicone baits come to the rescue.
For passive pike, I use large-sized unloaded silicone. I equip the vibrotail with a double hook with a long shank. The weight of the rubber is enough to cast 25–30 meters. When fishing from a boat, you don’t need more.The retrieval is markedly slow and uneven: a jerk with the tip of the spinning rod - a pause - reeling. Sometimes I work with one reel, animating the bait with sharp rotations of the handle of different lengths.
The main advantage of unloaded silicone is natural play. After splashdown, the vibrotail slowly sinks, reminding a predator of a sick fish. A turn of the coil - and it comes to life, an impulse from the tip - flutters, tries to swim. What kind of “toothy” one would refuse easy prey?
At depths greater than 2 meters, I mount smaller silicone baits on light (3-4 gram) jig heads. This makes it possible to increase the wiring speed and “punch” holes faster. Active pike readily eats such “rubber”, and not only pike, but also pike perch and perch. I use both uniform and classic stepped wiring (if the bottom is without grass).
Malas wobblers – color is everything
Universal surface baits with a depth of up to 10 cm. They fly well: In terms of casting range they are not inferior to the average weight “oscillators”. They play attractively: they are able to “somersault” 120 degrees almost on the spot. Ideal in shallow waters of estuaries and small rivers. They work from spring to late autumn for pike and perch. In summer, the predator responds better to acidic colors (yellow-green tones); in autumn, it prefers natural shades.
Malas are usually animated in three ways:
1. Evenly - rotating the coil at medium speed.
2. “Snake” - walker zigzag wiring walking the dog (in perch boilers).
3. Twitching the tip of the spinning rod. If you point the tip up, the wobbler behaves like a popper. Fishing on the surface is especially spectacular - predator exits, candles, a sea of spray.
Frankly, I didn’t make friends with the “Malas” right away.In my modest collection of lures, there were about five of these wobblers of different colors (budget knockoffs from Kosadaka) lying like dead weight; sometimes there were pike bites on them, but they were of a random nature. The situation changed after an unforgettable fishing trip on the Gorky Estuary, where my friend Ivan took me out to in early July.
Between us, in 4 hours, we caught 28 pike (0.5–2.5 kg) and fifty qualifying perches (200–400 g). Almost every trip brought fish. Pike “came out” to the wobbler from different sides, perch accompanied it to the boat in flocks. Several times there were two “striped” ones on the tees at once. It was fishing! After her, I believed in “malas”.
And most importantly: only yellow-green baits with black dots on the sides worked (see photo); predators did not react to other color combinations.
So, dear spinning fans, I presented to you my summer favorite lures of the 2018 season. If you fish in shallow waters, go to the estuaries of the Krasnodar Territory, try them out. I think they won't let you down. Good luck to you and good luck on the ponds!
