Catching burbot in the fall, after a summer lull, can be a real holiday for a fisherman. The fish hates warm water, so even on fine September days, catching it can be a problem. A good bite comes with the first night frosts, as well as during the day, when the water temperature begins to drop significantly. The colder the water, the more likely it is to profit from burbot. Of course, it is most likely that burbot fishing in autumn is more relevant in November, but this does not mean at all that September and October are months that are completely unpromising for fishing. Burbot prefers a stone bottom with clear water and a slight current. It is successful to catch burbot in the fall on a zakidushka, on a donk, on a feeder and on a spinning rod. You can count on a good catch if the water temperature drops below 13 degrees.

Burbot fishing in autumn: September

The beginning of autumn forces the burbot to start actively eating food. Its parking lots can be found near boulders, flooded snags, on a rocky bottom and rifts. The predatory burbot fish hunts for live food, so you don’t even have to try to catch it with vegetable bait: you will have to forget about corn, bread and cereals here. Catching burbot in September is good for worm, maggot, frog and cancer meat. You can pick up a predator using one of his favorite meals - minnow and ruff. For bait, a mixture of ground fish and chopped worms will fit, which can be fastened with soil. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients, sculpt the balls, which are then thrown into the intended place of fishing. Do not be afraid to overfeed the burbot, it is almost impossible to do this. Therefore, the more balls will be under water, the better. Burbot is one of the few predatory fish that actively responds to complementary foods. September hunting for burbot on sunny days is doomed to failure. Expect cold winds and even rain. The worse the weather for the fisherman, the more active the burbot behaves. Catching this fish with one tackle is not always a good thing. Catching burbot in the fall on a donk, on a spinning rod, on a hook, and on a good combination of these gears. You need to cast a few fishing rods and wait, but no more than an hour. If within an hour there has not been a single bite, then it is worth throwing the tackle to another place.

IMPORTANT! It is better to throw gear from the shore at different distances. This will help to quickly detect predatory fish and understand at what depth it prefers to be today. In some hours, he can swim very close to you, in others - significantly move away from the shore

Burbot fishing in autumn: October

October brings with it long rains, change of weather and the first cold weather. It is not easy for a fisherman to catch burbot in such conditions, but the fish itself feels very comfortable at this time. She especially likes when it rains along with the wind. Fishing in the fall from the shore and from a boat will be unpromising if you do not use bait, which should be based on animal components.

Complementary foods can be made by yourself from ground fish, worms and soil. You can also put mollusks or snails found on the pond. If you have to catch far from the coast, then it is easiest to throw lure with the help of overall closed feeders- the current will wash it out of them. You can take September bait: minnow, ruff, frog, worms, crayfish meat. The burbot has an excellent sense of smell, so he smells blood from a mile away. Experienced anglers advise before putting a fish on a hook, press it down a little with your heel so that it bleeds. Wounded fish with blood good way catch burbot. You can also use in October and zherlits. Toward evening, replacing it on the hook and.

Burbot fishing in autumn: November

The November hunt for burbot is largely successful thanks to a well-chosen place. In November, burbot often visits the places of parking of small fish. Toward evening, he visits the mouths of canals and rivers, shallow waters and coastal zones. No need to look for burbot on a muddy bottom or where the bottom is littered with dead grass. To find a predator in November, you will have to throw gear at different distances. Well helps to quickly detect burbot echo sounder. The device will scan the bottom and provide information about the bottom topography. The only thing left for the fisherman to do is to throw gear into the area where deep holes, underwater drops and edges have been identified. The burbot bites well until the pores of the formation of an ice crust. In addition to the sense of smell, the burbot has a well-developed hearing. Therefore, silence is another of the main prerequisites for good burbot fishing in the fall. The predator, having heard something was wrong, will leave the place quickly and irrevocably.

The tactic of hooking burbot is somewhat different from the classical one. The fact is that the burbot does not capture the bait with its mouth, but sucks it in. This means that after the fishing rod has moved, it is not necessary to hook immediately. You need to wait until the burbot sucks in the bait, and starts to swim away and pull on the line. Then you need to hook the fish, and sharply and sweepingly.

Catching burbot in autumn at night

Many fishermen believe that burbot can be caught on any night. But it is not so. Yes, this fish is caught at night soundly, but only if the weather at that time is not warm and windless. A cold night with rain is the ideal weather that will bring a lot of burbot to the fishermen. Then catching burbot on a snack, on and on will be highly effective. In such weather, fishing must be taken with all responsibility, for no catch is worth a bad cold. On the shore, before the start of fishing, we set up a tent, take a thermos with hot tea, clothes and a waterproof raincoat.

As soon as the sun sets, the burbot will immediately begin to be active. And it will last until two in the morning. Then the bite will go down. The fish are not very good vision, which can not be said about the sense of smell. Therefore, most often burbot searches for its victims precisely by smell. For this reason, during fishing, bait will not be superfluous at all. Minced fish is kneaded with soil - the bait is ready. Right at the place of fishing, balls are prepared from this solution, their density should be such that they do not fall apart during the throw into the water. The ball should be at the bottom intact, and only there it should begin to slowly dissolve over. Live bait, worms, animal baits are suitable as bait.

Catching burbot in autumn on the bottom

Today, there are two ways to catch burbot on a donk - active and passive. During active fishing, the fisherman works with several gear, moves a lot and does not sit in one place, exploring a variety of underwater places. Suitable standard bottom rods, although catching burbot in the fall on a feeder is also acceptable. Advantage this method is that the fisherman himself sees the process of biting and knows when to start hooking. Disadvantage: you have to freeze.

The passive, or delivery method, offers the use of even more gear, sometimes more than a dozen. They are regularly checked by the angler. Successfully catching burbot in the fall for a snack. The advantage of this method is that the fisherman does not get wet and does not freeze, waiting for a bite, but slowly drinks hot tea in a warm tent. Naturally, the passive method can bring more catch than the active one, since much more gear can be used here.

Catching burbot in autumn: tackle

Catching burbot in the fall is not an easy task, in which speed plays an important role. Therefore, any tackle that the fisherman took with him to hunt for an underwater predator must meet certain requirements.

It is important to be able to quickly change the leash. Burbot swallows the bait deeply, so it is not always possible to quickly pull out the hook. Young fishermen are happy when they catch fish, but they lose a lot of time trying to get the hook. Experienced craftsmen prepare spare leashes before fishing, and they do not have such problems. They quickly change hooks, and deal with the catch and the leashes swallowed by them already on the shore.

It is desirable to have a tungsten leash. Of course, burbot does not have such sharp teeth as, for example, a pike, and it will not be easy for him to gnaw through the leash, but it is possible if you leave the tackle for a long time. If the angler regularly approaches the gear and also regularly inspects and changes it in case of a flaw, then there is no need to spend money and put a tungsten leash. However, remember that there is always a chance of a bite on, which will certainly deal with an ordinary leash.

We take a line 0.3 mm thick on the leash of the sinker, 0.3 mm on the leash of the bait, the main line should be 0.4-0.5 mm. Why is it so thick, if all other fish in the fall go fishing with thin diameters? The fact is that burbot most often lives on a rocky bottom, and breaking a thin fishing line, slightly catching it on a boulder, is as easy as shelling pears. With a thick fishing line, you can free yourself from an obstacle without consequences, saving both the hook and the leash.

Catching burbot in autumn on spinning

For the most part, when catching prey, burbot focuses on the sense of smell, so catching burbot in the fall on the spinning of simple models can become very problematic, because the fish simply may not notice the bait. But with the right approach, all difficulties can be minimized. Pilkers and spinners are well suited for spinning, but even with them you will have to approach the predator at close distances.

Catching burbot in autumn on the bottom

The easiest way in such cases is to give preference to the jig technique, which allows you to safely catch deep-sea fish. Donka is an improved variation of spinning, designed for catching fish at depth. A bell is installed here as a beacon.

The foam fish is a great jig bait. It should be insisted in the juice of animal origin, so that the burbot believes in its naturalness. Silicone baits are also good - twister, vibrotail and frogs. Fishing for burbot in the fall on jigs involves the use of a wiring technique that is slightly different from the standard one. Since the advantage of burbot lives at the bottom, then the wiring must be carried out as close to the ground as possible. You can simply move the bait along the bottom, periodically pausing so that the predator can become interested. There are no special requirements for tackle when catching burbot in the fall for spinning and jig. The rod is suitable for 2.7 meters, with a test - 20-30 gr. and spinning coil 3000 models, braided line - 0.15 mm.

Catching burbot in the fall on the feeder

If you are going to use bait to lure the fish, then catching on the feeder will become much easier. You can even not use the feeder, limiting yourself to a sinker. The technique of fishing on the feeder is the same as on the donk. Among the fishermen, the English donka has proven itself well, which has high level sensitivity, allowing you to accurately pinpoint the bite. If the fisherman has to catch burbot all night, then the feeder is the most ideal option.

Catching burbot in the fall for a snack

Zakidushka is a simple variation of the bottom fishing rod. A stake is stuck into the ground, on which one end of the cape is hung. You can hook it on a branch or snag. The second end is thrown into the water, on which a hook with bait and a sinker is attached. The main advantage of this gear is compactness and accessibility. This allows some fishermen to take almost a hundred snacks for fishing. They are installed quickly, along the coast, after every 15 meters.

IMPORTANT! According to the Fishing Rules in most regions of the Russian Federation, the number of hooks per fishing tackle should not exceed ten pieces. Otherwise, it will be considered poaching and punished by law.

Some of the fishermen refuse signaling bells, considering them useless. They just check gear twice a day, most often in the morning and in the evening. A burbot that is hooked will not float away anywhere. Just don’t put zakidushki in places where there are snags and other troubles, because burbot, along with gear, can easily get confused in them. In this case, sometimes it’s even better to say goodbye to fish and a snack than to mess around in cold water, trying to dissolve a tangled fishing line. If you nevertheless put the gear in such a place, then come check them more often than twice a day.

Catching burbot in autumn: nozzles and baits

As a live bait, you can use any small fish that is hooked to the upper lip or behind the back. If you use a double hook, then such a bait will be active for a long time. In this case, it is worth hooking the hook on the live bait through the mouth, and taking it out from under the gills.

IMPORTANT! You should not catch burbot on the live bait of fast-moving fish that live in the upper water layers and do not sink to the bottom. Such bait can simply be ignored by burbot

Perhaps the most popular bait among live bait, as it is a favorite dish of burbot. He always willingly swims and pecks at her. And most importantly, you can catch minnows right on the fishing spot, because this fish is found in large quantities in almost all reservoirs.

After minnow, the second most popular bait that can be caught quickly and in considerable quantity. It lives mainly in small rivers.

Some anglers note that burbot bites on ruff even better than on minnow and char. And all because the ruff has a strong specific smell, which not a single burbot can resist.

IMPORTANT! You can catch burbot on a ruff without a hook. To do this, it is tied by the tail directly to the fishing line. As soon as the burbot has swallowed the bait, you need to sharply pull the tackle forward, then the ruff will spread its fins and get stuck in the throat of a predator

fish meat. Such a nozzle has a pronounced smell and will attract burbot with its sharp scent from afar. But it is worth considering that meat impaled on a hook quickly loses its juices, and it will have to be changed much more often than live bait, which remains active much longer.

Frog. A rather strange situation has developed around the frog. Some of the fishermen believe that the frog is a completely useless bait when it comes to dealing with burbot, while someone, on the contrary, claims that fat burbots peck exclusively at it. Surely, water bodies played a role in the spread of these opinions. In those where the frog is found in abundance, the burbot is familiar with its pleasant taste for him, and where there are almost no frogs in the pond, and the fishermen bring it with them, the burbot may simply not understand this bait and not take it seriously. A wah-wah is planted either behind two lips or under the spine. It is better to catch them in August in the morning dew. A jar of frogs is stored in a dark, cool place. For example, in a barrel of wet grass in the cellar. Someone bothers and makes a whole frog farm with a mini-river and a sandy beach. The container should be cleaned regularly, and the grass should be changed to fresher.

Worms. Catching burbot on a worm in the fall is a great success. Worms are mined in warm weather, while they have not yet begun to go deep into the ground with the onset of cold weather. Store them in a jar, and the jar in the refrigerator or cellar. It is better to plant worms in a bunch, because the mouth of a burbot - be healthy. The beam method will also help protect the bait from the attack of any underwater small fry.

Rest. Leeches, fresh chicken meat, crayfish meat - all this will fit for a nozzle. You can try to use "sandwiches", when several baits are hung on one hook at once.

IMPORTANT! In some reservoirs, burbot bites well on cotton wool soaked in ghee

Catching burbot in autumn: bait

Traditional fishing for burbot in the autumn does not require any bait for additional stimulation of the fish. After all, animal bait itself exudes an appetizing smell for a sensitive predator. However, some fishermen regularly try the bait and claim that it is quite effective. According to them, they even managed to accustom the fish to a specific place with the help of complementary foods. Naturally, if you use complementary foods, then only of animal origin, no plant components. Worms chopped into pieces, or fresh minced fish - these are really strong flavors of the natural aquatic world.

Catching burbot in autumn: place and tactics

Since burbot actively moves throughout the reservoir in search of food, it can be caught in different places. It is best to find a place where small fish have settled and throw tackle there. The chances of catching burbot in such a place are very high. For snacks, a good place will be a shore washed away by the current, steeply descending into the depths. For donkey, spinning and feeder, the best options are pebbly and sandy beaches with a gentle coast. But often it is impossible to predict the actions of the fish. Today he swims along the shore and bites perfectly, and tomorrow he hunts in the central zone of the reservoir. The method of combining gear with casting them at different distances works well. In this case, the probability of surveying water layers increases, as does the probability of catching burbot. In some reservoirs, the fish moves along a certain route - along the "fish path", then its detection becomes the main task for the angler. You need to look for it with several gear along the channel. After finding a site with a constant bite, you can stay here and fish purposefully.

IMPORTANT! If you fish at night, make a good fire on the shore. Burbot with his weak eyesight will not pay attention to the fire, but small fish will swim to the shore immediately. Behind her, burbot will also come

Catching burbot in autumn: by-catch

When you catch burbot, you need to be prepared for the fact that someone else from the underwater inhabitants will bite the bait. This happens especially often in early autumn, when many fish begin to eat. So who can you accidentally pick up on the hook?

Caught most often on a zakidushka. He likes to hunt at night, swimming up to the shore.

Donka remains the most common tool in the hands of an angler during autumn burbot fishing. Undoubted pros - the ability to use a lot of tackle at once, with different casting distances and cover as many promising places as possible for fish.

In addition, there is no need to freeze on an autumn night near the water. It is enough just to set the tackle, fix the fishing line on the shore and freely go into the car or go home to sleep until the morning, then to return and check.

Donkey na na lima do it yourself are made very simply. For the manufacture of this gear you need have:

• fishing line (10 - 15 m.)? 0.4–0.7;
• sinker (50-250 gr.), depending on the strength of the current;
• fishing line for leashes 0.2–0.4;
• hooks No. 7 - 10;
• swivel.

All sizes need to be adjusted according to burbot sizes living in your area.

Benefits of bottom fishing in autumn

Despite the many ways to catch burbot, bottom tackle remains a universal means of harvesting this fish and has a number of undeniable advantages.

• There is no need to hold a rod or spinning rod in your hands.
• There is no dependence on the wind, but with a properly selected sinker and current.
• An audible signal (an attached bell) will notify the angler of a bite.
• The design of the donkey is rather conditional. Each athlete or amateur can use in its manufacture the material that is convenient and accessible to him.

Scheme-building a donkey on a lima

For manufacturing donks on lima you will need: a fishing line with a diameter of 0.4-0.7 mm and a length of 10-15 meters, a sinker and a pair of leashes 30-35 cm long and 0.2-0.4 mm thick are attached to it.

Hooks are attached single № 7 - № 10 , depending on the nozzle. A reel of arbitrary size and shape is made from a variety of materials: cut from wood, sawn from plywood or plastic.

Change to Lima

This tackle is slightly different from mounting a donkey on a lima. The peremet has the same Benefits as a donka, but one more thing can be added: a large presence of hooks.

Do-it-yourself tackle is made very easily and simply. I would divide the permutations into 2 types:

• for fishing from the shore;
• for boat fishing.

What is the difference? Since the main bait for catching burbot is fry, it is not very convenient to cast a line with a large number of hooks. Another thing from a boat, you can safely set a line with a large number of hooks without any trouble.

To make a cross we need:

• Main line? 0.5–0.7 (length depends on higher said).
• Sinker - 100 - 250g.
• Fishing line for leashes? 0.2 - 0.4.
• Hooks No. 7 - 10.
• 2 swivels.

Installation of a line for catching burbot

To begin with, we determine the desired length (depending on the number of hooks). After, we make a calculation, we retreat 40-50 cm from the load, and between the hooks 1 m, and from the last hook to the shore at least 5 m.

As a result, for mounting a 3-hook line, we need about 8 m.

It is not advisable to use more than 3 hooks for fishing from the shore. Otherwise, it may be difficult to cast and keep the bait on the hooks.

One side fishing line, we tie the load, stepping back from it 0.5 m, we make the first loop for a leash with a hook (leash 30-40 cm). Departing from it 1 m, we make the second and so we continue until don't get the number of hooks you need.

This video clip tells how to do it, the manufacturing technique is almost the same as for burbot.

If you plan to fish from a boat and fix the line on some snag, then in this case you need to both ends of the rope place the load so that the hooks are at the very bottom.

Feeder na na lima

For those who are not afraid of cool weather, it will seem quite an interesting activity.

The fishing technique itself and the installation of tackle are practically not than does not differ from the installation of a feeder for white fish ""

This tackle will differ only in the thickness of the fishing line, the size of the hooks and the load. For the first two, I think everything is clear, but you can dwell on the sinker in more detail.

In the feeder often use feeders, for catching non-predatory fish, for burbot will do regular weights from 40 to 100 gr.

The advantage of catching burbot on a feeder

I suggest you consider all the advantages of this gear:

• Possibility of catching large quantity feeders - at the same time.
• Quick change of location.
• Various casting distances.
• With an active bite, the opportunity to catch more than with a line or donkey.
• The feeling of adrenaline when playing a fish.

Among the shortcomings, I would attribute the only one, but very important point- constant presence near the gear.

Burbot is the only representative of cod that lives in fresh water. It is famous for its taste and liver, which is considered a delicacy and is very healthy. To burbot, like to any other fish, you need to pick up correct key- bait. And although many different baits can be used for this, only a few of them should be singled out, which are to the taste of this fish and bring a good catch.

In this article, we will look at all the baits that can be used to catch burbot and highlight the best among them. Let's figure out at what time of the year on what bait it is best to peck burbot. Although burbot can usually peck at these baits in March and November, there is still a slight correlation between the time of year and burbot preferences.

Bait for catching burbot

Burbot is caught on a variety of baits, among them are especially common:

• live bait;
• pieces of fish;
• dead fish;
• frog;
• a bunch of worms;
• creep out;
• chicken liver;
• shrimp;
• leech;
• insect larvae.

Also, burbot can be caught on spinning, but this is usually by-effect or rather a surprise when catching other fish such as , . That is, there is no regular biting of burbot on spinning baits, but sometimes it turns out to be accidentally hooked. What can we say about catching burbot on a spinning rod, if it is not always possible to pull it out, although it is the main object.

On any of the above baits, burbot is caught. One is better, the other is worse, but it is caught. In some reservoirs, it will be appropriate to look at the contents of its belly when catching a burbot. If you find small crayfish in it, then this bait is ideal for catching it, and if there are undigested fish, then it is better to catch live bait or dead fish.

Recommended bait for burbot- bundle dung worms or crawl out. Burbot eats worms with pleasure, but such bait runs the risk of being eaten by small fish. A bunch of worms or crawling usually scare away small fish, but still. And if a burbot approaches her, then she will certainly become his prey, and the burbot will be yours.

Recommended bait for burbot in winter- live. Winter is the burbot's favorite season. While other fish lose their activity, and some even fall into hibernation, the burbot is activated to the maximum and at this time the live bait is the most best bait for burbot.

Recommended bait for burbot in spring- frog. In spring, burbot responds well to frogs, which can be excellent bait at this time of the year. Many anglers advise using small frogs for burbot fishing in the spring. But this rule is not suitable for all reservoirs, in some reservoirs in the spring burbot may prefer other bait, although he will not refuse a frog anywhere.

Recommended bait for burbot in summer- again crawled out or a bunch of worms. In summer, burbot is the least active and its bite is possible only in inclement weather. Therefore, for fishing during this period, the simplest bait is suitable - a worm.

But there is a bait that, regardless of the time of year or the reservoir, always copes with the task of catching burbot in the best way. This is a favorite dish of burbot, from which he will never refuse. You can catch burbot with this bait all year round, both in winter and in summer.

This bait live bait. But not any and not any different, but burbot's favorite snack - and! It is such a live bait that works flawlessly when catching burbot. And if the burbot intends to peck today, then such a live bait will give you the best result.

Highly important condition catching this live bait - given fish must live in water. If this fish is not familiar to burbot, then the result may be opposite and you will not see bites. And best of all, if this live bait is caught on the same reservoir.

The size of the live bait should not exceed the size of the palm. The mouth of the burbot is not very large, so it will not cope with too large live bait.

In general, if perch or ruff lives in the reservoir where you are going to catch burbot, then such a live bait will be the best bait for burbot. Good luck fishing and no tail or scales for you!

Burbot fishing video

Burbot lives in fresh water and loves the cold. The best proof of this is spawning under water in winter. In length, burbot can be up to 1.2 m, in weight up to 25 kg. The fish is fleshy and therefore strong. To catch her, you have to tinker a bit, but the result is definitely worth the effort. The fish is found in clean cold rivers with a rocky bottom, at a temperature not exceeding 12°C. The burbot has a hard time going through a hot time, goes deeper to the bottom and to the most shaded places. It is best to catch burbot under the canopy of the night. During the day, hiding from the daylight, the fish moves under the snags.

How to catch burbot in the fall - a place to catch

• Burbot lives in the northern rivers of Russia, in the Urals, in Siberia. Burbot lives and hunts where it is colder. Burbot is often found at great depths, in river basins. Checking the fish for biting is an important activity that needs to be given enough time. About 1 hour is allocated for the process, and if a particular fish does not bite, you can safely change the location.
• To learn about activity, use several rods. For this, 2-3 rods are located on the shore in different places at once. Also, each rod uses a different fishing technique. If fishing is carried out during the day, then the fisherman must understand that the fish will migrate at night to where it will be more convenient for her to hunt.
• It will not be superfluous to take spare hooks, fishing line and ready-made leashes for fishing. If there is a bite, then it is active, and you will have to fight for your prey. If the fish is still caught, then caution will not hurt, because the character of the fish is very nimble.

How to catch burbot in autumn - bait

• Pieces of fresh fish are well suited for feeding burbot. For example, use minnow. To make a fish mixture, you should get the worms, fish and soil from the bottom of the reservoir. In a separate container, worms and soil are mixed. The fish is cut into small pieces and mixed in the same way. The soil is used for weighting, so that the bait has the opportunity to fly away. Small balls are molded and placed in the feeder. If there is no bottom in the feeder, then the bait will fall out at the landing site very quickly.
• Feed the fish in large portions. If the fish stops biting, then you need to update the complementary foods. The bottom is the working part of the reservoir. Most of the victims who died from burbot are lethargic and sleepy fish resting at the very bottom. The peculiarity of this type of fish is taken into account during feeding and picking gear.
• The best characteristics of tackle for catching burbot from the shore will be sensitivity and range. The coil is also not suitable for everyone. It is better to take a coil with a large gear ratio. This means that when the fisherman turns the handle 1 time, the arc makes several turns, which is convenient for increasing the response. Smaller individuals are caught during the daytime, larger ones at night.
• A ruff is put on the hook. Experienced fishermen advise to suppress the fish a little so that the bait works faster. Neat small incisions are made between the ribs. There is a simpler and unlucky option - to crush with a boot so that the main part of the body remains intact.
• If the fisherman gets tired night fishing, then you can leave the fishing rod with bait and go to rest. A safe way for the integrity of the rod and tackle is to limit the free movement of the fishing line. So that the fish does not tighten the hook in the place in which it hides. The fishing rod should be better seen in the dark, for this it is equipped with fireflies. On the shore they make a fire or dim illumination from the shore.
• For better audibility, metal bells or battery-powered sounders are hooked. Although the latter can greatly frighten the fish.

For a fisherman, autumn time brings new opportunities, namely, catching burbot, fish from northern reservoirs. Burbot prefers to live near the bottom. The best way go fishing in the cold autumn period, and also observe the right time of day so that circumstances allow you to maximize your catch. The bait for burbot is prepared in large quantities, because the fish is very voracious. Often you have to get the hook from the very insides, while cutting the stomach. If the fish is well fed, then it is caught very actively. Before catching burbot, you must definitely check the place for biting.

(Fishing. Features of fishing for beginners)

Hello dear readers ""! Burbot is an extremely interesting fish of our reservoirs. To begin with, this is the only representative of the cod family that lives in fresh water. All the rest of his "relatives" live in the seas-oceans, but burbot has adapted to life in rivers.

1. Features of biology. Description and way of life.

2. Where to look for burbot? Habitats. What does burbot eat?

3. Ways of fishing burbot. Spring fishing with half-dones. Fishing in autumn.

4. winter fishing from ice. Winter coats. Flashing burbot.

5. Burbot cooking. Ear made from burbot.

Features of biology. Description and lifestyle of burbot

The appearance of this fish is remarkable. It has a long snake-like body with a very large, broad and flattened head. The upper caudal fin and anal are very long and wide, like all cod. The body, covered with abundant mucus, has a color from almost black in young fish to olive green with a marbled pattern in older burbots.

A characteristic feature of the "portrait" is a single mustache that adorns his chin. In this it differs from the catfish, which has two long whiskers on the upper jaw and four more on the lower. By the way, catfish is a competitor of burbot and, apparently, is forcing it out of the southern rivers.

What can I say, burbot is a great original. Everything is different from him, like other fish! In summer, when other fish are actively feeding, it hibernates, and in winter, when other fish are half asleep in the pits, the burbot is blissful and fattening. Why feed there - burbot even celebrates their weddings in winter, spawns under the ice!

Burbot is a cold-loving fish. Very respectful predator cold water, feels great in the icy water of our northern rivers. In the rivers of the Russian North and in Siberia, it is not uncommon to meet real giants - up to a meter in size and weighing 20 kilograms. But the farther south - the smaller and thinner the burbot, in the middle lane there are fish no more than a kilogram. In Central Asia, in the Crimea and Transcaucasia, you will not find this fish at all.

The way of life of burbot is still largely mysterious, not all features of its behavior can be explained. As already mentioned, this fish is northern. Prefers clean northern rivers with a hard rocky bottom, always with running water. In general, it feels great when the water temperature does not exceed 12 degrees Celsius. Well, when the water gets warmer (in summer), the burbot perceives this as a disaster, goes into shady places, hides in holes and under snags, falls into a kind of hibernation. At the same time, it almost does not feed, it leaves its shelters only under the cover of night.

Other salient feature- nocturnal lifestyle. As a rule, a nocturnal predator spends daylight hours in some kind of hidden shelter (driftwood, piles, holes in cliffs, shelters among roots), and goes hunting under the cover of night. Moreover, what is most surprising of all, for his robbery deeds, he chooses darker nights, preferably moonless.

Moreover, his appetite wakes up in disgusting weather. The robber likes to play pranks when the night is rainy with rain and wind - then the burbot is especially active. A robber - he is a robber! It is better for him to do his business on rainy nights. Why this is so is not fully explained, but burbot hunters know: the worse the weather, the better the burbot bite.

Best of all, "freshwater cod" bites on nasty autumn nights - cold, windy, rainy, so not everyone likes such fishing. Who will sit by the river on such a night when a good owner will not even kick the dog out of the house!

In winter, burbot and completely expanse! While most of the fish in the winter cold sleep or doze sluggishly in the wintering pits, our hero does not waste time. Swims up to a half-asleep fish - um! - and remember your name! Burbot eats off in winter, grows fat, taking advantage of the temporary defenselessness of most fish. With impunity and at ease he feels himself in the winter cold water.

He feels so good that in the middle of winter - in January and February, burbot celebrates his weddings. It spawns on a hard rocky-pebble, less often - hard-sandy bottom. Again, what is the use of such early dates there is still spawning for burbot: while other fish figure out what's what, they begin to eat up burbot caviar, and burbot fry will already hatch from eggs and spread throughout the reservoir.

However, winter fishermen know that where burbot spawns, there is always a lot of ruff, which means that the brush loves burbot caviar. But in the spring, when other fish begin to spawn, burbot fry are already right there. Yes, and the burbot himself is not averse to feasting on someone else's caviar in the spring.

In the summer, our "cold-loving" is not up to fat - I would live. As soon as the water warms up to 15 degrees, the burbot leaves its hunting activities and hides from prying eyes. You can meet him at this time in crustacean holes near the cliffs, as well as in snags, especially if there are keys with cold spring water nearby. He does not like the heat of summer, from him the burbot becomes unwell. It doesn’t go to fishing rods or donkeys.

Where to look for burbot? Habitats. What does burbot eat?

From the description of the lifestyle, it becomes clear that this fish is very, very peculiar. And it's not easy to catch her. It is necessary to study his habits well before you start fishing. Beginning anglers, those who are going to catch burbot, must first of all know the places where you can meet this mysterious fish.

Where can you find burbot? First of all, you need to find a place on the river where this nocturnal predator can live. Let's try to define the concept of what a "burbot river" is. This river should not be calm, it is better when the water in it is fast and the bottom is rocky, pebbly or hard sandy. It is important that the water is not muddy, but clean, and it is also important that the river flows in wooded banks, away from people and any pollution.

Almost all rivers of the Russian North, many rivers of the Urals and Siberia meet such requirements. And in the Middle Lane there are not so many rivers that have not been developed by human economic activity, except perhaps small wooded rivers, which you cannot even call rivers. That is why we have little burbot in the most famous rivers Middle lane. And in the slowly flowing southern rivers, muddy or silted, there is nothing to look for at all. He does not tolerate burbot warm and stagnant water - this is not crucian for you!

Well, we found such a fast, icy river with a solid bottom, and even in a wooded area - then we need to look for places where the predator “lodges”. Burbot is a more or less sedentary fish, that is, it seeks to live near its campsites, which is why it is so important to look for such “burbot places”. In rivers, it prefers to settle near steep pits, especially if there are coastal crustacean burrows, but it also likes pits, especially if there are a lot of snags in the pits and there are icy springs.

You can meet burbot under rafts, moorings, under floating grass islands (in lakes), at great depths among stones or on a hard bottom, where there are any shelters (stones, writhing, bottom drops). On large northern lakes, it settles under stones at depths, and for feeding comes out on rocky elevations - “tables”, ridges.

In autumn, when the water gets cold, the night robber begins to “roam”, that is, he leaves his permanent camps and spreads along the river in search of food. Especially "wanders" in cloudy damp weather, mostly at night. Later, burbot travel becomes purposeful. In late autumn, flocks of burbot move up rivers in search of spawning grounds.

We must also take into account the fact that burbot is a bottom fish. He searches for his prey mainly at the bottom, goes out into shallow water extremely rarely and reluctantly, again under the cover of eyebrows. However, on the very midstream of the river, where there is a strong current and there is nothing to “catch on”, the burbot also has nothing to do. And it rarely rises to the surface, except at night in a thunderstorm.

Burbot is a predator, and an inveterate predator, gluttonous. The basis of its nutrition is mainly fish, and the most diverse, more often of course bottom ones - gudgeon, ruff, goby, but by autumn, when many fish sink to the bottom, fish of various breeds can be found in the stomach of burbot. Young burbots are also predatory, but most often they get smaller food - worms, insect larvae, benthic organisms like amphipods, fish eggs, crayfish, frogs.

He does not disdain burdock and carrion, which he picks up from the bottom. The main technique of burbot hunting is to slowly sneak up on the prey and, with its mouth open, draw it into itself. This hunt is rather passive than active, so burbot gets for lunch mostly sleepy, sick or little active fish. In any case, burbot always prefers to take prey from the bottom. This feature must be taken into account and taken into account when fishing.

Fishing methods. Spring fishing with donkeys. Catching burbot in autumn

Burbot is not easy to find on the river, but it is even more difficult to force him to bite. It would seem, what is the difficulty? Burbot is a voracious predator, he bites greedily, swallows the bait reliably, almost always detects himself, but, come on, it’s not easy to catch him. Burbot is sometimes capricious and lazy, he does not always want to take your “treat”, but mostly sits in his shelters, without showing the slightest activity.

AT summer time, for example, it is often impossible to lure a predator out of its hiding places, wake it up from sleep and force it to peck. How to catch him? Perhaps with his hands, rummaging in the holes of underwater cliffs or under snags, as they caught, I remember, in Chekhov's unforgettable story.

A good time for fishing is early spring. Unfortunately, this time does not last long, until the water brightens and warms up. As the water warms up, our hero loses interest in baits. When the river enters its usual banks, the bite of burbot gradually subsides.

Fishing in the spring can be started almost immediately, as the ice melts, through muddy water. So the best time for catching burbot in the spring - the month of April, the beginning of May (in different areas in different ways). Moreover, interestingly, the day for fishing must be chosen with unimportant weather - a period of cooling, and even with light rain. At such a time, the bite is usually trouble-free.

Almost always burbot is caught from the shore. It is better to choose places where it is convenient to install fishing rods, but it is better where the edges approach the banks - under the steep ridges, and if on the beaches, then on the bends of the rivers. In spring, burbot, as a rule, moves along the edge, picking up everything that the stream brings to it on its way. Thickets of last year's grass and flooded meadows - not the most best places to search for burbot. The benthic predator rarely comes out for “irrigation”, except at night.

Which are convenient to use at this time - the so-called half-donks. This is a 4 meter long rod equipped with guides and a reel. 20-25 m of fishing line 0.3-0.4 mm are wound on the reel. A sliding sinker of a flat shape is used so that it is not carried away by a stream of water.

It is not necessary to cast far, it is enough to cast 5-10 meters from the shore, so that the nozzle hits the border of the current and the edge. A bunch of worms serves as bait, sometimes cutting fish (you can even use salted fish - sprat, anchovy). If small fish (goby and ruff) eat worms, they catch only dead fish (the same ruff, bull).

They usually put several half-fingers on the flyers not far from each other, so that you can follow everyone at the same time. The bite is tracked by the shaking of the rod tip or by the way the line sags or changes the direction of tension.

Spring fishing stops with lightening and warming of the water. In the summer, as already mentioned, a predator can only be caught by chance during the night installation of donoks. Almost all summer, our cold-loving one hides in shelters, escaping from the heat, and almost does not eat. True, periods of a long cold snap, prolonged bad weather can sometimes “stir up” burbot. But this is not a rule, but rather an exception.

Should be the most favorable time for catching burbot - autumn and winter. As already mentioned, in the summer burbot remains passive. But now the water gets colder, refreshes the blood, and our hero immediately awakens his appetite.

Burbot is a nocturnal predator, and its activity begins at night. Moreover, the more inclement the weather, the colder the night, the better the bite. There is nothing surprising in this, if we remember that burbot does not like bright nights, and pecks in rainy weather. The active period of the life of the "cold-lover" begins. During this period, burbot is not particularly picky about food. Any animal food can serve as baits - worms, frogs, leeches, chicken intestines, live bait and dead fish or parts thereof.

It is better to catch on the bottom, because burbot is a bottom fish, looking for its prey at the bottom. During the day, the predator sits out, its hiding places are known: coastal crustacean burrows, under stones and in windbreak. Also, burbot likes to stay under rafts, in pools, especially near springs, where even in summer the water is colder.

The most common: a rod with a reel and throughput rings, a sliding sinker, a long leash with a hook. You can put bells on donks.

Night fishing for burbot on the donka can be organized in different ways. It is possible, having abandoned the donks, to leave them on the river bank, and he himself will go home to watch color dreams in order to return to the river in the morning. But, of course, then you need to be prepared for the fact that the predator, if it bites, will confuse part of the gear and lead them into snags.

It is much more interesting to spend the night on the river bank, making a fire and putting a tent or a hut next to it. This fishing is quite romantic. A bonfire on a cold autumn night creates a unique cosiness and a feeling of familiarization with the secrets of nature. The fire helps to pass the time, warms the body and amuses the soul. Yes, and tangled fishing lines are more convenient to unravel not in pitch darkness, but in the light of a fire. Donks are thrown, bells are hung on them and immersed in anticipation. If there is burbot in this place, the bite will not keep you waiting.

Let's not forget that burbot does not like to move away from their shelters. Therefore, casting should be done close to its habitats - snags, dumps, bottom ledges, cliffs. It happens that because of the laziness of a burbot, its bite is almost imperceptible; a predator that has swallowed its prey can stand still for a long time without moving anywhere.

It is not necessary to hook the burbot, for the most part it swallows the bait deeply, but it is necessary to drag it to the shore quickly so that it does not have time to drag the tackle under stones and snags. When playing the burbot has a rather weak resistance. Nevertheless, if a large predator is caught, it is better to pull it out of the water with a net, it is very slippery - you cannot hold it in your hands. For this reason, it is not always possible to pull the hook out of its mouth, especially if the burbot deeply swallowed the bait, it is easier to cut the leash and tie a new one.

Burbot is insatiable and gluttonous. They say that he can swallow two live bait at once on two bottoms. It happens that one place brings a lot of bites. But it also happens that in the place where the donks are placed, there are no bites for a long time. Then you need to move to a new place.

Winter ice fishing. Winter coats. Flashing burbot.

Still, the best time for burbot fishing is winter. Let us remember that burbot is cold-loving and spawns even in the middle of winter, at the time of the most severe frosts. In winter, I will burbot expanse! Cold winter water invigorates his blood, there is plenty of food for him, and most of the fish are in a daze. That's when it's time for burbot to eat up for the whole year. In winter, burbot prospers, lives in clover and leads the most active lifestyle.

In winter, burbot is caught with different gear, among them the most famous are ice vents and lure fishing. The under-ice vent or postavush is arranged simply: a stick across the hole, and a reel with a wound fishing line, a sinker and a leash is suspended from below it. Why is it necessary to lower the zherlitsa under the ice?

In winter, the nights are cold, the hole instantly freezes and all the tackle freezes into the ice, in the morning it will be difficult to pick out both the tackle and the caught fish from the hole. Therefore, they do this: a new one is drilled near the frozen hole, and a fishing line with caught burbot is taken out with a hook. The bait on the vent is lowered to the very bottom, it is important that the fishing line is not strongly wound by the biting fish, it is given no more than one and a half meters of free play. Otherwise, he will lead the burbot into snags - and remember your name. And postavushi are placed at night in those places where burbot is expected to pass up the river.

It is better to choose not particularly deep places with a sandy, rocky bottom, it is better near steep banks. It is known that from the middle of winter, burbot goes into deeper pits, where, after spawning, it is eaten off by fish. Sometimes on long winter nights, burbot is caught by the light of a lantern, setting up a tent right on the ice. Sabaneev also wrote that fire somehow attracts this fish. Therefore, fishermen make a fire on the ice and burn it all night.

From the ice they also catch on artificial lures - spinners. Burbot flashes in places of its accumulation, on deep lakes, in pits at the turn of the river. It is important that there are snags, stones and any bottom rubbish at the bottom. Burbot is lazy, he takes only the bait that will fall right under his nose. Burbot lure is a lightweight narrow lure with a soldered single hook. The spinner can be white, yellow, it is better if it is not large, only 5-10 centimeters. Lowering the lure to the very bottom, they make infrequent strokes - pulls.

Sometimes this type of baubles is used: two heavy oscillating baubles are attached to one winding ring, a carabiner is attached. Spinners should be in contact with convex parts, a tee is hung on one of them. It turns out some kind of rattle, which, when shaken, strums.

The double lure is lowered to the very bottom, lifted and thrown sharply down. There is another interesting way of fishing - a lure with a replanting of a dead fish. The spinner is equipped with two soldered hooks, upper and lower. On both hooks they put on the body of a fish without a head, it turns out a kind of tackle. This tackle is played at the bottom, two or three strokes and a pause.

There is evidence that in winter they even catch from ice in Siberia on a wobbler with a sliding sinker placed on a fishing line in front of it. The wobbler is then slowly pulled up, then released, while the bait oscillates at the bottom. Such fishing is possible only on a strong current.

Burbot cooking. Ear made from burbot.

What anglers value burbot for is its excellent taste. In order to taste the incomparable burbot fish soup or burbot pie, fishermen are ready to sit on a rainy autumn night on the river, or even spend a frosty night in a tent on ice.

And it's true - in terms of taste, it is incomparable, rarely what kind of fish can compare with it! Burbot meat is fatty, juicy, and there is nothing to say about burbot liver. A delicacy - it is a delicacy!

Burbot is good in any form - boiled, fried, baked in dough.

The best known is burbot ear, it is valued by connoisseurs so much that it can compete with sterlet. Perhaps, at least once in your life, you should try burbot fish soup. Burbot ear is prepared in different ways, there are many recipes. Here is one of them.

Ingredients: Burbot - 1 piece, carrot - 2 pieces, onion - 2 pieces. 2-3 potatoes, salt, peppercorns, bay leaf, fragrant herbs, dill or parsley.

Burbot 1-1.5 kg is taken, cleaned, its belly is carefully torn open, from where the burbot liver is taken out, and the gills and intestines are thrown away. The burbot fillet is separated, which is used later. The head, bones, tail and fins are placed in a pot, poured with cold water, put on fire (it is advised to put in cold water!).

When the water boils, only then salt is put in, the fire is extinguished so that it only gurgles slightly, the scale is removed and chopped carrots are thrown. While the fish is languishing on low heat, the potatoes are peeled, the so-called “maxa” is prepared from burbot liver. This masa is made like this: burbot liver, taken out in advance, slightly for 5 minutes, scalded in a boiling ear, removed from the pot and pounded and ground in a bowl along with finely chopped green onions.

10 minutes after the first boiling of the fish soup, potatoes and onions, chopped large (into four parts), are added to the broth. Bring to a boil again and again boil and simmer the vegetables for about 20 minutes. And then you can already put portioned pieces of burbot, ready-made maxa, pepper, bay leaf.

Burbot fillet and maxu are cooked for a short time (it has very tender meat!) so that it retains its unique taste. Finally, you can throw in dill, parsley, or some other perfumed field herbs for the smell. Remove from heat, cover the pot with a lid to let it brew. There is no need to add any vodka, as well as too hot seasonings. And without that, the dish will turn out to be first-class - you won’t drag it by the ears!

Dishes from burbot exist in the cuisines of different peoples of the world. The cuisine of the northern countries is especially rich in these dishes. Burbot dishes belong to the category of delicacies. They really appreciate burbot-burbot for its incomparable taste, for its tender and fatty meat!

Well, now you know almost everything about burbot fishing that a novice angler needs to know, and even a little more.

Text and photo by Yuri Zheltyshev