HEAD
Where to look?
This fish lives in a restricted area. It occurs in some submontane rivers and streams of the Danube catchment area, in most cases on the border of the land of trout and grayling. Requires clean water and a hard bottom. Its positions are located on the border of the current and calm water, in places, where the stronger current flows into wider and deeper depths. He sticks to the pits washed in the bottom of the trough behind large boulders and other places, where it can hide. She is also found there, where the pigs are, which are the main ingredient of her food. Currently, she can be found most often in the upper Váh, in Orava, Turks, Hornadzie, Dunajec and Poprad, sporadically in Hrona near Podbrezova. Attempts are being made to transfer it to selected rivers in the Czech Republic. It is at home in some dam reservoirs.
When to fish?
In Czechia, fishing for Danube salmon is allowed only from 1 October to 31 of December. In Poland, you can catch it from 1 June to the end of February. Time is the optimal time to fish, when this fish is feeding intensively. It happens in the morning, at dawn and shortly after, and also in the evening - until complete darkness. In favorable conditions, it also takes around noon. The normal water level or the beginning of the rise create favorable conditions for fishing. Bad conditions are high levels and turbidity of waters and their rapid fall. The settled weather is favorable, even in cloudy skies or at freezing temperatures, or warming up after a short frost, snowfall and light rain as well as the period with a sudden change of good weather to worse weather. Sudden is unfavorable, strong frost, rapid pressure drop, north and east wind, however, a light wind is not an obstacle. As the water cools, the possibility of getting food decreases, so the activity of Danube salmon increases.
Equipment.
Strong is needed, special Danube salmon rod, good casting reel, line 0.45-0.50 mm thick with sufficient reserve on the reel spool, 2 / 0-4 / 0 hooks or triple hooks, heavy duty swivels and carabiners. The use of a tow bar is recommended (gaffs); an appropriately sized landing net can be a valuable addition to your equipment. A leader 50-60 cm long should be made of a steel cord.
Huchen lures.
A dead fish (up to 20 cm) on a system consisting of two or more three-legged treble hooks; a length wobbler can be good 10 cm, brighter in color, and a Heintz spoon, approx 10 cm and some kidney shaped spinners, because their appearance resembles small fish. We select lures depending on the nature of the river bed and water transparency, but most of all on the speed of its flow. Long-bodied fish are always good lures in clear water, e.g.. piggy, certain, jelec, chub and bleak. Few anglers know about it, that the best, the most effective - one might say delicacy - bait for Danube salmon are very large bullheads. Systems, with which fish are armed, they must hold the bait firmly and firmly. Because, even though the hooks are embedded in the fish's muscles, it must be additionally tightly wrapped with a string or even a strong wire. Bad bait preparation, its replacement and the need for frequent correction causes, that our excellent mood wears off while catching Danube salmon. The very installation of the bait on Danube salmon is a fishing masterpiece, because the bait not only has to stick well to the hook, but it should also be properly shaped, that it is not tipped over or taken to the surface under strong current. It must not deviate too much sideways from the pull axis and must move naturally, like a live fish.
Methods of catching Danube salmon.
In the Czech Republic, only one method is allowed by law, namely spinning with dead fish armed with systemics. In Poland, you can catch Danube salmon with artificial baits and flies.
Other comments.
The capercaillie belongs to the group of valuable fish species and therefore its catches are strictly regulated by special regulations, issued by the National Angling Association, and they are passed by the relevant ministry. These laws can be more stringent and restrictive than the statutory law, therefore it is essential, that anglers should read them before setting out to fish for Danube salmon and follow them strictly.
Loud dropping of the bait into the water will not scare this fish away. If the Danube salmon breaks off the rod, when we use a specific bait, this to provoke the same specimen to attack again, should be after a few days of break (fishing in the same area) change the type of bait or bait and the way it is led. Line freezing to the rod and guides, which happens from time to time, it spoils the fisherman's mood. This inconvenience can be removed by smearing the line with glycerin, and a cotton pad saturated with glycerin is inserted into the top grommet.
In the areas of Danube salmon occurrence, every angler fishing there must be able to recognize and distinguish the Danube salmon from other salmonids., especially from trout. Lots of little ones every year, undersized huchens (less than 70 cm) dies as a result, that anglers often catch them as great brown or rainbow trout.
Such anglers are among the dangerous poachers limiting the size of the population of this fish. Admittedly, there are no clear morphological differences, on the basis of which it would be easy to distinguish between trout and salmon, but when it comes to salmonids, 40-70 cm long (first length - the protective dimension of the trout; the second length - the protective dimension of the Danube salmon), however, it is the difference in body shape that stands out. Trout of this size, as mature fish, have a thicker back, rounded belly and better overall body muscularity. A head of the same size gives the impression of a young fish, immature, whose mass in relation to the length is small. Pay attention to the distinction between Danube salmon and rainbow trout, that the caudal fin of a trout is clearly mottled, and smooth on the Danube salmon. In brown trout there is a hump in the dorsal part just behind the head, because the line of the head does not go smoothly into the back. In the Danube salmon, this transition is quite gentle. A characteristic feature may also be the appearance of the anal fin (though not in all cases). The brown trout has a narrow one on the lower edge of this fin, white cream belt, while in the Danube salmon it is single-colored. In the areas of Danube salmon occurrence, any fish that raise doubts when determining the species should be carefully released back into the water..