Ropes are best caught in spring. The use of a transparent float significantly increases the chances of successfully catching these fish in shallow and clear water.
Ropes are my favorite species of fish. After catching a rope, I can look at its beautiful green and gold scales endlessly, rounded black fins and small black eyes with orange borders.
There are many more tenches in our fisheries, than is commonly believed. If you are lucky, you can find out by watching the fish spawning. Later, unfortunately, the wonderful lines disappear somewhere and it is very difficult to catch them with a fishing rod. Me anyway, catching a large tench in the summer or fall is successful only from time to time. For this reason too, I stopped fishing for lines on purpose a long time ago – with one exception, however: in early spring, the chances of successfully catching these fish are much greater, than in other seasons.
After a long winter period, the first warmer days of early spring, in the middle of March and April, they put me in a state of fishing excitement.
How Indian
Nothing can keep me home – I just have to spend the first warmer days of the year by the water. I quickly pack the necessary equipment and accessories (a match rod, podbierak, spare floats, ciężarki, hooks, slingshot for baiting), I buy white worms and go on an adventure.
I'm going over my favorites, very shallow fishery for spring tench. In summer, there is even nothing to look for there, because this reservoir is almost entirely overgrown with lush water vegetation. In an Indian way, I sneak cautiously over the water and diligently look for signs of the presence of fish. Soon I notice tiny bubbles of gas rising to the surface of the water along the far bank. Aha, feeding fish. Ropes? The depth at this point is at most 50 cm, the bottom is dark, and the water is fairly clean. The dark bottom helps the water to heat up faster, which is very suitable for many species of fish, not only ropes.
I am baiting the supposed tense fishery with a handful of white worms by firing my slingshot. A moment later I drop the distance set with two white worms on the hook no 12. The waggler float is transparent and has its own load. Since I'm fishing in shallow water, the lines could be scared at the sight of a traditional float – transparent waggler, however, is completely invisible to them. The float's own load almost completely eliminates the need for ballast (I have only two tiny pellets clamped on the line just below the float). Thanks to this, the white worms on the hook fall freely, so very naturally in the water. I tied the hook directly to the main line with a diameter 0,16 mm.
I catch the fishery several times with a small amount of white worms. Nothing happens. At the time, when I wanted to collapse the set, to check the bait, I notice slight, extremely slow sideways movement of the float and delicate baiting.
A moment later I make a not very vigorous cut. The hooked fish is clearly surprised, because without a fight it allows me to wind a few meters of line on the reel.
Dancing in the shallows
But soon the wild dance begins. Due to the shallow water depth, the fish appear on the surface every now and then and constantly try to build to the bottom. Circular ripples form on the smooth water surface. I do not know yet, what kind of fish i am dealing with, for the sediments of silt rising from the bottom are pure mud, so far, water.
A few minutes later I finally manage to get the fish into the landing net. My fishing heart is in my throat – lin, gorgeous ropes weighing over 1,2 kg. Lovely! It is hard to even imagine a better inauguration of the season.
I change the fishery, because during such a noisy haul, the remaining ropes must have escaped long ago where pepper grows. Maybe I'll be lucky again in the new place. With my way of fishing for tench, the main factor determining the success is changing the fishery frequently.
Transparent floats
When fishing in clear and shallow water, only the transparent float will not scare away wary fish. So let's go back to my wagglers (Crystal lub Clear Waggler). The highest quality transparent wagglers are produced by British companies Drennan and Middy. These floats are distinguished by precisely defined displacement and the possibility of various applications.
Models with a removable antenna allow you to easily adapt to different weather conditions, always fish with the antenna clearly visible (depending on the light conditions in the water). Longer or shorter antennas in different colors can be purchased separately. Wagglers with their own load (loaded) they glide wonderfully in the air while throwing. The weight of the float load can be changed, depending on this, how many pellets we plan to tighten on the line. The Italian manufacturer Tubertini equips the floats with interchangeable load-bearing weights of different weights. Various balance weights can be purchased for Middy wagglers. There are also other models of transparent floats in fishing stores, m. in. pękate wagglery (bodied), high loafery. However, all clear floats have a drawback – they break more often than the corresponding models made of peacock feather or balsa scapes. Therefore, they should be stored and transported in tubes or special boxes.
Quick change
When we use a piece of wire with a tiny bend in the middle (arrow), it only takes a few seconds to replace the float. There is also no question of cutting the line. Before tying the leader, you need to stretch two tiny plastic tubes on the main line, in which the ends of the wire are then clamped with a bent loop for attaching the float. Replacing the float is as simple as removing one tube, photos of the old one, set up a new float model and re-stretch the plastic cover on the end of the wire.