Catching pikes on the donkey is an exciting activity, with correctly assembled gear and a promising place, everyone will be with a catch.
If you ask even an experienced angler what he prefers to catch pike, the answer will be very predictable. The bulk of fans of predator capture prefers spinning blanks for open water. From the ice, fishing takes place mainly on ventilators, the varieties of which are now very much invented. Catching pikes on the donka is extremely rare; not everyone knows this method of capture and applies.
What is the essence and what subtleties should you know when collecting gear we get together.
Advantages and disadvantages of catching pike on the donkey
Catching pike on live bait is carried out in several ways, one of which is donka. Few people know about such tackle, of course, and they rarely use it. On ponds you can often find spinning players, a little less often than lovers of float fishing for pike, but donka is not popular for some reason. Tackle has both advantages and disadvantages that every angler needs to know.
virtues | limitations |
cast bait over long distances | gear is not as mobile as spinning |
allows you to fish deep places, including during | there is a restriction on freedom of live bait |
tackle can be left unattended for a long time | frequent bottom hooks, vegetation and snags |
With a correctly selected sinker, the tackle thrown to the right place, regardless of the course and distance from the coastline, will remain in place. Often fishing for pike on the donka is used as an auxiliary method , having installed tackle, the angler goes on more active fishing with a spinning rod or feeder.
You can check the catch every 2-4 hours or leave it overnight, the pike that has swallowed live bait is firmly hooked and does not require additional detection.
Varieties of Donkey
Equipment of this type can be different, its components are distinguished. Bottom tackle for pike on live bait can be:
- traditional, it consists of fishing line with a thickness of about 0.4-0.5 mm, a steel leash, a hook and the bait itself. It can be stored and transported on various reels, round self-dumping or home-made wooden with a holder. It is with a reel that they attach the tackle on the coastline; this species does not allow fishing from a boat.
- Tackle with rubber is known to many, only it is usually used to catch crucian carp and carp. For pike, there are some subtleties of tackle formation: a piece of fishing line with a length of about 5-8 m is placed after the rubber, at the end of which a weight of up to 200 g is tied, one or two occasions with hooks for live bait are formed in front of it.
- Catching pikes to the bottom from the boat is carried out using a feeder rod, installation for this is completely wound on a reel with good traction performance. The tackle itself differs from the rest of the feeder in the absence of a feeder and the use of not only live fry, but also lump fish as bait.
- Donka with a feeder is rarely used for a toothy predator, due to the fact that many do not know how to feed fish. However, a trophy specimen can also be caught on this type of gear.
Each of them, with the correct collection and selection of bait, will be able to attract the attention of a toothy resident of a reservoir.
Collecting gear for bottom fishing
Catching pike on live bait takes place with the help of several types of donkeys, each of the options will help with fishing offshore from the shore or from a boat. It is worthwhile to understand that the gear will differ in some components, since the capture occurs with certain differences.
For fishing from the shore
How to make a donkey on a pike on their own, many do not know, however, collecting this tackle is very simple.
There may be several options, each of which we will study in more detail:
- The easiest way to mount a traditional donku on a reel or on a self-reset is the easiest. Pre-select or make the basis on which the tackle will be wound during fishing and transportation. One end of the fishing line is attached to the reel, the other is equipped with a sinker, it is taken depending on the place of fishing. A little higher they mount a steel leash with a tee or double, on which a live bait is mounted before fishing.
- The donka with rubber is also used from the coastline, for its collection, in addition to the above components, they also take 5-6 m of fishing gum. It is for rubber that the tackle is attached to the reel, and only then comes the base, the fishing line. Installation can be done on two hooks, for this the leashes are placed at a distance of about 1-1.5 m.
- Gather for fishing and feeder, live bait on the donka is planted in the usual way on a double or tee. A feature of the tackle will be the use of a sliding load, which is not at the very end. The bobber, which is installed near the bait fish, will help determine the bite. The tackle is formed as follows: first of all, a sufficient amount of fishing line is wound on the reel, its thickness should be at least 0.45 mm. Next, they put a rubber stopper, followed by a sinker and another stopper. From the stopper through a swivel or simply by a loop method, a monk lead is attached to the loop, the thickness of which is slightly less than the base. It is here that a sliding float is installed, which must be selected based on the weight of the live bait. The next step will be the installation of a steel leash with a hook. On which the bait will be mounted.
- The option with a feeder from the coastline also does not work badly, any of the above does the installation, but you need to add a feeder to it. You can use the loaded options, then the sinker can be excluded from the gear. As a bait use chopped lumpy fish.
As bait for all types of donks from shore to pike use live bait.
For fishing from a boat
Often, fishermen use various watercraft to improve fishing results, this will allow for more accurate casting and fishing over a larger area of the reservoir. To catch pike with bottom tackle from a boat, only tackle on a feeder rod is used. The rest cannot be fixed on the sides or this will cause some inconvenience. The feeder gear is assembled according to all known standards, a live bait is caught on a hook, and in the late autumn, just before the freezing, lump fish. Having abandoned the donka, it’s better not to waste time in vain, armed with a spinning rod, the fisherman carries out a round-up of the surrounding area on artificial baits.
Advice! Fishing with a feeder is also possible, but in this case only live bait should be on the hook.
The subtleties of catching pike on the donkey
As it turned out, a donka on a pike with its own hands can be mounted very simply. But to collect tackle is not enough, for successful fishing you need to know where to put the installation, and where it will be useless, this is the main subtlety of fishing.
To successfully catch pike in a pond, you need to know the topography of the bottom, it is advisable to install tackle near:
- deep holes and eyebrows;
- on the border with aquatic vegetation;
- along the thickets of reeds and sedges;
- behind snags and trees falling into the water.
Properly planted live bait will definitely become the key to success, for this they use single hooks, doubles or tees of good quality.
Useful Tips
Experienced fishers know many secrets of capturing a trophy pike with this type of gear, but a beginner needs to get this knowledge on his own.
Here are a few tips that will surely come in handy for every fishing enthusiast:
- it is desirable to catch live bait fish on the donk in the same reservoir;
- to attract the attention of large fish, small bait fish will not work, it is better to use a fish from 150 g in weight;
- fishing for bottom tackle is relevant in early spring, late fall and from the ice, in the summer it is unlikely to attract predator’s attention with such bait;
- it is necessary to check the tackle immediately every 1.5-2 hours after casting, then every 4-6 hours;
- without active bait, it will be impossible to capture;
- pike is caught on lumpy fish with bottom tackle just before freezing, it can also be an excellent option for complementary foods when fishing with a feeder;
- it is better to put live bait on tees, and you need to start the hook so that the leash leaves through the gill gap;
- it is better to do the leash yourself, its length is from 30 cm to 50 cm;
- it’s better not to take the cord as the basis of the tackle, the monka will cope with its tasks perfectly;
- immediately after the strike, you should not perform a sweep; you must wait until the predator completely swallows the bait fish.
The rest of the subtleties of fishing have to be studied independently, experience for this matter is very important.