Ide is one of the active fish in winter. Due to the peculiarities of its habitat, it is usually not necessary to count on large catches of this fish, but this circumstance only spurs interest in the person of the “river prince”. Therefore, his capture, if it is not accidental, is a decoration of winter fishing.
Yazis prefer a secluded lifestyle for most of the year. This is especially true for adults, the largest individuals. Only the smaller members of the family – the roaches – keep in small flocks. But, what is noteworthy, it is by winter that ides unite into rather large flocks, which concentrate in deep places. Moreover, unlike other fish of the cyprinid family, ides lie on the pits only on the coldest days. The rest of the time, these fish are in motion and feed quite actively.
On winter rivers, idols prefer areas on the border with a fast current. They love return lines and adjoining superficial edges. They keep below dams, bridges and dams, on dumps below river bends, where the main stream departs from the coast. Pits below the rifts are interesting for ides. But closer to spring, I most often found them in river channels and oxbows, at the outlets of backwaters, somewhere there is no current at all, or it is weak, but there are sharp drops in depth.
When thawed, oxygen-rich waters rush under the ice, on the eve of spawning, the ide flocks begin to move to the mouths of the rivers, and enter the floodplain lakes. Ides like the water areas bordering on coastal springs and springs, and if there are none, ides live close to edges and wormwoods, sometimes in the shallowest water. When such areas abound with writhing, stumps, flooded bushes, etc., there is no doubt that these fish are present there.
Of other landmarks, I will note the proximity of ide with large roach and rudd, less often perch. The listed fish on the last ice also concentrate in the places described above, significantly exceeding the number of ides. This circumstance determines the proportions of fish species in the catches. If in a day you can catch 10, 20 or more weighty roach or test redfins, then ides are usually 1–2, but they are the decoration of fishing. Unless less cautious roaches can be caught a little more. However, due to their small size, there is no reason to replenish the catch with them. The catch & release principle should be executed immediately.
From year to year, ides are invariably caught at the same specific points. Therefore, if the water area is well studied and it was possible to detect the presence of ides in it, during the next fishing trip, you can safely settle where noble beauties were previously able to get on the ice.
At the end of spawning, the ide flocks again disintegrate, single individuals move to the riverbed and to the lake depths, passing to their usual way of life. Accordingly, approaches to fishing are changing.
Knowing all of the above points is crucial for successful ide fishing in March-April, when the ice fishing season usually closes. Unless, of course, the weather kicks in.
Subtleties of equipment
In winter, the diet of ide is more scarce than in summer, so the main baits for catching it are traditional: bloodworms, maggots, and worms. However, from his practice, he concluded that even in these three, worms should be in the first place if the goal is to catch a large ide. Catching with worms involves a long wait-and-see tactic, which is far from appealing to everyone. Therefore, taking into account my own vision of the issue, I came to the conclusion that the most advantageous lures for target fishing for both ides and roaches are non-attachment jigs (“goats”, “devils”, etc.). Their effectiveness is due precisely to the fact that the natural prototypes of the listed imitations form the basis of the forage ration of ide.
It is curious that, depending on the reservoir, a certain type of bait is catchy. It is selected exclusively by experience, and it works for all anglers – experienced and novice. Only someone catches more successfully, and someone less. Going to a specific place, you should rely on a proven bait. Already in the course of fishing, it is appropriate to experiment with others, which are also capable of “shooting”.
The requirement for a nod is increased sensitivity. Some experts in ulcers I know generally use only the good old bristle, which has been revived by the manufacturers of tackle in a modern version. I do not exclude that I will take this experience, but for now I am not changing the usual lavsan nods, which have their own advantages and advantages (they are better resistant to the wind, easily adjusted to a lot of different lures, do not break, etc.).
Wiring
The general tactical scheme for wiring non-nozzle lures in potentially pockets is as follows. Smooth descent to the bottom with swaying and stops. If there is no bite, the bait slowly breaks away from the bottom and the same is lifted. At the end of each run it is useful to do a jog. This is due to the fact that the fish is curious, but not always decisive. She loves to accompany moving bait without giving away her presence. Moreover, in contrast to the chub, the ide lacks the jig sharply. The nod most often barely bends and immediately plays back, signaling a bite. In case of a successful hook, no forced fishing should be performed. Despite the fact that they are strong and nimble, their lips are rather weak. Therefore, you can simply miss the prey by breaking your lip.
Given that the ide is very cautious, and the noise emitted on the ice can discourage him from feeding (especially if fishing is carried out at shallow depths), you should take care of the holes in advance. The tactics of early morning drilling of holes in the selected water area is preferred. In a familiar place, it is enough to make a dozen holes and then methodically fish them all day. A river or adjacent water bodies are so good that a fish can appear in the right place at any moment, even if for a long time it did not give out its presence at all.
Despite the fact that ide is a fairly common fish, its behavior, feeding, and fishing during the freeze-up period have been studied very little. The available information is scanty and sometimes contradictory. Therefore, the field of activity in this regard is huge. For example, from time to time I managed to catch good ides on 7-centimeter balance beams, large “noodles” and vertical spoons, but these are completely different stories that require additional data collection, their generalization and conclusions.
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