Of all the numerous representatives of several genera of the Salmon family, the migratory salmon deserves the most attention of anglers, which gave its name to both the genus and the whole family: salmon, it is also an Atlantic salmon, it is also a noble salmon.
In fact, this fish has many more names: ichthyologists call it Salmo salar Linne in Latin. In the North-West (on the Baltic Sea and the rivers flowing into it), Russian-speaking fishermen use the name salmon, Poles consonant with losos, Latvians – lasis, Estonians (and related Finns) – lohi.
Sea fishing
Salmon is caught in the sea with a variety of fishing gear: net, hook and trap, but most of them are not available to amateurs, so we will not dwell on them in detail, we will only mention them for completeness. What is more, don’t forget about fishing life jackets.
In the sea (usually in areas near the mouths of spawning rivers), salmon are caught with fixed nets – their wings and openings are many kilometers of labyrinths, lost in which, sooner or later the salmon ends up in the central chamber of the trap. Somewhat less often, fishermen use fixed nets for salmon fishing – also very long, connected in many kilometers.
Spinning fishing
Traditionally, the rivers of the Kola Peninsula are considered the best for catching salmon by spinning, and among them are those flowing into the Kandalaksha Bay of the White Sea. We’ll talk about those rivers ahead, but I’ll start with the most familiar fishing – with salmon fishing on the rivers of the Leningrad Region in general, and in particular on the river (anyone doubted which one?) Yes, yes, on the Luga.
It is not easy to catch Luga salmon on a spinning rod, and the Luga salmon spinning fish easily adapts to the rivers of the Kola Peninsula, which are much richer in salmon. But the reverse process is much more difficult … Many St. Petersburg fishermen who got acquainted with salmon in Finland, Karelia or the Murmansk region came up with a sound idea: why trudge to distant lands and spend a lot of money if you can catch salmon close to home, in the rivers of the Leningrad region?
From time to time, groups of such sensible St. Petersburg fishermen appear on the banks of the Luga – equipped with the latest fishing science and armed with experience in catching salmon on Umba or Varzuga. Usually their trips end in a complete fiasco: many baits are cut off, but there is no prey, at best, a couple of pikes that were kept in the pit below the threshold.
Fishing in rivers with natural lures
The main natural bait for salmon fishing is live bait or dead fish (only the tail part is used from too large fish). I will make a reservation right away: in this chapter we are not talking about fishing with a spinning tackle with a dead fish, in principle it is no different from fishing with a spinner or a wobbler.
Somewhat less often, salmon catches on earthworms, and in sections of rivers located near the mouths, it bites well on shrimps and sea worms. Why it pecks if it does not feed in the rivers is not clear. However, he bites, perhaps out of habit.
Tackle for natural baits – either an ordinary float rod (suitable for wiring in strong currents and for fighting large fish), or a rod without a float, with only one sinker; for long casts, spinning rods with floats – “bombettes” are often used. “Ships” (they are also “torpedoes”, “sleds”, etc.) are also used to deliver natural baits to the reservoir, although more often they are used to catch artificial ones, mainly on “flies”.
But the trouble is that in most countries where salmon are found, catching them in rivers with natural baits is prohibited. And here, where licensed salmon fishing is organized, it is prohibited. Our anglers, of course, still catch, but with great care.
One of the main fishing gear for salmon fishing is the harve net
The length of modern harves used for fishing in fresh water is at least hundreds of meters, height 8-9 meters, mesh 70-100 mm. It is possible to stretch a net of this size in water only with floats with a large carrying capacity (the so-called “cubass” were used before. Now they have been successfully replaced by plastic bottles from soft drinks). They put the orders of the harves not in a straight line, but in a rather tricky labyrinth, in search of a way out of which the salmon get entangled in the cells.
The large size (combined with a hefty price) makes this tackle “unbearable” for amateurs, both figuratively and in the literal sense of the word – it cannot be set up from an ordinary boat. And the fishery supervision does not issue licenses for the use of harves to lovers, they are too big and catchy.
Source: duohook.ie
