A fish similar to smelt. Where is it found and how to catch smelt? She bites very well on live bait. Will do

Cucumber smelt is a fish that belongs to the smelt family. It is also called root, naked. The scales are small and translucent. The abdomen is white-yellow, and the back is covered with greenish-blue scales. The appearance of the predator depends on the species.

Smelt is a largemouth fish. There are several rows of sharp teeth in the mouth and tongue, as the individual is considered a predator. A small naked fish eats fry, crustaceans, larvae, and eggs.

An individual can reach 350 g. The length of the root can be 10−40 cm. All varieties of smelt look approximately the same, but the Far Eastern smelt differs from the rest in its small mouth, lower jaw, which is pushed forward, and dorsal fin, which is also shorter than that of other representatives fish family.

A representative of the smelt family remains active in nutrition all year round.

Varieties

There are several varieties based on habitat, behavior, appearance and spawning characteristics. The sizes and weights of different types of smelt differ.

European smelt lives in the Baltic and off the coast of the USA. It is common for this individual to form large flocks that are capable of entering rivers to spawn. Representatives of this variety weigh 150−200 g, the size of the smelt reaches 20−30 cm in length. The individual has dense, large scales and a green-brown back. The body is narrow, elongated. This species is also called smelt.

The smallmouth naked lives in the Far East, near the sea coast and can enter rivers with fresh water. This is a Sakhalin fish: it lives on Sakhalin, as well as in the south of the Kuril Islands, Kamchatka and in the waters off the coast, up to the northern part of Korea. This member of the family smells more like a cucumber than others, so another name is borage. The representative has a small mouth. It reaches no more than 9 cm in size and weighs 30 g.

Asian smelt lives in lakes (for example, Ladoga, Onega), seas (Baltic, Northern, White). This species of individual lives in the rivers of the Far East and Siberia. It is also called catfish smelt - Asian or American. It can reach 35 cm in length and weigh 350 g. It is the largest representative of the smelt and can live up to 11 years.

Lake smelt lives in northwestern Russia. The individual lives in lake water. The population is high, which allows it to be caught in industrial quantities. The fins of the individual are colorless. Weight - 20 g, length - 25 cm.

The lake root has a light-colored back so that it can be camouflaged on the muddy lake bottom.

Sea smelt is also called capelin. Another name is uek. Capelin can reach 22 cm and weigh about 60 g. There is a dark border on the fins, and the sides and belly of the smelt are covered with brown spots.

Different species of smelt choose the most suitable habitats for themselves. At the same time, the distribution area is extensive.

Habitats

Where is smelt found: throughout Russia, especially in reservoirs in the central part of the country, in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. Fish is caught in lakes Ladoga, Onega, White, the Baltic seas, the northern part of Russia, and in the Volga basin.

The representative of smelt lives in salty and fresh waters. Naked is found in bodies of cool water, in the depths of seas and lakes, or near the coastline. The habitat varies depending on the species of the individual, since the appearance helps to camouflage itself taking into account the living conditions, since it is a predatory fish and it needs to hunt others.

Features of behavior

It is necessary to take into account the behavioral characteristics of individuals in order to choose the most favorable areas for fishing:

• representatives of smelt love depth, so it is worth looking for deep reservoirs with fresh or salt water;
• at various depths, fish are able to hide from other predators or catch fry, smaller fish in order to get food;
• in areas with thickets;
• in areas of the water area with different currents.

When choosing a place for fishing, you need to pay attention to places with a depth of 3 m. In this case, the bottom topography should be different so that you do not have to fish with an echo sounder.

You don't have to wait for hours to catch specimens. In a short period of time you can catch up to 500 fish.

• thin - for those individuals who are cautious and do not bite;
• nets or grabs - for catching fish that are in spawning conditions;
• three-wall networks;
• seines;
• spiders.

In summer, when fishing from the shore, sensitive tackle equipped with small weights and hooks is used. Use ultra-thin fishing line and the most sensitive float.

For bait, you can choose natural baits or those made from foam rubber material. Natural - live bait, pieces of fish.

If you fish from a boat, use gear that consists of a hook equipped with a long shank, organza, thread, varnish and beads.

Mount the gear like this:

1. Take the hook and fix it in a clamp or tank where the flies are tied.
2. The fibers are separated from the organza, which are then pulled into the eye of the hook.
3. The fibers are pulled along the forearm and tied with a mounting thread to create an analogue of the abdomen of an insect.
4. The tackle is strengthened with varnish, which gives a glow in the dark.
5. The final stage is attaching the beads and fixing them again with the same varnish. The beads are left within the eye of the hook to imitate the head of an insect.

For final installation, take an ice fishing rod with a nod, a 0.1 mm fishing line, 5 artificial baits, and a 3 g lead weight.

The tackle is assembled as follows:

1. Line is wound onto the reel.
2. Tie 3 leashes 10 cm long.
3. Hooks are attached to the leashes, and everything is secured with a reliable knot.
4. The leashes are attached to the main line, at a distance of 25 cm from each other.
5. Attach 2 hooks to the main line, but do not secure them. It is enough to thread the fishing line through the eye.
6. A load is secured to the main line.

Spawning

The lifespan of an individual depends on the species. The European one ages by 3 years, the Siberian lake cat can live 12 years.

The smelt season also varies depending on the species. The European spawns at 1 year of age, while the Siberian spawns at 7 years of age. Capelin prepares for spawning at 4 years of age and lives up to 9 years.

Males are larger than females and have more developed fins. Males are able to follow females over long distances. This is necessary so that individuals can find a suitable place for spawning. Near fish nurseries, it is important to ensure a good influx of prey, while other predatory fish should be avoided.

Individuals feed on zooplankton, eggs, and young animals. Most food is required in summer and autumn.

The start of spawning is after the ice drift. The water temperature should be +4°C. Smelt actively spawns at +6…+9°C. Reproduction continues for 2 weeks.

Nutritional value of smelt

The product is sold fresh or frozen; you can find chilled, smoked or dried fish of the smelt family on sale. The product is used to prepare baked, pickled dishes, soups and even okroshka. Juicy fish is combined with various sauces and side dishes.

The meat is tender, the fibers come apart easily, they are light in color with a gray tint. The peel can be peeled without difficulty. The bones of the fish are small and thin.

Smelt is a valuable food product, as it contains minerals and elements: zinc, selenium, manganese, copper. Fish contains vitamins that can strengthen and rejuvenate the human body.

100 g of product contains almost 18 g of protein, 2.5 fat, 0 carbohydrates. Total - 97 kcal. The product is considered low-calorie, so it can be used in dietary nutrition. There are fewer calories in hake, crucian carp, and flounder. Tilapia has the same calorie content.

Nutritional value changes during heat treatment. If cooked on the grill, the calorie content is low. But when fried or cooked in breadcrumbs, in oil, or even when consumed in dried or dried form, the product cannot be called dietary.

The fried dish has a calorie content of 109, the dried one - 221, and the dried one - almost 148 kcal per 100 g of product.

Valuable properties:

• strengthening the heart and blood vessels, restoring blood pressure;
• improving brain activity, strengthening memory;
• strengthening bone tissue;
• fight against anemia;
• improving digestion and accelerating metabolic processes;
• strengthening the immune system, improving intestinal motility;
• elimination of vision problems;
• rejuvenating effect - hair, nails, skin are filled with radiance;
• harmonization of the processes of the nervous system, which helps a person overcome disorders and stressful situations.

Despite its high nutritional value, this dish should not be consumed by everyone. There are contraindications:

• gastritis, gastrointestinal ulcers;
• individual intolerance to components, allergies to seafood;
• poisoning if a large amount of toxic components has accumulated in the meat.

Dishes from representatives of the smelt family are contraindicated for those with a high concentration of cholesterol in the blood. Smelt fish, valuable in terms of its content of useful elements, the benefits and harms of which are determined by the characteristics of human health, can be included in the diet if there are no contraindications indicated above.

Smelt and smelt belong to a special genus (Osmerus) of the salmon family, which is distinguished by a rather large mouth, a longer lower jaw, numerous and large teeth and very delicate scales; the dorsal fin does not begin in front of the ventral fins, as in whitefish and grayling, but behind it; the lateral line is incomplete. Both fish differ from each other almost only in size, and belong to the same species.

Live smelt is very beautiful. Her back is brownish-green, somewhat translucent, since the dorsal scales are not lined with silvery pigment inside; The sides are silver with a blue tint on top and bottom. Males differ from females by a more prominent lower jaw, and during spawning by a larger number of warts on the head and lower paired fins.

Smelt is found in the northern seas of the Old World: the Arctic, White, Baltic and German. This is its main habitat, but in addition it is found in many large and deep lakes in Northwestern Russia and Sweden.

Smelt always travels in very large herds. It usually lives in deep sandy areas of the sea or lake, but to spawn it enters rivers, although it rarely rises very high along them and avoids fast currents. Its food consists of various small animals, exclusively small crustaceans: daphnia, cypris, cyclops, but large smelt almost feeds exclusively on the young of other fish or even on its own; Its sharp teeth also indicate the predatory nature of this fish. According to Kessler, this tendency of large fish to devour small fish of their own tribe is noticed especially in lakes where there is no other, more suitable food, for example, in Lake Valdai. Smelt is very voracious, and it happens that a three-inch fish is found in the stomach of a seven-inch fish.

These fish differ from all species of the salmon family in their vitality: when taken out of the water, they remain alive for hours, probably because above the gills there are two small cavities in the form of bags in which water can be stored.

Of all the salmon fish, smelt is the most unpretentious and can easily be bred in any large lake that has sufficient depth and fairly cold water. In England, according to Borne, this fish is even kept in ponds (probably key ones), and there it reproduces very well and strongly. It would be most profitable to breed smelt in the lakes of Central Russia, where it has a relatively significant value.

Calorie content of smelt

Amounts to 102 kcal per 100 g of product. It has good nutritional properties due to its high protein content. 100 g of baked smelt - 99 kcal. Moderate consumption of this fish will saturate the body with useful substances without harming the figure.

Nutritional value per 100 grams:

Useful properties of smelt

Smelt meat contains useful minerals and trace elements, such as iron, potassium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, chlorine, molybdenum, fluorine. It should be included in everyone's diet, especially older people. Frozen, chilled, salted and smoked smelt are available for sale. The fish is very easy to clean, it has fatty meat, and it fries beautifully. Smelt is very tasty, rolled in flour and deep-fried.

Smelt is a small fish that can be found in freshwater and seawater. Its numbers in its habitats are very high. Smelt is constantly caught for commercial purposes, but despite this, its numbers remain stable. This small fish is also very popular among amateur fishermen; there are many of it in cold seas.

All varieties of the smelt family are, in principle, similar. But the Far Eastern smelt, unlike the others, has a smaller mouth with a lower jaw pushed forward, and its dorsal fin is shorter than that of other representatives of this family. In the Far East and Sakhalin, ice smelt is very popular among winter fishing enthusiasts; it is also called “voroshenka”. She is caught in an ice hole, and she freezes right there in the cold. Freshly caught smelt is characterized by the smell of cucumbers, so smelt also has another name - borage.

Smelt lives in large schools in the seas (in those places where the bottom is sandy) or lakes. When the spawning period begins, it migrates to the mouths of rivers - where there is no fast current.

Origin of the species and description

There is confusion regarding the classification of smelt. You can often find disputes about whether this small fish belongs to the herring or salmoniformes. We can say with confidence that both are right. The confusion arises because those arguing have different classification groups in mind. As is known, when defining a particular species, they usually go from a larger taxon (group in the classification) to a lower one: superorder - order - family - genus - species or subspecies. We will focus on two classifications.

In the atlas-identifier of fish N.A. Myagkova (M. “Prosveshcheniye”, 1994) proposed the following classification. The author of the atlas identifies a superorder of clupeoids, which includes the order of herrings and the order of salmonids. The smelt family belongs to the order Salmonidae. The following is a classification by type.

European smelt. She, like all smelts, has teeth on her jaws. The line on the side is visible only up to 4 - 16 scales. The barrels are silver, the back is brown-green. The length of this species of smelt is about 20 centimeters.

Smelt. A small freshwater fish with weaker teeth than the European fish. Its body length is about 6 centimeters, sometimes a little more.

Toothed smelt. She has powerful teeth compared to other species. The line on the side is visible up to 14 - 30 scales. It reaches 35 centimeters in length. This is an anadromous and lake fish.

River smallmouth smelt. The fish of this species resembles sprat in appearance. A silver stripe is clearly visible along her entire body. Black dots can be seen on the scales and fins. Its size is about 10 centimeters.

Smallmouth smelt. This species, unlike the river smallmouth, does not have silver stripes and black dots. If there are black dots, they are difficult to distinguish. Smallmouth sea smelt is slightly larger than river smelt - its length is about 12 centimeters.

Capelin. This is a sea fish, the fattest of all types of smelt. She has silver barrels, against which the lateral line is clearly visible, which runs throughout her body, right down to the anal fin. The back of capelin is blue-green. The average length of capelin is about 20 centimeters.

• genus of smelt. Species – European and Asian smelt “catfish”;
• genus smallmouth smelt. Species – smallmouth smelt, or borage;
• capelin genus. Species – capelin, or uyok;
• genus golden smelt. Species: golden smelt or silver smelt.

Appearance and features

Smelt is a fish that lives in numerous schools. Its appearance depends on what species it belongs to. The strength and sharpness of the teeth located on the jaws also depends on what species this small predator belongs to. The body length of smelt, depending on the species, ranges from 6 to 35 cm. The body shape is spindle-shaped, elongated; The mouth is large in proportion to the length of the fish itself. All varieties of smelt look similar: the body has a silvery tint, the back is darker than the barrels and belly and has a greenish-brown tint, the fins are either grayish or almost transparent.

But the Far Eastern smelt (also known as borage or naked), unlike the others, has a proportionally small mouth. Its scales are also small and completely transparent. The belly of the Far Eastern smelt is not silver, but white-yellow, and on the back the scales are greenish-bluish. European smelt (or smelt) has dense, relatively large scales for its size and a green-brown back. Her body configuration is narrower and elongated compared to the others.

The smelt, which lives in lakes, has colorless fins and a light back, and this allows it to camouflage itself in a lake with a muddy bottom. A characteristic difference between fish of the order Salmonidae is two dorsal fins, one of which is real, and the second, smaller one, is adipose. This is a rounded fin that does not have real fin rays and is located in the caudal region. By this feature, salmon can be easily distinguished, for example, from herring. Representatives of the smelt family, which, as mentioned above, belong to the order Salmonidae, have an adipose fin.

The distribution areas of fish from the smelt family are extensive. It should be noted that smelt has a good ability to acclimatize.

Asian smelt is common in the White, Baltic, and Northern seas. There is a lot of it in the Far East, in particular on Sakhalin, Chukotka, and the Kuril Islands. Fish choose coastal waters as their place of residence. Asian smelt also lives in Siberian and Far Eastern rivers.

European smelt lives in the Baltic and North Seas. In addition to the seas, she also lives in lakes - for example, in Ladoga and Onega. Due to its good acclimatization, the fish spread in the Volga River basin.

Freshwater smelt lives in many lakes in the European part of Russia, as well as in lakes in Western Europe. You can also find it in the north-west of Russia. The fish, as a rule, prefers sandy places and avoids strong currents.

The smallmouth nakedfish lives off the sea shores of the Far East, but being an anadromous fish, it also enters rivers. There is a lot of it on Sakhalin, off the southern coast of the Kuril Islands, in Kamchatka, right up to the coast of the northern part of Korea.

Using good acclimatization of smelt, it was released into lakes in the north-west of Russia and into the Ural lakes. Sometimes this fish itself chooses new places of residence. It appeared in some reservoirs - for example, Rybinsk, Gorky and Kuibyshevsky.

Fish belonging to the smelt family feed actively, regardless of the time of year. But smelt is especially voracious in summer and autumn. Because these small fish have sharp teeth on their jaws, smelts are considered predators. The smelt's mouth is naturally small, but its teeth are numerous.

Small predators often prefer depth, not only to hide from other predators, but also to find food for themselves: to catch fry, smaller fish than the smelt itself. Smelt also feeds on eggs laid by other fish, planktonic algae, dipteran insects and their larvae, and crustaceans. By the way, the gluttony of this fish means that fishermen who love smelt, as a rule, are not left without a good catch. Depending on their size and the structure of the oral cavity, different types of smelt have their own food preferences.

Due to its size, which is different from larger individuals, a small naked has, accordingly, a small mouth. The teeth on the jaws of this fish are small and weak. Therefore, smallmouth smelt catches fry and eats crustaceans, larvae, and caviar. And due to the fact that the small mouth is directed upward, it also feeds on flying dipterous insects.

Since European and Asian smelt are the largest of the smelt family, they have a large mouth and strong teeth. These fish have their own feeding habits. They feed on bottom crustaceans, plankton, chironomid larvae (representatives of the order Diptera), and small fish. It happens that in the stomach of a smelt one finds its brothers - smaller smelts. This is explained by the fact that “tribesmen” eat each other in those bodies of water where there is no other food.

Features of the smelt lifestyle

Smelt is a fish that lives in large schools. This helps her not only migrate during spawning, but also escape from enemies. This fish is intolerant of water pollution and, accordingly, prefers clean water bodies for its residence. Therefore, in many heavily polluted rivers, the number of smelt, which was once a commercial fish there too, has decreased significantly. Representatives of the smelt family love depth, so they prefer deep places in lakes, rivers or seas. In addition, by varying the depth, the fish tries to hide from other predators.

Unlike the vast majority of fish, the spawning season for smelt is spring. Speaking about spawning, it is worth noting that depending on the place of their residence and the presence or absence of migration, fish are anadromous and residential. Migrants live in the seas, but rise into rivers to spawn. That is, these are fish that make spawning migrations from seas to rivers. Residential fish are those fish whose life cycle is not connected with the sea; they constantly live in rivers or lakes.

Smelt reproduces by eggs. That is, in its life cycle there is a spawning period. Since the life expectancy of fish of this family is different, sexual maturity also occurs at different ages. For example, if smelt lives up to 3 years, then it becomes capable of reproduction at 1-2 years. Asian smelt and Siberian smelt, which have a lifespan of 10 or 12 years, become adults at the age of 5-7 years. For example, migratory smallmouth smelt mature at 2 or 3 years and then migrate to rivers in the spring to spawn. In its entire life, such smelt spawns no more than 3 times.

The fish often travels great distances for its size on its way to streams and rivers to lay eggs. This path is sometimes tens of kilometers long. The spawning process itself lasts for several days. Fish choose a place to lay their eggs so that there is a lot of food for future fry, as well as few predators. During spawning, the appearance of the fish changes slightly - males have tubercles on their scales, females too, but they only have them on their heads.

Smelt spawning begins at different times depending on the region. It depends on the water temperature. It usually occurs shortly after the ice melts. The water temperature should be favorable at this time - not lower than +4 degrees. But the peak of spawning occurs at a time when the water temperature becomes slightly higher (6 - 9 degrees). Fish spawn in the spring, usually in late April or early May. To lay eggs, smelt chooses shallow places with running water.

Smelts lay eggs directly on the bottom. It should be sandy, rocky or sandy-muddy. The female lays about four thousand eggs. The eggs have a sticky shell. Thanks to this, they stick to stones and underwater plants or to some objects on the bottom. In addition to the outer adhesive shell, the eggs also have an inner shell, similar to that found in all fish. When the egg swells, the outer shell bursts, releases the inner one and turns inside out. But it remains connected at one point to the inner shell. It looks like a kind of stalk on which the egg with the embryo swings freely in the water.

Dead eggs gradually come off, they are carried away by the current, and the outer shell acts as a parachute and facilitates their movement in the water. Thanks to this, the spawning grounds of smelt are freed from unnecessary eggs, and future young animals develop in more favorable conditions. At the moment the shell ruptures, the fertilized egg breaks away from the bottom. The eggs floating with the flow continue their development, and 11–16 days after the females have swept them out, thin larvae emerge from them. Their length is approximately 12 millimeters. Soon these larvae, continuing their path downstream, begin to catch food: plankton, small crustaceans.

Natural enemies of smelt

This fish faces many dangers throughout its life. It feeds on fish that are significantly larger than it.

And there are more than enough of these in the expanses of water:

• salmon;
• pike;
• cod;
• burbot;
• zander;
• brown trout;
• palia;
• perch;
• Baltic herring

The smelt has, although not very reliable, a method of defense available to it from predators larger than itself. Adult smelt usually form schools. A densely populated flock behaves harmoniously and unitedly. When danger arises, fish in a school closely approach each other and form, as it were, a single whole. All individuals in the school begin to swim synchronously, while they simultaneously change the direction of movement.

Smelt eggs and larvae are also food for many fish. Especially when you consider that fish of this family spawn in the still hungry early spring. And since there is still little food for the fish that are hungry over the winter in the spring, they eat large quantities of smelt larvae and fry. Not only underwater inhabitants, but also birds are also natural enemies of smelt. During the spawning period, smelt often rises to the surface, and birds snatch it right out of the water.

Population and species status

As for the populations of various species of smelt, the following can be noted:

• European migratory smelt lives in lakes of the Baltic Sea basin, in the upper reaches of the Volga;
• catfish smelt, or catfish, lives in the basins of the Arctic and Pacific oceans;
• smallmouth river smelt lives in fairly fresh areas of the seas of the Arctic and Pacific oceans;
• The smallmouth smelt lives in the Pacific Ocean - from Kamchatka to Korea.

Capelin lives in the northern parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In Russia, it is mined in large quantities for commercial purposes in the Barents Sea west of Novaya Zemlya. Capelin is also found off the coast of the Kola Peninsula. Smelt is not a protected fish species. Due to its high fertility, the species smelt remains stable.

The small fish smelt is very popular among domestic fishermen. It brings a lot of pleasure while fishing, and smelt meat has a special, refined taste. The richness of the catch will depend on the right time and place for fishing. Based on the seasonal behavior of the cucumber fish, the optimal fishing method and equipment are selected.

Smelt fish in different regions has names such as smelt, naked, root and root. She is a member of the smelt family. A distinctive feature of the fish was its translucent small scales. On the back it shimmers with bluish-green shades, and on the rest of the body the color is yellowish-white. The fins of smelt can be colorless or gray. Unlike similar freshwater fish (dace, dace), the smelt has an additional fin on its back.

There are teeth in the fish's mouth and on its tongue. In males, the lower jaw protrudes somewhat, and before the mating season they have many tubercles on their heads. The body length ranges from 10-40 cm, and the maximum weight is 350 g.

There are many varieties of smelt. Domestic fishermen most often encounter the following species.

• Smelt has a short lifespan (2-3 years), and individuals of this species become sexually mature a year after birth. The length of smelt reaches only 10 cm and weighs 6-8 g.
• The largest representative of smelt is the Siberian subspecies. This fish lives up to 12 years, growing to 35-40 cm in length and gaining a weight of 350 g.

Spotted! The later the smelt becomes sexually mature, the longer the fish lives and grows larger.

Habitat

Depending on their habitat, smelt have a certain division.

• European smelt lives in Lakes Ladoga and Onega, as well as in the basins of the Baltic and North Seas. It has a short lateral line and poorly defined teeth. Smelt is often called a dwarf European subspecies that lives in freshwater areas. The population of this fish began to increase in the Volga basin, while the “stock” in White Lake was decreasing.

Photo 1. Lake Ladoga.

• Lake smelt is found in some lakes in the northwestern part of Russia. It is mined on an industrial scale.
• Asian or American smelt is common in the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. The fish has a longer lateral line and strong teeth.
• Another species lives in the Far East, called smallmouth smelt. This fish lives in coastal areas and often enters freshwater areas.
• Capelin also belongs to the smelt family. However, this fish is not caught with amateur gear, since its habitat has become the northernmost waters, far from the shores densely populated by people.

Nutrition

Despite their small size, all types of smelt are voracious. The bulk of the daily diet consists of zooplankton. However, this small fish is not averse to feasting on fry, which is not much smaller than it.

Smelts love various small animal organisms. Numerous swarms destroy fish eggs, insect larvae, as well as amphipods, daphnia and cyclops.

Since smelt is not too picky about its diet, and also acclimatizes quite easily to new conditions, it began to be artificially bred in industrial quantities. This requires a deep pond with cold running water. Lakes located in the central part of Russia are best suited for fish farming.

Behavior by season

Schools of smelt lead a fairly active lifestyle throughout the year. But for fans of fishing with fishing rods, winter and spring are the most attractive. From summer to late autumn, the fish spends time in the sea away from the coast. Therefore, at this time, fishermen are unable to catch it with a fishing rod. Some species can live near the shore throughout the year; in such places you can constantly catch “cucumber fish”.

• In winter, after freeze-up, schools of smelt enter bays and estuaries, where they find food. The fish occupy horizons ranging from 6 to 25 m. In pursuit of a feeding school, fishermen often have to travel several kilometers across the ice.
• comes even closer to the coastline, preparing for the mating season. At this time, the fish feeds at a depth of 4 to 6 m.

Observation! The easiest way to find an active school of smelt is to look for a crowd of anglers. If you sit alone a few tens of meters from a gathering of competitors, you may not get a bite.

Spawning

Before the mating season, most sexually mature representatives of smelt go through a different migratory path. Its length depends on its habitat. If the species live in the White Sea, then the Yenisei relatives can travel about 1 thousand kilometers. The flocks spend approximately 3-4 months on this move. Amur individuals go to spawning grounds, which are located within 300 km. And coastal smelts enter rivers no further than 20 km. Lake inhabitants prefer to lay eggs at the mouths of inflowing rivers.

As soon as the water warms up to 4ºC, the first individuals begin to spawn. The most massive smelt spawning occurs after the water temperature reaches 7-10ºС. Accordingly, the timing of the marriage period differs significantly. In the waters of Western Russia, the beginning of spawning dates back to March, while in the east of the country spawning occurs from April to May, and in Siberia the mating season is observed only in the summer.

The duration of spawning is limited to 2-3 days, after which the fish leaves the spawning ground. The masonry is located at a depth of up to 2 m, where there are stones, tree roots or abundant vegetation.

The eggs hatch into fry after 15-20 days. They immediately go downstream, feeding on plankton. As they grow older, they become eggs and fish fry.

Fishing methods by season

Depending on the smelt fishing season, a suitable fishing method is selected. Since the size of the fish is small, the fishing rod should be light and elegant.

Gear and bait used

Fishing gear that is used for fishing for smelt can be divided into winter and summer. Each group of fishing rods has certain equipment secrets.

Having installed a dozen tyrants, the fisherman can only watch the nods. From time to time you can approach each tackle to play along with the bait.

To catch a nimble schooling fish with the smell of cucumber, you need to stock up on attractive baits. They are natural and artificial.

• The best natural baits are baits. It could be worms or fish meat. Smelt has its own preferences for fish meat, which is explained by the food supply. In some regions, carp or carp works well. Somewhere, perch or perch meat attracts smelt better. And St. Petersburg fishermen successfully catch borage using eelpout.

• Among artificial baits, I would like to mention foam rubber, which is painted white or yellow. The bait holds the hook well, and the bright color attracts fish. The best spinners are considered to be light, narrow-bodied silver-colored baits. Tandems of vertical spinners and phosphorus jigs have proven themselves well.

Catching smelt using amateur gear is popular in different regions of Russia. Local fishermen use their own set of gear and bait. It is important to take this point into account when going fishing.

There is a family of smelts, which is formed by such fish as smelt. In principle, this fish is considered migratory. But at the same time, there are populations that are considered isolated. Smelt can live within fairly wide boundaries, since its habitat is quite large. In this family, smelt is the fish whose total number of individuals is significantly greater than that of other representatives of this family.

Currently there are three types of fish: European, Asian and maritime. And they differ not only in physiological characteristics. These species also differ in the length of time they can live, as well as in weight. For example, the European one can live for three years, but weighs only eight grams. As for the length, in this variety it can reach 9-10 centimeters.

And another variety (Siberian) can live up to 12 years, and the length is 35 centimeters. As for weight, this species can gain up to 350 g. When calculating life expectancy, it is important to take into account the rule - the longer the fish matures, the longer it will live.

Appearance of smelt

As we already understood, the appearance of each type may differ from each other. Let's take a closer look at the appearance features characteristic of each variety of these fish.

Smelt habitats

Depending on the species, smelt can live in different places. The fisherman needs to know what to do if he needs to catch this fish. And you need to start by understanding the places where you can catch these fish. Let's find out where each species is found in more detail.

What food does lake or sea smelt eat?

Mostly all species eat zooplankton. This category of food products for this fish includes a whole range of “dishes” - cladocerans, mysids, cumaceans, and so on). Smelt also loves young fish quite strongly. She also has one dish that people also love - caviar. True, one cannot say that the diet of fish is the same as that of humans. For example, all species usually eat most in the summer and fall near the shores where these fish can be caught.

Puberty

Every type of smelt lives for different number of years. We learned about this a little earlier. Since life expectancy can differ radically, the period of development of animals also differs significantly from species to species. For example, the European smelt begins to reproduce at one or two years of age, since the lifespan of this species is only three years. And the Siberian variety of this fish can begin to spawn after seven years, since this variety lives up to 12 years.

Spawning progress

The beginning of fish spawning may indicate end of ice drift. As soon as the water warms up to four degrees above zero, sluggish spawning of fish begins. A significant increase in the spawning rate can be judged if the water warms up to six or nine degrees. When these numbers have been reached, the fish begin to travel quite long distances in search of a place where they can reproduce.

For example, in the Elbe, smelt can travel about a hundred kilometers until it finds the most favorable place for breeding. If the potential prey lives in the White Sea, then the distance is somewhat shorter. This family of fish in this reservoir can cover a distance of up to three kilometers, which is a fairly short distance against the backdrop of the Elbe. The process itself usually lasts several days.

Features of spawning of marine smallmouth species

This species of smelt becomes sexually mature after one or two years of life. The maximum number of times this fish spawns is only three. Spawning usually begins in April and lasts until May. If smallmouth fish live further north, then spawning begins in June. Where are the eggs deposited? As a place where you can leave your future offspring, smelt chooses the surf zone of the seas, sand or algae. During one time, this type of smelt can leave up to 35 thousand eggs.

In general, it all depends on what city you live in. For example, in St. Petersburg you can catch smelt somewhere in December. True, usually only small specimens can be caught at this time. A catch of about 500 fish usually rarely exceeds six kilograms.

If you need to catch large smelt, then you need to wait until the end of January or the beginning of February. The thing about catching smelt is that it truly takes your breath away. In this case, two qualities are required from the fisherman: dexterity and endurance.

Tackle for smelt

To catch smelt, you don’t need any very expensive and fancy gear, since this fish is quite light, and even not the most durable fishing rod, fishing line, and so on can withstand it. Another important thing in gear is convenience. They must be truly comfortable, since a person can’t catch fish. And since a certain skill is required when trying to catch smelt, convenience comes to the fore here. Also, comfortable gear greatly reduces the risk that the fisherman will be tired and will not be able to truly enjoy fishing.

However, the process of catching smelt is so unpretentious that you can even make a fishing rod with your own hands, and the fish will bite and pull out quite normally. One of the ways to create a homemade fishing rod is this: first you need to carve a cylindrical handle from high-density foam plastic. After this, the whole thing needs to be equipped with two support legs. For nods, you should use a coil spring. The free end of this spring must be equipped with a red foam ball.

Fishing line it is not necessary to use wide. This will not have much effect on the bite. Hard types of fishing line definitely cannot be used, as they interfere with normal biting. This happens due to their twisting. It is important to understand that since this fish is caught most often in winter, the fishing line will be in constant contact with the ice. Therefore, it will need to be changed every season.

Tactics for catching smelt

It is not advisable to start fishing at the beginning of the season and at the end of it, since very few fish are caught. To improve your biting results, you need to look for places that are as far away from people as possible. After all, large crowds frighten fish. Also, the place where you want to catch this fish, you need to look for such that there are no large differences in depth.

When a school of fish has been found, you need to set out about eight fishing rods. It is advisable to arrange them in a checkerboard pattern. Also good options: diagonally or across the stream. If there is no bite, then the fishing rod needs to be moved to another place. We thoroughly clean the holes from snow or sludge.

To improve the bite in weak currents, the line needs to be lowered 4 turns. Thanks to this, the play of jigs improves, which leads to an increase in the number of fish that fall on the bait. At the same time, it is better not to lower the line beyond this threshold. If this advice is violated, it may lead to a decrease in the quality of catching fish.

What conclusions can be drawn?

This is the basic information that can be used to summarize the above.