Fishing on the Istra reservoir in April. Fishing on the Istra Reservoir: Across Rus' with a Guide - where the fish bite

Report from winter fishing at the Istra reservoir, Solnechnogorsk district, at the Pyatnitsky Ples base. Excellent bite for white bream on a jig with a float.

Winter fishing in the Solnechnogorsk region on the Istra reservoir

We started preparing for fishing ahead of time. The equipment was selected carefully and expertly. Waterproof trousers with a jacket, thermal underwear, boots - all this was purchased specifically for this trip. The bait chosen was bloodworms, purchased for this occasion at a fishing store, and for complementary feeding a special mixture of breadcrumbs and small bloodworms was prepared. A feeder was used for this purpose.

It was not difficult to decide on the place: whoever planned the trip had been going there since childhood. The place had an unusual and very beautiful name - Pyatnitsky Ples. Why is Pyatnitsky named after the local village of Pyatnitsa. I remember we went to Solnechnogorsk, and from there by minibus to the fishing base, located right on the shore of the Istra reservoir. That's what the base is called" Pyatnitsky Ples".

The minibus was jam-packed with fishermen like us, with their bracelets sticking out behind their backs, wearing boots and earflaps, mostly cheerful and simple people. So, listening to fishing tales and jokes, we arrived at the place. In the hunting lodge you could prepare your gear, dress warmly, drink tea and then, slowly, go out to the descent onto the ice.

I remember we weren’t walking on the first ice, although they say that the luckiest fishing is on the first one. No, it was already the end of January, the frost was decent, 10-15 degrees. The ice was about 30-40 centimeters thick. To keep warm, they started drilling to see who was faster. Of course, we laughed and quickly made several holes about 5-6 m from each other.

The chosen tackle was a float fishing rod, that is, a jig, and a small float; the bite occurs when the float surfaces. Fishing took place from the bottom, in well-fed holes.

As soon as the bait was lowered into the water, it was immediately grabbed by a skinny, hungry bream. And fishing began. One after another, the breams grabbed the bait from the bottom, and a small float floated to the surface in the hole, indicating a bite. And then a hook, and immediately the bream found itself on the ice. Just have time to change the bloodworms and clear the instantly freezing hole with a slotted spoon. How cold it is there! I only remembered about it when my reddened hands were already frozen - the mittens had long been thrown away to make it easier to attach bloodworms and pull out the voracious fish.

We took a break only once - to have a snack and take a few sips of hot mulled wine, prudently poured into a large metal thermos. Afterwards, the hunt continued with the same passion, a flock of white bream was well fed and the bite was still excellent!

The day passed unnoticed - I wanted to catch more and more, but evening was quickly approaching, I had to go home. Having collected the loot, and having rested a little in the fisherman's house, we set off on the way back. The bream did not come to us for feeding, or rather, we did not catch it. Only white bream from 200 to 600 gr.

The Istra Reservoir is of course rich in fish, but you can’t always get an excellent bite, especially in winter. So we were lucky with the bite this time. We are planning to come here again soon.

This was a report from winter fishing on the Istra Reservoir. Thank you for your attention.

With all the consequences... (Cheerful smiley)

Good morning, evening, day everyone, depending on who lives where and what time they will read this work... Greetings to all FIONERS, fishermen, fisherwomen, as well as just readers of my page.
And so we will begin to report, and I will report in order since this report, like the previous one, will consist of two parts, that is, one fishing trip each... And so, after a rather good collective trip on the 9th, we decided to repeat the voyage!!! (Smiley of joy) But the number of participants was sharply reduced to two, and this is me and a regular participant in the trips, Zhenya..., but at the last moment another one joined, and this is my friend Andrey, fortunately we live in the same building!!! Now the question arose of how to drive..., three of us in 2 cars..., a bit stupid..., we decided so, Zhenya picks me up as always, we load into his UAZ and the three of us drive!!! No sooner said than done!!! And we didn’t even notice how we were approaching the store...
- Zhenya, how much will you take???
20...and you???
Same...
In short, everyone took 20 pieces, and Andryukha also bought a moth with the goal of catching roach... And here we are, still dark on the spot...

So part one!!!

Pecked!!! (Oscar sign)

The reservoir greeted us with above-zero temperatures, a strong south wind of 8 meters per second and light drizzling rain... in short, all the delights for winter fishing, especially for fishing with girders!!! (Neighing emoticon) On ice water I don’t have them without stands, so I had to put in a lot of work to start installing them somehow... Zhenya and Adryukha were somehow better with this matter... I decided to put them in rows in the middle of the reservoir as usual, Zhenya also continued approximately mine, and Andrey placed 100 meters from us and closer to the riverbed and there he fed on roach at 3 meters...
And now it’s more or less dawn, and I’m just trying to put the 7th one in, when I see the 3rd one lights up and tilts at 45 degrees...
Well, I think... this wind and rain will get me..., I approach..., it doesn’t shake, but the line is tight... Zhenya:
- Wait, don’t delay...
-Who are we waiting for...it's the wind...
And I pulled without hooking... and the hook...
- Damn... I also caught it in the grass...
But it seemed to drag..., and I also felt a jerk..., at first it seemed to me that there was a probe with grass there, but when the harrier’s resistance increased and I couldn’t start it, I realized that there was a good one there!!!( Smiley of joy)
I had to lower her a couple of times before she entered the hole... and then it was a moment... and she was dancing in a puddle by the hole!!!
-Somewhere there’s a thrasher!!!
“No, he’s a double-crosser at best..,” Zhenyok said..
There were only scales at home, which showed exactly 2.600..., in short, not for me, nor for Zhenya!!! Friendship won!!! Just after charging it again... I saw a tan again nearby, but this time with an unwinding, like an adult, and a 400 gr probe on ice, and even swallowed it from greed... I watched and Zhenya extinguished the fire with approximately the same probe!! ! (Fireman emoticon) It was only about 10 o’clock, we thought this was the beginning... but unfortunately, further events were not as interesting as the initial ones... Firstly, the weather completely deteriorated, it began to rain heavily and not stopping until the evening, with not a weak gusty... by the wind... There were flags, but they were rare and mostly empty, and if there was rare luck, then the weight of luck barely reached half a kilo... Andrei’s roach also didn’t indulge in bites... Wet, but happy, they decided to go home and come back next Saturday for revenge!!!

So!!! Episode #2!!! Revenge!!!

For the rematch, the number of participants was reduced to 2, and this is your humble servant and Andryukha, Zhenya could not go for a good reason, but supported us with calls!!! (Smiley of a Friend) Upon arrival this time it was frosty (-6), quiet, but the recent rains contributed to the fishing..., firstly, the water rose 20 cm, and secondly, it was muddy, and this is far from GOOD...
And now the girders are installed, the roach holes are fed, instead of water and slush... white snow!!! Silence, just a peck... But it’s quiet like in a bathroom... It’s about 10 o’clock..., no flags, no roach bites... Me:
- The water is muddy, there will be a flight..., we’ll probably have to go empty at lunch...
-Let's see...
in half an hour, Andryukha:
- There was a climb to the jig!!!
- What about the jig, I have a flag!!!
Running up, not believing what was happening..., I looked blankly at the reel..., there was no unwinding...., I waited 3 minutes, pulled it out..., the bait was in place...
- It might have hit the window... but it’s better than nothing...
When we arrived at the holes, we couldn’t believe our eyes, the jigs were empty..., this is the number... and as soon as I planted the bloodworm and lowered the tackle to the bottom, the float immediately went up!!! Roach in the snow, the second one is right there!!!
Meanwhile, Adryukha has a flag... and even with a wave... and a feeler gr at 700 in the snow!!! This increased optimism to a critical level!!! (Adrenaline emoticon) It's first hour...Me:
-I’ll go grab a box, grab some coffee and a sandwich...
-Wave...
Taking the box, I hear a bang..., I see the one closest to me is on fire...., I walk up, it shakes slightly, I just wanted to wave... I stopped... I hear the pop again..., the one next to me caught fire!!!
- Andryukh, look after this one, I’m going to that one!!!
I look at Andryukha and they take out a probe for 500 grams!!! There is a beginning!!! And I shot this one...
Well, this is already making me happy!!! The roach is also in shock, which means the muddy water has nothing to do with it... it just all started a little later than usual!!!
Meanwhile, another flag brought me a tentacle of about the same size... and a little later Andryukha got it!!! Meanwhile, the roach's bite began to fade away... but in the meantime I caught a nice-sized perch!!! There were a couple more flags without unwinding...
-Well, it’s 4 o’clock, it’s time to know when to stop???
- Yes.., let's slowly start to get away...
While winding up the wires, a flag occurred to me... and again it was about nothing... (Sadness emoticon) Just like that, and I thought we’d be left with zero...
Walking back through the field, plowed with K700 in the fall, one might say breaking my legs... I saw two men with drills running across them and confidently overtaking us
- How is it going???
-Fine!!!
-Roach???
-No perch kg 3!!!
Approaching the car, and there is already no trace of them..., the wrong ones already run up to the stop... (Usain Bolt Smiley)
While the car was warming up, I took off my jacket and stood cooling down on the road, I saw a car coming from the direction of the village, I went to let it pass... but it stopped when it was level with me...
- Istrolov, Hello!!! I’m also from FIONA, I once wrote to you in a PM, they answered me!!!
It's a small thing, but it's nice!!! After talking for a few minutes about the bite and past fishing, everyone went to their home!!! Something like this!!!
This is how another fishing trip turned out at the Istrinsky VDHR!!!
THANK YOU everyone for your ATTENTION!!!

Water: Istra Reservoir

Detailed description of the place: Istra VDHR

Weather, reservoir condition: It was a success like in a fairy tale, in the morning there was a slight frost of -6, a very weak breeze was blowing 1-3 m/s in the SW direction and it was cloudy, the blood pressure was low and amounted to 742 mm. At lunchtime it warmed up to -3, the breeze disappeared altogether and calm reigned, it was also cloudy, the blood pressure dropped a little more to 740 mm. By evening it was still cloudy, also without any precipitation and complete calm reigned, and the air temperature rose a little more to -2, blood pressure dropped by one and was 739 mm. Due to heavy rains, the water level increased by 20-25 cm and it was cloudy, in places with a coffee tint... The ice was double, 5 cm of snow and the same amount of monolith. The water temperature was 0.

Fishing method: Winter girders

My tackle: Winter rigs with reels, fishing line 0.35, metal leash

My lures: Coffee and sandwiches

Nozzle, bait: Live bait carp

What kind of fish did you catch: pike

My catch: 3-5 kilograms

Biggest fish: pike, 2.5 kg.

The Istra Reservoir is one of the reservoirs in the Moscow region. Founded in 1935. Beautiful nature, clean air and a rich variety of fish make fishing here exciting and successful at any time of the year.

Main features of the Istra Reservoir

It is located in the north-west of the Moscow region, fifty-six kilometers from the capital.

Reservoir characteristics:

1. The length is about twenty kilometers.
2. The average depth is from five to six meters, the maximum is twenty-three meters.
3. Sloping shore.
4. Muddy bottom in places.
5. Especially in shallow water a large number of vegetation.

Features of the reservoir:

1. Environmentally friendly.
2. A large number of tributaries.
3. The most beautiful coastline.
4. Sandy beaches.
5. There is an equipped berth.
6. Nearby there is a picturesque pine forest.

The Istra Reservoir is rich in fish species such as:

1. Pike.
2. Zander.
3. Perch.
4. Chub.

You can fish for free or for a fee at fishing bases. The price is different and varies on average from a thousand rubles per person.

Features of fishing depending on the season and the best time for fishing on the Istra Reservoir

Fishing can be fruitful in any season and has its own characteristics:

1. Spring fishing

Carried out on last ice or from the shore.

Bites well:

1. Perch.
2. Zander.
3. Chub.
4. Carp.
5. Pike and others.

Fishing is carried out from ice or shore using float rods. The bait is worms or small fish (especially for predators).

Important advice: in spring you need to be extremely careful on ice.

2. Summer fishing

Possible from a boat or shore, you can catch almost all types of fish (especially perch and roach) using different tackles and baits. Experienced fishermen advise trying different baits and tackle to choose the optimal one for a particular species or location of the reservoir.

3. Autumn fishing

Active feeding is observed in fish before the onset of cold weather. You can catch:

1. Pike.
2. Chub.
3. Perch and others.

Important tip: September and October are the months of greatest feeding for pike. Most often during the day it can be seen near the shore, especially in dense vegetation, and in the evening it moves to deeper places.

They are caught from the shore or boat, and with the arrival of cold weather (starting in November) from the ice. They fish with spinning rods, feeders, float rods, and jigs. It is better to use bait such as worms, maggots, etc. Important tip: It has been noted that in these places pike bite well on a variety of silicone baits.

4. Winter fishing

Winter - best season for fishing on the Istra Reservoir, it is at this time of year that most anglers come to this reservoir.

Features of winter fishing:

1. Possibility of choosing any place on the reservoir for fishing.
2. With the arrival of cold weather, fish begin to move (shifting to the upper reaches of the reservoir).
3. Possibility of a rich catch.
4. The probability of catching a large specimen, even a trophy one.

In the winter season it bites:

1. Perch.
2. Pike.

Ideal gear is jigs and winter fishing rods. It is better to take bait such as bloodworms, worms, and in addition it is advisable to use artificial bait (preferably with a special aroma). If you are fishing for pike, then you need live bait, which can be a small crucian carp.

Important tip: attach not one bait to a hook, but several at once.

Best fishing spots

The Istra Reservoir has many fishing spots, home to a large number of different aquatic inhabitants.

When going fishing, you should know the basic rules regarding the habitat of fish in this body of water:

1. Predators can often be found in the riverbed.
2. The dumps (especially in summer and autumn) are inhabited by perch and roach.
3. In muddy areas you should fish for tench.
4. For fishing from a boat, it is more advisable to look for edges (to do this, you should tap the bottom of the reservoir).
5. For fishing from the shore, give preference to areas where there is a transition from shallow to deep water.
6. A large number of white fish enter the reeds.
7. During the current, bleak and tench are more often caught.
8. In snags, the probability of catching a pike is slightly higher.

The best fishing spots among experienced fishermen are:

1. Bay of the Nudol River: excellent fishing for perch and roach using spinning rods or winter lures. Worms or bloodworms are suitable as bait.
2. Bay of the Katysh River: excellent roach, bream, and pike bite. Any tackle will do (jigs in winter), the best baits shellfish, maggots or live bait are considered (if fishing with a predator).
3. The island “Duck” is especially close to the Istra channel: excellent bite for perch and pike perch. They are caught using spinning rods or feeders with various baits, but more often with worms or dough.
4. Near the village of Pyatnitsa in Timofeevsky Reach: pike, perch, and bream are biting. Any gear is suitable, but fishermen here fish more with float rods or spinning rods, and in winter they use jigs. Clams, worms and silicone baits are actively used as bait.
5. Lyshchevsky Bay on Timofeevsky Reach: places of greatest concentration of pike. You can fish on float rod(or winter - from ice) with live bait.

Important tip: The ideal live bait is the one caught in this body of water.

How to increase your fish catch?

Over 7 years of active fishing, I have found dozens of ways to improve the bite. Here are the most effective ones:

1. Bite activator. This pheromone additive attracts fish most strongly in cold and warm water. Discussion of the bite activator “Hungry Fish”.
2. Promotion gear sensitivity. Read the appropriate manuals for your specific type of gear.
3. Lures based pheromones.

Fishing bases

The best and one of the most popular fishing bases on the Istrins Reservoir are:

1. "Istra"

It is located next to the Yakimanskoye state farm (120 kilometers from Moscow along Pyatnitskoye Highway).

You can catch:

1. Perch.
2. Guster.
3. Minnow.
4. Carp.
5. Pike.
6. Pike perch.
7. Bream and others.

You can fish from a boat or shore, preferably with float rods, spinning rods or float rods, and in winter it is ideal to use jigs. You should try different baits; they bite well on worms, mollusks, maggots, frogs and live bait.

The best fishing season is winter (January-February), but you can fish at any other time of the year.

Services provided by the base:

1. Hotel for one hundred beds.
2. Possibility of cooking caught fish.
3. Boat rental.
4. Buying food.

The cost on average is from one thousand rubles per person. Note: all other services are provided for a fee.

2. “Pyatnitsky Reach”

is located in the Solnechnogorsk district, in the village of Pyatnitsa (seventy kilometers from Moscow).

Excellent bite:

1. Zander.
2. Perch.
3. Carp.
4. Carp.
5. Pike.
6. Gudgeon.
7. Guster.
8. Crucian carp.
9. Not so often catfish.

Fishing is equally fruitful from the shore and boat, using a spinning rod, feeder or float rod. The bait can be very diverse, but it has been noted that it is more successfully fished with maggots, mollusks, worms, and sometimes with dough and bread.

The most successful time of year for fishing is winter and autumn (from November to the end of February) and summer (July-August), but you can also catch it in the spring.

The following services are provided to guests at the base:

1. Accommodation in a comfortable hotel with a capacity of sixty beds.
2. Possibility of cooking in an equipped kitchen.
3. Rent of boats and fishing equipment.

Note: In summer and autumn there is an opportunity to pick berries and mushrooms. The price per person per day is from one thousand rubles.

3. “Nudol”

is located near the village of Radiontsevo, one hundred kilometers from Moscow along the Novorizhskoye Highway.

You can catch fish such as:

1. Perch.
2. Zander.
3. Carp.
4. Roach.
5. Crucian carp.
6. Pike.
7. Burbot (only in winter).

Fishing is carried out mainly from the shore, but it can also be done from a boat, or from the ice in the winter. The best gear is considered to be spinning rods, float rods, and jigs. Worms, clams, and silicone baits should be used as bait.

Services:

1. Hotel for twenty-five people.
2. Kitchen with gas stoves and necessary utensils.
3. Tent city (summer).
4. Boat rental.

Ban on fishing

There is a spawning ban on fishing on the Istra Reservoir. It lasts from early April to May and applies to fish such as:

1. Roach.
2. Guster.
3. Ide and chub (only in May).

However, this does not mean that fishing is impossible at all; you can fish by following strict rules:

1. Use only one fishing rod (float or bottom).
2. Only one hook, always up to size ten.
3. Fish only during the day and from the shore.

Note: Fishing by boat is prohibited, even from one shore to the other you cannot transport gear, it will be regarded as illegal fishing.

1. Strictly follow all rules regarding fishing in the reservoir.
2. Decide on a fishing spot in advance; to do this, you need to carefully study all the habits of the fish.
3. Depending on the season, take into account the conditions and nature of fishing.
4. In summer and spring, don't forget a hat and sunglasses.
5. In autumn and winter, dress as warmly as possible.

This year the autumn has been long. I've been wanting to try it for a long time winter gear, but there is still no ice. On the eve of the New Year, the weather smiled on winter fishing lovers, and everyone moved together to the first ice. There’s no time for a long trip, but my brother and I couldn’t help but visit the favorite place of all Muscovites, the Istra Reservoir. Moreover, the gear has been awaiting testing for a long time. The decision was made to leave at 5 a.m. for the area of ​​the village of Lamishino. I wanted everything at once, so I immediately decided to test the girders and fish with “white” jigs. In the Lamishino area there is quite deep place, where you can successfully install girders both at night and during the day. Along the flooded riverbed of the Istra, in some places the depth reaches 10 meters, and on the slopes of the riverbed you can often find decent-sized pike.

As live bait we used small crucian carp, which my brother had purchased in advance at the poultry market. Bloodworms, chopped worms and maggots were also purchased at the market in advance, and at 4.40 I went to pick up my brother. It didn’t take him long to get ready and already at 5.00 we started for the reservoir.

The old Niva, as always, did not disappoint and at 7.20 we drove straight to the water. Since we specifically chose Monday as our fishing day, there wasn’t much activity on the ice. Apparently people lost a bit of desire over the weekend, and sometimes you also need to work.

We began our ascent onto the ice by measuring the thickness of the ice in the old holes. On average, the ice was eight centimeters and held us very confidently. There wasn't even any cracking when moving. The air temperature was somewhere between 5-7 degrees below zero. The wind was weak and completely absent at times, so we were really lucky with the weather.

The brother decided not to use the old holes and ran along the riverbed to prepare holes for the girders. A total of 10 vents were installed. On 8 of them, purchased crucian carp was used as bait, and on two of them I managed to catch two minnows using a small float rod. Line used was 0.35mm in tandem with #7 tees. All vents were installed at depths of 8-10 meters. For the white fish we used a 0.08 fishing line, jig pellet, and bloodworm bait. I tried the little white one in two adjacent holes at a depth of about 4.5 m. I fed the holes with a mixture of my own preparation in the morning. The mixture was based on crackers and bloodworms, and then every half hour I added semolina and milk powder in equal proportions to the wells, mixed until it became sour cream.

Until dawn there were no hints of success. My brother decided to watch the girders and was not interested in white fish, but I preferred fishing with jigs.

The first trophy of this ice fishing season was a small perch, which was immediately expropriated by my brother for live bait. He changed the live bait from crucian carp to perch on another girder. And the result was not long in coming. Before the bait had time to sink to the bottom, the flag immediately went off. A pike weighing 800 grams encroached on a fresh perch. We immediately became cheerful, because this is just the beginning, and there is prey with which we are not ashamed to show up at home. I was still getting small bass. Before 10 o'clock I caught about 7 of them and sent them all to live bait. After that, I decided to change the place and went down a little along the slope of the riverbed to a depth of 7-8 meters.

While I was setting up the bait, a bite occurred on one of the jigs, and my catch was a decent 500 gram perch. But the next attempts to catch the striped predator were unsuccessful, but within an hour I caught three roach 200-250 grams each and one bream of the same weight .

But my brother was luckier. He had 3 flags triggered, of which he picked up one pike about 1 kg and one perch about 800 grams. The pike again fell for a perch, but the large sailor took it for a crucian carp. The third actuation was empty, the fish immediately broke off and did not even offer any resistance, so it was not possible to feel its weight.

We sat until 16.00, and the result of our first foray onto the ice was 3 kilograms of roach, about a kilogram of bream, 2 measured perch and 8 pike. In general, the fishing was a great success, both in terms of catch, weather and mood. Having received a positive charge for the entire winter season, we agreed that in a week we would visit this place again. Seeing our catch, my godfather asked for the next outing.

So there is fish in the Moscow region, you just need to know where to catch it. Good luck to everyone on the ice.

Especially for- Eugene

Donka / Feeder / Picker. Catch: complete zero

Weather: Air temperature:

In the evening, + 28 (+/-). At night, + 15 (+/-). In the morning, + 20 (+/-).

Wind, from 2 to 12 m/s (N-NE).

Tackle: Feeder blank, Zemex Razer 12 ft up to 80.0 gr. + Reel, Shimano EXAGE 4000 FD. Braided cord, PONTOON 21 "EXTEER" 0.010 mm. Feeder installation, asymmetrical loop.

Bait/bait: Bait: bloodworm. Groundbait: estuary bloodworm. TRAPER "Bream" (bream) + base "GV".

Greetings, dear FIONers.

From sunset to dawn.

For the first time in my entire hobby of fishing, I got ready to go fishing spontaneously (without any prior preparation).

I was at the dacha at that moment when suddenly the phone rang:

Where are you? Will you go fishing at night? - Asks comrade (Alexey).

In the country. Where are you going? - I answer.

There are a lot of offers, but time to get ready is running out. Let's go to the Ruza Reservoir. I’ve never fished there in the summer, but it’s interesting to try. Or on the Moscow River, there is also interesting places. - I answer.

We'll decide. When you're home, call. – Alexey said.

He gathered himself like a meteor and rushed towards the house. Along the way, mentally realizing that I was completely unprepared for fishing. There is no bait, no bait, no leashes and feeder rigs. But that doesn't bother me...

I called my friend (Evgeniy) with a proposal for a trip to fishing. Having agreed with my proposal, I ask him to take me some bait and bloodworms. The main preparatory part remains behind for me.

Arriving home, I began assembling fishing equipment at lightning speed. Of course, in a hurry, I forgot to take the most necessary things... Everything is packed and assembled. I called Evgeniy and found out about bait and groundbait. Having received a positive answer, I thanked him for the service rendered and finally relaxed, imagining catching night bream in front of me.

At around six o'clock in the evening the call:

Well, are you ready? – Alexey asks.

Always ready. - I answer him.

Then in twenty minutes we’ll meet where we usually do. - He says.

Throwing on his belongings, he went to the appointed place. I called Evgeniy to find out about his readiness and told him where to go.

At about seven o'clock in the evening Alexey arrived. After consulting with each other, we realized that we would not be able to get to the Ruza Reservoir in time. He categorically refused to go to the Moscow River, citing the natural necessity of being away from people and civilization. As a result, we decided to try our luck at the Istra Reservoir, since it is not far from where we live and corresponds to the wishes of our friend. Along the way we stopped at a store, replenished our supplies of water and food and hit the road.

Arriving at the reservoir, it was with great sorrow that we found a place familiar to us. We left the car in the forest, loaded ourselves with fishing gear and moved towards the intended target.

We descended from a steep slope onto a deserted, clean (it’s nice to realize and see this) shore of the reservoir. Only restless lovers water activities(boats, jet skis...), spoiled the landscape of the reservoir. After admiring the beauty of the nature around us, we began to prepare for fishing.

I started my preparations, not with preparing bait, but with arranging a place for fishing. While unpacking my backpack, I realized that I had left my headlamp at home. At that moment, a flurry of obscene expressions about this flashed through my head.

“What should I do, I’ve arrived, don’t go back.” - I thought.

I settled down in a place familiar to me, my comrades sat down not far from me. I started knitting feeder rigs and leashes for myself and Alexey. In the interval of making parts of the feeder equipment, I mixed a bait mixture consisting of two packages of base taken from home and a package of TRAPER (bream). I added “aroma” to the bait, kindly provided by Evgeniy. The smell became stronger and much more pleasant than it was in the dry mixture. I pre-moistened the bait and returned to making leashes.

At this time, sunset was coming at a very fast speed... I collected the feeder form and threaded the braided cord into the rings, almost in the dark. I re-wetted the bait until it was sticky and added food bloodworms to it. I made a few casts to a point familiar to me and that’s it, dusk came. Without a flashlight, it was impossible to place the bloodworm on the hook. Having attached a firefly to the quivertype, I began to watch the sun disappear below the horizon.

There was silence; lovers of water activities stopped disturbing the silence and driving waves at us. Only the most restless ones rushed in the distance without lighting, while shouting something. There was no coolness, neither for me nor for my comrades. Everyone sat and waited for the night bream to swim out to feed.

One of the comrades got tired of waiting for the fish to come out at night and went to bed. We were left alone, in front of the deserted waters of the reservoir, with the hope of bream. Although for me it was frivolous. Without a flashlight, I felt “blind”...

The night was bright and warm. Bats flew over the water, and sometimes flew directly overhead. A flock of four mice flew before our eyes all night, collecting something on the surface of the water. They “played” among themselves, sometimes squeaking. The wind did not stop all night. We were unable to see the usual smooth water surface for this time of day.

At the edge of the forest and on the shore, someone was crawling and rustling all the time. At one point, unable to bear the noise, I turned on the flashlight on my phone and went to see who was disturbing the peace... These were toads, which were not at all frightened by the light shining on them when examined.

I approached my friend. So I spent the whole time with him until the crimson streak of dawn appeared on the horizon.

He returned to his place. I started feeding the fishing point, second by second. I recast the equipment at a count of 300 – 400. I didn’t notice a bite or a poke during the two hours of fishing.

As the sun rose, the fish became more active. The predator began to chase the juvenile white fish. Bleak jumped out of the water in small flocks, escaping pursuit predatory fish. There were several loud splashes near the shore made by large fish. He suggested that his comrades try fishing with float gear. Having baited themselves in places not far from the shore, they began to confidently catch roach. At a considerable distance from the shore, everything remained as before - there was no fish biting.

Around five o'clock in the morning, I had the first confident bend of the quivertip. After hooking, something pleasant came at the other end of the cord. After dragging the fish a little, it came off... He quickly changed the bloodworm on the hook and returned it to the point. I didn’t see any more bites.

Around seven o'clock in the morning a strong headwind arose. He began to catch up with the “sea” waves. I couldn’t make a cast in such a wind. The feeder splashed down in a completely different place, and not at the fishing point. Of course, I didn’t think of taking “bullet” feeders with me. After suffering a little more with unsuccessful casts, I decided to finish fishing.

While I was collecting my equipment, my friend had a successful bite on the feeder. A bream was caught that looked to be over five hundred grams. Then he caught two more. The desire to fish certainly increased after what we saw, but by that time the food and bait were already at the bottom of the reservoir...

I collected all my fishing belongings and went to my friend to rejoice at his success. His bites were rare, but they still happened. In my presence, he caught several specimens of the “snotty one.”

The sun was already warming strongly, fatigue was making itself felt. Satisfied and pleasantly tired, we headed towards the coastal rise towards the forest...

I didn’t catch any fish this time, but I don’t regret this night trip at all, because:

“The fisherman is not the one who catches fish, but the one who receives the greatest pleasure from the process itself.”