Each fish fights a little differently. However, a moment after a jam, you can almost always orientate yourself, is it a pike, pike perch, trout, or, for example, grayling.
We, anglers, are known for storytelling, storytelling bordering on exaggeration. No wonder then, that once in one of my articles I wrote, that “I almost always recognize when we are hauling, what fish am I dealing with and before I see it ", my editor-in-chief immediately "took me on a hook" and asked for more detailed explanations. It was the best way, to provoke me to write the following article. You can recognize many species of fish just by the way they are bitten. Endless bouncing of the float, light dripping and popping to the surface, moving a few centimeters back and forth, once in the other way lets suppose, that our red worm had just caught an interest in the rope. After the float has vigorously disappeared diagonally, we can prepare ourselves, that in a moment there will probably be a very long straight departure, and the escaping carp will show us, what does it mean to tow a speeding underwater locomotive. Fishing technique used, type of bait, weather, the season and the type of fishery itself make it much easier to guess, what kind of fish is it fighting at the other end of the line. I can only say this much about the fishery, that bream of the same size fights a little differently in the lake, or quite differently below the dam or in a place with a relatively calm current.
My sons' first roach
Adult fish always test the action of the rod, sometimes even to the breaking point, and on this basis you can already draw some conclusions, on the other hand, the nervous fluttering on the hook and the gentle bending of the tip always mean small pieces. Both my sons also mastered the art of recognizing fish very quickly after a jam. I already knew during our first fishing trip together, that on the cry of "roach!” I don't have to come with the landing net. I was proud to watch, how my two heirs to the throne are becoming more and more avid anglers every minute, and the most dimensional hurdles land on the shore. The big roach fights in a very distinctive way. He bounces briefly on his side, it often changes the direction of its escape. However, it does not take longer than one minute. Later, even the largest roach is allowed to be towed in a controlled manner to the shore or a boat, and at least fights for life until the very end, inserting it into the landing net is not too difficult. If we fish near reeds or water lilies, and right below the surface, it is a float that slants away under water that almost always means a rudd. This fish fights almost as well as a roach, although sometimes it gets an impression, that she is a little stronger. Bream after jam always gives the impression of being very surprised. It can easily be dragged a meter or two out of the baited spot. Only later does he "introduce himself" to the angler by sending him signals in Morse code. In the river, the bream during hauling lines itself sideways across the current, and that its sides have a large surface, one gets the impression, that it is a very large fish. Bream weighing over 1,5 kg also try short and quite vigorous escapes, after which they always line up sideways to the angler.
Head shaking
Bream, jammed even at very great depth, can always be pulled under the surface relatively quickly, and then, until she takes a breath of air, he flicks the not-so-vigorous flips and splashes a bit. Bream always succumbs to force hauling (then it only tries to position it sideways) and never shakes his head to express his displeasure. I remember exactly my first time – of course fishing for the first time! Then I was fishing with a long telescopic pole with guides. The float was standing still, slightly diagonally across the river surface, and a small teardrop weight held the bait to the bottom. Suddenly the float started jiggling nervously, however, it did not move even a millimeter. You are convinced, that "some little thing again” I cut not very vigorously in the opposite direction of the river current. It was like that, as if the hook had stuck into the concrete lying on the bottom. The alleged latch suddenly moved in a smooth movement against the tide, I felt furious jerks all the way to the hilt, and a finger-pressed Nottingham reel spun like crazy. This fish could not be stopped.
Swirl and artificial fly
The fish consistently bricked to the bottom for about five minutes. I was barely able to get some fishing line back, my opponent immediately moved faster against the tide and took even more line from me. A bronze-gold bundle of muscles then jumped twice from my shallow landing net and each time it ran to the very middle of the river. Eventually, after unforgettable emotions I was able to pick up my first barbell in my life. I confess honestly, that I don't know, who was more upset-me, eager to overcome this fish at all costs, or barbell, instinctively feeling, that he is fighting for his life. I hope, that I will never specialize in one fishing technique in my life. I believe, that each type of fishing has something fascinating about it. Or maybe you will go with me now to a river in South Westphalia?
The only permitted method is an artificial fly – only fly. Fish are good for nymphs there and absolutely great for dry flies! If I don't know the new fishery and I don't know, which insects are most numerous there, I usually use a universal bow tie that imitates various types of flies, for my secret weapon, a fly tied with a duck's rump feather. Oh please! Something is coming to the surface, there are clear circles in the water. I wade in the river and carefully approach the fish within throw. I am watching this place closely all the time and trying to feel it, does the fish feed according to any pattern. A perfect diagonal throw against the current and a hand-tied fly flows towards the spot of the fish.. A slight swirl on the surface of the water, and all my tension is released in a lightning-fast jam. Just give me 20 seconds of time, and I will tell you, what's on my stick. A fish caught me close to the shore between two stones and immediately set off with the current. It's a trout!
Graylings fight like bream
Answers to the question, or is it brown trout, or the rainbow, the fish itself gives me. With a little stronger hold, the water explodes and the trout dancing in the air tries to get rid of the hook stuck in its mouth.. The sides of the fish shine with a pinkish tinge. Rainbow! Brown trout also fight fiercely until the last moment, however, they jump out of the water much less frequently. Grayling very often interrupts the escape to try a sudden take off with a full turn to the side. You can see the white belly of the fish in the water for a moment. Rotating around its axis, only slightly bending the tip is very reminiscent to me – die-hard fly fishermen, I apologize for this comparison – fighting the bream. Grayling is not as dynamic as trout during hauling. However, they are more durable, and the fight against grayling of a similar size takes much longer. Once I had the pleasure of fishing in a river famous for its beautiful zander and pike. And although I like to catch zander in winter at the very end of the season, in this river I did not have the slightest problems with recognizing the species of fish in the full summer, which I am hauling.
Season and place, which I am fishing in, let me tell right away, what kind of predator I am dealing with. During the summer, at the border of coastal water lilies, I caught a lot of nice pikes during the day, and never even a single zander. In winter, the situation is a bit different. At this time of year, in the depths between spurs with lazily flowing water, almost always only zander took me on a deeply cut rubber frog, while pikes attacked the lure only at the very shore.
Brutal tug
However, autumn fishing in the evening is especially interesting. The water lilies by my favorite spur died at the end of summer and sank to the bottom, and between the concrete of the spur and the mainstream there is a wide strip of deep free water. At this point, I take into account the collection of zander, and pike. I usually fish with a deep descending wobbler, because in autumn not only zanders, but also pike willingly stand by the bottom. Taking a pike is a brutal jerk, though it happens often, that large zanders attack the lure quite vigorously. However, when the lure is led very slowly, the most important thing is the impression, that suddenly something heavy landed on the stick, something that looks more like weed or a hooked rag, than a fish. Often, however, the line that diverges to the side allows me to orientate myself immediately, that it was a take.
Estimate, is it big, or whether a medium-sized zander is very difficult at such moments, because the predator can be towed obediently all the time. Most of the autumn zanders decide to fight only at the very shore. These fish have given me an unexpected shower many times, when they turned abruptly under their feet and ran away. Pike escapes are even more powerful and dynamic, especially the first departure.
Due to this, that I also use a metal leader and a rather thick line for fishing for zander, I always allow myself a fairly strong haul. Pike reacts to such brutal treatment, usually with impressive jumps over the water. The most dynamic and brave are pikes weighing from 2,5 into 5 Kg. Thinking, which fish we are currently fighting is just one of the elements that make our hobby so exciting.
Landing of salmonids.
The brown trout rarely jumps out of the water. Mostly it bricked to the bottom, spins the grinders beneath the surface and gets out of the way.
Grayling does not fight very effectively, but he is a very tough opponent. Medium-sized bream bends the rod tip the same way.
Rainbow trout likes to jump out of the water frequently. The fish often manage to shake the bait out of its mouth during such bursts.
Landing of predatory fish.
The zander takes rather lazily and for a few meters they allowed themselves to be towed without objections. They only run to escape under the angler's feet and fight for their life with determination.
The perch escapes are short and vigorous. Frequent jerks of the pull rod bend the tip, the predator itself shows up just before picking up.
Pike is known for frequent jumps above the water and forcibly leave under the surface. Larger specimens usually brick to the bottom.
Landing of fish while feeding.
When hauling carp, turbulence often appears on the surface following sudden fish bouts.
Bream brought below the surface often turns around its axis and splashes a little.
Right after the jam, the rope always tries to hide among the aquatic vegetation.
