Our craftsmen from the people just give an occasion to craft something. A special article is fishing tricks and homemade products. Firstly, they performed (and sometimes continue to perform) purely practical functions in the era of a total shortage of fishing goods. This is for you now and wobblers, and twisters, and bloodworms, and telescopic fishing rods - all good in bulk (though not always of high quality, but you will go bankrupt for serious companies). And I remember, there was a time when a standing hook or a wedge fishing line - in the afternoon with fire. So the fishing people got the better of it. And I must say, he did it very well and efficiently, and most importantly - functionally.
Classification Attempt
All fishing tricks and homemade products can probably be conditionally divided into several large categories in the context of their practical application. Firstly, it’s all kinds of gear, or copying (with constant success) foreign fabulous counterparts, or real inventions, which, in turn, were copied without a twinge of conscience by Western manufacturing companies (since, of course, none of the fishermen received a patent ) This wide group includes hooks, floats, baubles, leashes, mormyshki, donkeys and much more. Secondly, fishing tricks and homemade products are proven and even invented methods and methods of fishing, feeding, types of baits and baits. This all relates to a big topic: how exactly you need to fish in different places and at different times of the year.
Accessories
The third large group includes fishing accessories, invented or copied from existing samples. These are all sorts of devices for longer storage of fish in the summer during fishing, winter subtleties in terms of equipment on ice, used not to freeze, containers for saving bloodworms and other bait. All of them, with rare exceptions, are a real storehouse of folk wisdom, a book of fishing luck. So, to your attention - a small hit parade of homemade products made from what came to hand by the fishermen themselves.
Toothbrush Poppers
Fishing tricks and homemade products sometimes amaze with a fantasy game. Since new-fangled gadgets of imported production are quite expensive, it clearly makes sense to make them yourself. Poppers or walkers are superficial baits, so they should not sink. Slight submersion is allowed, but nevertheless - the material should be pretty good in water. Therefore, first you need to check the toothbrushes for buoyancy. This can be done by collecting water in an ordinary bucket and throwing a brush there. If it does not sink, but keeps on the surface, then that is it. We produce the work with a small grinder resembling a micro grinder with removable nozzles. We saw off the part with the bristles. We process the edge with a sandpaper nozzle. In the lower and upper parts, it is necessary to make a hole for attaching the lower tee (fastened with a ring with a swivel). Tint the homemade bait (in this case, you can choose red and green - bright colors). Insert tees. Testing in a bathtub with water shows that the tees are heavy enough to drown the structure. To prevent this from happening, glue on top of the nozzle superglue a narrow strip of carved from foam. Now the popper does not sink and keeps well on the water.
Wobblers
If we make a wobbler, then in front of the structure we cut in an additional blade (it can be built from a plastic bottle cap by cutting a small part). You can paint a homemade wobbler with a bright nail polish borrowed from your wife. You can insert an additional weight for weighting. But in our case, the design turned out to be quite the right weight, and it flies far when casting. Here's how simple toothbrushes can serve as raw materials for spinning lures.
Lure tweezers from broken tweezers
Homemade fishing craftsmanship from time to time. And even from broken tweezers. The tool is high-quality (it used to be), from a good stainless steel. What is not lure for the gossip. As you know, the throat of these predators is rather narrow, and the lure is also not wide - just right! So, from one leg of tweezers we cut off the workpiece necessary along the length. A little grinding, shaping and getting rid of small burrs. Now we drill holes where the tee and fishing line will be connected using rings and swivels. This procedure is not so easy: you can even break a thin drill, as the material is strong enough. Well - the job is done. We fasten the tee (it is better from the heavier side, so the spinner will stay more stable in the water column). For aesthetes: you can cut the scales with the same grinder (there are transverse layers from the tweezers there) - just make a couple of uniform cuts along, and the scaly shiny baubles for perch or perch are ready to eat. Such homemade products for fishermen are practically no different from the notorious branded ones. This turned out even better: in the analogue, the tee is on the less difficult side, which leads to overwhelming and upheaval.
Fishing trivia in the summer
Homemade fishing in the warm season can even be useful for beginners and experienced fishermen. Summer fishing has its own specifics. Much attention should be paid to preserving the catch, as in the heat the fish can go bad very quickly. And the catch, caught in the morning, without proper preservation (and rarely, in the field, has a freezer box - perhaps some car enthusiasts) can simply not survive until the evening.
How to keep caught
- After fishing and pulling the fish ashore carefully, without squeezing the insides, we release it from the hook (otherwise it will quickly fade). You should also not throw heavily injured fish into a bucket with the others caught - it can spoil the whole catch in a few hours in the heat. It is best to kill wounded prey, take out the gills and gut it. Next - wrap in fresh grass (nettle is the best option) and store in the shade, preferably where there is coolness and a breeze.
- Gutted and gill-free fish can also be salted before being stored.
Live storage
If you intend to bring home a live prey, you need to store it in water, in a cage or on a kukan (kukan is well suited for spearfishing, for example). A cage should be with wide enough rings, the grid is not metal, but cloth. About metal when trying to break out the fish will be seriously injured. Hang it, deepening in water, it is necessary in the shade. So that the fish can safely swim and not fight against each other. In close cages there is also a danger of self-poisoning of the catch by metabolic products.
Homemade Zadok
More about fishing homemade products. A good company camp is quite expensive - not every angler can afford such a luxury. But the cage for storing the catch in the summer, quite long and wide (and, importantly, folding), can be done independently. To do this, we will need a strong steel wire or rings already made of it. If you need a compact device, we take three rings in descending dimensions. Medium - in the middle, small - at the top. Still need a nylon mesh (which was used for windows from mosquitoes to the widespread insertion of metal-plastic). We sew a sock from the net, as it were, to the size of the rings. We put on and sew tightly to the rings with stitches. We make sure that the cage is uniform and accurate. To prevent the fish from jumping out of the cage, you also need a lid. It can be made from another ring of wire with a mesh stretched over it. Little tricks for the fisherman: our homemade cage is attached using a strong nylon rope, which must be tied in a knot to the structure so that it does not float with the catch, for example. And so that a homemade cage does not flood, if you catch it at great depths, you can put on top of it a children's life buoy, as in the photo. Please note that the cage is easy to fold and transport when moving to the fishing area on foot.
Sensitive float
Let's make fishing tackle with our own hands. Of course, in the store or on the market there is a great variety of floats of different colors and sizes. But choosing the good is worth the good money. And if you are a fishing lover, you need to get a dozen floats. And many fishermen prefer to make floats with their own hands in the old fashioned way. Very well these gears are obtained from goose feathers. Where there is a lake or a pond, a river, these birds must graze. And sometimes feathers lose. So all that remains is to bend down and pick it up. You can make large floats for large fish and small ones (depending on the size of the feather). We cut off all unnecessary, leaving only the base of the pen. It turns out such a thin stick, light and quite durable. We measure the size of the product. We cut off the unnecessary on the upper side (from the bottom where the feather was attached to the skin of the bird, the design should be pristine, the opposite will cause the float to get wet). It is convenient to carry out work with a sharp clerical knife. In principle, the main part is completed. We paint the float in bright colors so that it can be seen on the water. The easiest way to do this is nail polish, which is different, quite bright colors. In addition, the varnish is water resistant. We attach a fastener to the trimmed part of the float, where the fishing line will be threaded. You can go fishing. But before that - two or three more little tricks for successful fishing.
How to balance a float at home
Often, upon arrival on fishing, fishing on float rods, poor balance of the floats interferes (they are carried away by the current or they lie down for no apparent reason). But on the spot, especially in rainy or windy weather, you don’t want to do this at all, but you need to. Therefore, the most correct decision is to balance the floats in advance, at home. You can do this by collecting a full bath of water and uncovering your gear. So, we attach the float to the fishing line (or attach it to the mount) and begin the process of selecting sinkers. The float must not lift the sinker from the bottom. But the load should not be too weighty, as small bites will not be visible. We find empirically the middle ground (a too heavy lead weight is well cut with metal scissors, and if it is too small, we add another piece of lead). The float in the bathroom should stand clearly, almost vertically, without lifting the sinker from the bottom, but also not lying on its side. Now your fishing homemade products are well balanced and do not have to do this outdoors. This is especially important in adverse weather conditions.
Homemade fishing: a tube for storing floats
For float rods, removable floats are one of the most important parts of gear. However, some of them are quite fragile and can break when the fisherman moves from place to place. In order to prevent this from happening, we will make a tube for storing floats with our own hands. Take the base from the cling film. The tube is very durable. Even if you accidentally step on it, it will not break like plastic, and your floats will be safe. A piece of loose polystyrene about 2 cm thick is also needed. Two corks must be cut from it. We make an imprint of a bobbin from under the film on polystyrene foam, cut it with an office knife. One plug must fit very tightly into the hole in the tube. To do this, you can glue it, or use double-sided tape. The second - acts as a lid. As a handle for convenient removal, we use an inserted clip. The floats are attached from the inside with keels to the foam, fixing well. And the lid on the other hand closes. And so that the cardboard does not get wet, for example, in the rain, you need to wrap the structure around the circumference with adhesive tape additionally.
Homemade fishing - a piggy bank of fishing experience
Many generations of amateur fishermen share their secrets with each other. And today, despite the abundance of the products offered for fishing, someone else needs these fishing tricks. Of course, no one can know everything about fishing. But the above and other tips, we hope, will be useful to both beginners and more experienced anglers. Good luck to everyone fishing!