Probably the most ancient hook tackle for fishing is donka. Despite its thousand-year history, it remains on the list of the most effective fishing facilities. It has many modifications, but the principle of operation in different donks is not much different. Differences are observed, as a rule, in the methods used for hooking and bite alarm. Each fisherman has his own views on how to make the donka the most "catchy".
The use of donkey is very effective in catching almost all non-
predatory and some species of
predatory fish in our freshwater reservoirs. But most often this fishing method is used to catch bream, roach and carp.
Bottom tackle has proven itself under various conditions of fishing on the course and in still water during open water bodies.
We will not consider options for how to make a donk of a specific type, and dwell on its general structure. It may or may not have a rod with a reel. Immediate equipment consists of a sinker or feeder, which can be sliding and at the same time serve as a hooker.
The main fishing line, to which leashes and a sinker are attached (feeder), is wound on a reel or reel. Its main function is, as already mentioned, the fastening of all components of the equipment, as well as the transmission of a bite signal, jamming the jerks of the fish being pulled out, etc. Before making a donk for fishing, it is necessary to take into account the estimated size of the fish. If this is a tackle with a fishing rod and reel, then the thickness of the fishing line ranges from 0.12-0.3 mm, depending on the caution of the fish’s behavior and size.
For compact designs of donok with a reel, thicker main lines are used - 0.4-0.5 mm, sometimes thicker. As a fishing line for leashes, a thinner fishing line is used than the main one. The size of a sinker for an ordinary donkey with a reel is up to 100 grams, but tackle with a reel requires a finer weight, not exceeding, as a rule, a fifty-gram mark.
The hook for the bottom tackle is also selected depending on the size of the subject of fishing: for bream and roach this is No. 4-5 according to domestic numbering. Before assembling all the accessories, it is necessary to decide on the question of how to make a donka: with a sliding sinker or a fixed sinker, as well as about the presence or absence of a fishing rod and reel.
The next task is: how to collect donka? A sinker is attached to the main fishing line and hooks are attached to it. Most often this happens in a loop-to-loop fashion. Further operation of the donkey is quite simple and consists only in the proper placement of the bait and bait (when using the feeder), subsequent casting and waiting for a bite. A signal of this is the tension of the fishing line, to which you can attach a piece of light material (stick, small lump of earth) for better visibility.
Thus, after the donka has been made and the first experience of its use has been obtained, one can judge the practicality, "catchability" and the advantages of this tackle. Also, as mentioned above, the variety of donok shapes allows each fisherman to choose the most convenient and effective of them, taking into account certain fishing conditions.