Fishing on the ring from the boat: making tackle and tactics

The quiet splash of water on the PVC boat and the subtle jitter of the rod top are the moments that anglers are willing to get up for. Fishing on the ring, or as it is often called “fishing from the boat in the plumb,” is a unique combination of passive waiting and active search for a promising place. This method, which has become a legend of the Volga and Kama expanses, allows you to get a large bream, guster, sazan and ulk where other methods are powerless.

The essence of the method is that a heavy feeder with bait sinks to the bottom, and a fishing line with hooks slides along the feeder cord, delivering the bait exactly into the plume of the washed food. Efficiency This fishing is amazing: fish, passionate about eating washed porridge, ceases to be afraid and greedily grabs the offered food, but success depends on how well assembled gear and the right place.

Many beginners make the mistake of using universal store solutions that often do not take into account the specific flow and depth of a particular body of water. That is why the question of “how to make a ring yourself” remains one of the most popular among boaters and fishing practitioners. Self-manufacturing allows you to adapt the equipment to specific conditions, the weight of the boat and the behavior of the target fish.

Principle of operation and advantages of the method

The basic principle of ring fishing is to create a permanent forage table at the bottom, a feeding table attached to a thick cord lies on the ground, and the current gradually washes out the bait, creating a murky and fragrant trace. The ring worn on this cord prevents the hook line from going away, keeping the bait strictly in the zone of maximum fish concentration.

Advantages This is a way that's obvious to boat owners. First, it's the ability to fish in a strong current where a regular donkey or feeder is worse off because of the demolition of the tooling; second, it allows you to focus the fish in a small area, which is especially true at great depths; and third, it allows you to use fairly rough and durable tooling, which is critical when catching captured specimens.

It's important to understand that fishing on a ring requires discipline and attention to detail, and the fish then comes downstream, so the boat has to be standing right above the feeding point, and any shift of the boat can take the hooks out of the stern, and the pecking will stop instantly.

Manufacture of the ring: materials and drawings

The ring is the central element of the whole system, and it's the design that determines how easy it is to cut and fish out. The classic ring is a lead ring that weighs 40 to 70 grams, and the feeder cord runs through it. But just a lead ring is not enough, and you need a special design that allows the line to slip off when you cut it.

To make an effective tackle, you need lead, which can be extracted from old batteries (by keeping the smelting safe) or bought ready-made cargo rings at fishing shops. The optimal diameter of the ring is 55-65 mm, and the thickness of the rod is 5-7 mm. A smaller diameter will lead to frequent overlaps, and a larger tackle will make the gear too bulky.

There are two main types of rings that fishermen make DIY:

• 🔴 Unclosed ring: It has a slot through which the feeder cord is wound, and when you cut the line, it goes through that slot, allowing you to catch the fish independently of the feeder.
• 🔴 Hinge ring: a more complex design, where a loop for the cord is welded or soldered to the main ring, and the main line passes through the body of the ring.

To make a classic open ring, you need to cast a lead blank in the form of a torus. Then you cut down on one side to the depth of the middle of the ring, and on the opposite side you drill a hole to attach the main line. The angle of the cut should be such that the feeder cord lies freely in it, but when you stretch the fishing line during the cut-off, it slips out.

The secret to the perfect cut

Make a cut at an angle of 30-45 degrees to the plane of the ring. If you make it perpendicular, the cord will get stuck. Use a metal clipper or a metal hacksaw with a small tooth to treat the lead.

Some fishermen prefer to use the metal-ring It's a valid option, but it requires careful balancing so that the ring doesn't sway on the cord, and a perfectly balanced ring should slide along the cord without skewing, even on a strong current.

Installation of equipment: step-by-step instructions

Assembling a tackle is a process that requires attention to every detail. A mounting error can lead to a trophy break or, worse, to entanglement of the tackle at depth. Below is a sequence of actions that will help to assemble the tooling.

To begin with, prepare all components: the feeder cord, the main line, leashes, hooks and, in fact, the ring. The feeder cord should be synthetic, not absorbing water (for example, capron or from a fire hose), with a diameter of 1-1.5 mm. The line for the main part is taken monophilic, with a diameter of 0.25-0.35 mm, or fluorocarbon, which is less noticeable in water.

The installation process is as follows:

1. Pass the feeder cord through the ring slot.
2. To the ear of the ring (or to the hole) tie the main line. the length of the working part of the line depends on the depth and strength of the current, usually 1-1.5 meters.
3. At the end of the main line, install a vertebra or carbine to fasten the leashes.
4. The lead is made of thinner line (0.12-0.2 mm) length from 20 cm to 1.5 meters. the number of leashes varies from 1 to 5.

There are several leash layouts, the most popular being the "garland," where the leashes are tied at regular intervals (30-50 cm) above the main loader or carbine, which allows you to catch different water horizons, and the second is a retractable leash that goes away from the main axis, which reduces the number of crossovers.

Critical: The lead ring has weight, and when you pull a large fish, you have to use the Palomar or the Clinch nodes, and you have to wet the line before you tighten it.

Choice and manufacture of feeders

The feeder in this gear is both an anchor and an attraction source, and it has to be heavy enough to hold the cord in a strong current, and it has the optimal feeding compartment, and most often, cylindrical-shaped mesh feeders are used.

The ideal material for the trough case is a steel mesh with a cell of 5-8 mm. Such nets can be found in construction stores or use old Soviet feeders. The volume of a standard feeder for fishing from a boat is from 3 to 6 liters. A smaller volume will have to be lifted too often, and a larger one will be difficult to fill and lift.

To make the feeder heavier, a lead load is attached to the bottom, or a stone is laid, and the weight of the load is chosen experimentally, it must hold the feeder in place, but allow it to be moved by jerk if necessary. Often anglers make the load removable so that you can vary the mass depending on the strength of the current.

Inside the feeder, a "charge" is necessarily placed - a mixture that will be washed out by the current.

• 🌾 Basis: wheat, barley, peas (boiled to semi-readiness).
• 🍞 Binding: Bread, cake, makuha (create mud and aroma).
• 🪱 Living component: chopped worm, worm, moth (hold fish at the point).

The consistency of the bait should be such that it does not fall asleep immediately when lowered, but does not lie dead for hours. You can check the readiness by clenching a lump in your hand: it should hold the shape, but easily break down with light pressure.

Fishing tactics and fish-searching

The success of ring fishing depends on 80 percent of the time on the right location. Breath and other white fish rarely stay evenly flowing. They're attracted to changes in bottom relief: brows, dumps, pits, exits of which are in the flow path, and the angler's job is to find and stand on the path.

If you don't have a sonar, use a heavy-duty jig spinning or simply measure the depth of the lot, noting the changes in the terrain. If you find a sharp drop in depth (from 4 to 8 meters), you can consider the place found. The boat needs to be anchored upstream so that the feeder falls exactly on the dump.

The table below will help you navigate the choice of depths and distances for different species of fish:

fish-fish	Preferred depth	Length of leashes	Activity time
Breeze	6-12 meters	0.5 to 1.5 metres	Night, early morning
gustera	4-8 meters	0.3 - 0.8 metres	All day long
sazanne	5-10 meters	0.5 - 1.0 meters	Morning, evening.
Iaz	3-7 meters	0.4 - 0.9 metres	All day, overcast.

Once you've got the boat and you've lowered the feeder, you start fishing, lower the gear to the feeder ring, then you get a little bit of tension, and the bite signal is a nod, or the tip of the rod, or just a finger on the fishing line, and you have to cut it sharp and short to cut through the fish's lip and at the same time get the fishing line out of the ring slot.

Typical errors and security measures

Despite its apparent simplicity, ring fishing is dangerous and nuanced. The most common mistake is using a too thin cord for a feeder. When you catch a large fish or get caught, the cord can cut your hands, and when you jerk a boat, it can injure the angler. Always wear gloves.

⚠️ Attention: Never wind the feeder cord on your hand or fingers! When a boat is pulled by the wind or by the current, or when the feeder is caught by a snag, the cord can cause deep cuts up to the fracture of the bones of the hand.

Another mistake is the wrong length of the leashes. If the current is strong and the leashes are short, the hooks will get tangled around the feeder cord. If the current is weak and the leashes are too long, they will lie on the bottom and not work. Experiment with a length ranging from 30 cm to 2 meters.

Also, anglers often ignore the condition of the boat. Falling requires a stable platform. Inflatable boats must be pumped to working pressure so that the pistons of oars or the fisherman's legs do not penetrate the cylinders, changing the position of the tackle. Using an anchor cable that stretches along the bottom and collects hooks is a common cause of loss of equipment.

⚠️ Attention: When fishing on a strong current, make sure that the anchor tile does not rub the side of the boat or the transom. Use special rollers or gaskets at the points of contact of the cable with the body of the boat.

Remember the rules of safety on the water. A life jacket should be worn even if you are a great swimmer. The weather on major rivers changes rapidly, and a sudden squall can turn a light boat over, especially if the angler is standing full-length for manipulation of the tackle.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I catch a ring from the shore?

Theoretically, it's possible, but it's extremely inconvenient and inefficient, and it's designed to be vertical, and you can't make a right angle from the shore between the feeder cord and the main line, which will cause you to have constant overlap and you can't control the bait going into the plume.

What diameter of the line is better to use for leashes?

The diameter of the leash depends on the transparency of the water and the size of the fish. For a bream on the river with the flow, the optimal leashes of fluorocarbon with a diameter of 0.14-0.18 mm. Fluorocarbon is tougher than monophile, less confused and invisible in the water. If a pricking sazan, the diameter is increased to 0.22-0.25 mm.

Why do fish eat in the feeder, but do not bite?

This is a common situation. Possible reasons: too large fraction of bait (fish eat porridge and ignore bait), wrong bait (try sandwiches: worm + slut), or fish is above the bottom. Try to raise the leashes higher or make them longer.

How to keep a ring between fishing?

After fishing, be sure to dry the cord and fishing line. The lead ring is not oxidized, but it is better to store it separately so that the heavy metal does not deform the thin line during prolonged storage in a wound state.