Catching Crucians

[The Diamond Geezer]

Got access to a new lake with lots of stocked crucians. It's a small lake and not very deep, maybe max 6 or 7 feet. I've been fishing bloodworm and joker with no luck at all.

 

Any crucian-catching experts out there to share a few hints & tips with me / us please :confused:

 

DG :cool:

[Chris Plumb]

Ah - one of the MOST frustrating species that swims - or can be! Bites that dither for minutes the come to nowt. Yet on other days the float sinks confidently and you 'bag up'. (Mataphorically at least - I don't use keep nets). FWIW - which is probably VERY little as this IS a species that likes to break rules - bread flake is my first choice crucian bait - float fished in the margins. Floats need to be very sensitive and the lift method is often a good option...

 

 

Chris

[The Diamond Geezer]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chris Plumb:

Ah - one of the MOST frustrating species that swims - or can be! Bites that dither for minutes the come to nowt. Yet on other days the float sinks confidently and you 'bag up'. (Mataphorically at least - I don't use keep nets). FWIW - which is probably VERY little as this IS a species that likes to break rules - bread flake is my first choice crucian bait - float fished in the margins. Floats need to be very sensitive and the lift method is often a good option...

 

 

Chris

---

Thanks, Chris

I am familiar with the lift method but have never tried flake for crucians

 

I'll give it a go this weekend

 

Thanks again

DG

 

[ 19. May 2003, 10:13 AM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

[Jason Inskip]

Hi folks

 

I had some great success with crucians a couple of years ago on an old estate lake near Petersfield, until the place was sold to a complete idiot who has set about removing the coarse fish. I'm not sure this will help, because your water may be totally different, but...

 

A few observations: Although we did catch some up to 2.5lbs during the day, they really only came on the prod at night.

 

Small cocktail baits worked best, with red worm and corn favourite.

 

After much trial and error, we found the best float rig to sort out the frustrating dithery bites was adapted from a normal very light tench waggler, with black and white bands painted all the way along the antenna. A single large shot two inches from the hook was enough to cock the float, but only just past the body, with the entire antenna clear of the water.

 

We didn't strike unless the float was being drawn steadily down, right to the orange tip. For some reason, this trebled the success rate, although to be honest, this still left a lot of missed takes.

 

Also, too much ground bait was a mistake, I guess because the fish didn't have to move far for the next morsel and the bites were even more tentative.

 

Hope this helps a bit and good luck.

Jason

[The Diamond Geezer]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jason Inskip:

I had some great success with crucians a couple of years ago on an old estate lake near Petersfield, until the place was sold to a complete idiot who has set about removing the coarse fish. I'm not sure this will help, because your water may be totally different, but...

 

A few observations: Although we did catch some up to 2.5lbs during the day, they really only came on the prod at night.

 

Small cocktail baits worked best, with red worm and corn favourite.

 

After much trial and error, we found the best float rig to sort out the frustrating dithery bites was adapted from a normal very light tench waggler, with black and white bands painted all the way along the antenna. A single large shot two inches from the hook was enough to cock the float, but only just past the body, with the entire antenna clear of the water.

 

We didn't strike unless the float was being drawn steadily down, right to the orange tip. For some reason, this trebled the success rate, although to be honest, this still left a lot of missed takes.

 

Also, too much ground bait was a mistake, I guess because the fish didn't have to move far for the next morsel and the bites were even more tentative.

 

Hope this helps a bit and good luck.

Jason

---

Jason

 

Thanks; it helps a lot, especially the night-fishing bit, although I'm not sure whether or not night-fishing's allowed on this lake .. I'll have to check.

 

I guess they're finicky feeders and don't eat too much so, as you say, too much groundbait is probably not a good idea. Maybe cloud-bait?

 

DG

[RUDD]

Dynamite baits 4mm meaty pellets (sold in a tin of smelly glug) have caught me loads of crucians.

I use a hit and hold pole down the margin with an 8 elastic, 18/16 hook, 3lb main, 1 / 2.5 hooklenght and the lightest pole float I can get away with with a long bristle.

I dot the float (size 12-13 micro shot) so that the body is under the surface skim and use a small amount of vasaline on the bristle.

A very sensitive rig.

I have also found bread flake or punch to be THE bait on some days.

I have also had luck on corn soaked in syrup.

Use the smallest bits as hook bait.

[The Diamond Geezer]

quote:

---

Originally posted by RUDD:

Dynamite baits 4mm meaty pellets (sold in a tin of smelly glug) have caught me loads of crucians. I use a hit and hold pole down the margin with an 8 elastic, 18/16 hook, 3lb main, 1 / 2.5 hooklenght and the lightest pole float I can get away with with a long bristle. I dot the float (size 12-13 micro shot) so that the body is under the surface skim and use a small amount of vasaline on the bristle. A very sensitive rig.

I have also found bread flake or punch to be THE bait on some days. I have also had luck on corn soaked in syrup. Use the smallest bits as hook bait.

---

Hi Rudd

 

I thought you just might have some handy hints 'n' tips....using a pole eh? It's a thought! Sounds as though it's ace for the tiniest of takes. I guess a whip would do as I don't have to place the bait very far as the lake's quite small.

 

Cheers again

 

DG

 

[ 19. May 2003, 03:33 PM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

[Spindle]

Out of interest, has anybody tried touch-legering for Crucians? Crucians being bottom feeders, legering should suit them. Also, because they feed "standing on their head" (or so I've heard), I line running straight up towards the float is likely to be knocked, giving line bites - line running towards the rod will be at a lower angle, hence less knocks. Also, the sensitivity of touch-legering would at least tell you what's going on at the hook end. ???

(never tried it myself mind, maybe it's not the done thing - a float is always prettier to look at!).

 

By the way, welcome to AN Jason - how's Mr. W getting on with my Reel?

[Jason Inskip]

Hi Glenn!

 

PW is being typicaly anal about finishing reels, so it's taking forever. So I suspect we'll be a while yet. They are lovely though.

 

By the way, on the crucians again: Some of the best days we had were in absolutely filthy weather, pouring down and windy to boot. On more than one very wet day, we caught crucians all day.

 

Also, in 'normal' summer conditions the commons and mirror carp went off the feed at dusk, when the crucians moved in. One minute we were catching commons, the next crucians and that's how it stayed until we packed up and went home.

 

One night Peter Wheat came as a guest and stayed all night. He sat like a heron the whole time with a dim-ish torch light on the float and eventually landed 36. Bearing in mind that each bite took ages to develop, he must have been having indications pretty much from dusk till dawn. Peter reckons that crucians aren't bothered by the torch, even though he was moving it around all the time to follow the float. Maybe it was an attraction as it can sometimes be with big roach in stillwaters?

 

I'm not sure about cloud bait, we never tried it, partly because we didn't want too many little rudd in the swim and we were using light lines and small hooks and bait, but also because I can't imagine crucians will come up the water column very readily, so we'd would have lost most of the attraction anyway. Having said that, why not try and see what happens? I'd love to hear if it works.

 

Finally, I wonder if crucians are easily put off by other species in the swim? When the carp or tench were feeding actively, the crucians were nowhere to be found. But as soon as they had the swim to themselves, we caught one after the other.

 

Whatever, they are tricky little blighters.

 

Cheers

Jason

[chesters1]

my local lake has plenty of crucians at the moment they are still being caught on maggot and only "pick" at other baits but now the lillies are up and anglers minds turns to tench and start using corn and bread then the crucians will be readily caught on these ,as the summer progresses then larger lumps of bread will pick out the crucians and the larger rudd and roach that also switch to these baits they are for some reason put off by groundbait :confused: for some while but each bite is certainly not finicky i have had the rod pulled of its rest whilst pouring tea (as usuall) . we generally go at 5pm ish and fish till dark after the other anglers have been sitting in the sun allday getting very little

 

[ 19. May 2003, 09:22 PM: Message edited by: chesters1 ]