Author: Daniel K. Sweat

There is such a funny solid spinning lure that does not have a blade like a classic wobbler, but there is a loop in the back for attaching to a leash, which we are used to seeing in the same balancers. Such lures are most often called ratlins and give out a unique set of vibrations as they move.

It is not difficult to realize that the popularity of the ratlin in Ukraine is very modest, although often it is the ratlin that can save fishing, or even provide a bite, as on "black stones". As for me personally, I also do not pay due attention to ratlins, using them at most on a dozen fishing trips per year. True, the recent evening session strengthened my faith in the Ratlins. I will describe this briefly.

Afternoon. A midge is fooling around, unobtrusive mosquitoes squeak in the shade, sparrows flutter stupidly along the branches. There is not a soul on the reservoir, except for my friend Yura, me and a couple of guys who swim on a miniature beach. Stuffy and empty. In reality, it is difficult to expect a different scenario in the summer heat on a pond without a current, and even more so with a shallow depth. And there are not so many predators here either.

Somehow to the finish of the first hour I managed to pick a perch and suffer a couple of tweaks. We move along the perimeter of the reservoir, stopping at trampled gaps, from which it is convenient to cast. There is little water, the banks are liquid. I only have light, and this is my unrivaled Yamaga BLC 83Tz Long Cast. With a YGK Born Rush # 0.4 cord and a 0.45mm Intech Shock Leader Fluorocarbon Leader, I'm ready to tackle almost any big or small trophy. I use medium baits to interest both the pike and the perch along the way. Today I have Intech Turborib 3 ”, Bait Breath T.T. Shad 2.8 ”, Sawamura One Up Shad 3”. My friend catches with other silicones, goes through a lot, experiments, I don't have time to follow him. In general, I always have live statistics and it is not difficult to judge the effectiveness of my own actions.

In search of a real theme, I use both light montages (2-4 g) and heavier (6-10 g), but there is still no quality breakthrough in the cool. As before, rare single contacts, more reminiscent of accidental captures. However, I know firsthand that even rare captures during barking are the result of correct actions and suitable gear, and not blind chance.

On another patch of hard bottom, finally, we find a flock of perches, which responds quite well to our three-inch twisters and vibro-tails, but quickly dries up. It turns out that you need to reduce the size to "micrush" (2-2.5 inches), and the point comes to life, bringing not only striped 100-200 g, but also their congeners 20-30 g. Such "giants" to us, of course, to nothing, and we move on.

The new position immediately gives a couple of nice striped ones, and the bite traditionally subsides. For such cases, I bought a long time ago a way to lure another couple of predators by changing the bait. No matter how trite, but due to a sluggish bite, and besides, in a closed reservoir, a frequent change of bait is an excellent decision. But what about the ratlins, which I announced at the beginning of the article? I remember. That was the prehistory, then about the ratlin.

Yura has a bite, and he fishes out the pike, but it comes off not far from the shore, making a farewell breaker. Yura throws in pursuit, and again landing toothy, but she again comes off. A comrade scolds fate, a dull double, black cats, and so on, which could cause him to break off. For me, this is a sign to get involved more actively in fishing by placing a radically different bait. Minoha is trivial, crank is not very good for standing water, but ratlin is just that. In my box are just two brand new handsome men – Raid Level Vib Silence (54 mm, 10.5 g), which are suitable for this place by all criteria.

The only thing that keeps me a bit from being thrown into the waters of this swamp of Japanese and not a penny, by the way, ratlin from Raid, is a promise to my teammate, Andrey Gribachov, not to use super ratlin without the need for flute (and I only catch pike with such a leash ) and do not strike with tees along the bottom (and here the depth is only 1-2 meters). Andrey fell in love with Level Vib Silence so much that he immediately laid his eyes on my new outfit and, as compensation, presented me two Raid Level Crank in advance, if only I would give him the ratlins on the first occasion. These cranks are a bomb, I’ve already made sure that I’m not going to return them, but the Ratlins also don’t lie idle? In short, on the clasp.

A couple of postings with ratlin Vib Silence, and a bite. Well well! The pike was spotted with one hook, but this did not save her. In the sense that she had to pose for the phone for a couple of minutes before I let her go.

Ratlin confidently goes to the top of today's baits, and I no longer want to return to silicone. It is getting dark. Thank God, the sun is much less annoying for us and the fish. Yura has another pike (maybe he caught beardless hooks?), Although he gets perches regularly and much more successfully than me. And I have a bite on a pike ratlin and a perch catch.

I actually animate the Raid Level Vib with a "step", like an easy jig editing, except that sometimes I don't wait for the wobbler to completely sink to the bottom and do a stretch. The incredible volatility of the heavy and compact lure allows you to work at almost the same distance as a jig. With all this, the two sharpest ratlin tees are ready to grab the fish with the least contact. On pause and free lowering, the ratlin is not as sharp as jig editing, and it is easier for the pike to concentrate. On a pull, a bladeless wobbler vibrates, well, like a live fish.

In general, it was no coincidence that I soon caught another pike on the Raid Level Vib. If the first was about a keel, then the second was smaller. This did not change the essence of the matter – ratlin worked, the fish ate him, and everything worked out. It is not known how the events would have developed if I had done something differently, but my statistics clearly spoke in favor of the ratlin in front of silicone: 3: 0 for caught tails and 4: 0 for bites.

The evening was not yet over, and the pike must have not lost its appetite either, but my friend and I decided not to wait for the stars in the sky. In addition, being in shorts, I absolutely did not want to catch the evening nibble of mosquitoes, which were slowly leaving their forest airfield, heading in search of donors.

All health, cool and positive summer!

. (tagsToTranslate) Summer spinning (t) how to catch pike with ratlin (t) fishing for pike with wobblers