Dupa o iarna foarte „ciudata” cu temperaturi extrem de ridicate, dar si cu zapada si viscol, primavara si-a facut aparitia. La pescuit am fost de vreo 3 ori anul acesta de pe mal… fara rezultate notabile… cativa strapi, o marlita si un novac prins accidental cu o lanseta ultra light oferind un drill de senzatie. In consecinta parca simteam ca noul sezon inca nu incepuse pentru mine, deoarece nu apucasem sa ies cu barca pe apa… mai ales ca am facut upgrade la motor, de la un Suzuki 10hp am trecut la Yamaha 20hp si eram foarte curios cum o sa mearga, ce viteza o sa prind etc. Asa ca asteptam cu nerabdare o zi disponibila in afara programului de lucru in care sa nu am parte de vant puternic. Acea zi a coincis cu Vinerea Mare… zi religioasa foarte importanta atat pentru mine cat si pentru colegul meu Ionut cu care am plecat dis de dimineata catre unul din lacurile din jurul Bucurestiului. Aceasta zi a fost intr-adevar una speciala… cu multe peripetii si aventuri, cu bune si rele, dar cu final fericit dupa cum veti vedea.
Intram bucurosi si plini de strategii pe apa in jurul orei 7 si observam ca balta mai are putin si „da pe afara”… cred ca era crescuta cu cel putin 1,5m pe verticala. Deci urma sa fie o partida foarte grea de pescuit pentru ca localizarea pestelui era mult mai dificila.
Luam decizia sa pescuim pe apa mai mica… cu locuri cu cocioc sau structuri, unde teoretic salaul ar trebui sa isi faca cuib pentru a depune icrele. Ne urcam in barca bucurosi ca motorul a pornit la prima sfoara (nu apucasem sa ii fac proba) si pornim spre primul loc de pescuit, o zona cu agatatura multa… betoane, pomi, fiare, ne pozitionam cu vantul in spate si incepem sa pescuim timp de vreo 30min fara sa se intample ceva. Decidem sa ne repozitionam si mai pescuim pentru inca o jumatate de ora.
Am stabilit cu Ionut inca de la inceput ca fiind un pescuit de tatonare si de recunoastere sa abordam diferit fiecare prezentarea… eu am inceput cu gume mai mici lestate pe jiguri 3-5gr si culori naturale, iar el cu gume peste 7cm jiguri 7-9gr si culori mai „aprinse”.
Schimbam locul dupa o ora putin tristi simtind parca faptul ca am inceput cu stangul. Asa ca ajungem pe un alt loc la fel de dificil ca si primul, adica plin de pomi scufundati. Ne pozitionam cat sa avem un traseu de recuperare a nalucii fara sa o pierdem in crengile copacilor si incepem sa pescuim. In scurt timp apar primele atacuri, dar si primele rateuri!
Pestele era foarte mofturos, semn clar ca nici nu se hranea, nici nu isi apara teritoriul asa cum ne-am fi dorit noi. La cateva lanseuri aveam o mica ciupitura in fir si atat. Rateu dupa rateu. Devenea frustrant… schimbam acele offset cu jiguri normale, dar nu se putea recupera naluca la barca… copacii castigau batalia de fiecare data. Ne repozitionam cu vantul in spate si se simte o usoara imbunatatire… Ionut prinde un strapazan de 33 cm pe care bucuros il elibereaza. Eu in schimb nu reusesc sa prind vreunul. Ma enervez si luam decizia sa plecam pe alta zona. Intre timp ne suna prietenii nostri Cristi si Mihai care erau si ei pe balta in vecinatatea noastra pe un loc tot cu apa mai mica… pana in 4 m cu fund tare si un prag. Mergem sa ii salutam si inghitim in sec cand aflam ca ei au avut activitate mult mai intensa, cu pesti frumosi de peste 45 si 55 de cm. Incercam sa ne punem si noi pe loc langa ei dar, neajungand la zona fierbinte, plecam dupa 20 de minute.
Schimbam inca vreo trei patru locuri fara succes, iar ceasul se face aproximativ 15.30. Trist, ii zic lui Ionut ca vreau sa mergem din nou pe locul cu copaci scufundati unde am avut atacurile nefinalizate de dimineata. Simteam ca pestii sunt acolo iar noi nu am reusit sa ii pacalim cu momelile in care aveam incredere. Ajunsi pe loc, Ionut descurajat imi spune ca el vrea sa isi testeze noul echipament de baitcasting (o Daiwa Ballistic 100hsl montata pe o lanseta Dam Cultus putere 7-30gr). Eu ma apuc de „treaba” si incep a lansa pe langa pomi cu o naluca ce mi-a adus ceva capturi in anii trecuti si anume un shad de la Big Bait Baits alb cu albastru. Si asa reusesc sa pacalesc primii strapazani. Bucuros insist, la fel si Ionut tot pe un shad alb cu albastru….care ii aduce un salau frumos de peste 50cm. Dupa 30 de min iar pauza. Ne gandim sa ne mutam putin mai in fata ca sa abordam locul si din alt unghi. Zis si facut dar dupa cativa metri ancora ramane blocata intr-una din crengile pomilor scufundati (deoarece colegului meu de barca i-a fost lene sa o ridice pana sus..:)). Ne chinuim sa o desfacem dar fara succes. Asa ca ii zic lui Ionut ca pana la sfarsit aici pescuim… nu mai avem ce sa facem… fiind singura ancora pe care o aveam la noi.
Incepem sa pescuim din noua pozitie. La un momentat cautand prin geanta gasesc cateva plicuri cu gume de la Bass Pro pe care le comandasem la targul de pescuit din martie si incep sa le testez. Fara sa fac reclama gratuita, Sassy Sally de 3.5 inch culoare alba mi-a salvat ziua. Am reusit sa prind 3 pesti in 10 minute dintre care doi aproximativ la 58cm si unul mic la 33cm.
Timpul trece si luam decizia sa taiem sfoara ancorei dupa ce ne-am tot chinuit sa o recuperam. In drumul nostru catre rampa de iesire ne mai oprim inca o data la prietenii nostri pe care ii gasim pe acelasi loc. Ii intrebam in gluma daca au vreo ancora in plus si ne invita sa ne legam de barca lor si mai pescuim putin impreuna. Eu personal nu mai aveam chef dar Ionut inca era in forma, lucru ce ii aduce inca un peste frumos in minciog… pe care nu l-am mai masurat sau cantarit :).
In concluzie, pentru prima iesire „oficiala” de anul acesta am fost foarte multumiti de toate intamplarile traite, nu stim daca a avut vreo influenta sarbatoarea care a avut loc in aceeasi zi, dar cu siguranta o sa mai pescuim si pe viitor in Vinerea Mare daca tot este zi libera nationala de anul acesta.
Good Friday on Valea Argovei
After a very „strange” winter with extremely high temperatures, but with snow and blizzards as well, spring started to slowly make its presence known. I went fishing on the shore for about 3 times this year… without any noticeable results… a few strands, a pike, and a novac accidentally caught with an ultra-light fishing rod, offering a sensational drill.
Because of that, I felt like the new season hadn’t started for me yet, because I hadn’t had time to go out on the water by boat… especially since I had upgraded the engine. I switched my Suzuki 10hp to a Yamaha 20hp and I was very curious about it, wondering what speed it will help me reach, etc.
Therefore, I was looking forward to an available day outside of working hours when the wind wouldn’t be too strong, and that day happened to coincide with Good Friday… a very important religious day for both me and my colleague, Ionut, with whom I left early in the morning, heading for one of the many lakes around Bucharest. This day was indeed a special one… with many adventures, but, as you will see, with a happy ending.
Optimistic and with strategies at hand, we entered the water at around 7 o’clock and we quickly noticed that the lake was close to overflowing… I think its level had increased by at least 1.5m vertically. That meant we were embarking on a difficult fishing match, due to the fact that locating the fish was going to be much harder than usual.
We decided to look for water at a lower level and set our equipment up there… near places filled with reed roots, where, in theory, the perch usually nests. We got on the boat excited that the engine started at the first rope pull (I didn’t know what to expect) and set off for the first fishing spot, an area with a lot of things to get your hook stuck in… concrete, trees, iron rods. We positioned ourselves so that the wind was coming from behind us and we started fishing for about 30 minutes without any interruptions. We then decided to reposition ourselves and started to fish for another half hour.
Ionut and I established, right at the start of the day, that, being on a probing and acknowledgment fishing trip, we should approach each technique differently… I started with smaller twisters, ballasted on 3-5g hooks and natural colors, and he started with twisters of over 7cm, 7-9g jigs, and brighter colors.
We switched places after one hour, a little disappointed, and feeling like we had already gotten a rough start. We reach a place that proved to be just as difficult as our first location, and full of old succumbed trees. We placed our boat so that we could retrieve our bait without it getting caught up in tree branches, and we start fishing. Shortly after, we get our first bites, but also our first failures.
The fish was extremely picky, clear sign that nor did it feed, nor did it fight to defend his territory as we had expected. Once every couple of launches, we felt a small bite and that was about it. Failure after failure. As we kept changing our offset hooks for normal ones, we still couldn’t recover them, and the fact that the underwater trees seemed to win each battle was getting really frustrating. We turned our backs to the wind and we felt a slight improvement… Ionut finally caught a 33cm long perch that he happily sets free. I still don’t manage to get anything more than a slight bite so, angry as I had become, we decided to move to another area.
Meanwhile, our friends that we knew were also fishing on that same lake called, saying that they’re close by, also in a location with a low water level, less than 4m, and a rock hard bottom with a verge. We go say hi to them and we were left a little bitter, having heard they had caught many beautiful, bigger than 45-55cm long fish. We tried to fish next to them, but left after only 20 minutes because we couldn’t reach the “hot area”.
We go back and forth between other three or four places but with nothing to show for it when we sadly realize it was already 3:30 PM. Disappointed, I tell my partner I want to return to the succumbed trees spot where I felt fish were present, guessing that maybe they just weren’t fooled by our trusty bait. As we reach the location, a daunted Ionut tells me he wants to test his new baitcasting equipment (a Daiwa Ballistic 100hsl mounted on a Dam Cultus 7-30g fishing rod). I start launching close to the trees with some bait that proved lucky over the past years (a white and blue Big Bait Baits twister).
With the help of that twister, I manage to trick my first couple of perches. Excited as I was, I persist, and Ionut catches a beautiful 50cm perch with the help of another white and blue twister. A 30 minute-break later, we decide to move forth and try to fish from another angle. Said and done, but we quickly notice our anchor had gotten stuck in one of the trees’ branches, due to Ionut being too idle to pull it all the way up..:)) We strived to take it out, but with no success, which meant we were stuck fishing there until we were supposed to leave, as that was the only anchor we had brought.
We started fishing at the new permanent location and, looking through my bag, I come across some new Bass Pro twister bags that I had bought at the fishing fair in march and I decided to try them out. No sponsorship involved, the 3.5-inch Sassy Sally saved the day for me. I caught 3 fish in a span of 10 minutes, two of them being approximately 58cm long and another of 33cm.
Time passed and after another unsuccessful attempt at rescuing our anchor, we decided to cut its rope. On our way to the exit platform, we stop by our friends from earlier, whom we find in the exact same lucky spot. We jokingly ask them if they have any spare anchors and they happily invite us to tie our boats together and fish for a bit more time. I, personally, was already tired, but Ionut still had some fight left in him, which brought him another beautiful fish in his spoon-net, which we didn’t bother to weigh or measure :).
In conclusion, being the first „official” outing this year, we were very pleased with all the adventures we had the opportunity to experience, we can’t say if the religious holiday that took place on that same day had anything to do with what happened, but we will certainly be organizing future fishing trips on Good Friday since it was declared a National holiday, and therefore, a day off from work starting this year.
