According to Khoroshev, due to the warm and prolonged autumn, the fishing season with a float rod continued until mid-December. "At the beginning of the month, there was decent biting at Ala-Archa, and crucians weighing up to a kilogram were being caught regularly. I decided to test my luck and went fishing," he said.
Despite the warmth, bites were infrequent, and clouds covered the sky. "The larger the crucian, the more finicky it is about bait. One-kilogram individuals are very cautious and heavily depend on the choice of lure. Their preferences can change within an hour: at first, they actively bite on earthworms, but then switch to bread or pearl barley, completely ignoring the worms. Therefore, to catch a large crucian, I used a combination of baits: maggots, corn, and earthworms. For baiting, I chose a mash with ground maggots of a fine fraction. Such bait creates a cloud of dust in the water, causing the crucians to search for larger particles and thus get caught on my tackle. As a result, I was able to catch a crucian weighing over three kilograms," Vladimir shared.
He also noted that he had previously not suspected the existence of such large specimens in the Ala-Archa reservoir. Moreover, he had not heard from fellow fishermen about anyone catching such crucians. "The usual weight of crucians caught in the Chui region ranges from 300 to 700 grams. A crucian weighing a kilogram is a desirable but rare trophy, and catching a crucian weighing 3 kilograms 600 grams is a real fishing sensation," Vladimir Khoroshev concluded his impressions.
