Think Asp - part I

For many years anglers have considered asp as a fish impossible to catch. Today you can find opinions that even child can catch it. It is hard to verify what is really true without learning habits and biology of this fish, so I will start this article with a few basic information that are vital from angler's point of view.

Asp mostly feeds on bleak. It is much more selective than other predators. And this specialization based on perfect recognition of certain stimuli is the biggest problem for anglers. It is impossible to catch asp every time, everywhere and on any lure. For instance, catching that fish in still water when it hunts calmly for schools of small fish is just a coincidence. Why? Because it is not enough to choose the lure that resembles bleak, to cast it silently near the fish and to retrieve perfectly. Between asp and its prey a specific game is going on that is very hard for an angler to join. Another example - asp hunt for bleak hiding in a deeper part of the river bottom. They attack from time to time, and then they give a school of bleak enough time to gather again. If we cast in place where bleak gathers, that will frighten bleak and asp will stop feeding immediately. The best tactics is to cast the lure in the very moment when asp approaches bleaks and attacks. It is of course very difficult and happens usually by coincidence. Another example. Still water, a couple of asp swim around school of bleak trying to gather it like shepherd dog gathers sheep. In a chosen moment asp go deeper in order to calm bleak down. Soon asp start to attack from the bottom to the surface. Again, it is very difficult to choose the right moment to cast the lure. And even if you manage to do that there is no guarantee that asp will choose our lure instead of one of hundreds of bleaks. Asp very often chase one chosen prey. The chosen bleak uses the entire arsenal of tricks to avoid asp, but asp has its tricks as well. Unfortunately our lures are unable to mimic such situation yet. They do not turn rapidly and they do not jump over the water surface. They are unable to react on asp's actions. We retrieve our lures quite blindly, sometimes towards the predator instead away from him. It is easy to predict how asp will react. It will become very suspicious usually will not strike. It might just observe our lure. Then further attempts to catch this fish with the same lure are usually pointless.

After these examples some anglers might think that catching asp is nearly impossible. Yet pictures in fishing magazines show that this is possible and that small group of anglers does have skills necessary to catch this fish on regular basis. So what determines their success? Under certain circumstances asp become less careful and easier to catch. In order to predict the best time and place an angler has to know both the river and the fish very well. In very turbulent water asp hunts a bit blindly and catches nearly anything that resembles its prey. Due to that asp sometimes confuses our lure with a real bleak.

Another opportunity happens when asp feed ferociously. The first period of intense hunt happens 2 week after spawning. That's when small fish show up on the surface to warm up after winter. Usually water level is high during that period. Small fish hide in flooded grass or bushes and asp cruise around the bank. They are very hungry and attack nearly anything that is similar to their natural prey. Under such circumstances I have caught the same fish 25 minutes after catching it for the first time.

The weather is also very important. The results in the same place may be very different even if you use the same technique and the same lure. When the weather is about to get worse asp feel that good hunting will be over soon and they go crazy. At the end of a period of high atmospheric pressure it has happen to me several times to catch several dozens of asp including trophy fish as well.

Another example.

Middle of summer, after long period of very hot weather. Water is low and very warm. This is difficult period for fish (and for anglers as well). Fish are lazy and they do not hunt often. Despite that I manage to find a place with a number of fish I catch just one late in the evening. I analyse this situation after returning home and I realize that in such warm water there is very little of oxygen dissolved. It is very possible that fish hunt only when water temperature is the lowest and there is more oxygen. The only chance for a drop of temperature is at night. Therefore the best conditions are early morning. I visit same place before dawn. I hear water splashes before I even reach the river. Fish strike like crazy until dawn. The end of feeding is sudden, everything calms down, until next dawn.

The examples given here are extreme. Very often feeding is neither that good nor that bad as described in examples above. However it is certain that a series of favorable conditions decides upon our success in asp fishing.

 

For many years anglers have considered asp as a fish impossible to catch. Today you can find opinions that even child can catch it. It is hard to verify what is really true without learning habits and biology of this fish, so I will start this article with a few basic information that are vital from angler's point of view.

Asp mostly feeds on bleak. It is much more selective than other predators. And this specialization based on perfect recognition of certain stimuli is the biggest problem for anglers. It is impossible to catch asp every time, everywhere and on any lure. For instance, catching that fish in still water when it hunts calmly for schools of small fish is just a coincidence. Why? Because it is not enough to choose the lure that resembles bleak, to cast it silently near the fish and to retrieve perfectly. Between asp and its prey a specific game is going on that is very hard for an angler to join. Another example - asp hunt for bleak hiding in a deeper part of the river bottom. They attack from time to time, and then they give a school of bleak enough time to gather again. If we cast in place where bleak gathers, that will frighten bleak and asp will stop feeding immediately. The best tactics is to cast the lure in the very moment when asp approaches bleaks and attacks. It is of course very difficult and happens usually by coincidence. Another example. Still water, a couple of asp swim around school of bleak trying to gather it like shepherd dog gathers sheep. In a chosen moment asp go deeper in order to calm bleak down. Soon asp start to attack from the bottom to the surface. Again, it is very difficult to choose the right moment to cast the lure. And even if you manage to do that there is no guarantee that asp will choose our lure instead of one of hundreds of bleaks. Asp very often chase one chosen prey. The chosen bleak uses the entire arsenal of tricks to avoid asp, but asp has its tricks as well. Unfortunately our lures are unable to mimic such situation yet. They do not turn rapidly and they do not jump over the water surface. They are unable to react on asp's actions. We retrieve our lures quite blindly, sometimes towards the predator instead away from him. It is easy to predict how asp will react. It will become very suspicious usually will not strike. It might just observe our lure. Then further attempts to catch this fish with the same lure are usually pointless.

After these examples some anglers might think that catching asp is nearly impossible. Yet pictures in fishing magazines show that this is possible and that small group of anglers does have skills necessary to catch this fish on regular basis. So what determines their success? Under certain circumstances asp become less careful and easier to catch. In order to predict the best time and place an angler has to know both the river and the fish very well. In very turbulent water asp hunts a bit blindly and catches nearly anything that resembles its prey. Due to that asp sometimes confuses our lure with a real bleak.

Another opportunity happens when asp feed ferociously. The first period of intense hunt happens 2 week after spawning. That's when small fish show up on the surface to warm up after winter. Usually water level is high during that period. Small fish hide in flooded grass or bushes and asp cruise around the bank. They are very hungry and attack nearly anything that is similar to their natural prey. Under such circumstances I have caught the same fish 25 minutes after catching it for the first time.

The weather is also very important. The results in the same place may be very different even if you use the same technique and the same lure. When the weather is about to get worse asp feel that good hunting will be over soon and they go crazy. At the end of a period of high atmospheric pressure it has happen to me several times to catch several dozens of asp including trophy fish as well.

Another example.

Middle of summer, after long period of very hot weather. Water is low and very warm. This is difficult period for fish (and for anglers as well). Fish are lazy and they do not hunt often. Despite that I manage to find a place with a number of fish I catch just one late in the evening. I analyse this situation after returning home and I realize that in such warm water there is very little of oxygen dissolved. It is very possible that fish hunt only when water temperature is the lowest and there is more oxygen. The only chance for a drop of temperature is at night. Therefore the best conditions are early morning. I visit same place before dawn. I hear water splashes before I even reach the river. Fish strike like crazy until dawn. The end of feeding is sudden, everything calms down, until next dawn.

The examples given here are extreme. Very often feeding is neither that good nor that bad as described in examples above. However it is certain that a series of favorable conditions decides upon our success in asp fishing.

 

Angling description of asp would not be complete without a few words on asp lures. Lures are very important in asp fishing, much more important than in case of other predators. Even under perfect fishing conditions you might catch nothing if you fail to choose a right lure. And even the best lure will be useless in unfavourable conditions. In case of asp nothing is simple. Asp hunting behaviour differs depending on circumstances. For this reason there are no universal lures for this fish. You should acquaint with features of currently available lures and then while fishing you should select ones that fit current conditions. Learning might be long and not easy but thanks to that discovering mysteries of asp will probably never become boring.

 

Here are descriptions of some well-known and secret asp lures.

 

Twisters. These very popular lures are a must for asp fishing. They are most efficient when water level is rising and gets muddy, as well as when water level drops and water clears. The most difficult part is to find a place where asp feeds. Usually these are straight parts of the river with partially submerged bushes where bleaks are hiding. Asps are cruising nearby, attacking fish that have left their hideouts. You should pay attention to lure's presentation. It shouldn't approach asp from its tail since it will surely frighten the fish. Thus you should retrieve your lure on a slant. The best twisters are the one made of stiff rubber with a short rolled up tail. They create high frequency vibrations. This rule applies to nearly all asp lures. The best colours are white, silver and transparent. The jighead should allow for long casts and to keep the lure under water surface in the current. The most popular ball jigheads are not the best choice. I use jigheads with ski-like bottom. Twisters are not effective when water level is low. You can still make a few casts and see whether it works, but if not you better change place.

 

Rippers. Here stiff models with short tails are the most effective as well. You can improve soft model by cutting the softest part of the lure when the tail starts and then use soldering iron to glue the rest of the tail back to the body. You can also cut edges of the tail in order to force it to move quicker. The best jigheads have been described above when we were talking about twisters. There is a way to modify a jighead in order to provide your lure with additional movement. If you move the ear of the jighead backwards, the jighead will start to vibrate. This is one of the best methods of increasing efficacy of soft plastic lures, not only for asp. I use it also while fishing for zander and pike. The best colours are silver-gray, silver-blue or silver-green. Rippers works wonders in places where water flows over stones as well as below dams and locks, as well as along rocky banks. You need to adjust your lure size to the strength of the current. Lure's vibration should be noticeable for fish at small distance but not too strong to frighten it. The majority of good asp lures create just a small resistance during retrieving. You can use it as guidance when choosing or adjusting your asp lures.

 

Lit'l Fishie Minnow. This is one of the most versatile lures I know. The best sizes are from 1 ½" to 2 ½ " , silver with black back. The biggest problem is to weight this lure properly. I make my own jigheads for this purpose. It is not that complicated, all you need is some lead, a saw and a hammer. You flatten the lead with a hammer to desired thickness and then you cut the desired shape with a saw. Then you cut a crack for placing a hook into. Finally you close a crack by flattening a lead a bit. At the end you might smooth the jighead with a file. We glue such jighead to the minnow, cutting its head off on a slant before doing so. That provides us with bigger surface to glue as well as lets us keep the lure vertically better. The best are fast drying glues. I use Klebfix from Wurth or Bondini. You can improve any lure, this is also a case with Knights minnow. You can make more versions of the same lure for various occasions. By shortening the tail you increase its vibrations frequency. That gives us better lure for retrieving against the current. You can also make the tail stiffer by spreading some glue on it. The lure will have slower but stronger vibrations then, thus better in turbulent water. This lure can be retrieved deeper, 30-50 cm under water surface or just under it. The latter requires very fast line retrieve and keeping the rod tip high.

 

Wobblers. From a wide offer of wobblers of various producers available look for these with a very thin action you can barely feel on your rod. Usually these are lures with nearly vertical lip. You should adjust a size of the lip to water current. You can adjust direction of the lip after heating it up with a lighter and to change its size with a file. Wobblers are excellent for hunting for large lone asps. The biggest advantage of wobbler is that it allows reaching the fish by letting the current to carry it near the fish. Large asps are extremely cautious so it is recommended to use floating wobblers. But I also use sinking models - I make them by myself from floating ones. I add a lead at the bottom of the lure near front treble hook. Such lures allow to cast further and can be retrieved faster. My favourite models of wobblers come from Salmo. And the most favourite one is Sting 6 cm in the BL colour (mat silver with green back). This version is ideal for clear water. Far a very murky water I use same model but with mirror like silver and blue back colours. My second favourite wobbler is Minnow F in the RR colour. The big advantage of this lure is its ability to attract also fish species other than asp.

 

Lipless wobblers. The most popular asp lipless lure is the one developed by asp angler, it is commonly called „Siudak". Unfortunately this lure is hardly available. More skilled anglers can produce their own versions easily, the rest should search for this lure over Internet. This lure is based on idea of popper. Asp version differs from original popper though. It is made of foam with a lot of lead mounted in front of the lure. This keeps the lure in desired position. Thanks to a shape of the front part the lure wobbles lightly to sides. The deeper concavity is, the stronger lure's action. This lure allows making very long casts. The advantage of this lure is that it yields mostly large fishes. Many anglers have confirmed that. I was very successful while fishing with this lure in the Rhine River. It was the only lure that asps living in channels in still water have accepted, and I have said before still water is one of the most difficult places to fish for asp. Fishing with Siudak is quite simple - after making a long cast you just retrieve it very fast. When retrieved properly you can see a trail of air bubbles behind the lure. Strikes are firm. Fish do not chase the lure but strike from under it. You can use poppers as well for fishing for asp at night. The look of the lure doesn't matter, the sound it creates is important. You can also try the same method during the day. There are many techniques of fishing with poppers. I prefer to retrieve them with constant fast speed and on occasion retrieve a bit faster to make some splashes on the surface. I usually fish with Spittin' Rover from Salmo with a propeller on the rear of the lure. Propeller stabilizes lure's action and that allows retrieving lure faster.

 

Spoons. These are the simplest and therefore the most popular lures. Thin long models are the best for asp. The most important is lure's action. You can adjust it by mounting small weight on the rear treble hook. It calm's lure's action down. Thanks to that you can allow even small spoons to have an action suitable for asp fishing.

In early nineties I have modified a simple spoon. I have cut it in half and then I have connected two halves in a way used in watch's bracelets. It was beginning of the new lure. The only downside is that it requires a lot of work to produce such lure. The newest version is easier to produce, I use 4 mm sheet metal cut with laser. Fishing with this lure is very original. Attaching the line off the center of the lure causes that despite it weighs a lot (over 30 g) it emerges from water even when retrieved with moderate speed. It slides on the surface making plenty of small splashes. It looks like knocked unconscious bleak that tries to escape after asp's attack. I use this lure mostly in fall, in places where asps gather for group hunting. When other lures fail, my segmented lure seems to work wonders. Asps sometimes follow it several dozens of meters striking its tail. Despite that plenty of strikes are missed ones there are the days when it is possible to catch several dozens of asps in one day with this lure.

My Hungarian friend fishes for asp with very original tackle. He uses pilkers. He chooses the smallest silver models. He ties an additional leader one meter in front of the pilker and ties a large white or black fly to that leader. The pilker swims 30-50 cm under the surface and the fly travels on the surface. Using this method he has caught 8 kg asp in the Danube River.

 

Spinners. Golden Mepss Long was my first artificial lure. I have been fishing successfully with this lure for many years. Later I have started to make my own lures. Blades were narrower and the body was made of lead - that allowed further casts. When fishing with spinners you should avoid constant retrieve in one direction. You should move your rod tip to sides rapidly in order to make the move of the lure similar to moves of bleak. If the fish follows the lure do not change retrieve speed. Usually the best method to provoke asp to strike in such situation is to bring the lure to the surface. It is worth to have spinners in black or gray colour - that helps in those days when fish are shy.

Mans has made an interesting lure. It has two willow leaf blades that rotate very fast. You should also have this one in your tackle box.

Generally spinners are the lures of „first casts". If after a few casts fish do not seem to be interested, you should move to other place.

 

In the end some useful advices. There is no other way to find the best lure for local asps than trying them all. You should give each lure an equal chance. Each should be tested numerous times in various seasons and under various weather and water conditions. You should try various methods of retrieving the lure as well. Upstream, downstream, under surface, deeper, faster, slower. Lure good in spring might be useless in fall. When you find a good lure you can try to make it even better by trying to modify its action by changing the shape of the lip or tail. Sometimes small change causes big difference. And catching a fish on your own creation gives a lot of additional satisfaction.

During 30 years of fishing for asp I have observed how population of this fish changes and how development of fishing techniques impacts that. There are more and more anglers fishing for asp regularly. They are more and more effective and unfortunately some of them ignore the fact that by killing asp they decrease their population. Asp is sensitive to external factors. Sometimes bad conditions totally destroy their spawning effort. Add to that influence of angling and you can observe a hole in asp population that asp might not be able to rebuild. If you wish to see a healthy asp population, release caught fish. The nature regulates the numbers of each species and changing that balance badly affects our lovely hobby.

 

Robert Hamer

 

Robert Hamer