In summer, when underwater vegetation rises to the very surface of the reservoir, spinning in the usual way is impossible and ineffective. On such days, experienced spinners switch to
surface lures , among which unloaded rubber occupies a well-deserved place.
- Conditions in which fishing on “bare” rubber without weight is successful
- Installation of unloaded rubber
- Installation on an ordinary offset printer
- Rigging for unloaded baits on a weighted offset hook
- Using weights
- How to catch pike on unloaded rubber: place, cast, wiring
- What bait to choose – rubber, which has shown itself well in practice
- Required tackle
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Conditions in which fishing on “bare” rubber without weight is successful
Fishing for pike on unloaded silicone makes sense in several cases:
- fishing for pike in the grass, among burdocks, nettles, on a carpet of water lilies;
- dense duckweed;
- fishing in overgrown shallow water;
- when the bait needs to be carried as slowly and lazily as possible along the surface of the water;
- the predator is passive and does not respond to ordinary rubber ;
- when fishing on a diverter leash and other spaced rigs.
Most often, situations suitable for the use of unloaded rubber lures occur in the summer, when in the heat the water drops as much as possible and begins to “bloom”. Especially often this situation happens in closed water bodies – flooded lakes, ponds, oxbows.
Installation of unloaded rubber
The installation of unloaded rubber on a pike implies the following components:
- the bait itself (most often a ripper, worm, slug, less often a shad, cancer);
- offset hook;
- leash;
- connecting fittings.
https://youtu.be/5LW2bJPACZs
Installation on an ordinary offset printer
The most standard and common method of installing unloaded rubber. It is good to use baits with already prepared slots for an offset, as well as offset makers with fastening springs for high strength of bait mounting, which is especially important for delicate edibles.
Rigging for unloaded baits on a weighted offset hook
Weighted offset presses are used when the bait needs to be slightly deepened. For example, to draw under a layer of solid duckweed. The use of a jig head or cheburashka in this case is not appropriate – the main advantage of such rigs is lost – non-engagement. You may also need a loaded hook if you need to increase the casting distance. It will not give a big increase, but often 5-10 meters is already a bonus.
Important! When installing such hooks, you should be careful not to break the fish with a lead thickening. This is especially true for thin and soft baits – slugs, worms.
Using weights
The use of weights (special bolts-screws without a head) is justified in cases where the 
at a minimum distance. For example, this is justified when fishing in windows among water lilies. The algorithm is as follows: throw – splash down on the water lily – pulling the bait from the water lily into the water – and the bait seems to dive under the water lilies – wiring – we tighten the silicone onto the water lily and everything in a circle. If such a bolt is screwed into the back of the bait, then the game will change to chaotic yaw. This option also takes place under certain conditions. Methods for mounting unloaded rubber – advice from an expert: https://youtu.be/0MxJZCFQC-M More details about mounting rubber baits on an offset hook: https://youtu.be/nY5n4LFF3OI
How to catch pike on unloaded rubber: place, cast, wiring
We have already gone above the optimal places for using unloaded rubber on pike. The second important point is casting. In order to cast the rubber as accurately as possible without loading, it is worth choosing the right tackle, baits and setting the casting technique. If the range is still not enough, then it is worth making the installation heavier, using the methods described above. The animation technique and technique depends on many factors:
- place and conditions of fishing (depth, vegetation);
- pike activity;
- type of bait;
- weather.
Each bait needs to be studied in calm clear water – at what speed it sinks, how it plays when falling and when navigating, how it responds to twitch, stop-and-go, step, American lead. Small-amplitude or, conversely, wide play of the rubber, how wide it plays in free fall and other nuances. It is important to understand from a distance how exactly silicone behaves. Naturally, the worm or slug is more dependent on the actions of the angler than the twister or ripper. And therefore they require more active animation – jerks, tosses, twitch movements. For lures that continue to play actively even after stopping, it is worth pausing more often and making them longer. This is especially effective with floating silicone. Slags and worms animate actively, but with pauses. Rippers, shads and twisters are often animated evenly or in steps,but with fewer pauses. This is not a dogma, but in general it works.
Due to the fact that unloaded rubber is almost always fitted with an offset hook, there is a large number of idle grips and pike offsets. You can improve the detection rate by increasing the pause after the first contact before hooking – let the pike “gulp” the bait deeper for 1-3 seconds and in no case hook until the fish “sits on your hand”. Sabaneev also said that the salt contained in edible silicone is very much to the liking of the pike and it does not immediately spit out such baits.
In general, it is worth accepting this situation. Better idle bites than none. Fishing for pike on unloaded rubber in the grass and among last year’s vegetation from Kuzmin Konstantin on video: https://youtu.be/R2ay7iEKJKE
What bait to choose – rubber, which has shown itself well in practice
It is important to understand how this or that bait works, to make friends with it. This is more important than ratings, TOPs. We offer only those lures that work with us and which, in our opinion, can be effectively used without loading the pike.
Particularly effective and interesting for use without weight is floating rubber, which is available in almost all modern manufacturers of silicone lures.
TOP – 10 rubber lures that are good for unloaded pike rigs:
- Pontoon 21 Awaruna. 3.5, 4.5 . Floating ripper. Very good on spaced rigs in non-engaging installations. Uniform, wavy, shallow step. An additional irritant is the number 00-1 petal, which is suspended on the forend of the hook through a swivel.
- Imakatsu Javastick 3,4.5 . Needs no introduction. The most famous slug. Passive pike rescue, helps to get away from zero. Slow lazy postings with lots of pauses and twitches are good. When fishing among water lilies, we cast onto a leaf and slowly pull it into the water. Then we throw the wiring and with a sharp short movement to the very surface of the water. Gambling and impressive grips on javastika.
- Reins Curly Curly. 3.3, 4, 5 inches. Interesting twister. Especially good for loaded offsets. In the usual unloaded form, it flies poorly. Animation from slow equalization to active twitch dash.
- OSP Dolive Stick . Feels like one of the most “live” baits. The slug is active in the fall thanks to the ribbed notch on the body. It resembles KeitechSexy Impact in appearance and play, but incomparably stronger and more durable. Works great on rigs without load on windows, snags, grass. Active play is set by pulling / jerking / tossing in a short amplitude. Good for spaced cuts – eyelids, diverter, drop-shot. Large swimbait offset makers are used. The game of the bait is notable for rolling (turns around the longitudinal axis) even on a uniform. Not every worm or swimbait boasts this! It is worth knowing if the rolling movements are too active, or even unnecessary, then loading the offset man, for example, with solder wire, will help.
- Owner Nervous Rex . A worthy slug is a swimbait. Don’t be intimidated by the 15 cm long bait. Grass kilos are perfect for her. Equipment 6/0 offset size. A must have for unloaded rigs. It is very good for catching overgrown reservoirs with offset, for which there is a special cutout on the back. Actively plays on twitch / pauses and mine twitch. Sets wide glides just below the surface of the water.
- IMA Trilobite . A relatively small bait is a slug. The body of the bait is cut into segments, the tail is ribbed and thin. This contrast in appearance also manifests itself in the play of rubber. For pike, the working size of IMA Trilobite M is 6.4 cm. It is heavily crammed with an attractant, therefore it is often attacked during breaks. It rolls on jerks. With uniform tweaks, a little minnoshka behaves like an imitation of Walking the Dog.
- Lucky John Joko Shaker . Floating silicone. Installations are possible both on a regular offset and on a loaded offset, depending on the task. If there is an idea to fish the very surface on the active animation – the first option, if you need a vertical component in the game – load the offset gun so as to give the bait neutral buoyancy and animate it practically in one place.
- Keitech Easy Shiner 3, 3.5 and 4.5 inches . A classic, runny ripper. Works both in standard jig mounting and unloaded.
- Keitech Live Impact . Another bait from Katech is a floating slug with a fish’s tail. Very edible and catchy for passive fish. Actively tosses on jerks and tosses.
- Relax Kopyto 3, 4. Classic inedible silicone. All spinners are familiar with this bait. Works not only on standard installations, but also without loading. Especially good for water lilies. Of course, for use on unloaded installations, it is better to use an edible, since you need to allow the pike to gradually swallow the bait. But the Hoof is a classic vibric that cannot be ignored.
Do not be afraid to use large baits 3-6 inches. It is a big mistake to be limited to standard sizes.
Required tackle
A spinning rod for unloaded rubber should be as fast and resonant as possible, since fishing goes without a weight, which under normal conditions serves as a guide for the spinning player, beating everything that happens under water into his hand. Additionally, the rod must be powerful, since the fight with fish takes place in difficult conditions – the pike every now and then tries to entangle the cord by the roots and branches. Test 5-21, 10-30 grams. A length of 2.1-2.4 meters is optimal. Cord with a diameter of 0.12-0.16 mm, matched to a reel 2000-2500 according to Shimano’s classification. Do not forget about a leash of at least 20 cm, in view of the fact that the pike often misses on such an installation, which is fraught with cuts. On fishing there is no place for dogmas and rules – the one who is not afraid of experiments wins. Moreover, fishing for pike with unloaded rubber gives free rein to imagination, as in the search for a predator, where you cannot get it by the usual methods,and in the selection, rigging and feeding of the bait.
