Fishing for whitefish with lures: gobblers or diggers?

For maximum efficiency, you need to adapt your fishing to the habits of whitefish. Two approaches can be used: on the surface for "gobbling" fish, or on the opposite, on the bottom, for "digging" fish.

The gobblers

Gobblers are fish that will direct their feeding towards the surface, especially on sunny days. They "gobble up" insects, plants, larvae, fruit and other terrestrial insects that sometimes move unwillingly to the surface. These fish are often easy to spot. You can either see them swimming just below the surface in search of food, or you can notice the waves and circles that betray their presence.

Chevesne qui s'est laissé tenter par une imitation de mûre.
Chevesne, tempted by an imitation blackberry.

Ideally, you should spend some time observing them, noting their "rounds" and seeing what they feed on: fruit that falls into the water, small insects on the surface, bread... This observation time allows you to adjust the lure to the whitefish's menu. And this is all the more important as the fish will be more reactive to what they directly assimilate as food!

L'ide mélanote, un autre cyprinidé répondant très bien aux leurres. © Maxime Lochon
The ide mélanote, another cyprinid that responds very well to lures. maxime Lochon

Once you've identified the lure that best matches the cyprin's diet, all that's left to do is present it well. A fine nylon line (nylon is buoyant) allows you to cast far and accurately, without forcing the action. Too abrupt a movement will scare off these wary fish, which swim close to the surface. Ideally, cast slightly in front of the fish. If the fish moves, it will naturally move towards the lure and notice it. Even better if a slight current gently and naturally brings the lure, on a plateau, towards the fish. A simple little soft lure (Woodlouse, Magic Mayfly...) floating on a single hook will do the trick!

The diggers

Digging fish are trickier to spot. They tend to swim close to the bottom and substrate. Although they are not averse to easy food on the surface... They often have barbels (like barbel, carp, tench...) which they use to find their food.

Carpe commune capturée sur une imitation de ver.
Common carp caught on an imitation worm.

As with gobbling fish, the ideal situation is to find fish feeding. Clouds of sediment or dust betray their presence when they stir the bottom. Lures are no longer shaped like fruit or terrestrial insects, but rather like worms, aquatic larvae, small fish or crayfish... To reach the bottom quickly and accurately, a jig head is ideal. Depending on the bottom configuration, you may opt for a Texas hook.

Jolie tanche séduite par une imitation de larve présentée sur le substrat.
Pretty tench seduced by an imitation larva presented on the substrate.

Above all, we play cleverly on the olfactory aspect of the lures, which the barbels of our digging fish detect very easily.

Fluorocarbon, which flows well and is more abrasion-resistant than nylon, is ideal for optimizing the line.

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