Do you know what Mormysh is? This is the name of the small crustacean that lives in freshwater reservoirs. Fishermen also call him the hunchback, bormysh or shletsyk, but aquarists know him as gammarus.
Description
Anglers know many species of mormysh and its subspecies. So what is mormysh? This is a small shrimp-like shrimp that has fourteen pairs of legs. It appears from small eggs, which the adult individual wears on its limbs until hatching, just like ordinary crayfish.
This creature has a different color: from light yellow to brown-green. Often it can be completely colorless. Mormysh is part of the basic diet of many fish that live in fresh water. For this reason, it is one of the best baits used by fishermen. As a rule, crustaceans are more in demand in winter, when underwater residents are undernourished. However, many use this bait in the warm season.
Mormysh is distributed only in some regions of our vast country, therefore, not all fishing enthusiasts know about its origin. It is worth noting that the transportation of this crustacean in a living form is impossible, therefore all anglers can be divided into 3 categories: those who use this bait, who know firsthand about it and who are unaware of the existence of such an organism.
Do not confuse mormysh with mormyshka, because mormyshka is not a living creature, but fishing tackle in the form of a hook, which is soldered into a tin or lead pellet. Such a product, as a rule, has a shiny coating that attracts fish. Mormyshka is used both in sports and in amateur fishing. We hope that the information presented in the article will be useful to you and will allow you to use mormysh for excellent catches.
Where does he live
Who is Mormysh, we found out, now we’ll figure out where he lives. The crustacean prefers fresh and brackish water bodies with running or standing water. This organism is most common in Siberia and the Urals. It is in these regions that its extraction takes place. However, not everyone knows that Mormysh is also found in Central Russia and outside our country, only in smaller quantities, therefore only fish knows it.
The smallest mormysh is about 2-3 mm long, the average size is 5-9 mm, but there are more. In stores, as a rule, crustaceans of different sizes are sold, however, from the purchased batch you can choose the bait suitable for your hook, you just need to look carefully.
How to catch
Live Mormysh is hunted year-round. It is most difficult to catch him in the summer, as the crustacean hides in algae, under the floaters and stones, however, experienced miners easily overcome all difficulties. As a rule, in the warm season, mormysh is caught with special devices - traps. Naturally dried crustacean serves as an excellent delicacy for aquarium inhabitants. Before use, such food undergoes antimicrobial treatment. In addition, dry mormysh is included in the diet of valuable breeds of fish, which are bred in special reservoirs for industrial purposes. Manufacturers of various baits also add this component to their products.
In winter, when there is a decrease in the amount of oxygen in the water, Mormysh rises closer to the surface, under the ice itself. Thus, it can be seen with the naked eye and, accordingly, it is easy to catch. The hunchback is mined with the help of special scrapers, after making large holes in the thickness of the ice. Many cancers sell their prey to stores, and also sell it directly to the fishermen themselves, who know what Mormysh is.
Bait storage
For fishing to be successful, you need to know how to store mormysh. At home, you can use a refrigerator for this purpose. However, remember that Mormysh can only suffer serious temperature jumps twice. If you do not care for the crustacean, it may die. The optimum temperature at which Mormysh feels good is from 1 to 3 degrees above zero. The crustacean slows down its movements, it barely moves its limbs. To accumulate cold, you can use a terry towel, which is soaked in cold water and squeezed. You need to unscrew the towel carefully, otherwise increased humidity will lead to rapid damage to crustaceans.
Mormysh for fishing in the refrigerator can be stored for about two weeks. This is a fairly long time. However, how to keep the fisherman so long? To do this, it is important to purchase fresh crustaceans, which have only recently been caught. In addition, you should choose the right container - the best for these purposes is a flat, low container. In such a container, the bait will be stored in a thin layer, so the crustaceans will not crush each other, as, for example, it would be in ordinary banks. With the right choice of containers between individuals, the optimal oxygen regime will be maintained. Do not close the container tightly so that there is a free flow of fresh air.
If you need to store mormysh in large quantities, then for this it is better to use wet rags or breathing bags, which are recommended to be placed in a cool cellar. It is worth noting that you can’t mix crustaceans with a bloodworm for long storage, as these are very bad neighbors.
Cooking Mormys
As a bait, fishermen use both live mormysh and cooked. In order to cook a crustacean, a lot of time is not required. It is placed in boiling and pre-salted water (we take 2 tsp of salt per 400 ml of water) and let it boil, after which we rinse it under running water from the remaining salt and put it in a colander. Is it necessary to salt water? The fact is that in salted water, mormysh becomes more dense, which subsequently makes it easy to put it on a hook.
Sometimes it happens that the fish does not respond at all to live crustaceans and bloodworms, but the boiled mormysh is excellent food for her. In any case, you need to use the trial and error method to select the right bait. If you can’t lure the fish, try again, and in the end you will find out that it is more to your taste.
We plant the bait correctly
If you use mormysh for fishing, professionals recommend picking up a small hook made of thin wire. Clinging to him with a hard shell, the crustacean sits firmly, and it is difficult for the fish to bring him down. In order for the bait to have an appetizing look, you must adhere to the following rules:
- the hook tip should be inserted into the back of the mormysh, closer to the head;
- draw a hook through the whole body of the crustacean;
- print the tip in the tail area;
- It is important that Mormysh is in a natural position, that is, bent into an arc.
Mormysh bait
In fishing, it is important not only to choose an attractive bait, but also to prepare the appropriate bait. You can lure fish with live crustaceans, as well as cooked. However, it should be understood that the trajectory of living organisms can be unpredictable. Mormysh, for example, can sail to the side or even stay swimming under the ice instead of sinking to the bottom. For fidelity, you can mix live and cooked bait, while you can add large and small bloodworms, which will fall vertically, attracting fish under the hole.
Note that feeding from above will be preferable, since bait begins to collect future catch already at the time of its fall and subsequent ascent. And Mormysh, by the way, is that bait that is able to emerge even after a certain period of time. Anglers recommend the use of live crustaceans in bodies of water, where abundant vegetation prevails at the bottom. After all, if you use a bloodworm, it will simply fall into the grass and become invisible to the fish.
