Passengers of trains running along Lake Baikal observe a curious picture in winter. On the ice shell that covers the waters of the lake, a lot of people are lying flat, face down, dressed in warm overalls and jackets with hoods. Sometimes one of them jumps up, as if coming to life and starts waving his arms. These are ice fishermen. Some of them were lucky, and the Baikal omul was hooked - a wonderful fish from the Salmon family, which has been part of the traditional cuisine of Siberians from time immemorial. Anglers lie on the ice because they observe what events are happening under it. Baikal water is so transparent that it allows you to view the most hidden depths of the lake and observe the life of its inhabitants.
Features of winter fishing
Men lying on ice as transparent as glass came not only from neighboring places, but also from various regions of the country, and even from abroad. Avid anglers know all the features of winter fishing on Baikal. They know in which reserve the Baikal omul will be availablefor fishing and where you can buy a ticket to it. Having received permission to fish, they lie on their stomachs for hours, spreading cardboard or tarpaulin under them, and hold tackle in their hands. Seeing a fish in the water column, they begin to shake the line so that the bait attracts its attention. As soon as the Baikal omul gets on the hook, the angler jumps up and, quickly moving his hands, pulls the line with the fish onto the ice. The most dexterous break through the ice not one, but two wide holes at once and set two fishing rods in them. Moreover, each of them has a different length of fishing line, designed to ensure that the bait is not at the same depth. When biting on one of the fishing rods, a successful angler quickly puts aside the other. He does this very quickly and dexterously, trying so that their fishing lines do not get tangled with each other. Then he quickly starts to get the omul deceived by artificial flies.
Fishing curiosities
Curious stories happen to anglers who find it difficult to keep watch at the holes for hours. Having poured plenty of bait, they leave a lot of fishing rods and go to warm themselves in the hut in the hope that the omul will catch itself. It happens that one of the fish, hitting the hook, begins to resist and entangles all neighboring fishing lines with each other. Then she swims away, taking all the fishing rods with her.
Experienced anglers, in order not to lose their gear forever, strongly attach them to the ice, hoping that the Baikal omul caught on the hook will not drag them under the ice anymore. Returning, although they find fishing rods on the spot, but the fishing lines are inwater are entangled in a huge lump. This happened because during their absence, a fish caught on one hook. Trying to free herself, she began to walk in circles and grab all the fishing lines in neighboring holes. It takes a lot of time for men to unravel them. But they patiently stand in the Siberian frost and untie this ball in order to find out exactly which of them was lucky to catch this fish.
Ukha from omul on ice
Another good reason that increases the activity of anglers on ice is the case when a large individual weighing 5-7 kg gets on the hook. It is difficult to pull a giant hanging on a thin line from the water. Despite the fact that the Baikal omul caught on the hook never resists and does not fight, but simply hangs, it is impossible to pull it out without the help of neighbors. Thin line may break. Therefore, those who pick up valuable cargo and those who comment on the event run to the rescue. From the caught fish, fish soup is cooked here on ice. Open the belly, gut it. They are cut into pieces along with the scales, placed in a cast iron pot, poured with the purest Baikal water scooped straight from the hole, spices are added and boiled over a blowtorch. As a result of cooking, the scales settle to the bottom, and the healing broth and delicious meat warm the frozen men.
Autumn spawning
Unlike other whitefish races that live in the Arctic Ocean and come out only to spawn in river waters, the Baikal omul fish never leaves fresh waters. In autumn, she also rises into the riversthree streams. But after spawning, it comes back.
- Angara omul swims in the upper reaches of the Angara, enters Kichera and Barguzin.
- Selenga and embassy subspecies rise in the rivers of the east coast. They are the largest and most delicious.
- Another population spawns in Chivyrkui waters.
The fish will stay in the rivers until freezing, and returning to Baikal, it will descend to a depth of more than three hundred meters, where it will feed on crustaceans and juveniles, and rest in the warmest water layers. In the depths of the flock spread throughout Baikal. The fish is beautiful in appearance and very tasty. Some large whitefish reach a weight of 7 kg. Intensive commercial fishing in recent years has significantly reduced their populations, so today the catch is strictly regulated. With the onset of spring, the fish rise from the depths and enter the shallow water.
Wise nature
If in winter the Baikal omul itself goes into the depths, then in summer in calm weather it rises to the sun to get its energy. His flocks are for a long time at the very surface of the water in shallow water. This is the period when the Baikal omul is most vulnerable; the photo attached to this article demonstrates how easy it is to catch him with a bait at this time. It's amazing how carefully nature treats him. After all, the fish “sunbathing” in the sun could become easy prey for many seagulls living in these places. But that doesn't happen. Some higher power raises the birds from the surface of the water and sends them in whole flocks far, far beyond the forests to the steppes scorched by the sun. Here, thousands of white birds walk on the scorched earth, screaming loudly and pecking it with hooked beaks, looking for half-dead grasshoppers, while the tasty omul frolics in the water. At this time, only weak, sick gulls remain on Baikal, which do not have the strength to fly. Only they can gain strength by eating valuable fish from the Salmon family.
Traditional food of indigenous Siberians
Every native Siberian highly appreciates the taste and nutritional properties of the Baikal omul. The recipes for its preparation are simple and have preserved the tradition of the ancestors, who loved to feast on sliced \u200b\u200bor or splitting in the winter. Dishes differ from each other only in the way they are processed. For planing, fish frozen on ice is cut with a knife right on the table, and for splitting it is taken out into the yard, put on a stump and beaten with a log until the iced fish falls into pieces.
