Do-it-yourself feeder for winter fishing, how to make it, principle of operation

Lure

The main goal of proper bait is to collect fish at the fishing point and keep it there throughout the fishing period. This can be achieved by taking into account:

depth at the fishing site;
the strength and direction of the current;
the type of fish you plan to catch.

To catch perch or ruffe in shallow water, it is enough to periodically throw small pinches of bloodworms into the hole. It will attract fish with its smell, and the constant appearance of a new portion will not allow it to go to another place.

At great depths, the same effect is achieved using micro-feeders on dump trucks. But in this case, any large fish can clear the entire bait table in one go, and at the same time disperse the stripers.

At depth, bream, roach, bluegill, rudd and other types of white fish are most often caught. If there is no current at the fishing point, the bait is lowered to the bottom by a dump truck directly into the working hole. If there is a current, feeding is done through a hole drilled a little higher upstream.

After formation, the bait balls must be kept in the cold for several minutes. After this, they will erode to the bottom a little slower, gradually releasing their nutritional components.

The bait itself can be bought in specialized stores and mixed directly on the pond, adding attractants. But you can cook it yourself. But summer complementary feeding options do not always give the desired result in winter. In some cases, a popular base of cereals such as rolled oats, millet or pearl barley can turn into a paste-like mass in cold standing water. Such food will only scare the fish away from the point.

In winter, groundbait with the addition of animal components works well. Chopped worm, food bloodworm or canned maggot. This is especially true when the same baits are used as bait. When looking for pieces of a worm or small bloodworms at the bottom, the fish will not miss a delicious bunch of the same delicacy placed on a hook.

When fishing for roach in mid-water, it is better to form a bait pole that will attract fish. This can be done using the same dump truck feeder. In this case, not dense balls, but crumbly bait are placed in the feeder. The feeder does not open at the very bottom, but just above the horizon, where the fish is standing at that moment.

The composition of the bait mixture must be selected depending on the type of fish. Bream responds well to semolina and corn. Roach - into pieces of shrimp. Rudd - for pearl barley, corn and breadcrumbs. The bluenette simply loves rolled oats. But all of them will not swim past bloodworms, maggots, dung worms or bark beetle larvae. Even carp or carp can respond to well-prepared and correctly delivered bait.

Precise feeding using a dump truck feeder can significantly increase your catch and provide an enjoyable winter fishing experience.

When are automatic feeders needed?

Devices of this kind are needed by people who are constantly away from home. If the owner of the aquarium is too busy at work, constantly travels on business trips or is not at home for other reasons, then he should purchase the product. The size of the feeder in this case depends on how often it is planned to be filled with new food.

Also, automatic feeders are necessary for enthusiastic people who have several aquariums. Feeding fish can take a very long time. Having installed the devices, you just need to fill them with fresh food in time.

Automatic feeders are also useful in specialized centers, offices, and stores. If there are aquariums in the office, then feeding the fish regularly can become a problem. A special device will be very helpful in a difficult situation.

Winter feeding technique

The best option among universal baits is a small live bloodworm. It is quite popular among fishermen as it can be used for different types of fish. Most often, they are used to feed perch and ruff. When catching “white” fish species, it is better to combine bloodworms with bait from plants and herbs.

The main nuances - in stagnant water, the bait should be more crumbly, and if it is, then the bait should have more mass.

Fishing on the current

When fishing in a current, even if it is not very strong, you need to take into account that the bloodworm is not very massive, so it can easily be carried away by the current. To prevent this effect, motes must be mixed with river sand and delivered to the bottom of the reservoir using a feeder. In this case, the bloodworm will not be carried away even by a very strong current. In some cases, it is better to make a hole for complementary feeding at the beginning of the flow. In this case, the effectiveness of the bait will increase slightly.
There is one specific feature when feeding “white” fish. In order for the bait to function correctly, it must lie on the bottom of the reservoir immediately after leaving the feeder. This can be achieved by weighting the bait. You need to form a large lump of bait, put it in the feeder and open it at the very bottom. The lump is made so that the lump of bait immediately sinks and does not float up. The second effect often occurs when mixing in cold weather, when the bait freezes and absorbs water very poorly.

At great depth

If there is no current, then the bait can be lowered directly into the hole, but at great depths this is only effective when the fish are found above the bottom, since the bait will be scattered gradually with the movement of the feeder. In order to prevent this, you can make balls from complementary food and water from the reservoir and lower them into the hole.

Such lumps sink to the bottom of the reservoir quickly, but deviate slightly from the trajectory and move away from the hole. It is enough to fashion only two or three such lumps of bait, not very tightly, so that when moving they gradually collapse, forming a cloudy cloud in the water column.

The most effective method at great depths is to use a feeder. Since in this case, the bait is placed exactly at the casting point and all the fish are concentrated there. You need to open the feeder at a distance of at least one and a half to two meters from the bottom.

During the second feeding, the feeder should be opened a little further from the bottom than the first time, otherwise the fish will bite less willingly. Bloodworms should only be used when using a feeder.

In shallow water

At shallow depths, it is best to use the “pillar” bait technique, throwing the bait in powder form directly into the hole or squeezing it a little into a lump so that it dissolves immediately when it hits the water. With this approach, the smell from the bait dissolves and spreads very quickly, and the cloudy spot immediately attracts fish. To do this, the bait used should not be very heavy.

In this method, bloodworms are used directly “by hand”, or by opening the feeder directly under the ice. During the spring thaw, bloodworms and “white” bait can be scattered right next to the hole in a small mound. In this case, during any of the postings, a small amount of bait is thrown into the hole. With this approach, the fish rises for such bait close to the ice.

This article will help novice fishermen in proper fishing in winter. Namely, in the manufacture of different variations of feeders and their proper use. Happy fishing and good catch, beginner fishermen!

How to choose the best place to feed fish in a pond

A place for feeding fish is chosen in the coastal zone, at a depth of 60-80 cm. An inclined section of the coast, with a depth difference of 30 cm to a meter, is considered ideal for a fish dining room, because it constantly cleans itself of food residues and fish excrement thanks to daily circulation water in the pond. When choosing a place for feeding, you should remember that it should be well lit and warmed by the sun, and if it is a flowing pond, then closer to the drain.

Which form is better

The feeder feeder can be made in various geometric shapes, the main requirement is the possibility of a useful volume that can accommodate the amount of complementary food required for the conditions of introduction, the provision of aerodynamic qualities that allow you to feed the product over a long distance without any extra effort, and a shape that provides stability when the accessory is at the bottom of the reservoir with certain current forces. It is difficult to unequivocally answer the question about the best form of adaptation, since this parameter directly depends on the structure and type of the reservoir and its bottom, as well as the activity of the fish.

Products in the form of a parallelepiped and a cylinder are considered classic forms, but products in the form of a pyramid, cone, spherical shapes and a ball are also used. The advantages of cylindrical types are the speed of filling the accessory with a mixture of any fraction and high aerodynamic properties, but such forms are unstable in currents and are subject to rolling, which often frightens cautious fish approaching the bait. Rectangular types are more difficult to fill with bait, and their aerodynamics are much inferior to a cylinder, but they are much more stable on all types of soil and look more natural than other geometric shapes. The feeder method and similar products are natural in appearance, but due to their design features they do not allow delivering bulk mixtures to the fishing point.

Based on these considerations, we can confidently say that there is a variety of types of feeders, which allows you to cover any fishing conditions with one or another advantage in a certain current situation.

Subtleties of choice

How to choose an automatic feeder? It all depends on the needs of the aquarium owner. Of course, there are basic recommendations. For example, you should not take a very cheap product of questionable quality from an unknown manufacturer. Companies that produce good products of this kind are quite well known. A poor quality feeder may break while the aquarium owner is on a business trip.

When purchasing, you should pay attention to how convenient it is to use the feeder and how it is installed. It is desirable that the product can be mounted in the far corner opposite the filtration system and compressors

It is recommended to take models with a rotating hopper that is ventilated. If air enters the hopper, the feed remains dry and fresh. Modern models of feeders also have a digital display and control unit. You can see all the data on the display. You can also choose the portion size and frequency of feeding.

We would like to thank the Nemo company for this article.

DIY winter feeder

For the convenience of making a winter feeder with your own hands from thin cardboard, we will cut out a template, for now in the form of a closed circle. By cutting off part of the circle towards the center, we obtain a cardboard imitation of the blank for the side wall of a winter feeder.

The width of the conical base of the bait device is up to your taste, but I can give you a hint. If we take half a circle as a sector, then the diameter of the conical base of the finished winter feeder will be equal to its height. The device turns out to be somewhat wide.

Once, for winter fishing on the last ice on the lakes, I needed to make three similar feeders with my own hands - for myself and a couple of friends, one of whom turned a wooden cone on a machine to bend the side wall of the fishing device. Therefore, I boldly cut the round sheet of tin into three equal parts, shown in the drawing on the right.

Read: Which hooks are best to choose for carp fishing?

Before starting to make a tin feeder, you can cut the cardboard sector wider, and then, if necessary, trim it. After this, roll the cardboard into a cone and secure the joint in 3-4 places with glue.

If you are satisfied with the dimensions of the cone, then we will begin making a feeder from sheet metal with our own hands, but, having cut out a sector of the required width, first drill (punch through a nail) small round holes in the metal, as in my drawing.

Although I foresee some difficulties for some fishermen with the bending of the tin side wall of the winter feeder into a cone. They can glue the layout in the form of a tetrahedral pyramid. But then, to make the side walls of a homemade winter feeder, you will need to cut out a sector about half the size of a circle.

Making your own side wall of the feeder

To make your own ice fishing feeder for one person, all you need is the tin of the side wall of an instant coffee can. If some difficulties arise with bending the metal, they can be significantly reduced if you anneal the tin.

Then we bend the thin-rolled metal according to the recommendations suggested above, not forgetting to first cut out the top of the sector, shown in the drawing with a black line. Again, we solder the joint of the side wall of the winter homemade feeder with our own hands and place the base of the device on a flat surface.

Surely, you will notice a gap under the cone of the feeder, which can be removed with sandpaper laid on a flat plane.

Next, we solder a loop of millimeter wire into the hole at the top of the cone. At this point, the manufacture of the side wall of the feeder for winter fishing can be considered complete.

Winter feeder cover

Along the perimeter of the base (round or square) from tin, cut out the lid of the feeder for winter fishing, taking into account the sides three to four millimeters wide and the protrusion of the bracket for tying an elastic band. Level the plane of the lid with a mallet.

You can make a hinge (only a narrow one) according to the recommendations disclosed in the article: Homemade piano hinge for a butterfly. Then solder the hinge to the lid and side wall of the feeder. Don’t forget to solder a loop into the top of the cone to tie the feeder to the fishing line for winter fishing.

Feeder lid swivel joint

By the way, a very simple, self-made hinged connection between the lid and the side wall of the feeder will look like this.

Along the edge of the lid opposite the place where the elastic is attached, two holes are drilled (punched) almost next to each other.

The same two holes at the same distance from each other are drilled at the bottom of the base. Then the top of the feeder and its lid are connected through these holes by winding or homemade copper soldered rings.

Even such a structurally simple hinge joint will be quite reliable in connecting the lid and one of the side walls of a winter fishing feeder.

Why are there holes in the feeder?

Regarding the side holes in the feeder. They must be drilled without fail. Otherwise, with a tightly fitted lid in real winter fishing conditions, the feeder simply cannot be drowned.

Our fishing feeder can sink only after it is filled with water to a certain volume, of course, if it is not filled with fragments of sand-lime brick as food.

In addition, when lifting the fishing feeder shown in the picture, streams of water from the surrounding water space will rush into the holes. They will create additional pressure on the lid of the feeder with the existing one. After which it has no choice but to open slightly and relieve the water pressure in the cavity of the cone, throwing off part of the bait along with the water.

By controlling the speed at which the winter feeder rises, we can sprinkle the feed not all at once, but in parts, in doses. This is the main function of the rubber shock absorber on this feeder.

Mechanism of action of the automatic feeder

In order for the device to operate, you must do the following:

Pour food into a special container.
If there is a program that sets the dosage of food, then set the required amount of food.
Run the program for 1 or 2 feedings a day.
Set a timer.
Attach the device to the aquarium and plug it into the network. Watch the feeder review in this video:

If the device operates on batteries, you must check their working condition before use. Most aquarists recommend using rechargeable batteries; they last longer and retain their power evenly.

It is mandatory to carry out hygienic cleaning of this device.

Installations with spring feeders

Each angler has his own preferences when choosing a mounting design for fishing with springs, and there are really a lot of options. We will offer the most catchy rigs for catching carp or crucian carp, working on our reservoirs.

It must be said right away that the number of leashes with hooks is selected depending on the type of bottom in the reservoir, the baits used and the angler’s own preferences. A rig with 2-3 hooks does not always work better than one, but the psychological factor is present and it seems that a multi-hook rig provides a better chance of getting a bite.

Therefore, the easiest way is to have in stock rigs with different numbers of hooks and already on the pond decide which ones “work” best. To make a multi-hook mounting with a spring you will need:

a piece of fishing line 50 cm, for tying installation;
2 swivels;
float stops;
loaded feeder spring;
2-3 leashes with hooks.

How to do the installation:

a swivel is tied to one of the ends of the fishing line;
a stopper is attached to the fishing line and pulled to the swivel assembly;
then put on the feeder;
At a distance of 20 cm from the swivel, another limiting float stop is placed;
a second swivel is tied at a distance of 25 cm from the swivel;
a loop is made at the free end of the fishing line to connect to the main fishing line;
Leashes are tied to the swivels.

If more than 2 hooks are used, then instead of the lower swivel, a rocker arm is knitted under two hooks. A stopper is placed between the spring and the lower swivel because otherwise, when fishing, the spring will hit the swivel assembly and, in the end, break the tackle.

The top leash is tied to the swivel, and not directly to the main line, so that it does not twist and has free movement. The length of the leash varies depending on the attachment used; if the attachment is floating, then the length of the leash is 3–5 cm, and it is knitted from soft leash material.

For sinking baits, leashes 10-15 cm long are used. The hook size is selected according to the bait from 6 to 12 numbers according to the European classification. This installation is used with rods for carp fishing, but they are also equipped with casting rods and even feeder rods.

Sketch

Flash the controller with a sketch via Arduino IDE.

fish-fider.ino // library for working with I²C #include // library for working with a real-time clock #include "TroykaRTC.h" // library for working with servos #include // library for working with a display #include // library for working with buttons #include “TroykaButton.h” // pin with a servo drive #define SERVO_PIN 11 // pins to which the buttons are connected #define BUTTON_PIN_1 0 #define BUTTON_PIN_2 1 #define BUTTON_PIN_3 4 #define BUTTON_PIN_4 5 // blocking period for turning on food supply in ms #define TIME_BLOCK 60000 // create an object for working with the real-time clock RTC clock; // create an object to control the servo drive Servo myservo; // create an object of the QuadDisplay class and pass the pin number to CS QuadDisplay qd(10); // create an object to work with the button TroykaButton button1(BUTTON_PIN_1); TroykaButton button2(BUTTON_PIN_2); TroykaButton button3(BUTTON_PIN_3); TroykaButton button4(BUTTON_PIN_4); // variables for storing feeding time // default feeding time is “12:30” int hourAlarm = 12; int minuteAlarm = 30; // feeder state (current time / setting feeding time) bool state = true; // variable to store the current time unsigned long ms = ; void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); // initializing the display qd.begin(); // initializing the clock clock.begin(); // method for setting the time and date manually in the module // clock.set(10,25,45,27,07,2005,THURSDAY); // method for setting the time and date automatically during compilation clock.set(__TIMESTAMP__); // initialization of buttons button1.begin(); button2.begin(); button3.begin(); button4.begin(); // remember the current time ms = millis(); } void loop() { // reading data from buttons button1.read(); button2.read(); button3.read(); button4.read(); // request data from the clock clock.read(); // read the hours and minutes into variables int hour = clock.getHour(); int minute = clock.getMinute(); // if button “1” is held down for a long time if (button1.isHold()) { // change the state of the feeder state = !state; // depending on the current state of the feeder if (!state) { qd.displayDigits(QD_F, QD_O, QD_O, QD_d); } else { qd.displayDigits(QD_t, QD_I, QD_S, QD_H); } // wait a couple of seconds delay(2000); } // depending on the current operating mode of the feeder // “current time / feeding time” // if the mode is “current time” if (state) { // depending on the state of the buttons // increase / decrease the hours and minutes if (button1 .justReleased()) { Serial.println("1"); clock.setHour(hour + 1); } else if (button2.justReleased()) { Serial.println("2"); clock.setHour(hour - 1); } else if (button3.justReleased()) { Serial.println("3"); clock.setMinute(minute - 1); } else if (button4.justReleased()) { Serial.println("4"); clock.setMinute(minute + 1); } // display the time qd.displayScore(hour, minute, true); } else { // if the mode is “feeding time” // depending on the state of the buttons // increase / decrease the hours and minutes if (button1.justReleased()) { Serial.println(“5”); hourAlarm++; } else if (button2.justReleased()) { Serial.println("6"); hourAlarm—; } else if (button3.justReleased()) { Serial.println("7"); minuteAlarm—; } else if (button4.justReleased()) { Serial.println("8"); minuteAlarm++; } parsingFoodTime(); // display feeding time qd.displayScore(hourAlarm, minuteAlarm); } // if it's time to feed if (hour == hourAlarm && minute == minuteAlarm && millis() - ms > TIME_BLOCK) { Serial.println("Go Feed"); // enable food feed goFeed(); // remember the current time ms = millis(); } } // function for turning on the servo drive void goFeed() { // connect the servo drive myservo.attach(SERVO_PIN); for (int i = ; i 10; i++){ myservo.write(50); delay(200); myservo.write(80); delay(200); } } // time parsing function void parsingFoodTime() { if (hourAlarm > 23) { hourAlarm = ; } else if (hourAlarm) { hourAlarm = 23; } if (minuteAlarm > 59) { minuteAlarm = ; } else if (minuteAlarm) { minuteAlarm = 59; } }

Manufacturing process

Self-opening winter feeder at the bottom

This design of a winter feeder for feeding fish is very easy to implement and facilitates the automatic opening of the feeder near the bottom, without tugging on its cable, which will avoid spooking the fish and not creating turbidity in the reservoir.

When the weight reaches the bottom of the reservoir, the lid of the feeder opens and the bait spills out to the bottom. In this case, you do not need to jerk the feeder, which does not frighten cautious fish so much; this is most important in the dead of winter and will not create much turbidity in the water column.

It is also easier to move with such a charged feeder, since there is no fear that the bait will spill out onto the ground.

The manufacturing principle is as follows:

We take a cable, the length of which we select based on the depth at which you need to empty the feeder
We tie its end to the lid, on the opposite side of the hinge. The lid itself should not be secured, otherwise the feeder will not work.
We pass the cable first through the two upper loops, and then through one on the hinge side
We tie the weight
Thus, the lid of the feeder will always be closed, but when the weight reaches the bottom, the impact on it will stop and it will open freely.

Micro feeder with magnetic latch

This hand-made microfeeder is suitable for use in winter and is not difficult to make.

To make it we will need:

A syringe for twenty cubes (if desired, you can take even more) A centering washer made of steel, the diameter of which is eighteen millimeters
Lead bottom for syringe size
Magnet with a diameter of six millimeters (suitable for a phone earphone)
Epoxy plasticine (epoxyline). Epoxylin “Moment” is best suited.

The weight of such a feeder is no more than twenty grams; it sinks immediately when immersed in a pond. The opening force of the feeder is ≈ 50 grams, it is changed using a non-magnetic gasket located on the side of the magnet.

Most often, one layer of electrical tape is enough for this. The stopper prevents the lid from opening during sudden immersion in water; it is adjusted once during manufacture; it does not need to be moved during use.

This feeder quickly fills with water, for this it needs about 30-40 centimeters in free fall to a depth. When moving in the water column, it does not open spontaneously, but this can be easily achieved with a little shaking.

Read Inflatable chairs for PVC boats

There can be many variations with magnets, but this type of feeder is as convenient as possible for the fisherman. When storing it, a hand-made reel is placed inside the feeder so as not to lose it during movement.

Installation of the structure

Installing homemade feeders is quick and easy. If you use the option with a cut-off barrel, then just tie a rope, pour in the food and lower it to the bottom. Tie the end of the twine to the bridge/tree. When the fish empty the container, it will float to the top.

When using a structure that floats on the surface, it is also necessary to fix the feeder and lower it into the water. After this, scatter the food over the surface of the surface. This way, the food will always be in one place and will not pollute the pond.

Features of fishing with a feeder on the current

The feeder used in strong currents not only has a number of features in the assembly of equipment, but is also characterized by a unique fishing technique and installation. But before we begin to consider these factors affecting the comfort and efficiency of fishing, the angler should be aware of the reasons that force the use of changes and deviations from the classic feeder equipment.

Current equipment includes feeders with increased masses that help stabilize the installation on the bottom. But not only excessive weight affects the quality of fishing, the shape is also considered an important criterion. In shape, a well-chosen feeder, due to the large areas of contact with the soil, is not subject to drift by the current and clearly keeps the feeding point in working order, holding the fish in the right place. An important element of equipment is the main cord, namely its thickness. In currents, they try to use threads that are as small in diameter as possible, the result of which is considered to be a decrease in flow resistance.

At the same time, the tip must withstand the high masses of the thrown feeders. Carbon fiber material fits these parameters well. The rods themselves are chosen from 3.5 to 4.5 meters in length, which indicates the long-range and reliability of the gear used in difficult fishing conditions. Speaking of reels, fishing practice shows the rationality of using middle-class spinning rods in feeder sets, ranging in size from 3000–4000 units and preferably with a baitrunner, which allows you to leave the tackle without control and supervision, even for a long period of time. The length of the leash depends on the type of fish caught and does not have specific recommendations for fishing currents; it is selected during the fishing session based on the activity of the trophy.

LCD Display Digital Aquarium Automatic Feeder

Programmable aquarium fish feeder with LCD display. Up to 4 meals per day.

Programmable: The AquaBlue timer allows you to set up to four automatic feedings per day. You can program it to feed at any hour of the day or night and have it deliver either single, double or triple feedings. At the same time, you can also feed by hand and experience the pleasure of feeding.

Two different fixed ways: The feeder has 2 installation methods for you to choose. One is to secure the feeder to the tank wall using a holder. Another way is to stick the feeder with a double-sided sticker on the tank lid.

Moisture Prevent Design: Moisture-proof Hopper keeps fish food dry water and won't get wet or clog. It holds most types of food, including flakes, granules or crumbs.

Easy to Add Food: When adding fish at the top of the feeder, do not remove the food can, so you can easily increase or decrease the amount of food distributed. Due to the 360 degree rotation of the digital fish feeder pedestal, you can rotate it to a satisfactory position after it is installed.

Large Food Capacity: 200ml capacity, its large size holds enough food to preserve fish oil while you are away. The feed hatch door is fully adjustable, allowing you to decide how much food is distributed with each meal.

Price: 1,460.13 - 1,659.32 rubles.

Feeders

Classic English bottom tackle is also used for catching carp, especially small fish weighing 2-3 kilograms. A sensitive fishing rod will allow you to fully enjoy fishing, unlike carp fishing forms, on which such a catch is practically not felt. Feeder feeders are quite simple to make, you can fit a lot of them in a backpack, they provide feeding at the right point, so you can save a little on this consumable material.

Curlers as a manufacturing material

There is a widespread belief that the first feeder options were made from them. The manufacturing procedure is extremely simple, the same winter automatic feeder is much more complicated:

Trim the curlers to a suitable length.
The load is made of lead plates, which are crimped with pliers for fastening to the body and, if desired, additionally glued (epoxy resin works well).
A fishing line mount is made from wire.

Important! To prevent the line from twisting, it is worth adding a swivel to the loop. After painting them in a camouflage (usually black or green) color, homemade feeders are ready for carp fishing

After painting them in a camouflage (usually black or green) color, homemade feeders are ready for carp fishing.

From construction mesh

Do-it-yourself fishing gear for carp is impossible without good feeders. With proper skill, finished products from construction mesh will be almost the same as those manufactured at the factory. A simple fishing recipe for creating feeders is as follows:

From a galvanized steel mesh with cells 6x6 or smaller, you need to cut a workpiece of the required size.
Give the future feeder the required shape.
Secure with rivets or solder the body to a pre-prepared strip of lead, which serves as a sinker (you can solder a swivel to attach the main fishing line).

From a piece of plastic bottle

The cheapest option, given the availability of materials. The step-by-step sequence of making such a feeder is as follows:

You need to cut a rectangular piece from the bottle that matches the dimensions of the future feeder. In this case, it is better to take transparent options - the painted ones warp more, become deformed and emit an extremely unpleasant odor when the holes are melted.
Give the desired shape using paper clips (a regular stapler).
Pour the required amount of lead into a pre-prepared plaster mold. Drill holes in the resulting workpiece - two for rivets, and one for the winding ring.
A riveter is used to install rivets that secure the body of the feeder to the sinker. After making holes and painting, the product is ready for fishing.

Important! The number and diameter of the holes changes the depth where the bait will be washed out. The more there are, the closer to the surface of the water this will happen.

And vice versa, from a closed feeder the bait will be washed directly to the bottom of the reservoir. For carp fishing, the latter option is preferable.

What is better: buy or make it yourself?

Many fishermen do not make their own feeders or other fishing accessories. They buy them in fishing stores. At the same time, you should always remember that a feeder is a consumable item and you lose quite a lot of them during fishing. It’s especially a pity if money was paid for it. If it is made from scrap materials and costs “a penny,” then you wouldn’t mind losing such a feeder, especially since you can make several in its place.

Homemade feeder for long casting

Long-range accessories are prepared according to the first or second principle in a purely cylindrical shape, which has great aerodynamic properties. Loading with a lead plate of a formed shape is not carried out; for this purpose, a rigid wire structure of three or four mustaches 2.5-3 cm long is installed at one of the ends of the cylinder, to which a lead weight cast in the form of a bullet is attached. The wire whiskers are attached to the mesh, soldered with tin solder. In the bullet itself, even when casting metal into the shell of the casting mold, antennae of the required size are inserted in advance, introducing them directly into the molten metal.

The fastening element, in the form of a winding ring with a swivel, is placed at the end of the workpiece opposite the bullet. Due to the center of gravity concentrated at a certain point, the bullet feeder for the feeder has a high degree of aerodynamic characteristics, which allows the tool to fly over particularly long distances, sometimes covering distances of more than a hundred meters.

Metal feeder for feeder

Homemade feeder feeders made of metal mesh are also common in fishing. For the most part, accessories are made of parallelepiped geometry with open or closed ends. To produce such a homemade product, you will need to purchase a metal mesh and preferably a galvanized version with a cell no larger than 5x5 mm. To make a dozen products you will need no more than one square meter of mesh fabric.

Weights, as in the previous version, are used from a set of lead plates as needed for the conditions of the reservoir. From a canvas cut with metal scissors, a shape of the required size is formed by bending the sides of the figure using a mallet. The connection point is soldered with tin or fastened with a wire broach. The lead plate, processed over the area of one of the faces of the figure, is attached through a bolted connection and a spacer washer to the mesh base. A hole is formed on the plate for the fastening ring.

If necessary, the ends are sewn up with a mesh with a smaller cell or a solid sheet of tin. Burrs are ground along the edges of the mesh, preventing all kinds of tangling of the product with the cord, while eliminating its undercuts and deformations. The filed structure is ready for use in strong currents.

Brief overview of commercial samples

Like all other aquarium accessories, automatic feeders from various manufacturers are quite widely represented in the retail chain. They vary in size, container capacity, design and, of course, price. Moreover, the cost depends mainly on the degree of automation: the more electronics there are in the feeder, the more expensive it is.

Model Eheim TWIN

The German company Eheim produces expensive, luxury equipment for aquariums, and the samples of automatic fish feeders presented by this company are no exception.

Has 2 feed compartments with a total capacity of 160 ml. Each compartment operates independently, serving different types of food at different times. However, you can program the feeding process in any way you like.

To prevent the formation of product lumps due to moisture, the device is equipped with a mini-fan that automatically dries the food in the compartments.

The model is powered by 4 AA batteries, which are included in the delivery set; their resource is enough for about 4 months of work. Of course, the price of Eheim TWIN is not small - about 7 thousand rubles for a 600-gram device.

Hagen

Another German company, Hagen, has taken the path of reducing the size of its equipment.

Thus, the electronic model Hagen Nutramatix weighs only 140 g, and its hopper holds much less feed - only 14 g.

This sample is well suited for feeding fry, since it can deliver doses of even the smallest dry food 2 times a day at a programmed time. The device runs on 2 batteries.

Juwel

A budget version of automatic feeders is offered by the company Juwel (Germany).

The drum-type model weighs 300 g, runs on 2 batteries, does not require labor-intensive maintenance and provides twice the feed per day.

You can install the device anywhere, the main thing is to cut a corresponding hole in the lid of the aquarium.

The volume of the hopper for this sample is 100 g, and many aquarists believe that this device is almost ideal in conditions of long-term absence.

FERPLAST CHEF

The Italians are not lagging behind German manufacturers.

The FERPLAST CHEF automatic feeder (screw type) accurately doses food, can serve it 3 times a day, protects food from humid air and operates for quite a long time on 2 batteries.

In short, the variety of branded automatic fish feeders allows you to choose exactly the option that is needed at a given time. But you can make this device yourself.

BOTTOM FILTER FOR AQUARIUM - REVIEW DESCRIPTION PHOTO VIDEO.

SIPHON FOR AQUARIUM WITH YOUR OWN HANDS - DESCRIPTION REVIEW PHOTO VIDEO.

PH IN THE AQUARIUM - PHOTO VIDEO DESCRIPTION REVIEW.

Parameters of fishing feeders

The function of bottom feeders is to deliver food to the fishing point. This takes into account the casting distance, the current at the fishing spot, and the test of the rod. Since it is impossible to put all the properties into one product, different types are produced. The main parameters are as follows:

volume;
weight;
form;
material (plastic, metal);
type: closed, open, feeding;
classical, flat method.

Depending on the fishing conditions, the angler chooses one or another modification. For example, fishing is carried out on a standing reservoir with a soft bottom. In this situation, the flat method is suitable, which will not bury itself in the mud when falling. Then the food will remain on the bottom surface.

The situation is absolutely the opposite when you have to fish on a river with a fast current. Here you will need not just heavy feeders, but ones that cling to the bottom. That is, there is a combination of two parameters - weight and shape. Here is an example of such a solution.

With spikes for fishing in the current

Feeders usually have a standard set of feeders that they take for fishing. This is true in cases where the fishing session is held in an unfamiliar place. In this case, it is wise to use a special handbag with compartments of this type.

Sets of avid feeders

Having assessed the fishing conditions, a person selects the appropriate equipment and feeder.

When to use plastic and when to use metal?

As mentioned above, feeder feeders have a metal and plastic body. What is the difference and what is the purpose of these types? Plastic is beneficial in cases where there is no strong current. During reeling, such feeders easily float up, which is very convenient when you need to overcome the grass carpet at the bottom.

Read Cuts for wobblers and spinners

Metal products are suitable for fishing in strong currents. Such feeders are not carried away by the current away from the fishing point. However, they lose to plastic when exhausted. If they float up after several revolutions, then the metal ones often go in the water column, which additionally loads the reel. With them it is more difficult to overcome steep edges, especially those overgrown with grass. Another drawback is that such models can corrode with prolonged use.

Weight value

The most important parameter. The casting distance and stability at the bottom depend on it. A classic feeder consists of a body, a lead weight and a fastening element. The load can be in the form of a strip, like rectangular or round ones, or in the form of a puck, drop or sphere, like a bullet. Manufacturers indicate the weight in grams on the product so that a person can immediately select it.

Weight is indicated directly on the feeder

The angler must take into account the test of the rod and the weight of the feeder + feed. The feeder form indicates the maximum weight that he can throw.

Feed capacity

The main task of the feeder is to hold the fish at the point in the maximum quantity. To be able to do this, the fisherman sends food parcels one after another to one place. The result is a kind of bait table. Since feeder fishing involves frequent casting, the angler must correctly calculate the amount of feed. So that it is enough to attract fish, and on the other hand, so as not to overfeed it. For these tasks, products of different sizes are used.

To keep the fish in one place, the angler chooses a larger feeder. While fishing, you can reduce the size, or fill not the entire volume.

Classification by size

Manufacturers mark products by size. Above is a line of 7 positions. This set is enough for a full fishing session with different conditions.

For current and still water

For fishing in the current, heavy feeder feeders weighing 100–150 grams are used. Feeders with a metal mesh body with lugs. According to the manufacturers, they cling well to the bottom. They are often labeled as River. When the current leaves no other options for fishing, this is the optimal solution.

The inscription River means - river

When fishing in still water or in reservoirs with minimal current, it is wise to use light method feeders weighing up to 40 grams. Due to the wide sole, they do not sink into the silt, and all food is washed out to the bottom surface.

Method for standing water

Automatic feeder: general principle of operation

The operating principle of the device is based on portioned feed supply per unit of time. The mechanics of most modern automatic feeders are, in principle, the same: a strictly dosed portion of food is poured into the water through a hole in the drum.

After food is served, the drum rotates and its compartment is refilled from the common chamber. The capacity of the feed compartment is adjusted using a special curtain, which can be moved in one direction or another until a characteristic click is heard.

In addition to drum-type devices, there are:

Fully automated automatic feeders with feed supply during the opening of a special shutter (like curtains in old mechanical cameras).

As well as auger devices, when the dose of feed is regulated by the number of turns of the worm shaft.

There are also disk samples on sale, where food for fish is served sequentially from compartments on the disk. At a certain time, the lower disk rotates and all the food from one compartment is poured into the aquarium. Next up is the next drive bay.

But the main technological unit in all commercial automatic feeders is, of course, the electronic control unit.

Many devices can be powered by both household AC power and ordinary batteries.

Bottle fishing feeder

To make such a model yourself, you will need the plastic container itself, a marker, scissors, a ruler, a soldering iron, sheet lead and flexible wire.

The work is carried out in several stages:

The neck and bottom of the bottle are cut off. The resulting cylinder is cut across and unbent.
The locations of future holes are marked with a marker. It is recommended to place them in a checkerboard pattern approximately every 2 cm.
The workpiece is folded back into a cylinder with some overlap. The edges are connected using glue or a stapler. Alternatively, the planes can be heated and joined with a soldering iron.
The previously marked holes are made with a hole punch, drilled with a drill, or burned with a heated metal rod. To avoid deformation of the material, it is better to perform the procedure using the first two methods.
A lead plate is adjusted to the shape of the circle of the edges of the workpiece. A reinforcing ring is formed, the edges of which are tightly pressed around the entire perimeter of the plastic.
If a semi-closed feeder for fishing is required, the sides of the basket are tightened with wire.

Types of feeders

There is a huge variety of feeders. They all perform the same function, but differ in place and conditions of use. Some work better in calm, standing water, while others cope well even with strong currents. Let's look at some of the most popular types of feeders.

Mesh feeders

Mesh feeders are a small cage that is filled with bait. Each such cell is equipped on one side with a metal plate-weighting agent. Different types of mesh feeders differ in shape and size.

In form there are:

square;
round;
triangular;
rectangular;
semicircular.

Different shapes of feeders are used in different conditions. For example, round ones perform best in calm water. For places with strong currents, it is better to use square or triangular ones.

There are also cage feeders:

open (best suited for fishing in calm waters, food is consumed faster);
semi-closed (used in strong currents, ensuring slower flow of bait).

Spiral feeders

Round-shaped spiral feeders cannot be used in currents, but they are quite simple and fly excellently over long distances. The fishing line is passed through the central rod, and the entire structure of the feeder moves freely along it.

Spiral feeders

Spiral bait can be considered the initial version of this type of feeder, and Method-Feeder is their further improvement, a hybrid of a feeder and a fixed sinker for catching carp and bream.

Behind. A simple bait spiral
is a classic unloaded feeder for bait that has a fine consistency (not suitable for large grains). The fishing line runs inside the rod of the feeder, so its replacement is possible only with a new installation of the equipment.
Zb. Wide bait spiral:
the line passes through an elongated lead “olive”. Thanks to the weight, this spiral can also be used on rivers.
Zs. Bait bomb.
This feeder has a weight located at the lower end, so it is convenient to cast it far. Attached to the main line by the upper end using a swivel or locked using a ledger stop.
3d + Ze. Two Method-Feeders
. Such special bait “spirals” were invented in England, where this method is used to catch carp and large peaceful fish.

Special feeders

These feeders are designed for special situations.

4a. Feeder with lugs
for fishing in strong currents. Thanks to wire lugs and a very large load, it is used even on rivers with rapid currents.
4b. Sponge for maggots
. It is placed in a jar with maggots, and the larvae crawl inside the sponge. Unfortunately, some of them remain there forever.
4s. Attractant feeder made of microporous material
that can absorb liquid attractants and then release them very slowly.
4d. Eel feeder
. The nylon mesh is filled with strips of fish, chopped worms or grains.
4e. Wire feeder
. It is quite bulky, so it is difficult to throw. Used for feeding very large quantities of bait or in strong currents.

Which bottom tackle to choose for the lake: feeder or donka - my personal opinion

As soon as I decided to move away from fishing with a float rod, I began to seek advice from my fishermen friends who began fishing from the shore for long casting and achieving good results.

And here I was faced with a paradox: a fairly impressive part of them call the ordinary donka the fashionable word “feeder”, without even thinking about the fundamental differences in fishing tactics.

Both techniques involve fishing from the bottom with a feeder at a distance from the shore in the habitat of the intended prey. For this purpose, reconnaissance is done: the nature of the bottom relief is revealed, which I don’t have to do on my lake. I studied it thoroughly before the advent of echo sounders.

Then the feeder at the planned fishing location sets the “fish table” (creates a feeding spot), liberally throwing the prepared bait at it.

To do this, he fixes the length of the fishing line released from the reel or clips it, as fishermen say. The bait and bait will be delivered strictly to the specified distance.

Clipping alone is not enough: you also need to make casts strictly in azimuth. Otherwise, hitting one point will not work.

For this purpose, a characteristic landmark is selected on the opposite bank, for example, the top of a prominent tree.

Constant casts are made for this purpose.

The complex use of clipping with the direction of casts towards a landmark allows you to first create a compact bait zone, and then precisely catch trophy specimens on it.

This is the meaning of feeder fishing, and a lot of technical means and techniques have been developed for its implementation.

Donka fishing is much simpler: wherever you throw the tackle with the feeder, that’s where it works. It does not require precise casting.

The bait consumed from the feeder with each cast is distributed randomly and attracts fish not to one point place, but to a large area.

My conclusion: it is much easier for a novice fisherman to fish with a donka.

In addition, you can put 3-4 rods, cast them in different places, experiment with plant and animal baits. Feeder fishing usually involves the use of one fishing rod.

Therefore, in my case, I devoted the summer and autumn to mastering fishing with donkeys, and decided to postpone the practice of fishing with a feeder to the spring of next year, when the spawning ban is in effect and it is allowed to fish from the shore with only one hook.

How to make a fishing feeder with your own hands at home?

Delivering food to the fish's fishing spot is the main task of the feeder.

You can make these types of feeders while sitting at home quite quickly:

Using wire mesh you can assemble a feeder. A round weight is cast in the inverted bottom of an aluminum can. Make the feeder semi-closed and tighten one side with wire. The result is a strong feeder.
For the basket, use old and unnecessary curlers. The weight is secured with wire. The downside is the fragility of the plastic itself; due to the flow, it can crack. It is advisable to use such feeders in standing water.
A common way is to create a feeder from a plastic bottle. This material is biologically hazardous because it does not decompose in water.
A more complex model of the feeder is the spring. It is necessary to cast a cylinder of the desired size. Use a drill to make a hole through which to thread the ends of the wire under the weight and hide them.
A closed feeder is made for live food - worms and maggots. Use a Kinder Surprise or film box. Savvy fishermen infest the shoe sponge *JOKINGLY* with maggots. At the bottom of the reservoir, maggots crawl out of the feeder and become a tasty bait for fish.

Pros and cons of the device

It often happens that a person is busy, absent from home, late at work and cannot feed his pets on time. Travel and vacations also become problematic. An automatic feeder for an aquarium is simply necessary for those who are away from home for 12 hours every day, or whose work involves frequent travel.

Using an automatic feeder frees the owner from responsibility and provides many advantages:

Correct dosage of feed;
Regularity;
Feeding in a specific place to which the fish become accustomed;
Simple and convenient fastening with protection of feed from moisture;
The feed container is easy to clean and fill;
Keeping fish healthy and water clean.
However, it is worth noting that there are some nuances:
High price;
Feeding only dry food in the form of granules and flakes;
Suitable for feeding only adult individuals.

Making river feeders

Stages of creating this type of feeder:

Two tie rods and two conical bases are installed on an iron plate with holes. The iron plate is also made independently; its shape can be any.
Parts of the springy wire are installed inside the mold. A wire is threaded through the passages in the base and the spacer. The entire surface of the mold is treated with oil or lard. The spacer is installed in the middle of the structure, 1 piece of wire is inserted into the grooves.
One base of the mold is filled with lead or tin, and after hardening, the opposite side is also poured. After cooling, the central wire is straightened with pliers. The form itself is disassembled and the resulting model is taken out.