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Psel River: fishing and tourist recreation. Where did the name of the river Psel come from?

Psel originates on the western slopes of the Central Russian Upland near the village. Hillocks of the Belgorod region at an altitude of 225 m. It flows into the Dneprodzerzhinskoe reservoir 4 km below the city of Kremenchug. The length of the river is 717 km (the upper 30% of the length of the river in Russia), the basin area is 21.8 thousand km 2 - the 3rd largest Russian tributary of the Dnieper in terms of basin area (after the Desna and Sozh) and the 2nd in length (after the Desna). . The density of the river network is 0.27 km/km 2 . Main tributaries: Grun, Khorol (right); Syrovatka, Govtva, Pena (left). There are many lakes (total area 25 km2) and swamps (190 km2) in the river basin.

The river flows through the hilly Dnieper lowland. Karst is widespread, and gully (incision depth up to 40–50 m) and girder (up to 60–70 m) networks are developed. The river flows along the border of the steppe and forest-steppe zones. The climate in the basin is temperate continental, the annual precipitation is 620 mm.

The river slope is 0.23‰. The erosional incision of the river valley reaches 100 m. In the upper reaches, the valley is narrow and deep, with steep right (height up to 30–70 m) and gentle left (up to 10 m) slopes. Downstream, the width of the valley increases, reaching 20 km in the lower reaches. The river's floodplain is meadow and wide (from 0.5 km in the upper reaches to 10–12 km in the lower reaches). There are many oxbow lakes, channels, and wetlands in the floodplain. The current speed on the stretches is 0.1–0.3 m/s, and on the rifts it increases to 0.5–0.8 m/s. The river bed is meandering, with a width from 10 m in the upper reaches to 100 m in the lower reaches. There are many riffles in the river bed. The river bottom is sandy, and muddy on the reaches.

The average long-term water flow near the city of Sumy is 25.7 m 3 /s, and at the mouth - approximately 52 m 3 /s (flow volume 1,641 km 3 /year). The river is fed predominantly by snow (in recent decades the share of melt runoff during thaws has increased). Eastern European type of water regime. During the spring flood, up to 77% of the annual water flow; maximum water flow rates reach 300 m 3 /s. The minimum winter and summer flow rates are about 5 m 3 /s. The summer-autumn low-water period accounts for about 12% of the annual runoff, and the winter one – 11%. Freeze-up on the river appears in mid-December. The destruction of the ice cover occurs at the end of March.

The average turbidity is 50 g/m3. Water mineralization varies from 630 mg/l (during periods of increased flow) to 710-750 mg/l (during low water). According to its chemical composition, water belongs to the hydrocarbonate class and the calcium group (with a high content of sulfates). In the upper and middle parts of the basin, the quality of river water is relatively clean, while in the lower reaches it is moderately polluted.

The river is regulated by sluice regulators and hydroelectric dams. The river waters are used for irrigation, domestic and industrial water supply. Every year from the On average, 3.8 million m 3 of water is withdrawn for drinking water supply and 5.4 million m 3 for needs Agriculture. Local shipping and recreation are developed in the lower reaches of the river. In the river basin there is the Central Black Earth Biosphere Reserve. The river flows through the cities of Oboyan (Russia), Sumy, Gadyach (Ukraine).

V.A. Zhuk, M.B. Kireeva

"! Continuing the tourist theme, we present to your attention the work of Alexander Kudri about the Psel River.

Interesting facts about the Psel River
Fishing for crucian carp on Psle. Pike, catfish, roach
Rafting on the Psl

Psel is a left tributary of the Dnieper, a small but very long river, the third longest of the rivers flowing in Ukraine. The distance from source to mouth is 717 km. The Psel originates in the Belgorod region of Russia, on the western slopes of the Central Russian Upland, within Ukraine flows through the territory of the Poltava and Sumy regions, flows into the Dnieper twelve kilometers below Kremenchug.

The first mention of Psle is “The Tale of Bygone Years,” 1113. The hydronym “dog” itself is of unknown origin. Various theories link this word to Greek, Slavic and Finno-Ugric roots.

By its nature, the Psel is a typically flat river, with a slight slope and slow flow(about 2 m/s). In the middle reaches, the river valley is 10-15 km wide, in the lower reaches – up to 20 km. The largest tributaries are the Grun (length 85 km), Khorol (308 km), Govtva (34 km), Grun-Tashan (91 km).

Psel is a mysterious and beautiful river, no matter how many times I come to this river, I respectfully greet it as if for the first time. I live in Poltava, the Vorskla River flows through our city, I have loved it since childhood, I know the river for many kilometers, but Psel is Psel, and a shiver runs through me at this very word.

This is probably the “voice of blood” - in the village of Ostapye, where the dam is now, my closest relatives lived - even the village headquarters is called “Bilenki”, and this is maiden name my mother's. These places seem to embody all the beauty of Left Bank Ukraine.

It is not without reason that the classic of Ukrainian and Soviet cinema A. Dovzhenko filmed his films in the area of the village of Yareski, located on Psle. The director, a native of the Chernihiv region, had something to compare with - the fact that he preferred the landscapes of the Pripsel region to his “enchanted Desna” speaks volumes.

In general, there are many places on the banks of the Psl that are in one way or another connected with famous cultural figures. N. Gogol was born in Velikie Sorochintsy, M. Dragomanov was born in Gadyach, dear uncle Lesia Ukrainka, Panas Mirny was born in Mirgorod.

Not far from Sumy, in the village of Nizy, P. Tchaikovsky worked for several years, the classic of Russian literature A. Chekhov spent two summers fishing on the Psle near Sumy. He wrote in a letter to a friend: “The river is wide, deep, abundant with islands, fish and crayfish, the banks are beautiful, there is a lot of greenery.” The writer admired the beauty surrounding nature and treated the local people with sympathy.

“Ukrainians are passionate fishermen... They don’t steal Zherlits...” Probably, such a sophisticated fisherman and caustic satirist as Chekhov would not have betrayed his soul in letters to close friends. More than a hundred years have passed since then, a lot has changed, but Psel has not lost its attractiveness for fishermen and simply nature lovers.

In fact, we can very little imagine the appearance of our rivers a century ago. Hydroelectric power stations and sluice regulators have changed the river hydraulic regime and the coastline beyond recognition. What is Psel, if what remains of the mighty Dnieper, like a river, is either 150 or 180 km, the rest is man-made “seas”.

American experience has long shown that it is impractical to build hydroelectric power stations on large lowland rivers, but Soviet Union didn't care about that. Psel and Vorskla, of course, are not the Dnieper - hundreds of thousands of hectares of fertile land have not gone under water, but the life of small rivers has also changed significantly.

There are about thirty-five species of fish in the Psla, but the ichthyofauna along the river is heterogeneous. Dams and a cascade of river-bed reservoirs have greatly changed the hydrobiological regime. Psel consists of closed “enclaves”; fish cannot go upstream to spawn; some species of endemic fish, such as the nosy ruff or burbot, are on the verge of extinction.

Slow flow and siltation of the riverbed negatively affect the lives of some fish, but contribute to others. You can’t see the barbel myron in the river anymore, I haven’t heard about schools of podust for a long time, but there are a lot of bream and large silver bream, there are a lot of pike in the grass thickets, carp are hanging out on the reaches in the deep snags, under overhanging trees and in the shadow of the steep banks there are thickhead chubs.

There are a lot of fish, but that doesn't mean they're so easy to catch. And in my practice, there have been offensive “flights” - either the weather is not right, or the bait is wrong, or the fish simply doesn’t want to take it, for inexplicable reasons.

However, communication with a river like Psel is always pleasant for me - whether you catch fish or not. A “wild” river is not some kind of toll river with spit-stained banks and greedy tenants. You sit by the gear on the shore - water flows past you, from eternity to eternity, you go on a boat downstream, endless landscapes float past you.

How pleasant, and even unusual, it is to sail, for example, past a cozy beach - and not see the slightest trace of human presence - not a cigarette butt, not a bottle, nothing at all. It's hard to be disappointed, even if you don't catch a fish. The fisherman is left with impressions and information to think about the fish biting (or lack thereof).

In principle, on Psla every fisherman can find something to his liking. If you have some experience and with a successful combination of circumstances, you can plan trips “for bream”, “for crucian carp”, “for chub”, etc. I mean specifically targeted fishing, when we are trying to catch not “at least something”, but quite certain type fish, and everything else is considered only as “bycatch”. I would like to dwell in more detail on the peculiarities of catching individual species.

Fishing for crucian carp on Psle. Pike, catfish, roach.

Crucian carp is an object familiar to everyone since childhood fishing. What was it like there as a child? A small pond light fishing rod with a feather float, pellets of bread - this is how I remember my first crucian carp fishing. A clumsy lump, a lover of quiet water, an inhabitant of muddy river bays and shallow ponds - this is the generally accepted idea of crucian carp and its typical habitats.

So, this is not all about the dog carp. Appearance it is, of course, quite ordinary, crucian carp, but the habitats and methods of fishing are very, so to speak, unique. In essence, the crucian carp on the Psle are mostly passing, Dnieper. Countless herds of this fish rise from the Dnieper in the spring to spawn.

The crucian carp usually shows agility that is unusual for him and goes against the strong spring current, well, just like some salmon. Fishing methods are appropriate to the conditions - a float rod and feeder will not help here. They are usually caught using a “half-bottom” - a more or less long rod with a reel, sliding rig with a heavy load, short casting.

The bite is tracked by the tip; the crucian carp usually grabs the bait sharply and is caught on its own. Fishing for strong fish against the current is an unforgettable experience, especially for beginners. There are large crucian carp on Psle - I caught about a hundred kilograms myself, I saw about one and a half kilograms from my colleagues.

There are often gear breaks - as always, the largest fish breaks off. It often takes carp, but it is rarely possible to remove it from the water - the tackle is still crucian carp. A leash thicker than 0.2-0.22 should not be used, and such diameters are only possible due to the turbidity of spring water and strong currents.

The best baits for crucian carp on Psle, based on my experience, are boiled peas and mastyrka, foam balls. A scavenger or a roach is more likely to take maggots and wheat; a worm can be eaten by a goby. We must pay tribute to the crucian carp - he is a gourmet and fussy, as literature writes about him, he often goes through grub - give him one thing, then another, you should try different options, all sorts of “sandwiches”, etc. Only the mastyrka always more or less constantly attracts this fish.

The peculiarity of catching crucian carp on Psle is the weak action of the bait, or rather not even weak, but very slow. For a couple of years in a row I went “to crucian carp” with people who catch crucian carp with fishing rods for sale - on the one hand, they seem to be poachers, on the other hand, they are undoubted virtuosos, consummate masters catching

So, one of them went to the place in advance, a few days before the fishing itself, chose a suitable place, spent the night in a Zhiguli and fed, fed, fed... We’re not talking about any “Bomb” or “Trick,” of course. I didn’t go - they fed me only peas. Let me note, hard peas, not steamed in a stocking, not boiled in a pressure cooker, but simply boiled until half cooked in a saucepan.

In a strong current, fish, even bream, do not carefully taste the pea with their lips, but immediately grab it. The pea is placed directly on the shank of the hook, leaving the hook free. There is no need to be afraid that this will scare away the crucian carp - in this way I caught, contrary to all theory, even carp in ponds.

The correct choice of place is also an important factor of success; if you take the wrong position, you can be left without fish at all, no matter how many peas you throw into the river. The current will carry the peas down in any case, but the “food path” should begin at our gear, and not ten meters downstream. We often saw how, positioned near a straight section of a river with a strong current, fishermen throw handfuls of various things into the water grains - it’s better not to feed them at all than to do it this way.

Crucian carp usually walk under the shore, hiding from a strong current. A feeder is inappropriate here, since long casts are not needed - there are no fish in the middle, and besides, any bait mixture is useless on such a stream. Fishing rod 5-6 meters long, sliding equipment, a pair of hooks on leashes different lengths- the only suitable tackle.

My comrades put on the fishing line above the sinker (or below - it makes no difference) a small unloaded spiral feeder filled with mastyrka. Personally, I also add a hook with a foam ball. Now this equipment, under the name “crucian carp killer,” is sold in any stall, but eight years ago it was a definite innovation. Old conservative fishermen initially rejected the complication of the equipment, but too often carp stuck to the feeder with impunity - they had to install an additional hook.

Often, when fishing for a long time in a well-chosen place, pike regularly catches already hooked fish. By “well chosen” I mean a place that, despite the current, was able to be fed correctly; it is very desirable if there are driftwood nearby in the water, and the bottom topography is heterogeneous.

In such a place, schools of crucian carp can linger for a very long time and their “shepherds” - predatory fish, usually of rather large size - will certainly be nearby. I remember once I took a catfish from a friend to crawl out - the Neva Reel and the metal spinning rod turned out to be powerless against the power of the mustachioed one.

A strong man, being one meter ninety in height, could not do anything - the catfish calmly reeled out one hundred meters of thick fishing line, the sound of “bzdyn” sounded - it was all over. I also had a similar incident in those parts - only the extreme did not last long: the catfish came towards me, into a snag, and an attempt to tear it off the bottom immediately ended in the breaking of the leash.

Somehow things didn’t work out with catfish for our group of crucian fishermen there, but we caught some good pike near the prized spot, albeit not as often as we would like. The best live bait is a small silver bream, or roach.

I note that spring fishing for crucian carp on Pslya is possible only up to the first dam, located in the village of Sukhorabovka.

Due to this circumstance, Sukhorabovka is a Mecca for Poltava fishermen. For many, fishing on the Psl is generally associated only with catching crucian carp and, to a lesser extent, roach.

Upstream, crucian carp are prevented from rising by locks; only occasionally, in very high water, fish from the Dnieper can rise above the dam. In particular, this year local “semi-fishers” noted a massive entry of crucian carp into the Psla section between Sukhorabovka and Ostapiy.

In the spring, during the fish season, all the banks of the Psl are dotted with fishermen, the catches can be very impressive - no one, of course, limits themselves to the permissible catch rate. Analyzing the fishing trips of the last ten years, I didn’t notice a significant drop in the population, except that the average size became a little smaller. The mass of crucian carp and its duration directly depend on the water level and its temperature. It was possible to catch fish with caviar at the end of June.

It is worth noting that crucian carp is almost the only success of the Soviet “transformers of nature”, and an unexpected success at that. When the reservoirs were filled with water, Far Eastern migrants were released - silver carp and grass carp, and silver carp also mingled with them. The silver carp never spawns in our latitudes, but the crucian carp quite liked the conditions of the reservoirs, it mixed with the local form and multiplied in considerable numbers, becoming a truly commercial fish.

Roach, like crucian carp, is mainly caught in the spring, during its pre-spawning run up the river. I had to catch roach in the lower reaches of the Psla, near the village of Potoki. The river here is already quite wide, the presence of a current and even its direction depends directly on the operation of the hydroelectric power station.

Schools of roach move up the river and are either caught or not - such fishing is very unpredictable. They are usually caught by “long casting”; bait is also ineffective. This kind of fishing, in itself, is not very interesting to me, although it can be quite rewarding - but trying to catch a predator following a roach is very exciting.

This area is quite visited in the spring, “vacationers” densely cover the banks with garbage. Sometimes it seems to me that mountains of bottles, especially vodka ones, are left on the shore, as if proud of their “alcoholic feat.” Like, look, envy - we “took” five (six, seven, etc.) bottles of vodka, not counting beer.

Usually the bottles lie proudly under a tree, away from the rest of the garbage - like a monument to human bestiality. It is a pity that many do not understand that Nature is a temple, not a tavern. I would like to believe that over time the psychology of people will change.

In general, for family vacation the vicinity of the village of Potoki is not very suitable, especially in the spring. With the end of the spawning run of fish and a decrease in the number of greedy “tourists” along the banks, the river becomes more interesting, the proximity of the Dnieper makes itself felt. The catches include good specimens of carp and catfish; pike is also caught larger than in the middle reaches of the river.

Rafting on the Psl

River rafting is always interesting, especially on one like Psel. The absence of large cities near the river and the inaccessibility of certain areas to some extent restrain fishing pressure. With the end of the crucian run and the associated excitement, and with the further warming of the water, the fish bite begins to decline - the mass pilgrimage of “weekend fishermen” stops. Fishing becomes less demanding, more labor intensive, requiring a thoughtful attitude and, of course, patience.

At this time, my friends purposefully go fishing for bream, and I, despite their success, still cannot change the spinning rod to anything else. Usually I fish by rafting from the dam in the village of Ostapye to the dam in Sukhorabovka, sometimes I fish from the shore, and visit other sections of the river. A wonderful place is the intersection of the Kyiv highway and Psla near the village of Krasnogorovka.

A beautiful landscape, typical of the Psla in its middle reaches - along the right bank along the river there are hills covered with deciduous forest, along left side rivers - meadows. Three hundred meters above the bridge there are the ruins of a hydroelectric power station and the river bed bifurcates.

I don’t know if this power plant has ever functioned, and it doesn’t matter: at first glance at the monolith of the turbine hall, which goes at an angle into the water, it becomes clear that very respectable fish can live here. The place is very attractive, I went here several times specifically from Poltava, although there are interesting points closer.

To be honest, it didn’t work out with catfish, but I found a site for large perch and chub. While strengthening the shore, the builders covered the slope with large rubble – that’s where the fish stand. A few meters to the side - not a single bite, the riverbed itself is a flat sandy ditch without vegetation and without fish.

Complicating fishing is the presence of a strong current, a drowned tree and the location of the rocky “wall” itself - it is located on an island and is accessible for casting only from the left bank. Throwing a small “silicone” upstream, at an angle of forty-five degrees, retrieving it close to the stones, always touching the bottom - and the result is obvious, that is, on the hook. I'm not a fan of microjig, but the fishing there is very exciting.

Fans of mini-fishing trips can start their rafting here. The distance Krasnogorovka - Ostapye is approximately two days.

There is still fish in the river, and not just pike and perch. Just a few years ago, in the area of the village of Balakleya, ide was caught on a spinning rod - with the appropriate bait, of course. An interesting area for float fishing is Velika Bagachka-Krasnohorivka. The length is approximately the same; the places near the Velikobagachanskaya dam are especially interesting. There, for a couple of years in the spring, people who are passionate about fishing have been organizing the “May Chub Session in V. Bagachka.”

In general, it’s our kind of chub party. Above the dam, Psel has a generally luxurious view - a wide (relatively), leisurely river, on the left side there is a picturesque pine forest, on the right there is the Psel sanatorium. On the territory of the sanatorium there are wells from which, from a depth of three hundred meters, they extract the famous mineral water"Velikobagachanskaya". My father vacationed there a couple of years ago, and he really liked it...

Due to various circumstances, and, most likely, out of habit, I usually raft along the Ostapye - Sukhorabovka section. The first couple of kilometers below the dam the river is quite shallow, then the depths begin and the flow slows down. The last time I was there was in August of this year. The heat and high water temperature prevented us from catching a trophy fish, but quite a few lines were caught and released.

Several weeks passed, the rains passed - the situation changed dramatically: the pike began to bite. In the same places where until recently the “commercial” pike was not interested in my best twitching wobblers, it took simple baits for even retrieving. But, alas, I was no longer there.

My conviction was once again confirmed - we do not know the real number of predatory fish in this section of the river and will not be able to find out until it “releases”. How many times has it happened that a seemingly “pressed” and “knocked out” plot began to delight with bites from quite marketable pike. Then the fish seems to disappear again, and nothing can rouse it. And jerking wobblers - twitching - is also not omnipotent, as I thought three years ago.

The ubiquitous “laces” bite, but adult pike do not. Sometimes a banal live bait can help, but what should we, spinners, do? Reducing the size of baits, changing the wiring pattern, using “edible bait” (even when fishing for pike), and more careful and prolonged fishing of interesting places may well bring positive results.

But when rafting, the fisherman often must meet a certain time frame. So we have to choose - either we are looking for an active predator, or, wasting time and cutting off the bait, we are trying to “persuad” passive fish. Both approaches are valid, but I usually choose the first option.

Despite the abundance of predatory fish, you should not count on large catches in the summer, with rare exceptions. High water temperature, abundance of food - it is not easy to tempt a predator to bite.

Although I can remember several cases that are absolutely opposite. In general, over time, it becomes more and more difficult for me to give answers to the most simple questions. When a pike takes, why doesn’t a pike take, when a pike takes, what will it take???

Yes, God knows! There are certain observations, but they are very private, subjective, unreliable, in a word. I saw pike “zhor” both in the heat and in the freezing cold, and in the rain, and in the sleet. We don’t always have control over our time, so we have to catch mostly when we can, without choosing weather conditions and not paying attention to the activity of the predator.

Once you’ve gone fishing, you have to get the fish to bite in any case. Often, even a well-fed and relatively “passive” pike will not refuse to eat something. It is important to be able to look for it, taking into account the factors of water temperature, lighting, and correctly determine the depth of the predator.

About five kilometers below the dam in Ostapye, on a long peninsula, there is a recreation center for the Poltava Diesel Locomotive Repair Plant. The base's kitchen is located on the steep bank of Psl - there are significant depths directly below the shore. Food waste attracts all kinds of fish, but most of all bream.

So, next to this pit there is a very high probability of meeting large predator. In general, every feeding place, except peaceful fish, also attracts “hunters”. Several times throughout this autumn, the surroundings of the base delighted spinning anglers with an excellent bite, but there was no constant pike “guzzling”, which intensified as the water cooled.

IN quiet waters However, in the heat of the day, you shouldn’t look for fish in open shallow water warmed by the sun; the shady side of the river “works better,” although there are exceptions. Below the Sukhorabovskaya dam, float fishing is difficult in some places due to the snags of the river and strong currents.

The river is fast, not wide, the density of predators is quite high, but with the wrong approach to fishing you can easily be left not only without a catch, but also without a significant part of your arsenal. The nature of the river in this area leaves its mark on the behavior of the fish, and even on its appearance.

It was noticed not only by me, until recently, pike of a peculiar body shape were very often caught in catches - short and wide. For large pit pike, these are quite normal proportions, but for “laces” weighing a kilo and a half, this is somehow a little unnatural.

Strong currents – constant “fitness” makes local predators truly “athletes”. In any case, the fish tries to hide from the direct stream - the abundance of sunken trees helps it in this. Consequently, it is necessary to fish for snags - fishing “by area” is ineffective.

The presence of a good hook and anchor is not even specified, although in any case, a deep hook in a strong current is a problem. Snag poses a danger not only to our baits, but also to our watercraft. A small tree that has fallen from a tree that has been washed away in the spring often lies on the bottom with its butt downstream, and its sharp branches against it. Often the drift is below the waterline, and the waters of Psel are not particularly transparent. An “inflatable” or kayak is very vulnerable - instead of a pleasant holiday, you can encounter a serious problem, especially in the cold season.

A little below the Sukhorabovskaya dam, under the steep Popivskaya Mountain, the Khorol flows into the Psel. Although the tributary is long in extent, the mouth is not particularly impressive, especially in summer - it is a narrow ditch, completely overgrown with thickets of egg capsules. When, by the end of spring, crucian carp from Psla mostly rolls down, it is quite possible to successfully catch it in Khorol. The tackle used here, of course, is typical crucian carp gear – light and sensitive.

On Psle in those parts, perch, often large ones, take well with compact spinning baits. A chub in a current is usually more aggressive than in calm water and often takes the bait immediately when it hits the water. He really likes to stand under the overhanging branches of trees, a little away from the main stream, waiting for insects that have fallen into the water, and the sound of a small wobbler falling does not scare away the fish - a spectacular attack follows.

The ichthyofauna of the Psla is to a certain extent protected from humans not so much by its distance from large cities - this is not a barrier now - but by the characteristics of the river itself. In the warm season, the water is cloudy - there is no “transparency”, in the slang of underwater hunters, great depths interfere with barbaric electrofishing, in the lower reaches the fast stream does not allow setting up nets, not far from the mouth the Kremenchug Fishery Protection Service is already working with grief (if necessary, it will gladly draw up a protocol for an amateur fisherman with a spinning rod).

The combination of various factors still allows the fish to maintain its population at a level and delight us with bites. Psel, of course, is not Akhtuba or Volga - you can’t catch fish with bags, but meeting this river will not leave anyone disappointed. It doesn't matter whether you're kayaking or sitting on the shore with a fishing rod. There are three main components of fishing happiness - the indescribable beauty of nature, the relative distance from civilization and an acceptable amount of fish.

The Psel is one of the most important rivers in the Belgorod region: it is widely used for agricultural and industrial purposes, and is also very popular with tourists and fishermen. In the waters of Psyol you can always catch a lot of tasty fish, and in summer you can have a picnic with a barbecue on its shore.

Story

The origin of the name of this river has not yet been precisely established. The most common explanation for such an unusual name is the version of its origin from the root “dog”: they say that in this region many river names came from the name of this animal. The river is also associated with the Russian word “to write”, the Adyghe “water, river” and the Finno-Ugric “to splash”. Because of such diversity, it is not possible to restore the original meaning of the name.

Peculiarities

The Psel River belongs to the fast and deep rivers of the Black Sea basin, originating in the Belgorod region. The river runs through Russia for about 215 kilometers, which makes it the most important water artery region. The entire length of the river is 717 kilometers, and 502 km of it passes through the territory of Ukraine right up to its mouth in the Dnieper.

Psyol is very popular among Belgorod fishermen: this river is home to more than 50 species of fish, and some of the individuals reach a weight of 2 kg. Most of all, crucian carp, roach, tench, bream, silver bream, perch and pike perch are found here. There are also pike and fairly large catfish.

Psel is also popular among lovers of summer river recreation. From the beginning of May until September, cars with vacationers come to the banks of the river, wanting to soak up the green grass on the banks of the river and swim in its clear waters. On the banks of the Psela you can also find very pretty green groves and picturesque beams.

But tourists will be especially interested in the source of this mighty river. It is located in the Prokhorovsky district of the Belgorod region, not far from the small village of Prigorki. The very beginning of the river is located in the hill area in the state natural park“Klyuchi”, on which today there is a large inscription about the beginning of a full-flowing river here. At the very source, the ethnographic village of Kostroma was organized, where you can visit various farmsteads and a small zoo.

How to get there

On the banks of the Psyol there are a number of small settlements, among which Olkhovatka, Oboyan, Pavlovka, Kamyshnoye, Guevo and others stand out. We recommend visiting the source of this river, located near the village of Prigorki. To get here, you need to get to the Elnikovo railway station in the Prokhorovsky district. You can also drive all the way to Prokhorovka, and from there go to Hillside via Srednyaya Olshanka and Verkhnyaya Olshanka.

As you know, the Psel River originates in the Belgorod region in Russia, and in Ukraine it flows through the Sumy and Poltava regions and flows into the glorious Dnieper River. The total length of Psla is 717 km. In this blog we will talk about sections of the river in the villages of Bobrovo and Kamenoye, Lebedinsky district, Sumy region and two time periods during which the river changed.

I started my fishing journey at the age of 6 on the Psel River in the village of Kamennoye, it began with catching sebel using a fishing rod with a hazel. And a little later I switched to catching predators with live bait. I actively fished in Kamenny in the period 1990-1998. One of my favorite places was the so-called “Hollow,” a section of the river with hills on the right side and a small forest and endless meadow on the left. Downstream is already the Poltava region. The river itself in this section is quite interesting, thanks to the sharp changes in depth from 1 to 7 meters, turns, spits, rocky shallow rapids, it attracts the fisherman.

In these places I successfully caught chubs, pikes and catfish using live bait.

Those places are also interesting because on the hills just downstream, even before new era there was a fortification, as evidenced by the surveys carried out in the 1970s. excavations. Then they discovered many bones of large animals, mammoth teeth, a lot of ceramics and even two treasures. There is also a legend that during the times of the Cossacks, the Cossacks hid a boat filled with gold and jewelry in one of the hills. This section of the river region is rich in historical events. All this indicates that Psel, from time immemorial to the present day, has attracted people to himself and has been a source of life.

But interaction with the river with each century went to the detriment of the latter.

Upstream from "The Hollow" there is another interesting place- “Nobility.” This place is more crowded, since in this area there are houses along the shore, there is a bridge - the entrance to the village of Kamenoye,

small rural beach

and a meadow where cows are grazed.

IN post-war years There was a water mill at Dvoryanshchina. According to old-timers, in the area of the mill there was big hole, in which they lived giant catfish, pike, zander. Cases of catfish hunting ducks and geese have been repeatedly observed. Nowadays, only blocks of slabs, stones and stumps remind us of the mill. But it was this section of the river that was chosen by the chub, which is ubiquitous in those parts.

The bottom structure and current are ideal for chub habitat.

In the summer, hundreds of tourist kayakers sailed along the Psl.

They were attracted by the beauty of these places. And there is something to see.

From Kamennoye, upstream there is the farmstead “Pushkarnya”, and higher up behind it is the village of Bobrovo, in which there is a hydroelectric power station on the Psel River.

Periodically, the station ceases its activities. Then the water level in the river becomes stable.

Characteristics of hydroelectric power station

I had the opportunity to fish in the village of Bobrovo several times. The catches included pike, chub, and rudd. Also in these places it is interesting not only to catch, but also to enjoy the beauty of the river and the world around it.

But let's return to Kamenny and our second period. At the end of the 20th century, the river was probably experiencing its best times. Since 2000 the mechanism for destroying the river was launched. The lack of floods and the development of poaching using not only nets, but also electric fishing rods were slowly killing the river.

The work of the hydroelectric power station also influenced this process. Constant changes in the river level played into the hands of poachers, who were just waiting for the water to be released and went out to hunt with whatever they could.

And the water level changed seriously, for example in this photo the river has not yet had time to fill up from the previous discharge

how within a week a second reset is made, and sometimes a third...

And this happens very often. For what? Don't know.

Due to this process The resting places of chub and other fish periodically end up on land, and holes are dug out by poachers.

In the last decade, the river in this area has practically lost all large fish. The reasons are simple - in summer there are constant fluctuations in water levels, shallowing and all-season poaching. Also, at one time, underwater hunters could be seen in these places, who did a good job of “helping” the river get rid of trophy fish.
The beavers did not stand aside either; they had a “paw” to the destruction of the river. them in Lately quite a lot got divorced. As evidenced by the “branded autographs” on the trees.

Due to falling trees, congestion occurs on the river. In one of the places it is no longer possible to travel by boat, you can only cross by the shore.

It would seem ideal places for large fish. But alas, they are practically sterile. More than once I have retrieved poacher’s nets that were set both in winter and summer.

So one day, having arrived home on the weekend, I went to the river to balance

and caught such a catch

And in the summer, some poachers even forget to remove their nets; the fish simply die in them.

All these factors changed the river literally beyond recognition in a short period of time. Most likely, it won't get any better. Only intervention at the state level will help. But is this interesting to officials? I think they have “more important things to do” than saving a river in some forgotten village.

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- a fishing joke about silicone baits instead of an epigraph:

A man walks into a fishing store:
- Girl, do you have silicone baits?
- Man! Everything I have is natural!

This wonderful river Psel!

detailed photo report about fishing

I came to the Psel River by accident; I wanted to relax not in the standard way at sea among hot bodies, but somewhere on the river with a spinning rod. “After searching” on the Internet, my attention was drawn to a resort-type sanatorium with the same name, located on the very bank of this river. My wife approved of my choice, fortunately, in the sanatorium, in addition to fishing, you can also treat your health, and by the appointed time we ended up in the village of Velikaya Bagachka, not far from Mirgorod.

The picturesque beauty of Ukrainian nature!

This is what part of the river looks like, which is called a reservoir.

The river, as it turned out, in this section is divided into two parts: this is the reservoir, which originates from the Velikobagachanskaya dam and runs 12 kilometers upstream, and what actually flows out of the reservoir through the locks below the dam. My first acquaintance was with the reservoir. In width, it, of course, was not a standard reservoir, but rather resembled our river Seversky Donets, but there are also significant differences: very pure water and a huge number of fry swimming in it, especially in those areas adjacent to sandy beaches. Having pumped up the boat, the next morning I set off to explore places unknown to me. To my deep surprise, the predator did not show much activity even at early dawn. Only an hour after the start of fishing, a small pike bit, but it immediately fell off the tee of my wobbler, and I did not interfere with it, because I would have released such a small one anyway.

The perch was not large, but lively.

At the next turn, a standard-sized grass perch jumped out from under a water lily and sat securely on the rear tee of my bait. And already at about 11 in the morning, when I was returning to the base, a pike very lazily swam out from under a snag and, with a careless movement of its head, hit my crack jack, as if punishing it for daring to appear on its territory and disturb it relaxing holiday.

The pike was hooked with one hook.

I’ll emphasize that I hit it, and didn’t intend to swallow it, because all this happened before my eyes under the very surface of the water, and therefore it caught on just one hook of the rear tee under the lower jaw. When fishing, she almost did not resist, from which it became clear that the predator on the reservoir was inactive.

The dam divides the river into two parts.

The next day I decided to explore the places behind the dam, and discovered that the Psel here is reborn into a river of a completely different quality: the first two kilometers below the dam it is pathologically shallow and its average depth here reaches half a meter, and in many places you can ford it here without even getting my knees wet.

The combination of a sandy bottom with water flows repeats the patterns semi-precious stone or marble.

In terms of speed, the Psel in some places resembles a mountain river.

At some point I even regretted crossing the dam, because catching anything with a spinning rod at such a depth is very difficult. In addition, the current is quite fast for lowland rivers, but further on the Psel becomes more interesting for spinning fishing. Characteristic feature The river has a sandy bottom in many areas and the purity of the water.

The water can be seen up to two meters deep.

Thanks to this, you can observe what is happening underwater, even in those parts of the river where the depth reaches two meters. What else impressed me about the river was the presence and quantity different types fish, which here and there shoals walked along its bed in search of some fishy goodies. These are flocks of chubs, frightenedly shying away from my boat as soon as they see it, and all kinds of bream, and handsome perches, and come across bullheads. There is also pike, and what kind of pike too. At first there was no bite, and I tried to understand what was best to catch it here, and since I watched a lot of river fighters and perches, I concluded that putting a tandem of two microjig baits would not be superfluous.

The pike is straight out of the fairy tale about Emelya (now I’m waiting for my wish to come true).

And indeed, at the nearest turn, a ram-sized pike jumped out of the grass thickets and delicately hooked the edge of its lip onto the hook on which the twister was hanging poisonously Green colour. I fished without a metal leash on a cord, to the end of which I attached a fluorocarbon fishing line with twisters with a special knot, so when at the next fall from the trees behind my “poison” a decent-sized pike jumped out and greedily swallowed the bait, biting the fishing line in the process, I relied on the pike’s delicacy I didn’t do any more, and having placed the leash, I began to fish with one twister, but of a larger size. The number of bites that day, as well as gatherings, crossed out in my mind all the postulates about the summer pike bite, which says: in the summer, pike, as a rule, bite at dawn and for an hour in the evening, after the heat subsides. The Psel River was surprising: it had its own set of rules for who and when to peck.

Even famous artists have never dreamed of a combination of colors in nature!

The pike showed unprecedented activity and attacked the bait as fiercely as if the autumn feast had already arrived. And I, being strongly impressed by this bite, did not notice how I rafted down the river an insanely huge distance, fortunately the current helped me a lot with this. When I turned back, I realized that the current had ceased to be my ally and had turned into opposition.

My "saviors" are preparing dinner for me.

By five in the evening I saw people on the shore and asked how far it was to the dam, to which they replied that at my speed of progress I would definitely arrive by morning, so they offered to join their company, fed me soldier’s porridge with stewed meat and shish kebab, and then brought me by car me to the sanatorium, since it was right on their way. Thanks to the kind people who, like a non-extinct species, periodically meet in middle lane our country, but are already listed in the Red Book. For myself, I made a very important conclusion: if you are rafting down the river, but are going to return back, strictly monitor the distance and time.

My ship is moored in the roadstead.

The mooring rope is fastened with complete damping of inertia.

There are many islands of reeds and other vegetation in the reservoir.

Therefore, the next day, leaving the dam behind again, I no longer trusted the current, but anchored my ship, tying it either to a bunch of vegetation sticking out of the water, or to some snag or log, a birthmark lying on the body of the river. And he himself explored everything that he sailed past yesterday. The catch was not a large pike, but it was very active and therefore interesting. So I highly recommend that fans of spinning fishing come here someday and see for themselves how exciting and interesting it is to get acquainted with the local fauna.