River Tisza has been a part of my life from the very beginning and still is to this day. As a child, I learned to fish on this river, and its port was an iconic gathering spot at the Szeged riverbank before weekend parties, as well as a great meeting place. My workplace is also along this river: a traditional fish restaurant. It’s one of my favorite fishing waters.

I’d like to clarify upfront that I don’t consider myself a big predator-fish angler. I enjoy sitting in my boat and taking relaxed trips along the Tisza with minimal equipment. One of these low-equipment fishing techniques is clonking. After fishing tournaments or a pole-fishing session, it feels great to head down to my boat with just a handful of gear and fish on the river.

Lil' moustache.

One could sing praises about this method, but I’ll keep it brief. Clonking is an ancient technique for catfish, where we use a so-called clonk to create sounds that stir the catfish, provoking them to rise and strike.

If it's a clonk, then it's the Hunor Clonk!

For me, and I think for many others as well, the key question was this: how deep should we lower the bait under the boat? In my personal opinion, based on my experience so far, it’s worth adjusting it to the water's speed. If the river is slow, I usually lower it to about halfway down. After that, the faster the flow, the deeper I go.

Let's use short rods! They fit more comfortably, and there's no need to wrestle with them in the boat. I’ve had great success with the Wizard Vertix boat rod at 127 cm in length. It's a real catfish rod, one-piece, leaving no room for errors. Its guides are designed for truly extreme use.

It has become one of my favorite rods.

The short rod in action!

I enjoy this type of fishing because it's action-packed. If we learn to hit the water properly, there will be results. I don’t necessarily think this method is the best for catching trophy-sized fish, but at least we’re not sitting around for 4-5 hours without any excitement.

Let’s take a look at how the rig is set up. I believe the simplest approach is the best—especially when fishing in wild waters, regardless of the method. I slide an inline lead onto the main line—I typically use either a rhombus or cigar-shaped lead—and secure it with valve rubber, using a hook leader about forty to fifty centimeters long. he hook size depends on our preference and, of course, what we’re using as bait. During the summer, my favorites are mussels and leeches. I think that hook sizes around 3/0 to 6/0 are suitable when they’re of good quality. The Wizard Allround Catfish is an excellent choice, as its point is brutal and won’t dull easily.

Excellent hook set with the aforementioned hook.

Waiting for a bite

When baiting with leeches, it’s worth noting that they can crawl back up the hook leader, creating a big tangle, which can be quite annoying. For mussels, before lowering them, check if they float; if they do, use a knife to cut and pierce them to release any trapped gases.

Average catfish caught by clonking.

When is it worth practicing this method? The 'big guys,' the catfish anglers from whom I've learned a thing or two and asked questions, say that the water should be around 15 degrees Celsius or higher, and that it's worth trying at any time of day. For me, the 2-3 hours before dusk tend to be the most action-packed. It's definitely worth trying and practicing this beautiful method.

It arrived almost in the dark.

I wish everyone a successful season!

Viktor Csala