Ilgys
Ilgys is a lake of 61.9 ha in size, populated by breams, about 8 km south-east of Daugailiai. The length of the lake (in the direction from the north-east to the south-west) 3.1 km, average width 0.2 km, maximum 0.4 km. There is an isthmus of only 100 meters in the very middle. There used to be a bridge and it is shallow there. Now there are only the remains of bridge poles. The lake is narrow and winding and deep. The maximum depth 25.3 m. The bottom is with hollows, covered with slimy and sapropelating clay. The banks are high and steep. The origin of the lake is glacial trough. In the east a rivulet from Brinkiškiai lake flows into, and also Ligaja river, also called Ilgė, flows through it from Sylis lake to Alksnas lake. The villages near Ilgis are: Antilgė, Narutiškis.
There are a lot of pikes, roach and basses. Basses can grow up to 1 kilogram. There are a lot of ide in this lake, the species of fish which is very rare in other lakes. They swim for spawning to Ligaja, local fishermen fish them with cockchafers in May.
What do fishermen of ide advise? Don‘t use any floats, weights, leashes, or spinners. Bait drifts down the current. That could seem simple and primitive. However, not everyone can catch a big over one-kilogram ide. First of all, you have to choose the place for fishing and to find out where ide feed. Yes, to find out the place but not to see it. Otherwise, ide will spot you earlier and swim away. So you have to camouflage, hide in the bushes; so when it is a rainy, drizzling day, it is more favorable for fishing. A local angler standing in the shadow first of all watches the surface of Ligaja water. The location of the presence of fish is usually betrayed by characteristic ripples and sound on the surface of the water. Ide bite much more cautiously than chubs. Ide grab the bait at the moment it floats on the surface or is slowly going down. Ide bite best of all just after spawning when they bite nearly all day round. According to phenologists the best time of biting of ide coincides with blossoming of bird cherries. After intensive fishing in May, from about the middle of June ide become too choosy and stop biting so easily. Even though ide are quite predatory and can easily swallow number 1 three-pronged hook, nobody lures them with spinning in Utena region. When I first caught an ide in the lake of Ilgis, I couldn‘t admire it. From appearance it looks like a chub, but differs from it by its shorter and narrower head, a higher and slightly darker body, smaller scales and brighter fins. Its back is dark, of blueish and greenish hue, the sides are yellowish and the belly is silvery. Utena‘s fishermen rarely fish ide purposely, so they are not included in contests for the biggest fish.
