Fishing Women Forum

Perch are the most wonderful of fishes. I can't remember whether it was them or the beautiful wild Brown Trout from the river which ran through our town which first caused me to fall in love with fishing. As children we used to catch them by the dozen in our local lake, some days we would race to see who would be the first to a hundred. It didn't take great angling skill, for the bristly 5 to 8 inch stripeys would oblige by eagerly grapping our lobworms suspended under small pike bungs. We would keep back a few of the biggest to take home to eat.



I still have one now and again, and they are most fantastic.
there was a time when some anglers (perhaps some still do?) considered Perch as 'kid's stuff only'. While it's true that on some waters and under some conditions they are very simple to catch, but a big Perch is the very biggest of fish. It took me into my 20s to catch a 2lber. Now the target is a 4lb.

There are now good anglers around who specialise in Perch, and who can probably provide you with a wealth of information, try googling 'Steve Burke' for example.

I can only tell you how I go about them. I fish large glacial wild (that is to say unstocked) lakes. Such waters can be daunting given their size, I target areas like weedy bays, shelves near drop offs into deep water, and where streams run in. I like to floatfish, but ledgering is more productive. The exellent bait for stripeys is lobworms, I ledger them popped up with a shot of air in the tail. perch are especially sensitive to any resistance so make sure you use free running rigs. I sometimes use a quivertip, especially after a feeder fishing session for Roach and Dace. Or if perch are to be the target from the off a small baitruner, swing arm and front electronic alarm. if big perch are to be especially targeted it's better to use fish baits, and a 4 inch roach isn't too big. The problem with this is picking up pike which may well snap you off. I used to use fine wire for Perching when esox was likley to turn up. Some insist that wire will put Perch off, however I have caught hundreds with it up to 2 1/2 lbs when livebaiting with mionnows. on our waters that problem has been resolved for us as we are no longer allowed to live bait.



A nice 2lber which took a floatfished lobworm



This brings me nicely on to spinning and lures, the most fantastic way of catching Perch (my favourite way of fishing anyway). perch will radily take a whole range of small to medium lures (and occasionally some large ones intended for Pike and Salmon). I like to go very light, a wand of a baitcaster rod and low profile reel, 20lb powerpro braid and a box with bladed spinners, soft body lures, conventional spoon spinners and crankbaits. This does me for both shore and boat.


a '2 1/2' which took a storm wildeye anchovy soft body lure.

Perch have a specialist chemical in their eyes which improves their low light hunting capabilities, some people swear by the 'witching hour' before the dayligt fully goes as the best time for Perching, I have had some very good ones under these conditions, however by very best and lots of 2lb plus have come in bright sunlight on hot summer days and on one memorable day in around 3 feet of water when we watched a shoal of big stripeys taking our baits.

You may read and hear those who will tell you that perch are fish of the autumn and winter. They may be right, on the waters they fish. on our lakes I have never seen a Perch in the monthas of December and January, and only the very odd one after the middle of october until the middle of march. So if your planning a winter weekend fishing beak to the lake district and think 'fantasic' what a great time for Pile and Perch, then you might want to think again and back your fly gear and go to a nice safe stocked trout water.

Next....Eels, thats if you want them?