How to pick the right type of drop shot baits for catching perch
Dr Paul Garner is your guide
BIG perch can be found just about everywhere at the moment, thanks to a massive revival in their fortunes in the last decade.
Rarely has there been a better time to bag a chunky specimen from a canal, river, reservoir, gravel pit or commercial.
Perch don’t grow big by eating just invertebrates. Often, larger prey – especially fish and crayfish – becomes the focus of their attention. These protein-packed foods see their growth rate rocket.
Big meals mean that big baits often pay when trying to select the larger perch. Small livebaits, lobworms, uncooked prawns and deadbaits all have their day, but my favourite perch tactic is to lure fish. Nothing beats the electrifying feeling through the rod of a fish hitting a lure, and I never tire of the buzz I get from being in direct contact with my quarry. Early and late in the winter, when the perch are at their
most active, I tend to use small shads on jigs for my perch fishing. Right now, though, with the water temperatures still very low, a more subtle, slow approach comes into its own, and that means using a drop shot rig.
START WITH A WORM
If you want to gain confidence in drop shotting there is no better place to start than with a dendrobaena worm on the hook instead of an artificial.
Des Taylor’s ‘walking the worm’ tactic is deadly because the bait is alive and so not dependent upon you to make it come alive. All you need to do is nip off the end of the worm and thread about a third of it on to the shank of the hook and over the eye – this will hold it in place. Go for a fairly small hook. A size 8 is about right, depending on the size of the worm.
Start off fishing 8ins-12ins off the bottom and fish the rig really slowly. Each cast should take a couple of minutes to complete. Remember, the worm is doing the work for you, so there is no need to impart too much movement to the rig.
LURE CHOICE
Because drop shotting is essentially a slow fishing method, the choice of lure is often very important.
Ideally, you are looking for lures that have a nice action when twitched or slowly retrieved. Look for patterns that are really soft and flexible, as these will move with barely any movement of the rod-tip.
A good starting point are worm-shaped lures. Go for versions 2ins-4ins long, based on the size of perch you are expecting to catch. Tiny movements of the rod will set these thin lures dancing, and will catch lots of perch.
Don’t forget, though, move the weight slowly, and include plenty of pauses.
If I feel the perch want a faster moving bait then I will try a small paddletail lure instead. Look for versions with a fast action, as this is definitely what the perch prefer.
HOOKING UP
Standard nose-hooking works well for most lures, giving them maximum movement, but it can lead to missed bites if the perch are coming up short on the lure.
Most of the time I now prefer to use a slightly larger hook and thread the lure on to it, so that the hookpoint is positioned about a third of the way along the back of the bait. Although this slightly compromises the bait’s movement, it does mean you will hit a lot more bites.
A good rule of thumb is to go up two sizes for every inch of bait. So for a 2ins bait I use a size 6, a size 2 for a 3ins bait and a size 1/0 for one 4ins long. This is about the maximum size that I will use on a drop shot rig.
GO WACKY
An under-used tactic that opens up a huge number of possibilities is to wacky rig your baits. This works best with slim, worm-shaped baits, and simply involves hooking them in the middle, rather than through one end. This means that you effectively end up fishing with two baits rather than one!
Why not try using a bunch of two or three plastic worms in different colours, or rig up a cocktail of both an artificial and a real bait?
Drop shotting is such a deceptively simple tactic, yet one that is limited only by your imagination.
It is not only effective for perch either – I know a lot of Dutch anglers who catch plenty of roach, bream and carp on tiny artificial baits. When temperatures are low there are few better ways to conjure up some hot action. Give it a try before the season ends!