PERCH TIPS SPOT ON

After reading the river perching feature with Rob Thompson in issue 331, I decided it was time that I tried to catch a perch from running water. Despite living close to a river, I've only it fished it a couple of times as I normally fish the commercial carp waters in the area. A few weeks ago I caught a 1lb 6oz perch while fishing with prawns. This was the first perch bigger than a couple of ounces that I had ever caught, and I was over the moon. I knew big perch had been caught from the river near me, so once I'd read Rob’s feature a couple of times I purchased some worms and maggots and the tackle items required to set up a rig like the one Rob detailed. I wandered along a stretch of the river and there wasn't another angler in sight – a change from the commercials I usually fish, where I often can only pick from a handful of empty pegs! I fished exactly as Rob described, with a link leger, occasionally twitching the worm hookbait. The first few swims didn't produce anything, but I found a peg with some overhanging branches on the far bank which looked as though it might hold some perch. Sure enough, shortly after 3pm as the light levels dipped my tip came to life and pulled round. A perch of around a pound was promptly landed, and I managed to catch several more of a similar size before the light faded completely. I think perch are quickly becoming my favourite species, so any more features on how to catch them would be greatly appreciated.