Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Discover how hot and spicy prawns can transform your perch catches
Exotic supermarket seasonings are the key to boosting your baits and attracting more perch, says top specimen hunter Nate Green
TACKLE shop shelves are lined with products designed to give your bait an extra punch. Liquids, flavourings and glugs have all become big sellers as anglers try to gain an edge over those set up around them. Nate Green is a skilled specimen angler who has faith in tampering with his baits but prefers to source his secret ingredients from the local supermarket. The Kent-based rod has caught numerous big perch this winter and puts his run of success down to adding a little spice to his approach. “If you haven’t fed exactly where the fish are sitting then you need to have faith that your loosefeed is packing enough attraction to entice the perch in to your swim from elsewhere,” explained Nate. “The spice section of my local supermarket is the first place I head to when planning a trip because these cheap additives definitely have plenty of pulling power.”
Positive feeding
Winter is seen as a time to scale back the amount of feed you put in but there are a few species where you can do the complete opposite – perch being one of them. Renowned for their willingness to get their heads down throughout even the most testing of conditions, they will happily attack a bed of bait as opposed to picking at a few scraps before disappearing. “I take at least four pints of maggots for a day session and feed four Spombs full at the start over each rod. “The night before the session I cover my maggots in garam masala spice. Doing it in advance enables the grubs to soak up the smell and that means the scent lingers for longer once they are in the water.” When fishing in open water Nate keeps his target zones close together. If he is fishing two rods, they will only be 10ft apart. If fish spook from one zone then they are likely to land on the other spot, leading to fewer quiet periods.
Low resistance rigs
Bolt rigs that lead to the fish hooking themselves upon inhaling the hookbait are widely used in specimen fishing but relying on them when chasing perch is unwise. They are a species that can detect resistance within a split second of pouncing on a bait and can easily eject it before the hook has been set. To stack the odds in your favour it is important to use a low-resistance rig that fools the perch into taking the whole hookbait and when they finally realise something is amiss it is too late. “A lot of anglers have their lead directly on the mainline with the hookbait below but if this gets stuck in silt then the perch will feel the resistance the moment they pick up the hookbait and drop it before you can react,” stated Nate. “To combat this my lead is attached to length of line which is tied to a heavy duty O-ring. When a perch picks up the hookbait the ring can run up and down the line, no matter whether the lead is in silt or not. This will lead to the fish fully mouthing the hookbait as it doesn’t suspect a thing. By the time it does feel something it can’t get rid of the hook.” Nate’s rigs are made up of 6lb mainline, a 1.5oz lead and a 5lb 14oz hooklength to a size 8 Kamasan B983 hook.
Standout hookbaits
Although maggots make up the loosefeed, a more substantial offering is threaded on to the hook prior to casting out. Reaching into his bag, Nate pulls out a packet of cooked King Prawns. These play a key part in his success. Rather than fishing a whole prawn he tears each one in half. He also hooks them differently to most as much of his perching is into open water. Threading the hook through the prawn body prevents it falling off on the cast.
“You want your hookbait to stand out a mile and a large section of prawn does exactly that. “Considering the maggots are coated in garam masala, a prawn that has no additive on it will still stand out but I will have no qualms about using a different spice such as paprika or cumin so that it is equally unmissable.”
Hit it quick
A cold breeze cut across the southern stillwater where we’d arranged to meet Nate. There was no holding back with the loosefeed though. At least a pint of maggots was shared between the swims before two rigs baited with prawns were cast over the top. The initial commotion inevitably led to a slow start but within 45 minutes the alarms had sprung into life and Nate struck firmly as he picked up the rod. “You can’t sit back and take your time when you get a bite because there is every chance the fish will drop the bait, even when using lowresistance rigs,” cautioned Nate as the first 1lbplus fish of the day was banked. By topping up with another dose of maggots whenever bites dried up as well as switching between spices on the hookbait, a steady stream of fish came to the net, with a 2lb 11oz stunner the pick of the bunch. Fishing with maggots and prawns for big perch is nothing new but giving them a spicy edge could be the tweak you need to fool that elusive personal best.