Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: 2014
Let’s begin our trawl back through time in this week, 2014, at a commercial near the Derbyshire border. I’d heard rumours of a tiny farm pond producing some cracking perch and it didn’t take a lot of sleuthing to track it down. Even so, when I turned up my immediate thought was that someone was pulling my leg! It was tiny and there was no- one else there.
In fact, there were two ponds – the tiny one and a substantial one. Was this a case of misdirection? The fishery owner assured me otherwise. Yes, there were good perch in the bigger pond but this one held the big ones. Indeed, he reckoned over 5lb!
We’ve all heard the stories, but I’d seen pictures of fish to 3lb and in the background were a row of conifers and there in front of me were the same trees. Of course, lots of fisheries have a few conifers around so it was no guarantee. Either way my swim choice was dictated by the conifers although it wasn’t exactly a wide choice as there were barely six to pick from.
It HAD to be a wind- up. On the other hand, in a water this small the chances were if a big perch existed it would pass through every single swim during the course of a day.
I set off with one float rod, baited with a king prawn, loosefeeding a few broken scraps. It wasn’t about feeding to attract, it was simply just having something in the way of a patrolling fish. I have to confess my hopes were not exactly high but it wasn’t long before the float started dipping and dithering. My heart was in my mouth when the tip slid from view.
It was a roach. Followed by more roach and the odd small carp. Hmmm, this was panning out as badly as I’d feared. I was expecting someone to come out from behind a bush holding their sides with laughter. I’d been had, surely?
The action, such it was, continued for a couple of hours and then the rod hooped over into a healthy bend. Obviously a better carp, so I bullied it to try and get it out of the way and it didn’t like it.
The fish pulled harder and dashed around but soon it came closer to the surface and, oh my gosh, a spiky dorsal broke the surface. In a split second my reactions changed completely. Woah, Bob, steady on, be careful you don’t pull the hook out! My heart was pounding and my knees knocking from the shock.
Fortunately, I was able to slip the net under her and there before me was a huge perch. Even better, I had another nearidentical fish a short while later. Two perch for nearly 8lb. From a puddle!
In truth, I’d probably caught the two biggest perch in there on my first attempt. Tales of five- pounders, I suspect, were the usual exaggerations and guestimates. But you never know. Tiny waters can hold big fish. But it can be a bit like kissing frogs...