PAUL GARNER
Ultimate perch baits
IN EVERY lake, river and canal, a tiny proportion of the perch that spawn each year are destined for great things.
The genetic reason why they grow bigger than their shoal mates is unknown, but over the next few years the size of these fish will accelerate away from their brothers and sisters, many of whom may end up being eaten by their larger siblings. This behaviour gives us a massive clue in understanding how best to fish for them.
Fish baits
The obvious place to start when you want to catch a predator is with its natural diet. Big perch, especially in waters that contain no pike, live on small fish, making this a very selective bait for us anglers to use. On most venues – where the method is permitted – a small livebait of around 4ins is unrivalled.
By comparison, deadbaits often – but not always – come in a poor second. That said, lip-hooked deads, fished ‘sink and draw’, can produce.
Wonderful worms
There isn’t a perch swimming that will turn its nose up at a lobworm, and using one on a link leger rig fished under any trailing marginal cover will soon tell you if any perch are at home.
I like to use medium-sized worms for perch, rather than the real giants, because bites are much easier to connect with on these slightly smaller baits. Hook the worm through the saddle just once. If you can only get hold of big ones, then use them cut in half instead.
Big prawns
These baits have a chequered track record, in my experience. On some venues they are very effective, while on others they are a dead loss. I initially thought that they would work well on rivers containing lots of signal crayfish, but this proved incorrect. In fact, they’ve been more reliable on commercial fisheries where the perch have never seen a cray in their lives!
One word of warning – don’t be tempted to feed much when using prawns. They seem to fill perch up quickly!