Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Twin attack for river perch – Mark Perkins
Depending on how they are feeding, perch will require a different approach to catch them. Thankfully, Mark Perkins has two set-ups that cover all scenarios
IT IS often asked, what makes a great angler? There are a number of factors that contribute to them reaching an elite level. An ability to pick the right tackle for the job is key and a firm grasp of which baits perform best is equally important. Possessing a sixth sense to sniff out a red-hot peg is also incredibly helpful. But there is another skill that is arguably the most vital of them all – having a solid understanding of what goes on underwater. Developing this skill enables you to create theories of how your rigs work once they drop beneath the waterline and there is no doubt that the most successful fishermen all have this well sorted in their mind. Dynamite Baits-backed Mark Perkins is a highly regarded river angler and his record of achievements on running waters demonstrate he is in tune with how his tackle is performing once out of sight. “You have to make what are effectively educated guesses on how rigs and baits behave underwater and from your conclusions you can decide the type of set-up to use,” explained Mark. “At this time of year big perch are one of the most reliable species to target and in recent months I have worked on two different types of presentation that have given me some great catches.”
The bait cloud rig
When fishing deep rivers such as the River Soar at Zouch on the outskirts of Loughborough, Mark believes the perch feed in two different ways. The first of his rigs aims to create a cloud of feed that has multiple benefits. “At the start of the session I will cast to my intended target with a 1oz bomb and count how long it takes to hit the bottom. You will know when it has hit bottom because the tip will drop back and everything will slacken off. It may take, for example, 10 seconds to hit the deck and I then remember that,” stated Mark. The bomb is then replaced by a large plastic feeder which is packed with an even blend of Dynamite Baits Frenzied Hemp Black groundbait which adds flavour and attracts small silvers, soil to add weight and leam that creates the cloud. “I cast out and if it took 10 seconds for the bomb to hit the bottom, I will jerk the feeder once I’ve counted to seven. This releases the contents and creates a cloud in the bottom layers of the water. “I use a 2ft hooklength on this rig so that when my feeder hits the bottom, the hooklength continues to fall through the cloud. More often than not you get a very quick bite because the perch swarm in and swallow the section of lobworm that is on the hook,” he added. A lot of water is added to make the mix ‘wet’ which makes it easier to empty the feeder when it is twitched.
Twitch it instead
On some days, the fish are cagier and won’t be bold enough to swarm into a cloud of bait. “If you don’t get bites using the bait cloud tactic within a few casts then it is time to change to another approach,” he revealed.
“It doesn’t mean that there are no perch in the area – it probably just means they want to feed in a different manner.” When this happens, Mark switches to a lighter set-up and an even longer hooklength which is extremely active once it hits the deck. The rod is placed on the rest at a 45-degree angle so that Mark can twitch the feeder along the bottom with the slightest turn of the reel handle. “When fishing like this I put the same mix of groundbait, leam and soil through the feeder, but I am nudging the feeder all the time. The idea is that the fish are sat off the main bed of bait and I will eventually entice them to take the worm which is almost on its own. If you have regularly twitched it for five minutes then you will need to recast because you will have moved the rig well out of the target zone.” A lighter rod comes into play for this style and Mark favours a Shimano Speedmaster 9ft-11ft paired with a reel spooled with 5lb Shimano Aeromatch. Hooklength is anything between 3ft and 6ft of 0.18mm Shimano Aspire Fluorocarbon to a size 10 Drennan Wide Gape. “If you aren’t getting any bites on a 3ft hooklength then you need to keep extending it by 6in until you finally get bites. The big hook is vital because perch have very bony mouths and this helps the hook to penetrate every time they take the bait.”
Soaring success
Tackling up in a swim at Zouch that was renowned for having plenty of depth, Mark pinpointed a series of bushes on the far bank as an obvious perch holding point. “I’ll always start positively on the groundbait cloud set-up but first of all I need to know how deep it is.” On went the bomb and it took 14 seconds to hit the deck – sign of a very deep peg! “Once the feeder is on I will give it a firm twitch once I’ve counted to 11 and that will release the mixture and create the cloud.” It took a few chucks to gain a response but small perch eventually got the hint and started to feed, falling for his 3in section of lobworm. At times the bites dried up but, by changing to the rig where nudging every 30 seconds was required, he soon relocated the fish. A mix of rotating between the two set-ups and changing the length of his hooklink kept a steady run of perch to 2lb coming, with over 20lb in the net at the end of the day. “There is so much more to feeder fishing than just chucking it out and hoping for the best. Work out theories as to how your rigs and bait are reacting and if the tip keeps going round, you can guarantee your thinking is bang on,” concluded Mark.
“I’ll always start positively on the groundbait cloud set-up”