gudgeon - good or bad?

[The Flying Tench]

In a recent post Leedsunited mentioned catching nothing but gudgeon. It raises an interesting question - if you start catching gudgeon, do you stay or move? I've seen articles that say they are good news, and will attract the better fish, but in my experience that's not always true. To be sure I've known gudgeon share a swim with solid perch, for obvious reasons, but on other occasions I've found the gudgeon in the shallow slacks, and I've needed to go deeper and into slightly faster water to get the better fish.

 

A special case is eddies at the edge of a river. In one of my favourites I had a 5lb chub and a 2lb perch, both in very cold weather, and certainly when I got the chub the main river was in flood. When I went back to this successful swim during milder weather I started catching gudgeon. I got one or two reasonable perch, to be sure, but nothing significant. I have the impression the better fish moved in when the river was in flood, and the gudgeon seemed to go - I know not where.

 

I'd welcome others' views on what to do when you start catching gudgeon.

[Peter Waller]

According to some notable anglers gudgeon fishing is what real angling is all about. See Passion for Angling!

[Guest Ferret1959]

I love fishing for gudgeon and one day I'll have a record and put the Soar back on the map for holding the biggest gudgeon.

 

As it happens the record was held on the next stretch to mine for a fair few years.

[John Ellison]

I never tire of catching them either. First off I think they are cute. They have lovely colours including spots. Feed a gudgeon swim properly and you can catch them from start to finnish in a five hour match and finish with a predictable weight.

While sea fishing once off Rhyl I caught a male dragonet. I thought it was the most beautiful fish I'd ever seen. I'm sure it's gudgeon like appearance had a lot to do with my love of it.

[Gaz51]

Gudgeon do for me too.

 

For such a small fish they fight like hell and offer good sport when tackled using light gear. Almost baby barbelish!

[Paul_D]

I have a soft spot for Gudgeon too but don't catch them around my local rivers now that I live 'up north'. I absolutely loathe Minnows though, in the warm weather the rivers here teem with the things but you couldn't catch one at this time of the year if you tried.

[medwaygreen]

All fish are good fish,the first fish i caught was i Gudgeon in 1961.I would like to think it weighes 25lbs now!!!!!

[Chris Plumb]

John - you probably know I'm having quite a good autumn on the Kennet for Chub and Perch - having had new PB's for both species in the last 2 months! I've also caught stacks of gudgeon on these trips and I can't say I've noticed any descernable pattern. Often I'll catch gudgeon from the same line and swim and 'between' catches of the bigger species. I must say I have a soft spot for them too - much prefer them to minnas!

 

C.

[Leon Roskilly]

If I want to be transported back to that day of my first ever fishing trip (54 years ago) I spend a couple of moments gazing at those blue spots along a gudgeon's flank, glinting in the sun, and suddenly I'm 7 years old again, full of wide-eyed amazement that something so beautiful could come out of that oily canal water, of the barge infested river Lea.

 

Then the red-finned roach, and striped green perch.

 

They are still as welcome now as then, as creatures of the water, even when I'm targetting something else, they make a welcome appearance when bites are otherwise slow.

 

Tight Lines - leon

[Alan Stubbs]

Gudgeon?

 

I was still catching gudgeon - all less than 10gms when I stepped the gear up to a size 8 hook with luncheonmeat hookbait. I was looking for bream and small carp at the time. On the other hand, I admired their tenacity!

 

I can't honestly say they are my favourite species!