(another) Perch question

[Guest Bridgey]

I live a good cast away from a water about which I have been thinking a lot about recently, about whether it has the potential to produce a good Perch or two. I'll set the scene..

 

It's about 1 1/2-2 acres and is a lodge that once served a bleach works which has long since been bulldozed.

 

Depth is mainly 3 feet with a deeper area to about 10 feet which covers approx. 25% of it's area.

 

The water is heavily stocked with small Bream averaging perhaps 4oz, lots of Tench to 4lb, a few Carp to 20lb and loads of Perch up to 8oz. I have lived next to this water for 15 years and have never seen or heard of any Pike.

 

There is no track record of any larger Perch being caught but there again, no-one fishes for them.

 

The water is reasonably clear in Winter but quite heavily coloured in Summer (presemably due to fish activity)

 

I was wondering what anyone with experience of large Perch thinks about this place throwing up one or two decent ones? I have until recently discounted this possibility due to no 'fluke' captures but now I'm not too sure, as I do not think that Perch, due to their predatory nature, become 'stunted' due to overpopulation as other species might.

 

My only efforts to date have been to throw a few lures around in Winter with no result.

 

Any thoughts anyone? Would a day or two with a little livebait be worth the effort?

[Guest Steve Burke]

Originally posted by Bridgey:

Any thoughts anyone? Would a day or two with a little livebait be worth the effort?

 

Yes, but a day or two with a bigger livebait or deadbait will probably do a lot better! My favourite bait size for specimen perch is 5 inches. The only reason I don't go bigger is hooking problems - not because the bait is too big for the perch. The problem with the usual 2 to 3 inch baits used for perch is that they aren't selective and catch too many half pounders.

 

With a large head of 4 oz bream I'd say that it's odds on that it contains some big perch. There may not be many and they may be well fed and hence difficult to catch. On the other hand, if no one's tried for them they won't be shy of rigs and baits, even if they wise up pretty quickly. The first angler to have a go for them could do very well.

 

For further ideas I'd once again refer you to my article on big perch from commercial carp waters.

 

Good luck if you decide to have a go. Make sure you tell us if you're successful.

 

 

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Wingham Fisheries

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/fisheries/wingham.htm

[Guest Andy Gardner]

You say the water is heavily coloured in the summer? nearly all big perch waters I know are crystal clear,is this because big perch rely on sight to hunt their prey?

 

Andy Gardner

Originally posted by Bridgey:

I live a good cast away from a water about which I have been thinking a lot about recently, about whether it has the potential to produce a good Perch or two. I'll set the scene..

 

It's about 1 1/2-2 acres and is a lodge that once served a bleach works which has long since been bulldozed.

 

Depth is mainly 3 feet with a deeper area to about 10 feet which covers approx. 25% of it's area.

 

The water is heavily stocked with small Bream averaging perhaps 4oz, lots of Tench to 4lb, a few Carp to 20lb and loads of Perch up to 8oz. I have lived next to this water for 15 years and have never seen or heard of any Pike.

 

There is no track record of any larger Perch being caught but there again, no-one fishes for them.

 

The water is reasonably clear in Winter but quite heavily coloured in Summer (presemably due to fish activity)

 

I was wondering what anyone with experience of large Perch thinks about this place throwing up one or two decent ones? I have until recently discounted this possibility due to no 'fluke' captures but now I'm not too sure, as I do not think that Perch, due to their predatory nature, become 'stunted' due to overpopulation as other species might.

 

My only efforts to date have been to throw a few lures around in Winter with no result.

 

Any thoughts anyone? Would a day or two with a little livebait be worth the effort?

[Guest Steve Burke]

Originally posted by Andy Gardner:

You say the water is heavily coloured in the summer? nearly all big perch waters I know are crystal clear,is this because big perch rely on sight to hunt their prey?

 

Andy Gardner

 

Below is a quote from my piece in the articles section of Angler's Net called "Fishing Fallacies"

 

This fallacy is entitled "Perch feed best and grow biggest in clear water"

 

"If I had a pound for every time I've heard this one, I'd be a rich man! The truth of the matter is that perch, like any fish, grow biggest where they can obtain the maximum amount of food for the minimum amount of effort.

 

This might be in clear water, but it could equally well be in murky water. Indeed, the record perch came from Furnace Pond in Kent, which is far from clear! This sort of cloudy lake often contains an abundance of stunted fodder fish, and if a perch can easily fill its belly on small fry its growth rate can be spectacular.

 

This particular fallacy about perch and clear water may have arisen because scientists have established that perch are predominantly sight feeders and that they have better eyesight than their prey. Anglers then wrongly assumed that clear water improved the chances of perch getting a meal. This was compounded by **** Walker's catches of specimen perch from crystal clear Arlesey Lake during the brightest part of winter days. However, what many overlooked is that these perch were caught at great depth (about 40 feet), where even at midday the light in winter would be minimal.

 

In fact, my own experience suggests that perch feed best in dim light, when they have the maximum advantage over their poorer sighted prey. At night neither can see at all, but in bright conditions any attacking perch can more easily be spotted and avoided.

 

Certainly in nearly all the shallower waters I've fished, the best time to catch big perch has been dusk and, to a lesser extent, dawn. However, I suspect that the visibility would then be about the same as 40 feet down in Arlesly at midday. In fact, this is a typical case of the wrong conclusion being drawn from observations, thus leading to yet another old wives' tale!"

 

 

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Wingham Fisheries

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/fisheries/wingham.htm

[Guest Newt]

Bridgey - if Perch ever take lures, you might also try using a solid black buzz bait at night. Easier for the fish to see it on the surface against any light in the sky whatever. With the fish over here who respond to lures, the takes can be quite exciting. They are locating your bait initially by sound and may actually miss or just hit a glancing blow when the strike so keep the bait moving slowly (just fast enough to keep it on top and gurgling) until you actually feel the fish load up the rod. If no luck at slow speed, begin to try it faster and faster until you find a speed they like. You CANNOT pull the lure along so fast that the fish can't catch it.

 

If the moon is near full and the night is bright, you might want some silver showing on the blades to give a bit of flash.

[Guest Steve Burke]

Good advice for pike and other species there, Newt. In fact I love fishing surface lures after dark for pike - it really gets the pulse racing!

 

However, UK perch feed at night very rarely indeed. I'm not saying that they never do at all, but I can recall only having the odd one in many years.

 

Indeed, I've several times seen perch apparently asleep at night; on one occasion it took several prods with a landing net handle to wake one up!

 

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Wingham Fisheries

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/fisheries/wingham.htm