Stillwater Perch in winter

[Kappa]

There is a lovely little lake near me with some good perch. I've done well using rudd livebaits in the autumn but I have struggled to catch them as the temperature drops.

 

So two questions:

 

Any tips for catching little Rudd in winter?

Where would you look for the perch? It is a dammed lake so has a shallow end and really deep end! Will the perch be in the deepest water in winter?

 

Rich

[John Weddup]

There is a lovely little lake near me with some good perch. I've done well using rudd livebaits in the autumn but I have struggled to catch them as the temperature drops.

 

So two questions:

 

Any tips for catching little Rudd in winter?

Where would you look for the perch? It is a dammed lake so has a shallow end and really deep end! Will the perch be in the deepest water in winter?

 

Rich

 

 

Hi Rich

 

The small rudd seem too dissapear in winter which is generally a good thing apart from in your case.

 

I would stock up on a few in the freezer as watching one of Steve's youtube videos he does very well on deads.

 

On the other hand there must be roach in there and they can generally be relied apon all winter. You may not have found them yet as rudd in feeding form are ravenous.

 

John

[Anderoo]

I haven't properly fished anywhere like this for perch (yet ) so the honest answer is, I don't know. However, where the perch hang out most of the time might not be where they feed, so it sounds like finding the Rudd is a priority for two reasons!

 

I guess other species like carp make using lobs impossible?

 

If the lake is small, as the temps drop it might be that all the Rudd are in one big tight shoal somewhere. I wonder if it would show up on a smartcast?

[Kappa]

On the other hand there must be roach in there and they can generally be relied apon all winter. You may not have found them yet as rudd in feeding form are ravenous.

 

I hope so John! There are plenty of little perch so they maybe an option. I have not had a sniff of roach yet only Rudd and perch.

 

Anyone had any success with perch livebaits? I know the the saying about using little perch to catch a big one but I've never really tried them!

 

Rich

[JV44]

I hope so John! There are plenty of little perch so they maybe an option. I have not had a sniff of roach yet only Rudd and perch.

 

Anyone had any success with perch livebaits? I know the the saying about using little perch to catch a big one but I've never really tried them!

 

Rich

 

Rich i had a 2lb4oz Perch last week on a Perch livey[as i had run out of gudgeon] and a fair size live to 4 or 5 oz so just goes to show they will gobble down big baits even if they arent that big themselves or at least try to .

had a few over the years on Perch lives mainly accidental whilst Piking but begs the question do we worry about thype of live to much and right place right time is the key Steve.

[Steve Burke]

Perch make really excellent livebaits for their bigger cousins! They also produce dead, but like all deadbaits they must be super fresh. I find that just freezing them overnight makes them much less successful. I fish them whole or in half, both producing on their day.

 

As for location, that's going to vary from water to water, and what makes perch fishing so interesting. I'm going to be fishing a deep estate lake myself this winter, the first such venue I've fished, so can't speak from experience this time.

 

I suspect that the perch will be at the dam end on my water, especially as warm winds will blow down there. However the key is always almost light intensity. The brighter the underwater light, the deeper any feeding perch are likely to be. So conditions and time of day will be important, especially as on many waters you've got to pack up well before dusk. On many shallow commercials I catch specimen stripies in just a couple of feet of water at dusk.

 

It's really suck it and see, and ring the changes. And don't forget that perch often feed off the bottom! Having said that, perch quickly wise up to such presentations.

 

Please do let us know how you get on as it may help me and others.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Steve Burke

[Anderoo]

Steve, in your experience, are big perch in small lakes quite transitory or do they tend to have their favourite areas?

[Steve Burke]

Steve, in your experience, are big perch in small lakes quite transitory or do they tend to have their favourite areas?

 

Again it varies from water to water. However in general I find that the less the features, the more nomadic they are. In some, particularly featureless commercials, they're almost totally so.

 

As I posted earlier, the key is underwater light intensity. However I find the amount of undertow is also important. Like in rivers, stillwater perch that are willing to feed seem to like to be on the edge of the flow.

 

It really comes down to how they feed. For more on this see this article of mine: http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/Coarse-Fishing...erch_guide.html.

[Anderoo]

Thanks Steve. The little lake I started trying to suss out this year (a different one to Richard's) is small but deep everywhere, with margins that go straight down to 12ft. I've only fished it at dusk so far and haven't had a bite yet, which could well be because the perch are often quite deep and water is quite coloured, so the middle of the day might be bite time. Or I could be in completely the wrong place

 

Starting out, I'm working on the assumption that the big perch may well patrol and hunt around the deep margins, as there aren't many features. (I'm also working on the assumption that there are some big perch in there...!)

[Steve Burke]

Good luck, Andrew! And you too, Richard!