Perch gorging fry

[The Flying Tench]

I've occasionally met people who say they've 'bagged up' spinning when the perch are gorging fry. For example, someone got a perch-a-chuck up to 2lb, apparently, in my local canal in Newbury in late Feb 2003 when the dace had spawned early.

 

I'm not sure if I've seen this phenomenon, but I saw something like it yesterday evening at my nearest open canal at Hungerford. On my previous visit the canal looked dead, but yesterday there were 'rings' all over the canal with little fish (I don't know which species), and every now and then a couple would jump out of the water. The water is very muddy and cloudy. I just went with ledger tackle, and caught very little, but now need to decide on the next trip.

 

Problem. Spinning and live-baiting are banned. I wonder if spinning includes jigged worm and wobbled gudgeon? I guess one could fish with a big worm mid-water, but would this attract when the perch are focussed on fry? For some reaason, most of my worm fishing for perch has been ledgering. Does it work suspending a great lobworm in midwater?

 

And another question for those more used to this phenomenon. How long is it likely to go on?

 

John

[poledark]

Jon, you may have to move fast mate, that feeding spree won't last very long.

 

Have you any flie tackle?

 

Den

[Stefan]

If you are allowed to deadbait, grab a couple of little roach or gudgeon, some pinkies or squats and fire around the deadbait, attracting small fish, the perch will definately follow.

---Stefan---

[Peter Waller]

The pike on my local Broad were surface striking with some violence today, frustrating!!

[The Diamond Geezer]

quote:

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Originally posted by johnclarke:

 

... my nearest open canal at Hungerford. ..... Spinning and live-baiting are banned. John

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Re: the Kennet & Avon Canal (above Kintbury) ... where does it say that in the Regs????????

 

DG :confused:

[Steve Burke]

Perch gorge themselves on fry whenever there's sufficicient fry in one place to make it worthwhile attacking them. It can happen at any time of the year, and on some waters it's almost continuous.

 

Sometimes, the perch get pre-occupied with the fry and won't look at anything else. Given the restrictions you have, deadbaiting may well be the answer then.

 

However, worms often work very well in these circumstances. On one water I used to fish the fry are so dense you could also walk across to the other side on them! Yet worms score very well indeed, often better than deadbaits.

 

Some of you may have seen me on the TV programme "Screaming Reels" floatfishing with worms for perch on a gravel pit. Well, this was the water in question.

 

One of the keys is finding the optimum depth, and in many cases this will be off the bottom, sometimes well off. It usually depends on underwater visibility - the less it is, the higher in the water the feeding perch will tend to be.

[The Flying Tench]

Diamond Geezer - how do you do that 'originally posted by johnclarke' bit, with 2 horizontal lines? Do you type it yourself, or is there a button to click? The answer to your question is that the only bit of the canal that I'm aware of where the controlling angling society allows fishing in the close season is a stretch belonging to Hungerford Canal AA, and it's one of their rules - no spinning April to Aug, no livebaiting ever. A nuisance, 'cos I feel like doing some spinning at the moment.

 

Steve, I missed you on Screaming Reels. Wish I'd seen it. I've learned several things from your post, and it's particularly interesting that the perch are likely to be higher in the water when it's coloured. Thanks

[The Diamond Geezer]

quote:

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Originally posted by johnclarke:

 

Diamond Geezer - how do you do that 'originally posted by johnclarke' bit, with 2 horizontal lines? Do you type it yourself, or is there a button to click?

---

 

 

 

quote:

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Originally posted by johnclarke:

 

The answer to your question is that the only bit of the canal that I'm aware of where the controlling angling society allows fishing in the close season is a stretch belonging to Hungerford Canal AA, and it's one of their rules - no spinning April to Aug, no livebaiting ever.

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That's weird because above and below the Hungerford AA stretch of the K&A Canal, spinning & live-baiting is OK now. The answer is to join Reading DAA and have fun fishing their stretches of the K&A ... above the confluence of the R.Kennet and the K&A Canal at Kintbury and above Hungerford. Pewsey DAA have the Canal at Bedwyn and they're sensible about things too.

 

Pop into Field & Stream in Newbury and you'll get all the gen straight from the horses mouth

 

The Closed Season on this stretch of the Canal is a bit of a joke really, because, as evidenced by all the fry to be seen, many species have spawned already .... including the carp whose tiny off-spring, inter many alia, were clearly visible on 31 March 2004, the day before I bought my new EA licence

 

DG

 

[ 17. April 2004, 09:20 AM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

[The Flying Tench]

Originally posted by The Diamond Geezer:

 

QUOTE]That's weird because above and below the Hungerford AA stretch of the K&A Canal, spinning & live-baiting is OK now. The answer is to join Reading DAA and have fun fishing their stretches of the K&A ... above the confluence of the R.Kennet and the K&A Canal at Kintbury and above Hungerford. Pewsey DAA have the Canal at Bedwyn and they're sensible about things too.

 

How do you know all this? You don't even live here! But thanks.

[The Diamond Geezer]

quote:

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Originally posted by johnclarke:

 

How do you know all this? You don't even live here! But thanks.

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Well, I've got one of these new-fangled things called a car , so that means I can leave my penny-farthing bike at home and travel around .. down the M4, and then the A4 . I've even been further than Hungerford .... even abroad

 

How do you get to Hungerford from Newbury, then? Walk on water i.e. along the canal from that free stretch in the middle of Newbury where you normally fish

 

DG

 

[ 19. April 2004, 03:24 PM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]