Rig for large live baits for Perch.

[Phone]

Worms,

 

I use a similar hook (I think?) but in the gamakatsu (sp). It is a barbed or barbless drop shot hook. Usually 1, 1/0 or 2/0. Our perch are much smaller.

 

Phone

[Dales]

Worms, on a water that allowed it I think that would be an option. With a big bait that would increase the hook up rate. I like to stick to fishery rules, I am not one for trying to dodge them. If I was the easy option would be to try to catch baits of the right size and sneak them out. I am rather seeing the size issue as a challenge and if I get lucky they might have some smaller baits. Last year, I got a bag of 10" Roach when Cat fishing, it was the smallest they had at the time. I had some dreadful looks from pleasure anglers using them.

[Phil Adams]

Im not one for using lives. But I dont have a problem bopping one on the head before I use it. Do people really prefer lives to deads? Just wondering.

[Rusty]

Im not one for using lives. But I dont have a problem bopping one on the head before I use it. Do people really prefer lives to deads? Just wondering.

 

I think specifically for perch Phil popular opinion is that lives will outfish deads.

[Phone]

Phil A,

 

Many perch guys over here will limit lives to "X" size (a personal choice). Larger bait is often bopped and segimented.

 

Phone

[Phil Adams]

Thanks for replying, its interesting but I have never caught a perch on a chunk/fillet/section of dead fish, only ever on a small whole bait.

[Steve Burke]

Hooking perch on livebaits is a problem that I haven't solved despite fishing for them for many years. One of the reasons is that I refuse to hook livebaits anywhere but the lips. This also cost me pike on trout reservoirs when I refused to use big livebaits. Deadbaits were largely ineffective on these waters, and lures didn't work nearly as well in the typically coloured water at the time of year we were allowed to fish for pike. So I appreciate your dilemna.

 

Small livebaits are often wolfed down very quickly and so can lead to deep hooking. So my preference is for larger ones of about 4 to 5 inches. Missed takes on these are often small fish - or at least I like to think so!

 

Like others, I'm happy to use deadbaits an inch or so bigger. I often use half baits as well, especially if the baits are big. I'm happy to hook deadbaits in the tail or elsewhere.

 

Deadbaits have been successful for me on every water I've fished them on. It's important though that they're dead fresh. Even freezing them overnight makes a huge difference to catch rates. They do sort out a higher average size of perch, and it's not just that they avoid small ones. Some perch on commercials seem to be scavengers and thus more likely to take a deadbait than a livebait. The only downside has been that anything under 5 inches catches way too many carp, and even on one occasion small tench!

 

Whilst I've done very well with deadbaits off bottom for pike, with perch my best presentation has been laying on overdepth. Partly this is because carp are even more of a nuisance up in the water, partly it's because perch wise up quickly to such a presentation (a lot quicker than carp!). I use an undershotted waggler as this allows me to see which way the perch runs and so which way to strike.

 

Good luck!

[Dales]

A quick update, bait size was not an issue. They had smaller baits, having decided to keep them for the Perch anglers. While pleased I could get smaller baits, it did point to the fish being pressured which turned out to be the case. There where about 7 people fishing and the bailiff dropped off 3 bags of lives, So looks like that get targeted a lot.

 

I tried lives, deads, prawn, lobs and maggots but failed to pick up any big ones. Obviously I did not fish that well but I had picked one of the worse days for Perch fishing a glorious suny day with out a single cloud. The fishery I was at has set fishing times, good if you want to fish in winter as you get to fish in to darkness not so good now when you are off before dusk. But I stuck to the plan of Perch fishing even when challenged to a species hunt by my partner Paula, I agreed to the species hunt as I was finding the prawns not very selective on this water and was already 4 species ahead while she was targeting Crucians on maggot and catching some nice fish to 2 lb. The fact that everything was taking prawns suggested that a lot may go in to the water, it would take minutes before a Tench or Bream would find them and in the end I retired them.

 

I got hammered by Bream on the lobs and rather frustratingly Paula was not catching any Bream at all. So I ended up using the fish baits the most, thinking about it I should have called time on the Perching and changed tactics as I was picking up some nice Rudd by accident and could have had a smashing day Rudd fishing but I was to stubborn to change

 

Paula swapped lakes to a Carp one that backs on to the match lake we started on and went on to catch a huge haul of Mirrors and Commons averaging around 10 to 12 lb. I ended up loosing the species hunt after Paula resorted to major shenanigans by swapping lakes but at least I caught Perch and she did not, after all we where going Perch fishing. Oh well, its a hard one to call should you stick to a plan when conditions are not right or should you adapt and make the most of the situation. Could not care about the Mirrors/Commons but would have loved to have caught some of the Crucians that Paula had.

[Phone]

Dales,

 

Amid those excuses I believe Paula won.

 

Phone

[Dales]

Dales,

 

Amid those excuses I believe Paula won.

 

Phone

 

Only by cheating and fishing 2 lakes