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Avoiding Deep-Hooked Perch


TrevBoy

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I would always prefer to offer a bait for perch at dead depth working the bait up and down by either lifting it with the pole or with a twitch if using a running line, I even tried a worm balanced with foam on the lead to achieve this at range though never with the success I hoped for. I found working a bait best whether looking for tiny perch on bits of worm or lob worms for the bigger ones. Laying a bait on the bottom was usually a last resort for conditions of extreme wind

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I even tried a worm balanced with foam on the lead to achieve this at range though never with the success I hoped for. I found working a bait best whether looking for tiny perch on bits of worm or lob worms for the bigger ones.

As an alternative to foam/lead, have you considered a neutral-density wooden ledger ? Made out of old bits of oak or similar very dense wood. Source ? - old round-section chair legs etc, ready turned, so all you need do is saw off a bit, drill it through, taper the ends if you wish, and you are in business. Already camouflaged (!!). Balance so it just sinks (lots of ways, wire wrapping, fancy carp-style "Heavy Metal", etc etc) Find an old piece of teak and it will sink already.

 

 

Or, as an improvisation at the waterside, choose a big float, fix it top and bottom just above your shot, and overshot it so that it sinks slowly.

 

A disadvantage compared with wooden leger is the resistance, which perch don't like, but I have improvised (successfully) with this method to present a very slow sinking bait in very deep Texas lakes, when fishing for white bass, which swim at all depths (and you have to guess which on the day).

 

 

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On shallow waters (both rivers and stillwaters) I almost always static leger or float-fish overdepth for perch. On deeper waters it's trickier as they could be anywhere in the water column, but even then I concentrate on the bottom third. Baits can either be suspended at your chosen depth by paternostering (if you want to keep the bait in one spot) or suspending under a suitable float (if you want it to move around), or in very deep water it's sometimes easiest to pop baits up off the bottom.

 

Shallow water is undoubtedly easiest when it comes to perch!

 

On the original question, I'd agree with previous posters, and think that the shotting of the float is the main culprit. In this situation, the tell tale shot(s) need to move as soon as the bait is taken, and that movement has to register on the float.

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As an alternative to foam/lead, have you considered a neutral-density wooden ledger ? Made out of old bits of oak or similar very dense wood. Source ? - old round-section chair legs etc, ready turned, so all you need do is saw off a bit, drill it through, taper the ends if you wish, and you are in business. Already camouflaged (!!). Balance so it just sinks (lots of ways, wire wrapping, fancy carp-style "Heavy Metal", etc etc) Find an old piece of teak and it will sink already.

 

Ah, the old lignum vitae leger Dave. A long time since I've heard anyone mention that. :D

 

A piece of an old police truncheon, or in my case a knackered lawn green bowl, did the trick.

 

John.

Angling is more than just catching fish, if it wasn't it would just be called 'catching'......... John

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I'm with others here about the shotting.

 

I also usually do the same as Anderoo when fishing shallow waters for perch and fish on the bottom. On commercials in particular I find I get too many carp off the bottom. Presentation is usually also better on the bottom, and specimen perch wise up quicker than any species I've fished for, including carp. Luckily though they haven't got such good memories as carp!

 

Perch have better eyesight than any coarse fish except zander. They feed best when they've the greatest advantage over their poorer-sighted prey. So the key to finding feeding perch is underwater light intensity. The poorer the visibility the more likely the perch are to be up in the water. So in many cases in deep water I'll be fishing off the bottom.

 

For those of you who haven't read them already there's a lot more about perch in these articles of mine: http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/steveburke.htm.

Wingham Specimen Coarse & Carp Syndicates www.winghamfisheries.co.uk Beautiful, peaceful, little fished gravel pit syndicates in Kent with very big fish. 2017 Forum Fish-In Sat May 6 to Mon May 8. Articles http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/steveburke.htm Index of all my articles on Angler's Net

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Just had one around a couple of lbs take my bleak offering ,I saw the perch slash and swirl twice at the bait and hit it as soon as line peeled off the spool maybe 3 or 4 seconds after it engulfed the bait and yet still the hook was deep ,I got it out pronto and he swam off strongly but it just seems to me if they are having it nowt cept maybe the Ruffe swallows stuff as quick...they are just gutty buggers

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All,

 

Why are there no comments on Newt's suggestion?

 

Here is just one example of the first study I came across - yellow perch. (cut and paste)

 

 

Results of DNR Circle Hook Studies
Deep-Hooking Rate
Year
J-Hooks
Circle Hooks
% Reduction
1999
17.2%
3.4%
80%
2000
15.0%
5.0%
67%
2001
17.1%
6.6%
60%
2002
12.3%
2.4%
80%

 

 

Phone

 

Edit: well 'ell, it didn't come out as a table. First number is a "j" hook - second number a circle hook - third is % of difference.

Edited by Phone
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never found a way of stopping it....just use smaller hooks than you might normally to help with removal.

perch tend to strike at the bait and so it goes deep...

one method is to have an ultra fine float with a very light weight pattern.....just make sure its ultra sensitive and strike asap.

 

I would suggest the very opposite and go up to a size 6 or even a size 4 for perch fishing with lobs.

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I would suggest the very opposite and go up to a size 6 or even a size 4 for perch fishing with lobs.

 

Seconded, deep hooked way more perch with small hooks than I have with large hooks.

As famous fisherman John Gierach once said "I used to like fishing because I thought it had some larger significance. Now I like fishing because it's the one thing I can think of that probably doesn't."

 

 

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