Warming up for the perch

[Vagabond]

Both weatherwise and getting into practice - as I have not been out much lately

 

Got this one this morning from a Wealden pond I haven't fished for a few years.

 

The pond looks promising - better than those I was fishing last year which produced a lot of pounders but nothing larger.

 

This was a better stamp of fish, well proportioned and fought well

 

 

 

I'll be fishing this water again !

[The Flying Tench]

A lovely fish. I was thinking of having a go for some perch, but was worried, with the warm spell, that they might be spawning.

[Mike_pk_Waters]

There are some good fish in the club lake at scaland, I know because I have had several over 2, including a 3lb 2 and a 4lb fish. There is a bigger one because when the 4 came out the fish following it was wider across the shoulders and longer. I have been back several times but no luck , although some good fish came out. You just need to be brave and fish right into the roots!!!!

 

Mike

[Vagabond]

You just need to be brave and fish right into the roots!!!!

That is just what I did ! Deep water, very very close in - had to hold the fish very hard.

My usual tactics of getting a feeding frenzy of small fish going close to the bank, and then fish on the edge of that feeding area. That was under an overhanging bush with deep water and a tangle of roots.

 

This is a very similar swim to the one at Deerdrink which likewise used to produce big perch. That cohort is now aging (the last one I caught was a very seedy-looking fish) and a new cohort has yet to come through.

Edited April 10, 2015 by Vagabond

[Mike_pk_Waters]

I dont need to see the swim from the photo, I just know where the good perch live. a large prawn on a 6, lowered very carefully into the forest, and a small bobber set just over depth. then sit and watch the world go by, just feeding the small fish to get some interest. Life is good some times. On the strike I try to strike into the bank, the therory beign the natural reaction is for the fish to go the other way , and fast, which mean out into clearer water. Then is all down to the rod and feel of the angler. sometimes it actually works, but sometimes just being there and watching the kingfishers is enough. It make the enventual capture worth more knowing its watercraft and skill rather than a dubious stocking policy that has created the result