Autumn wouldn't be autumn without some Perch fishing. There's no other fish in freshwater that is more closely associated with the drawing in of the days and the falling of the leaves to me. If you can feel that nip in the air then it's a dead cert that the perch can feel the same. It sharpens their appetite and they can't resist the urge to feed hard in readiness for the approaching winter.
I've never caught a really big perch. My PB stands at a modest 2lb 12oz and has done for quite some time. They are really very impressive creatures when they get big. The easy thing to do would be to head to one of the plentiful commercial fisheries and target the 'known' big fish that reside within. I've tried a few times in the past but the commercials just don't feel right, they takes the mystery out of it for me.
I prefer the larger more 'natural' types of venues, quarries, pits and rivers for my perch fishing these days and if the water is clear then all the better. The clear water brings out their markings much better than a muddy hole in the ground. The perch probably wont get as big as those found in the commercials but what they lack in size they make up for with their stunning, bold markings. Such handsome fish!
I found a water to try this autumn and it had all the right qualities that a good perch water needs. Most importantly there were huge numbers of silver fish providing a plentiful food source and no pike present meaning the Perch were top of the food chain.
I tried fishing it with small lures first at the tail end of the summer to see if there were any follows but the water seemed devoid of life. Other than one small micro-perch chasing my small lure down, it didn't look too good.
With this in mind, I decided to start with livebaits, I figured that if there were any bigger fish present then this would be the best way to try and pick them out. On my first session I was fishing maggots on a pole down the edge catching 3 inch roach for baits when a big fish was hooked. It rolled after a few seconds and revealed itself as a perch well over 2 lbs, sadly the 2.5lb line on my float rig parted on a lilly stem. At least I knew there were some better specimens in there!
Once my livies were all sorted, I rigged up my avon rod with a float-paternoster rig and got to work. I anchored my the baits just next to a large bed of lillies that was beginning to die back for the year. Loose feeding maggots regularly did the trick and within an hour the float sailed away......a lovely perch that went 2lb 2oz on the scales.
It was a good start. Conditions were perfect that day with a steady, gentle breeze and low light conditions. The perch fed hard all day and by the time it was dark I'd had 6 to a best of 2lb 6oz. Not bad I thought for a first attempt, surely there must be bigger in there.
With life being so busy, I only got to fish the venue one more time before the year was out. I managed a further 4 on the second attempt but none bigger than the 2lb 6oz fish from the first session. As I write this now, I'm currently sat in a backpackers hostel in Nicaragua acclimatising and getting over the jetlag before commencing 7 weeks of fishing and exploring through Central America, so that's it for the perch for now. I'll definitely try that venue again next autumn though......there has to be a 3lb'er in there somewhere 😉
CLICK ABOVE TO WATCH VIDEO FOOTAGE OF PERCH RELEASE IN CLEAR WATER
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