All The Gear No Idea... In Search Of Perch

This entry was posted on 25th July, 2014

All The Gear No Idea... In Search Of Perch

Something I’ve always wanted to catch by design is large perch. Their mottled green scale pattern, divided by striking bar markings and tipped off with blood red fins, really makes them impressive creatures! I’ve fished for many species over the years but targeting specimen perch hasn’t always been on my agenda. Too many distractions I guess! Silly when they look so impressive and are the biggest fish of all!

After a successful summer campaign for estate lake carp and increasing my pike and chub personnel bests, my attention soon turned to catching that monster perch. My current personnel best perch only weighed 2lbs 1oz and was caught on float fished worm. I’m sure I’ve caught bigger in the past but they don’t really count on 3.5lb test curve pike rods and 15lb line!

Drop shotting and jig fishing for perch has become very popular in recent years and I was convinced this tactic would help me stay mobile and cover plenty of water. Eventually I had to get lucky if I fired enough arrows! I wanted to try a number of locations that had form for 2lb + perch and maybe a 3lb’r! I started looking through old books, magazines and searching frantically on the Internet! A list of likely locations was quickly put together, that included some local lakes and rivers but also had some interesting places that would require some traveling.

Having pike fished for many years, my lure tackle is more suited to chucking large shads and jerk baits about. Not ideal for casting the light weight jigs needed for perch. A bit of research was needed and some new tackle had to be purchased!

After a chat with Andy Flint at the Norwich shop, I choose a Fox Rage Ultron Spinning Lure Rod, capable of casting jigs between 20g-50g and a Shimano Exage 2500 FD Reel. Braid is a must when lure fishing but I wasn’t aware that a fluorocarbon leader was needed to keep the jig looking as natural as possible. With that in mind, I spooled up with Power Pro in 9kg and attached about a metre of 8lb Gardner Target fluorocarbon to the braid with back to back five turn grinner knots. Trim the tag ends down, tie the jig head directly to the leader with a Palomar knot and you’re ready to go! Little did I know how ready I was!

I brought a variety of soft baits and the ones I really liked the look of were the Daiwa Megaforce Sonic Shads. With a built in lead in the head and armored with a single forged hook, I knew they’d do the job. My only concern was that they might be a bit heavy and sink a bit too quick. They looked great in the water and the fluorescent foil wrapped around the lead, flickered brightly in the green tinted water.

On my first cast I tried to vary the sink and draw action, hoping to get to grips with the technique and figure out the action of the jig. With only a rod length left before I lifted the jig from the water for a recast, there was an electric bang, instantly transmitted by the braid and I knew I was attached to a decent perch!

Having hooked it on a short line, I was getting increasingly nervous that the hook wouldn’t hold but luckily it rattled it’s way towards the waiting net. It looked a descent 2lb’r and I dared to wonder if I’d just nudged up another personnel best!

With the damp sling zeroed, I watched the needle swing round to 2lbs 7ozs. All be it only by a few ounces, another personnel best was achieved and the urge for more perch success had taken over! With the GoPro camera set up, we got some cracking underwater shots. It was clear to see that once submerged back beneath the green tinted water, it’s markings were enhanced. They really are the perfect predator. Watching it swim away and having that insight into it’s world, only increased my urge for more specimen perch.

Despite my efforts last winter, I didn’t achieve my goal and catch that elusive 3-pounder. As soon as spring arrived, I was happy chasing tench and estate lake carp - for a while! However, the river season was fast approaching and with an invitation to recce some new river stretches, I was soon dusting down the jig rod.

With the aid of my 10ft Sniper boat we were soon on the water. We cut the engine, well in advance of any likely-looking perch spots and stealthily moved into position. Almost instantly, we found fry activity and signs of aggressive perch chasing them to the surface. Jigs were speedily deployed, casting tight to a bridge wall and we immediately received hits. Most of the culprits were perch that were the same size as the 2/3” jigs, but I did manage a cracking 2 lbs 2 oz stripy to show for our morning efforts.



On the way back, we couldn’t help but try under the bridge, once more. My boat partner Josh soon hit into another ‘good’un’ and once at the boat, we watched spell-bound as another even bigger perch followed it towards the net! I was soon casting close to see if I could trick the big one into striking my small 9cm Duckfin Shad, but the commotion of netting and photographing Josh’s perch (2 lbs 4 ozs) caused it to disappear.



I just had to have one more chuck, so tried a long cast to the far side of the bridge wall. Maybe it had decided to seek sanctuary under its shadow, away from the boat? This proved to be the right decision and I was soon doing battle with a large aggressive ‘seargent’. Josh saw the fish first and informed me of it’s size, and that it looked like “a good 3”, and to my relief, the hook of the micro jig head stayed firm.

I had finally found what I was looking for and the scales confirmed that I had caught my first 3-pounder, weighing 3 lbs 3 ozs. We took some cracking pictures in the relentless sunshine and filmed her underwater, as we returned her under the bridge.



With my rekindled enthusiasm, I decided to ‘bite the bullet’ and purchase some River Ouse tickets - the mecca for truly monstrous perch. With the amount of water you have access to on some club tickets, it works out to be great value for money - if only there wasn’t a 200 mile+ round trip to contend with!

Having only targeted specimen perch for a short amount of time, I am still in awe of all the perch that I catch and I’m happy to be upping the stakes this autumn for ‘The Biggest Fish Of All”.

The Tackle Box Shimano Exage FD Reel Fox Rage Spinning Rods Shimano Power Pro Braid Daiwa Megaforce Shads Gardner Target Fluorocrabon