pike and perch.co.uk

Well low and behold i managed it!  Back out on the bank today and damn it felt good….!

After the rain yesterday which absolutely chucked it down i wasn’t too sure how good it would be but conditions looked perfect for a decent day out.   I arrived at 6:30am and silver fish were moving as normal, but none of the anticipated pike action to be seen anywhere… baits were cast around the swim but still no signs and no takes.  Very perculiar for this area that i was fishing…!

A move was made after a few hours and i managed to lose what felt like a good double!  Gutted!  Moved to smaller baits for the perch under a 5ssg loafer float and let it drift around, after two minutes whop the float was under and i was in at last… unfortunately again a lost fish.  Re-cast to the same and the stripey fancied another go, damn it hit the bait hard!  Thankfully this one was landed and was around a pound.  Very happy!!!  Shortly after another 2 were taken to around the same size.  Then the swim went dead.

I returned home a happy man, as although id have loved to stay longer i just didn’t have time.  Still atleast i know where some of those stripeys are hiding for tomorrow and maybe monday as well!  I cannot wait to get back down there to see if any biggies are about!

Well what an evening, i have just returned from the big lake having caught my biggest from there so far.  On arrival i walked to my favourite swim to find a guy already fishing there – totally gutted.  I set up one down behind some trees and thought i’d go have a chat with him before i start.

He said he was after alsorts and had got fed up with small perch nicking his maggots so went over to sweetcorn to go for the roach, with some success taking them to the 2lb mark.  I mentioned would he be there long and he said he was nearly out of bait so would give me a whistle when he’s done.  Low and behold i was in the spot i wanted at a little after 8pm, which isn’t bad going as that meant i’d only been there 20 minutes.  And being as i’d gone straight from work all i had to catch some livies was bread, thankfully he gave me a handful of maggots and i was away/  Third cast i caught a perfect sized bleak.

Thankfully i’d prepared and had the rod setup so on went the bait and i cast out to the edge of the trees whilst the guy was packing away.  I didn’t have to wait long as the bait was taken in under a minute by a pristine perch of 1lb 10oz.  Second biggest i’d had so far so i was well chuffed.  Out went the float for another bait…  2 minutes later a nice 4″ roach decided it fancied the maggot!  Perfect…!

This was cast a little deeper and the bait presented about a foot from the bottom.   15 minutes later another take, unfortunately this one spat it out before i managed to get him.  The bait still being ok, so it went back out to the hotspot.  Then about 10 minutes after casting it in bang bang bang on the float and then he was off…  i struck into it i and knew i was on to a good un and boy did he put up a great scrap.   Out went the net and he was mine!  Ok not massive but being the biggest by nearly half a pound i was well made up!  He went 2lb 7oz on the scales and i was overjoyed!!!

After this all went a little quiet until bang on the float again and i thought surely not!  I hit into and it felt damn good, unfortunately it was not seen nor heard but it felt bloody good and it felt perchy!  And stronger than the two previous fish……  nothing else happened after this so i packed up and headed home as it well pretty dark by now and i was struggling to see the float.  But you’d better be sure i’ll be back down there soon after nearly getting my hands on a real good one!

Watch this space…!

Last night the weather looked perfect, it was still quite warm and overcast.  So I had to get myself out and try a nearby lake for some perch. Unfortunately there were no whackers caught but a fishing buddy and I managed to catch over 30 perch in two hours from a large lake a short drive from where we live (approx 20 acres). The largest was just under a pound but that didn’t stop us have a very enjoyable session, it was all about getting out there and getting in amongst the stripeys. All fish bar two of them were caught on float fished worm. We will be back down there tonight and hopefully see if we can find some of the larger ones.

Fingers crossed~!  And i’ll let you know how we get on soon!

Damn it seems like ages, but for the next three days i will be Perch fishing the Medway!  Well half a day each from tomorrow through till Sunday.  I love the night before, all the tackle gets a fresh sort through and the rods get prepared.  Man what a great feeling! 

I’ll be sure to try and post the results of each day either on here or the forum www.perchforum.co.uk

Has anyone else been on the bank since the new year and caught any nice Pike, Perch or Chub? If so join up to the forum and let us know – what when and where you’ve caught and discuss techniques and baits etc.  It’ll be good to have you on board! 

Tight lines for 2009
Mark 

Ok my new kitchen fit / fishing break is over and its time to get fishing again!  I really want to get another 3lb plus perch to either a lure or bait.  My choices are varied from commercials or quiet streches of the Medway, to me though the commercial is not so much of a challenge i fancy the river!  The possibly of uncaught unseen fish is much more enticing and the personal reward so much greater.  Having had one last winter to 3lb 10oz i cannot wait for the hunt to begin.  My bag next session will be the faithful worm with a variation of spinners and small rapalas.  This way i can try my best with the worm to quiver and if this doesn’t produce in my favourite my fancied spots i’ll begin to rove with the lure rod.   If this fails on the first couple of visits i may even try the old faithful livebaited gudgeon that produced my last monster perch.  Having not heard of any other big perch in my area being caught the chance of another 3lb’r may be tough but this is something that makes me want to try even harder.  Is it just me or is there something special about the perch that others miss.  I rarely see other anglers on my travels that target the perch…! 

To me this means more chance of a rewarding capture and more fish for me to target!  I cannot wait for the winter to come again and heighten my chances considering how good last winter was.  I love the summer for sport and relaxing, but come winter its fishing time and hitting those predators with great excitement!  May the rest of this year be productive for us all and if the big perch come biting it could be a great end to slow year.