pike and perch.co.uk

The perch forum has started off well hit 30 members and got a mention in the Angling Mail which was spot on. So my thanks goes to the Anglers Mail for printing a small bit it has really helped get the forum on its feet. Hopefully this will continue as it looks likely that the next mention will be in Pike and Predator magazine followed by Total Coarse Fisherman. Fingers crossed on those and thank you in advance.

Also to mention the PerchFishers new book The Biggest Fish of All arrived through the door and i have got to say what an excellent book and it seems extremely well put together. I cannot wait to crack on reading it.

Good luck to all with your Pike and Perch fishing as the temps start to drop!

Thanks,
Mark

Not much to update on fishing wise at the moment as work has been consuming my weekends. But after a few requests from fisherman also interested in Perch Fishing i have decided to put the forum back online, so please check by soon and sign yourselves up.

Perch Forum

Thanks,
Mark

Only a quick update this evening… just got back from a pretty successful trip. I managed 5 perch and a pike of around 12lb. The pike was my first to a spinnerbait and added to my tally of fish to normally un-used lures. Adding to my confidence of late.

After the first hour i had caught 3 perch and the pike, i’d decided to move to the outlet of the lake. This outlet is pretty fast flowing and has accounted for a number of small perch previously. Today i had decided i was going to try dropshotting to hold the lure in the strike zone a little longer than a short retrieve of a grub. The choice paid off pretty quickly and a perch was caught after ten minutes of arrival… 28cm and a nice scrap on the light rod. Back went the lure and after approx 5 mins i was in again this time the stripey was 27cm clearly a different fish to a small wound on the flank. Darkness was descending quickly so i made my escape whilst i could still see where i was going. This is certainly a method i will be trying again soon, it was perfect for holding the lure in the area against the flow without the need to retreive.

What else does this small outlet hold…. only time will tell but i will definately be back there soon. I’ve seen some huge chub and perch here previously so cannot wait for the next trip.

I’ll be sure to keep you informed.

This is why i want to have a go at them…. check out the strikes that unfold when these monsters want that fly!!! One word – WOW!!!!

Crazy hey!

Firstly a Happy New Year to all, i hope it brings some monsters to your net!

Secondly what is up with this weather… gees its depressing – first snow, then freezing temps for what seemed like ages and now its chucking it down every other day! Resulting in the river being so high and coloured its hardly worth fishing. Damn i’m moaning but its doing my head in! I just want to get out there chuck some lures and do what i love doing the most. If i can’t, well i’m just not happy!

Apologies rant over…!

On to my challenge for 2011. To catch a Pike and a Perch on a fly. I don’t know what it is but i really want to catch a stripy and hook into an angry pike on a fly rod. There is just something about the method that intrigues me. I’m becoming obsessed, i’m constantly scouring the web looking at flies that i think could be the answer. Hopefully i’ll be able to go after them when this weather gets a little better. And whatever happens succeed or fail i’ll post updates to let you know how i’m getting on. Until then i’ll keep reading and spending my wages on materials and lures to help me on my mission.

Good luck to all, i hope your 2011 is a good one!

I managed another 2 double figure pike on a half day outing this Saturday, and boy they went like stink!  They are certainly fighting hard at the moment, love it!

And I don’t know what it is at the moment but i only seem to be able to catch on Sprats.  What is that all about?  I even put a sprat and a smelt around 3 metres from each other for a couple of hours.  3 bites to the sprat, zero to the smelt.  How weird and yep positions did get switched just incase!  I always used to have more faith in the good ole smelt being taken but now i’ve totally swung my opinion.  This isn’t a one off either… the week before on the river exactly the same!  Still i’ll always take the smelts and other baits with me as i’m sure the next outing will be different… or will it?  Have they got a particular liking to sprats or are the taking the bait as it is somewhat smaller than others…?  Certainly gets you thinking about what you are doing and why it is working…!

I’ve also switched to single hook rigs for my last 3 outings, and only lost one.  Although i think that was solely because i struck way too quickly in the excitement of seeing my float go under – admittedly that was after three hours of motionless floats.  Still i am seriously impressed at the hook ups!  I’ve had 6 fish on them now and 5 of them doubles.  All fish were hooked perfectly in the scissors and unhooked without the need for forceps.  Not bad hey!  The same again will be used this weekend and i’m sure the results will be the same.  Makes you think doesn’t it… and a damn site easier to make, unhook, and the traces seem to last longer as well. 

With the weather looking perfect this bank holiday weekend the plan is to go out roving.  First thing tomorrow the plan is to go after my first carp on the fly rod, fingers crossed they will be up in the water in the morning sun.  Well thats aslong as the weather man has got it right!   Then its off to the River Medway with the fly rod with some muddlers and minkies to see if i can tempt a few fish.  The Spro ultralight is coming with me incase the flies don’t produce… i’ll update tomorrow evening to let you know how i get on! 

Damn i love the night before an outing!  Sorting through the gear and making sure i’m ready to go first light!   The alarm is set and i’m like a little kid at christmas!

Good luck to all for the bank holiday weekend!

Finally the off season lows are on their way out, its time to get excited and make some preparations for the new season!   The river kit gets a dusting down and the tackle box gets prepared for roaming again.  I simply love this time of year, its light until late, warm enough to travel lightly and cover some serious mileage on the river.  

After catching some nice chub at the end of last season i really am looking forward to targetting them for a while this season.  And of course i’ll out doing plenty of perch fishing, some pike fishing and not forgetting a few socials on the hunt for some nice carp.  Oh and hopefully i may even be able to catch a few river carp along the way!  I saw a nice 20+ cruising along in the sunshine two weeks ago and its given me the itch. 

I’ll be back to post again on the evening of the 16th to let you know how i get on!  Tight lines to all and may the 2010/11 season be a great one! 

Sunday just gone a change from the norm was in order and 4 weeks ago i decided it was time to try lure from a boat so booked up at Blenheim Palace.  The fishfinder was ordered and a few new lures in the vain hope that we could hit into some of the gems of the Palace lake.  The alarm was set for 4am and i was looking forward to what would hopefully be a great day afloat.

I picked up Jon my fishing bud at 5am and set off on the drive to Oxford.  A short and enthusiastic 2 hours later and we drove through the gates to be greeted by our first view of the lake.  The only word i can think to describe this place is ‘wow’.

The boat was loaded and off we went in search of some action!  The fishfinder ( a garmin 140 ) was mounted so we could quickly gauge the depth and the first lure was cast as the sun broke onto the surface from behind the bank hugging tree line.  Wow this place was stunning!

With temperatures around -2 on the journey over and with ice in the top end of the lake we knew it wouldn’t be the easiest of days, and after two hours of plugging we hadnt seen much at all.  The fishfinder led us to some deep spots of 14-15′ at the dam end and had shown signs of fish below the surface but no matter how many variations of lures we had tried nothing was showing a liking to the bait.  We decided to head up towards the other end to see if our fortunes would change.

We rowed for around 15-20 minutes keeping an eye on the depth and decided to work our way along the Palace bank.  Again nothing was obliging and despite there being 7 other boats out we were yet to see any fish taken.

We turned the corner towards the bridge and again were greeted by another stunning view, this lake was extremely pleasing to the eye!  It was just a shame it wasn’t to be an overly productive day.  We dropped the anchor around 10-15m from the bridge and set about our luring regime again.  After two casts of the Spro Ultralight rod ‘bang’… the 2.5″ chartreuse Kopyto had done the business – i was in!  Bang bang bang on the tip and i thought i’d been lucky and hit into a stripey (perch).  Then the fish picked up speed and the banging stopped, the fish rose up and a pike was in the net!  I didn’t bother weighing the little chap but was more than chuffed at landing my first Blenheim fish!  We plugged away in the area for a further 30-45 mins but none of his friends were willing to give chase.

After our success at the bridge we tried various other areas but unfortunately were not to be blessed with anymore fish.  Although this little chap (below) did stop by to say hello, and i have to say i was equally pleased to get such a good picture of a kingfisher as normally when the camera is out they elude me.

All in all it was a great day afloat, the fishfinder worked well and so did the camera.  Hopefully next time and there will definately be a next time there will be more action to the rods.  It wasn’t that we hadn’t tried our damdest we slung everything into the water, but i think with mixed weather on the lead up to our visit and the freezing temps the fish were never going to be over active.  But hey ho that’s fishing.  Fingers crossed we will get back there when the new season opens, and i’ll be sure to post another report and more pictures.

Thanks for stopping by.
Mark

I’ll will send another update soon as to state of the medway in the upper reaches and hopefully soon the new christmas lures can be christened!

Good luck to all and I hope you all have a great 2010!