More Winter Perch fishing

Had another couple of days Perching at the weekend, this time on a different water with a lower stock of Perch but where the average size is slightly better. The lake resides on the same club complex as the one I fished last week and is the same lake I fished throughout the summer and Autumn for Carp. I have always felt that this lake may hold some very large Perch due to the lower stock. There is just as much food available to them in the form of small silver fish as there is in the other lakes so there is no reason to believe otherwise. The fact that the average size of Perch is better is a good indicator of the potential top end. Most of the fish caught here seem to be over 2.5lb many being upper two's and low three's. There is a sprinkling of fish of under a pound that occasionally take the bait, but these are clearly a different year class to the bigger fish, whereas in the other lake I fished last week the fish seem to be of all sizes with the majority of the better fish being of low 'two's, and yet the lake has also produced some 'three's for me despite the higher numbers of Perch.

Back to the two day's fishing and over the course of the two sessions I fished the same swim but the two days proved to be entirely different in the way the fish fed. The Saturday started of quite bright but did cloud over later on, but the light levels were still high despite the cloud and I landed four Perch and a small Jack Pike over the course of the day. The Sunday however proved to be a far more productive day, with the cloud cover being much denser and the light levels far lower than the previous day. This facilitated a much more productive session and I landed around seven or eight Perch including my first 'three' of the winter, and another Pike. Incidentally due to the fact that this lake holds Pike, it is necessary to use a wire trace when fishing for the Perch, and I managed to find some AFW ( American Fishing Wire ), trace material in a 6lb breaking strain which is very fine and clear nylon coated. It is extremely supple and is knotable which is a huge bonus. The wire doesn't seem to bother the Perch as it behaves much like mono and has a dull camo finish. Overall I am very pleased with the results I have had using this wire and as such would wholeheartedly recommend it.



After a good run on the Perch fishing I think the next few sessions will be for Roach, especially over the Christmas period as I can Target a water close to home for some short day trips in search of some silver specimens...I'll come back to the Perch of course but I find it pays to mix things up to keep the interest piqued at this time of year !