Why don't perch take deadbaits then ?

[Taffypiker]

From reading this forum and a few books and online articles it seems a small live roach ......banned in my club waters .....is a magnet for perch but a deadbait is just not worth bothering with ?

Are pike more of a scavenger predator than perch

Deadbaiting wise locally for perch my only option would be whitebait or half a sprat , spinning or lure fishing is not allowed on a few of the venues , even during the winter ......bloody carp fanatics .......

Prawn or worm has been suggested but I dont understand why , unlike pike , a predatory perch would not grab a sea deadbait ?

I have even thought of a section of sandeel

[suffolk si]

I think it’s due mainly to there behaviour and senses, I have had the odd perch on dead’s but generally perch seem to be more sight feeders rather than scent I think, pike have a far more developed sense of scent which is often how they find a deadbait, especially a sea one.
perch also often hunt in packs so are more likely to smash into groups of live fish rather than pick out a single dead one . I think twitching a sprat or white bait about a bit, but not obviously spinning or wobbling it back might help you?..

[Mike J]

To catch big fish of any species its best not to focus to deeply on specific methods.
The most effective Perch bait of all time is a big lobworm and the record Perch was caught on red maggot, both are livebaits but not aquatic species.



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[Taffypiker]

I think it’s due mainly to there behaviour and senses, I have had the odd perch on dead’s but generally perch seem to be more sight feeders rather than scent I think, pike have a far more developed sense of scent which is often how they find a deadbait, especially a sea one.
perch also often hunt in packs so are more likely to smash into groups of live fish rather than pick out a single dead one . I think twitching a sprat or white bait about a bit, but not obviously spinning or wobbling it back might help you?..

Thank you

I might even try fishing with a small drift float in the margins

[Taffypiker]

To catch big fish of any species its best not to focus to deeply on specific methods.
The most effective Perch bait of all time is a big lobworm and the record Perch was caught on red maggot, both are livebaits but not aquatic species.



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Very erudite

[Mark Phillips]

To catch big fish of any species its best not to focus to deeply on specific methods.
The most effective Perch bait of all time is a big lobworm and the record Perch was caught on red maggot, both are livebaits but not aquatic species.



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Very erudite

I don't think so, nothing could be more wrong.

You want erudite, I'll give it to you -the most successful anglers do focus on specific methods. One trick ponies don't make successful anglers - horses for courses

[Kev Berry]

Saw a chap catching loads of 2lb ish perch on smelt from a Boston drain.
I was about 20 yds away fishing smelt as well.
Mine were hard on the deck and the perch werent bothered about them (the pike were )
He was wobbling them.....
Those perch would have taken anything moving.
Never had a perch on a dead bait that was flat on the bottom.

[Jason Skilton]

I think I had say that in generally, I have more perch on worm or prawns but not always the biggest.

If I fish livies, I'll have less perch but generally all are 2lb+.

Occasionally, I'll fish a static freshly killed bait, but it's certainly not as successful as livies.

[OLDESOX]

live lip hooked minnows have given my best results to date.

[Taffypiker]

Saw a chap catching loads of 2lb ish perch on smelt from a Boston drain.
I was about 20 yds away fishing smelt as well.
Mine were hard on the deck and the perch werent bothered about them (the pike were )
He was wobbling them.....
Those perch would have taken anything moving.
Never had a perch on a dead bait that was flat on the bottom.

There is a trend here

[Taffypiker]

I think I had say that in generally, I have more perch on worm or prawns but not always the biggest.

If I fish livies, I'll have less perch but generally all are 2lb+.

Occasionally, I'll fish a static freshly killed bait, but it's certainly not as successful as livies.

thank you

[John Milford]

I don't think perch are averse to (small, fresh, coarse) deadbaits - they're just not often their preference.

I can recall piking' with some rather fragile (6"-7") trout livebaits. I'd left a couple of 'expired' ones soaking on a small, slightly submerged concrete ledge in the margins and soon noticed a couple of large perch sniffing around them! They obviously knew they were there and were attracted to them, even though they could neither see them nor get to them.

One (2lb 8oz) eventually took a float-fished 7" trout livebait I reeled to within a few feet of the margin!

[Richard.]

A small livey is always no 1 if allowed. If not ledgered king prawn takes some beating. Cooked or raw it doesn’t seem to make a lot of difference.
As Mike J rightly pointed out lobby’s are a great bait but I do find they can be nicked off the hook if there are nuisance fish around and obviously maggots even more so.
Dead’s wouldn’t be on my short list for perch unless there was no problem doing a bit of sink and draw???

[davelumb]

Perch do seem very much sight feeders. I've had them follow large pike lures that they could never swallow. Greedy or a territorial chasing off of intruders? I've also had small perch biting the swivel on a jerkbait trace.

John Wilson wrote an article about catching big perch on small dead perch many years back. That could have been a one water/situation thing though. I've only used dead coarse fish for perch once - in conjunction with a maggot feeder. I caught one small perch.

[Taffypiker]

I am going to give it a go this autumn

One rod out with sprat for pike

One rod in close with a small silvery deadbait for perch

I will also bring worms with me , there are lots of good perch in some of the waters I fish , alongside pike

[zodiac]

I am going to give it a go this autumn

One rod out with sprat for pike

One rod in close with a small silvery deadbait for perch

I will also bring worms with me , there are lots of good perch in some of the waters I fish , alongside pike

Don't be surprised if you get more pike on the perch rod than the one intended for pike.

[Taffypiker]

I am going to give it a go this autumn

One rod out with sprat for pike

One rod in close with a small silvery deadbait for perch

I will also bring worms with me , there are lots of good perch in some of the waters I fish , alongside pike

Don't be surprised if you get more pike on the perch rod than the one intended for pike.

Ain't that the truth

[gus666]

I bought one of those perch attractant sprays a while ago, and my mate (who's pretty scientific) says it was a waste of time coz perch don't have a great sense of smell and hunt visually.
Reading this thread I'm beginning to think that's why they're not interested in deads.

[JackHunter]

Didn’t Steve Burke feature in an episode of Predators catching big perch on dead roach? I remember Kev Green losing a big one at the net on a dead.

[Lee7499]

Didn’t Steve Burke feature in an episode of Predators catching big perch on dead roach? I remember Kev Green losing a big one at the net on a dead.

Spot on , Steve Burke looked as if he was going to cry when it came off and it wasnt even on his rod

[Taffypiker]

as an ex sea fisherman I suppose pike are like congers

Congers will take live fish , dead fish , rotten fish , crabs , worms

I am sure if crabs were around in fresh water , the pike would feed on them too

[Taffypiker]

as an ex sea fisherman I suppose pike are like congers

Congers will take live fish , dead fish , rotten fish , crabs , worms

I am sure if crabs were around in fresh water , the pike would feed on them too

[stubbojo]

just fish a dead bait for pike and catch perch like i do ..........

thats the way on my patch , maybe the perch are just used to seeing and eating a dead bait , and they must come across a few

dont just ignore a dead bait ...you could be surprised

some times its better to think outside of the box , anythings worth a try pal

[stubbojo]

Didn’t Steve Burke feature in an episode of Predators catching big perch on dead roach? I remember Kev Green losing a big one at the net on a dead.

i remember watching that episode , the guy who he was fishing with said that fish he lost was over 4lb and i know that feeling

[stubbojo]

Didn’t Steve Burke feature in an episode of Predators catching big perch on dead roach? I remember Kev Green losing a big one at the net on a dead.

Spot on , Steve Burke looked as if he was going to cry when it came off and it wasnt even on his rod

sure it was lee just going dark and his rod was away ..... and i remember the guys words to steve it looked over 4lb too he was gutted it came off at the nett
the guy who regularly fishes for big perch , uses dead roach for his big fish and he has some really good fish to his name .....which i cant remember....

[Muskie]

Perch can and do take deadbaits, but to a lesser degree than livebaits. The chapter on Perch in an old favourite book "the Big Fish Scene" recounts some good captures on legered dead minnows with swim bladder pierced and tweaked slowly back.

[stubbojo]

Perch can and do take deadbaits, but to a lesser degree than livebaits. The chapter on Perch in an old favourite book "the Big Fish Scene" recounts some good captures on legered dead minnows with swim bladder pierced and tweaked slowly back.

caught some good uns on roach/rudd deads suspended under a smallish pike bung , just left drifting about on the canal about a foot off bottom
but the pike take a big proportion fished like this...

[Pinkie]

I've caught a few perch on dead baits (bleak) whilst night fishing for eels!

[Sebas]

Perch don't take deadbaits? What a load of bollox, my go-to method on my local canal is a dead Gudgeon or Roach, prawns are also a deadbait and one of the best baits there.

[stubbojo]

Perch don't take deadbaits? What a load of bollox, my go-to method on my local canal is a dead Gudgeon or Roach, prawns are also a deadbait and one of the best baits there.

i gave my mate some rudd deads the other day , he has just caught his pb perch on my deads , who says they wont take deads.....carry on with lives and miss out on the right venue....