perch can be bugger to catch

[stubbojo]

had a few hours today on the canal mainly to target perch , set up a float paternoster for the perch with some nice worms as bait .
normally i rather use a live bait or freshly killed bait , but had a good supply of worms that needed using .
sat there for 3 hours without a bite , then my phone rang , which i answered then the worm rod was away .....ffs
felt a good fish briefly then pulled off .......
never had a sniff on the pike rod .

20231103_110005.jpg

looked a lovely spot too

thats fishing ...

steve

[Taffypiker]

You ever had small pike when worm fishing for perch ?

[stubbojo]

You ever had small pike when worm fishing for perch ?

yes pal quite a few lately , thats why i use 10lb wire for my perch fishing ...it actually looks thinner than 10lb mono...

steve

think the pike spot the movement of the worm .....i sometimes put worm on my deadbait hooks with the deadbait to.......it works
it definitely does no harm to try ...

steve

[Taffypiker]

You ever had small pike when worm fishing for perch ?

yes pal quite a few lately , thats why i use 10lb wire for my perch fishing ...it actually looks thinner than 10lb mono...

steve

think the pike spot the movement of the worm .....i sometimes put worm on my deadbait hooks with the deadbait to.......it works
it definitely does no harm to try ...

steve

I have had some nice perch on worm imitation plastics and lost a small pike

[stubbojo]

You ever had small pike when worm fishing for perch ?

yes pal quite a few lately , thats why i use 10lb wire for my perch fishing ...it actually looks thinner than 10lb mono...

steve

think the pike spot the movement of the worm .....i sometimes put worm on my deadbait hooks with the deadbait to.......it works
it definitely does no harm to try ...

steve

I have had some nice perch on worm imitation plastics and lost a small pike

try drop shotting a real worm .....deadly for big perch

[Taffypiker]

You ever had small pike when worm fishing for perch ?

yes pal quite a few lately , thats why i use 10lb wire for my perch fishing ...it actually looks thinner than 10lb mono...

steve

think the pike spot the movement of the worm .....i sometimes put worm on my deadbait hooks with the deadbait to.......it works
it definitely does no harm to try ...

steve

I have had some nice perch on worm imitation plastics and lost a small pike

try drop shotting a real worm .....deadly for big perch

[Carlperkins]

Try dropshotting a small roach

That works really well too

[Gary Coggon]

Steve, I’ve just set out on a canal perch campaign, too - basically, because it’s only 10 min away. Do your perch do much of the Mr. Crabtree-type sitting under narrow boats thing or do they come from everywhere, open water, featureless bottoms, etc. as they do my stillwaters? Thanks

[Jack H]

When float fishing worms, I’ve had good success giving the float a twitch every so often. I think the added movement grabs their attention and prompts a strike. I’ve also had really good success freelining worms down the side of moored boats in the summer, Watching and feeling the line for bites.

Jack

[stubbojo]

Steve, I’ve just set out on a canal perch campaign, too - basically, because it’s only 10 min away. Do your perch do much of the Mr. Crabtree-type sitting under narrow boats thing or do they come from everywhere, open water, featureless bottoms, etc. as they do my stillwaters? Thanks

hi gary
i fish the canal mostly paternoster style with a live roach , but i have had them on deads intended for pike .
i fish open water on the canal mainly right down the middle track and thats where its been the most active for me anyway .
because of the pike i use wire all the time ,the bites seem to come last knockings about the last half hour of light and sometimes its only one bite
so potentially you could sit there all day for one fish ......but to keep it interesting i do have a pike rod out next to the reed beds .....

the problem i have with this canal when targeting perch on lives ...are the pike ...
using a decent sized live bait does sort out the better fish say about 75 mm to 100mm...but even that doesn't
stop the 1lb perch having a go.
you know when a smaller perch is having a go it just bobs about .....trying to swallow a bait to big for its mouth.

i think the perch on the canal i fish actively move about looking for prey fish .....as down the centre of the canal is featureless other than the odd branch or two...and the bigger perch are in twos or threes .......maybe less.

steve

[Gary Coggon]

Thanks, Steve and Jack, for these cracking replies. I’m used to the one bite a day thing, and, as ever, I’ll explore, but still good to know both boats and central track are worthwhile.

[stubbojo]

Thanks, Steve and Jack, for these cracking replies. I’m used to the one bite a day thing, and, as ever, I’ll explore, but still good to know both boats and central track are worthwhile.

will be starting my perch fishing alongside my pike fishing on the canals , but with all this rain we have had lately the canal is the colour of clay ..never good conditions
i have an local river near me , but whens is running through with extra water its hard work too

steve

[Jack H]

Thanks, Steve and Jack, for these cracking replies. I’m used to the one bite a day thing, and, as ever, I’ll explore, but still good to know both boats and central track are worthwhile.

will be starting my perch fishing alongside my pike fishing on the canals , but with all this rain we have had lately the canal is the colour of clay ..never good conditions
i have an local river near me , but whens is running through with extra water its hard work too

steve

I know what you mean. Just come back from a short session on a local stretch of river on the lures. Difficult. Rivers a good couple of feet up and the colour of tea. Tried a couple of slacks as the main flow was racing past. Hopefully it settles down in a couple of weeks.

Jack

[Jack H]

Thanks, Steve and Jack, for these cracking replies. I’m used to the one bite a day thing, and, as ever, I’ll explore, but still good to know both boats and central track are worthwhile.

No worries, just keep at it. There’s nothing quite like a big stripey.

Jack

[stubbojo]

Thanks, Steve and Jack, for these cracking replies. I’m used to the one bite a day thing, and, as ever, I’ll explore, but still good to know both boats and central track are worthwhile.

will be starting my perch fishing alongside my pike fishing on the canals , but with all this rain we have had lately the canal is the colour of clay ..never good conditions
i have an local river near me , but whens is running through with extra water its hard work too

steve

I know what you mean. Just come back from a short session on a local stretch of river on the lures. Difficult. Rivers a good couple of feet up and the colour of tea. Tried a couple of slacks as the main flow was racing past. Hopefully it settles down in a couple of weeks.

Jack

i like to give it about 4 days after the last downpour ,as the river and canal get there normal colour back , the weather outlook looks crap this coming week
might have to tackle a still-water , but i think i have caught all the pike in there .....which can get boring

[Jack H]

Thanks, Steve and Jack, for these cracking replies. I’m used to the one bite a day thing, and, as ever, I’ll explore, but still good to know both boats and central track are worthwhile.

will be starting my perch fishing alongside my pike fishing on the canals , but with all this rain we have had lately the canal is the colour of clay ..never good conditions
i have an local river near me , but whens is running through with extra water its hard work too

steve

I know what you mean. Just come back from a short session on a local stretch of river on the lures. Difficult. Rivers a good couple of feet up and the colour of tea. Tried a couple of slacks as the main flow was racing past. Hopefully it settles down in a couple of weeks.

Jack

i like to give it about 4 days after the last downpour ,as the river and canal get there normal colour back , the weather outlook looks crap this coming week
might have to tackle a still-water , but i think i have caught all the pike in there .....which can get boring

Just checked the weather this week down my end, and it looks slightly better than last week, with less expected rain. Hopefully the rivers are in a bit better state for the next time I can get out.

Best of luck for wherever you end up fishing.

Jack

[Carlperkins]

Thanks, Steve and Jack, for these cracking replies. I’m used to the one bite a day thing, and, as ever, I’ll explore, but still good to know both boats and central track are worthwhile.

No worries, just keep at it. There’s nothing quite like a big stripey.

Jack

They make very good live baits too

[Jack H]

Thanks, Steve and Jack, for these cracking replies. I’m used to the one bite a day thing, and, as ever, I’ll explore, but still good to know both boats and central track are worthwhile.

No worries, just keep at it. There’s nothing quite like a big stripey.

Jack

They make very good live baits too

I can imagine they do. One of my favourite patterns of all time is a perch, in both soft and hard lures. They seem to work when everything else fails.

Jack

[Carlperkins]

The spines certainly don’t stop a pike

[stubbojo]

The spines certainly don’t stop a pike

one of my favourites carl ...had my biggest perch on a 4inch perch .

[Carlperkins]

[stubbojo]

they were buggers today , missed a cracking run from a perch today ...just the one bite in 4 hours...

the pike floats never moved ......think its too much rain and run off from the farmland which as affected the water ...thats my excuse