What line when bait fishing for Perch

[LB]

I'll be looking to do a little perch fishing this year and would be interested to know what people are using as main line? Any recommendations for a line that will cover everything from a float fished live, maggot feeder, etc etc.

Would you even use braid?

Thanks

[Andrew]

what kind of BS are you thinking ? i ask cause i think greys G-tec super mainline would be good if they still make the line. low stretch, pretty good abrasian resitance

other than that maxima chameleon is my go to "fancier" line, a step up from sensor imo. not very flexible above 10lb BS ime

[LB]

I was thinking a 4-6lb mainline with fluro hook link if needed. It's been a long time since I have fished for anything other than pike so I'm a little out of touch at the moment.
The maxima sounds a good option, thanks

[Andrew]

its always my go to for 1lb hook lengths. the 4lb mainline I had was lovely to use

[Pinkie]

I use 4-8lb maxima. Depending on what else I might hook, I've caught some near double barbel on 4lb maxima, unexpectedly, so nowadays I often fish a little heavier.

[Stewlaws]

Pretty much like you Lewis ...when fishing nothing but 19lbmono or 65pp it kind of hits the confidence when down scaling .... Most of my hook links are 1.2kg or slightly less, with 7lb mainline, my faith is actually in the rod, surprising how even a small 1lb specimen will lunge, my rod tip has undoubtedly saved me a few fish...as I still look to reel in as if it's a double pike ...

[stubbojo]

8lb to 10lb main line is about right , as most of my perch venues also hold some good pike , which muscle in just when you dont want them , i also use a 10lb wire link of about 10 inch......
but if its pike free , 10lb flouro has never let me down yet ....
deppends on where you are fishing ,if its snagg free you could go a bit lighter
i too use maxima 8lb and 10lb very good line

[Bob Watson]

Currently have 6lb sensor on my perch bait fishing reels, toying with the idea of 29lb j braid x8 with a fluro hooklink or wire where pike are present.

Interesting that nobody has mentioned braid.

[Stewlaws]

Currently have 6lb sensor on my perch bait fishing reels, toying with the idea of 29lb j braid x8 with a fluro hooklink or wire where pike are present.

Interesting that nobody has mentioned braid.

I do have some spools of 20lb braid camo...(obviously a Carp thing) but at the places and distance I fish Bob never considered using it.

[Bob Watson]

Currently have 6lb sensor on my perch bait fishing reels, toying with the idea of 29lb j braid x8 with a fluro hooklink or wire where pike are present.

Interesting that nobody has mentioned braid.

I do have some spools of 20lb braid camo...(obviously a Carp thing) but at the places and distance I fish Bob never considered using it.

Most all of my perch fishing is close range too Stu so those lightning fast rises of the bobbins will only get quicker

[LB]

Thanks for the feedback, glad to hear the opinions.

When fishing with a ledgered bait, say a small dead roach are you using an open bail arm on a drop off like pike? I'm wondering in my rollovers will work......?

[LB]

Currently have 6lb sensor on my perch bait fishing reels, toying with the idea of 29lb j braid x8 with a fluro hooklink or wire where pike are present.

Interesting that nobody has mentioned braid.

I'll be fishing pike free waters and thought light braid might be ideal, but as fishing will likely be close range mono will be better. Will just have to give it a try!

[Lee7499]

8lb Daiwa tournament ST ( low stretch mono) as mainline and Guru 6lb flouro as hooklink with size 6 demon circle when I'm on waters with no Pike.

[Jason Skilton]

10lb Mainline Diawa Sensor, then a 8lb hookline......for livies I using size 2s and 4s

[stubbojo]

Currently have 6lb sensor on my perch bait fishing reels, toying with the idea of 29lb j braid x8 with a fluro hooklink or wire where pike are present.

Interesting that nobody has mentioned braid.

I'll be fishing pike free waters and thought light braid might be ideal, but as fishing will likely be close range mono will be better. Will just have to give it a try!

[stubbojo]

Currently have 6lb sensor on my perch bait fishing reels, toying with the idea of 29lb j braid x8 with a fluro hooklink or wire where pike are present.

Interesting that nobody has mentioned braid.

I'll be fishing pike free waters and thought light braid might be ideal, but as fishing will likely be close range mono will be better. Will just have to give it a try!

tried them all pal over the years
mono is the best pal .....it just seems to work better for me .....

[LB]

Currently have 6lb sensor on my perch bait fishing reels, toying with the idea of 29lb j braid x8 with a fluro hooklink or wire where pike are present.

Interesting that nobody has mentioned braid.

I'll be fishing pike free waters and thought light braid might be ideal, but as fishing will likely be close range mono will be better. Will just have to give it a try!

tried them all pal over the years
mono is the best pal .....it just seems to work better for me .....

I was thinking back, when using light braid for lures it was a bugger for wind knots. I can see similar issues arising.
I've ordered some Daiwa & Maxima after the recommendations, so should be well covered.

[Emma Hamilton]

If your so very used to the usual pike gear and braid, its a bit of headshake scaling down for perch. I found it very much depends on the rods your using. If you've got pretty soft rods in mind and team up with mono it can all seam very wobbly and bendy and out of control. I found this when using old soft 1.4tc rods and hated it and switched to 20lb braid and all seamed so much more balanced.

rob

[LB]

If your so very used to the usual pike gear and braid, its a bit of headshake scaling down for perch. I found it very much depends on the rods your using. If you've got pretty soft rods in mind and team up with mono it can all seam very wobbly and bendy and out of control. I found this when using old soft 1.4tc rods and hated it and switched to 20lb braid and all seamed so much more balanced.

rob

Cheers Rob, that makes sense. I think I will rig one outfit with braid and the other with mono and draw my conclusions that way.

Lumby is knocking up a set of Avon rods for me, to his recommendations of course. It'll be a little trial and error but I'm looking forward to the change. The gear will also double up for some mullet fishing, of which there is no shortage of down here!

[davelumb]

If your so very used to the usual pike gear and braid, its a bit of headshake scaling down for perch. I found it very much depends on the rods your using. If you've got pretty soft rods in mind and team up with mono it can all seam very wobbly and bendy and out of control. I found this when using old soft 1.4tc rods and hated it and switched to 20lb braid and all seamed so much more balanced.

rob

Cheers Rob, that makes sense. I think I will rig one outfit with braid and the other with mono and draw my conclusions that way.

Lumby is knocking up a set of Avon rods for me, to his recommendations of course. It'll be a little trial and error but I'm looking forward to the change. The gear will also double up for some mullet fishing, of which there is no shortage of down here!

I don't 'knock up' rods, I lovingly hand-craft them!


Oh yeah, I use 6lb Sensor for perch.

[LB]

If your so very used to the usual pike gear and braid, its a bit of headshake scaling down for perch. I found it very much depends on the rods your using. If you've got pretty soft rods in mind and team up with mono it can all seam very wobbly and bendy and out of control. I found this when using old soft 1.4tc rods and hated it and switched to 20lb braid and all seamed so much more balanced.

rob

Cheers Rob, that makes sense. I think I will rig one outfit with braid and the other with mono and draw my conclusions that way.

Lumby is knocking up a set of Avon rods for me, to his recommendations of course. It'll be a little trial and error but I'm looking forward to the change. The gear will also double up for some mullet fishing, of which there is no shortage of down here!

I don't 'knock up' rods, I lovingly hand-craft them!


Oh yeah, I use 6lb Sensor for perch.

sorry Dave! Lovingly crafted indeed!

[Iain Gillies]

For hooklengths Preston Reflo Powerline is a great line. Something like 0.15 or 0.17 would be perfect for with baits like worms or prawns.

[LB]

For hooklengths Preston Reflo Powerline is a great line. Something like 0.15 or 0.17 would be perfect for with baits like worms or prawns.

Great, thanks Iain I will order a spool

[Iain Gillies]

I really like it and use it for nearly all my coarse fishing. Its quite a stiff mono but probably leads to less tangles feeder ot pole fishing. If you wanted something limper silstar matchteam would be a good choice.

[LB]

I really like it and use it for nearly all my coarse fishing. Its quite a stiff mono but probably leads to less tangles feeder ot pole fishing. If you wanted something limper silstar matchteam would be a good choice.

It comes in some unusual breaking strains, just ordered some 4lb (ish) breaking strain to try.

[davelumb]

I really like it and use it for nearly all my coarse fishing. Its quite a stiff mono but probably leads to less tangles feeder ot pole fishing. If you wanted something limper silstar matchteam would be a good choice.

Seconded. I use it a lot for hooklengths for all sorts.

[Bob Watson]

I really like it and use it for nearly all my coarse fishing. Its quite a stiff mono but probably leads to less tangles feeder ot pole fishing. If you wanted something limper silstar matchteam would be a good choice.

Seconded. I use it a lot for hooklengths for all sorts.

Yeah and me!!

[Pinkie]

For hooklengths Preston Reflo Powerline is a great line. Something like 0.15 or 0.17 would be perfect for with baits like worms or prawns.

I wouldn't advise using this line if eels are around. They bite through this stuff quite easily. I remember one night using 8lb reflo powerline as a hook link for barbel fishing. Anyways, I lost several fish without much of a fight in any shape or form. I realised they were eels I'd been losing when I managed to catch one of them at nearly 4lb. Luckily, the hook was on the just outside of the bottom jaw. I was using 10mm trout pellets at the time. Anyways, the lost fish were probably eels, and definitely not barbel. The line had clearly been cut, not snapped. Although the line could have been cut by the pharangial teeth of big chub that I know to be there.. Regardless, one has to be careful using this line if bigger fish are present that might swallow the bait.

I've also had this line fail after catching several good sized perch on worm. It's OK for the first few fish, but I'd advise retieing the hook after catching anything significant.

Saying all that, I've had some cracking barbel, bream and chub when using reflo, but you do need to change the hook link quite often.