perch fishing very slow

[stubbojo]

been on the res today ,very grey and a nice wind blowing straight in my face ,normally spot on for perch .
wondered if they are spawning or thinking about it ...as i only had 4 perch today .
the roach fishing was worse ,not even a bite on the float and red maggot , never done that before on this res
just wondered if nothing is switch on due to spawning activities .....
anybody know when roach spawn or perch ....thought i read somewhere perch are one of the earliest to spawn ......

[davyr]

Pretty sure the roach on my local canal are getting ready to spawn. It's usually a sign when the gudgeon to roach ratio in the catch suddenly goes up (which it did for me last Thursday). I get the impression the bigger roach move from their usual haunts to wherever they prefer to spawn, leaving the gudgeon more opportunity to take the bait. The perch have usually spawned by the end of March. All dependent on weather conditions, of course - this spring has been quite a bit warmer in most of England than it was last year.

[peteren]

I almost wish I had the self-control to observe the old close season, as my catches are usually modest then.

[Mike J]

been on the res today ,very grey and a nice wind blowing straight in my face ,normally spot on for perch .
wondered if they are spawning or thinking about it ...as i only had 4 perch today .
the roach fishing was worse ,not even a bite on the float and red maggot , never done that before on this res
just wondered if nothing is switch on due to spawning activities .....
anybody know when roach spawn or perch ....thought i read somewhere perch are one of the earliest to spawn ......

Never seen Perch spawn but Ive watched Roach and Rudd and its usually around now, they do it on twigs etc that trail in the water. Interestingly they spend as much time laying their eggs as they do eating the eggs of others, swimming close behind and consuming them as they come out the vent. Once they've spawned they move off the where the feeding is traditionally the richest. Same why barbel target minnows early on and why carp shadow fry shoals.

.

[stubbojo]

seen some big shoals of fry last week on this water like big balls of bait fish .......

[Gary Coggon]

Yup, it’s been tumbleweed throughout April at my perch waters, whether Cumbria or Cheshire.