Incredible week for Autumn perch
The capture of a host of specimen perch this week proves that now is the perfect time to target these popular predators.
A superb 3lb 12oz stripey tops the list of big ‘threes’ reported to Angling Times this past week, and it was banked by Korum-backed ace Rob Thompson during a recent excursion to a Midlands river.
To help tempt a big perch into the swim Rob drip-fed maggots to attract shoals of bait fish – a tactic that didn’t take long to prove its effectiveness.
Rob told Angling Times: “I’d just nipped out for a quick session and fancied one particular swim where I’d had a big perch snatch a dace off the hook a month or two back. Unfortunately, someone was already there so I had to try somewhere completely new.
“The swim was fairly pacey, so I introduced the maggots and some chopped worm just off the main flow.
“I cast out my lobworm hookbait and soon after I received a powerful take.
“This was the biggest perch I’ve had for quite a few years, and probably the hardest-fighting example of the species I’ve ever caught.
“It shot straight across the river to the far bank and then kited upstream, just missing a tangle of branches.”
Rob’s perch-crunching tackle consisted of a Korum Neoteric tip rod, 6lb Xpert reel line to a 4lb 12oz hooklink and a size 6 Korum Xpert hook.
Further south, and just a week after banking a pair of perch weighing 3lb 5oz and 3lb 7oz,
Phil Askew returned to his favourite stretch of river in Suffolk to bank a 3lb 6oz beauty.
The perch fanatic used a bait dropper to introduce a bed of chopped worm into his swim, and started to receive regular bites 30 minutes later.
He said: “I caught this perch on my last cast of the morning, and thought at first that a jack pike had grabbed my lobworm hookbait.
“It wasn’t until I saw it on the surface that I realised it was another giant perch, so I was relieved to see it hit the landing net cord shortly afterwards.”
Meanwhile, on the Thames, a budget rod set-up enabled Brandon Rich to bag a 3lb perch.
Targeting his local stretch of river at Caversham Lock, the 18-year-old joiner from Reading worked a 7cm lure close to the bank to bring the take.
His tactic also produced other, smaller perch as well as a pike and a chub.
Similarly to Rob and Phil’s catches, avid Angling Times reader Robin Piper had worms to thank for the capture of a cracking 3lb 4oz perch.
The angler from Kent targeted a bed of lily pads on his local club water, and didn’t have to wait long for a take.
He said: “I cast next to the pads, thinking a perch would be lurking there, and my hunch paid off five minutes later when the tip arched over.”
Robin’s tactics, which incorporated a running leger rig and a size 12 hook tipped with four dendrobaena worms, also helped him hook an even bigger perch which was sadly lost in a tangle of lily tubers.