In search of perch

Sunday was a fine day. Bright and sunny weather meant it was rather pleasant at times although the conditions were not textbook as far as my quarry, perch, were concerned. I had decided to fish a pool in Warwickshire with a reputation for large perch and despite the unfavourable conditions, I stuck to the plan knowing opportunities are thin on the ground these days.

Having never fished the water before, I spent the first twenty minutes or so having a chat in an attempt to glean some useful information. I decided to opt for a spot in the shade, which I felt was important, with a large, snaggy tree to my right and around 4-5ft of water. Waggler fished worm would hopefully winkle out some perch while the loosefed maggots would pull a range of species to the area.

The clear conditions made for some cracking reflections

After about thirty minutes, a lack of action saw me change tactics. I had packed a 4m whip and decided to fish maggots to hand. Immediately, I encountered bites and the next hour was pretty busy with small perch, a string

A decent stamp of roach followed

 of nice roach to just over half a pound and a silver bream (of which there are a good head in the pool) of around 10oz, which I'm guessing is a PB having not caught many of them in the past.

Soon after however, disaster struck! My only rig tangled beyond repair and I found myself cursing my own laziness for not being more prepared. It was around 3pm so I decided to turn back to the worm approach and hope to pick up some perch as the light started to lose its intensity. A few perch did put in an appearance but nothing of the size I had hoped for.

Although the session had drawn a blank as far as a 2lb plus perch was concerned, it had been an enjoyable first visit to the pool on a beautiful January day. I will certainly look to return when conditions are more perch like and ensure I am better prepared.

What I think was a PB Silver Bream

A net of three species cut short by the tangle