Perchy Ponderings

With autumn upon us, I decided to target some river perch. The venue was a middle Severn stretch that I have fished on many occasions over the years but not too often in recent times. It was a lovely warm day with some October sunshine to boot. Not ideal conditions for perch who prefer to feed in low light but I did have an ace up my sleeve. Although the river had returned to normal level, it was still holding some colour. I also chose a swim that afforded me some shade. A quick plumb of the swim told me I had just under 5 feet of water a rod length out. There was some slight flow with trees upstream and downstream of where I planned to drop a bait. I began fishing a whip with maggots to see what was lurking in the swim. Unsurprisingly, bites came quickly with small dace, roach and chublets all making an appearance. This was encouraging since as any perch angler will know, where there are small fish then predators are never far behind. After half an hour or so, I dropped in a few broken bits of worm and baited a size 8 hook with a lobworm. I use barbless hooks with perch as they can at times end up deeply hooked. A barbless hook makes this event a lot more straightforward to solve. A small piece of elastic band on the bend prevents the worm escaping. The hook was tied to 6lb line with a bobber type float shotted with a single SSG shot around 8 inches from the hook. I see no point in over complicating matters. 

A 1lb 7oz was the pick of the first batch

Results were pretty instant with a 1lb 7oz perch the pick of the first three perch. They soon moved off and I went back to catching the small silver fish. With the steam engines of the Severn Valley Railway chugging along the valley it really did add something to the trip. After a bite to eat in the warm autumn sun, it was perch time once again. The second stint through up another fish around around the pound and a half mark before I hooked something completely different. I knew it was not a perch and and as the lively battle came to an end, a small pike came into view hooked right on the edge of its mouth and thus preventing my line being bitten through. Then the float dipped and again solid resistance was felt. The tell tale jags told me this was a perch and of much better stamp than its previous relatives. This fish really did put up a good battle and a beautiful perch was netted. It went 2lb 2oz which was a decent result and capped off a really enjoyable day. I plan to return when conditions allow as I know a 3 pounder is a real possibility and who knows, maybe something bigger. 

The 2 pounder promises much for the future

Barbel bring the season to an end

After my pike adventures of the winter, I was keen to finish off the season with a few barbel. The weather was relatively kind too. Temperatures were reasonably mild and most rivers had extra water. The only issue was that the levels had been up and down on an almost daily basis so stability was certainly lacking.

A Severn 9 pounder

With the last weekend of the river season upon us, I headed to a stretch of the middle Severn. This stretch had been kind in the past, especially when carrying extra water so I was confident of a bite or two. A rather busy car park greeted my arrival. Hardly surprising but a little disappointing nevertheless. It forced me upstream instead of my usual ventures downstream. I bumped into a couple of chaps who had blanked the previous day. It was similar news among the other anglers there but I found myself a likely looking swim and gave it a couple of hours. It was an uneventful few hours too without so much as a tap. I'd have liked to have roamed the stretch but it was too busy for that. By now it was lunchtime so I decided that given no one was catching it was time for a different stretch. Fifteen minutes later and I was in a new swim. Again fishing was slow despite what looked to be great conditions. A change to a pellet hookbait accompanied with a PVA bag finally saw a bite and a barbel was on. A lovely plump fish of 9lb 2oz was the result. I hoped it would prove to be a catalyst for a few but it was to be the only bite of the day.

The first Avon fish

Two short sessions on the Warks Avon after work completed the season for me. The first was on a rising river that had yet to colour up. Within 45 minutes a barbel was landed at 8lb 7oz falling to pellet presented upstream towards the far bank tree cover. The river continued to rise rapidly and by 7pm I called it a day with no more action seen.

The final day of the season saw me back on the river. It was highly coloured but dropping. A few fish had come out during the day to other anglers so I was mildly optimistic. That optimism soon dissipated as my baits were ignored. It looked for all intents and purposes that the season was going to end in a disappointing blank. The session was drawing to a close so I began to pack up. The first rod came in and was dismantled when out of the blue the bait on the remaining rod was picked up. My third barbel of the week was landed. Although very welcome, it wasn't huge probably going between 6 and 7lb and with it my 2018-19 season was over. Much has been discussed regarding the close season although I for one welcome the break. I may be in the minority these days but a break makes the heart grow fonder and it will allow me venture to pastures new. While the weather is still on the cool side I will target perch and then switch to tench as the water begins to warm. By then my thoughts will already be wandering towards the 16th June.

The final barbel of the season

Autumn round-up....so far!

With autumn upon on us, I set out to get some serious barbel fishing in before the cooler nights were thrust upon on us. It's been a really mild autumn so far and aside from a few frosts here and there temperatures have been unseasonally warm. My hope was that this would coincide with a feeding frenzy and some big fish. But fishing is rarely that simple.

Fishing the Avon on a familiar stretch, I set my stall out for a double. A piece of meat was sent mid-river as light faded. Within 20 mins it was taken and a barbel was on. It felt a good fish, it looked a good fish but it fell 2oz short of a double.

With an influx of rain into the Severn during the third week of September I set off for a stretch not too far from Bridgnorth. The Avon had seen no change to its levels so I felt with the Severn offering more favourable conditions it could be the key to some good sport. It started well. Casting a piece of meat in one of my favoured flood swims a fish was hooked and landed on my first cast. A chunky 8lb 7oz barbel showed plenty of signs it had been on the munch. I sensed a barbel bonanza that afternoon roving to all the swims that have produced in the past. However, the fishing became really tough. The level started to drop, quite quickly in fact and it seemed to curb the resident barbels' appetites. One more fish of average size appeared as light faded but I have to admit to being slightly disappointed with the lack of fish that afternoon.

A few of the better fish of the last few weeks

It's about this time of the year that my interest in the lower Severn increases. It's never easy but if you're lucky enough to land a barbel there's a really good chance it will be a good fish. My first session only produced a blank saving chub. The next did yield a barbel but yet again it fell short of the hallowed 10lb, weighing in at 8lb 14oz. My two most recent evening visits have both resulted in blanks. This is one to come back to as the season progresses.

An autumn pike

In between these two blanks was a short evening session back on my local Avon. A bream and a chub sandwiched another nice barbel but again it fell short at 9lb 6oz. There's been several smaller barbel throughout this period as well as the usual chub that inevitably show up. I also had a few hours with the lure rod which threw up a few fish including a nice pike at last light.

As I write this the weather is getting cooler and the last couple of nights have been chilly. With this in mind I am planning a bit of predator fishing this weekend. The barbel can wait for a bit. There will be better conditions to come.

Perch and chub make up for a barbel drought

It's all been a bit quiet for me in recent weeks. A trip to the lower Severn resulted in a blank. I was quite confident on arrival as there was extra water and some colour but with the river still rising there was barely a tremble of the rod tip.

A few days later I tried the middle Severn. Surely a barbel could be tempted? Well no. The middle also disappointed. In the end I found some opportune perch fishing to provide some drop-shot fun after seeing them harrassing the small fish in the margins.

A final trip saw me on the Avon on Bank Holiday Monday. It seemed like it had been fishing well upon arrival but the sunshine had brought out an army of anglers. This meant I ended up fishing a new area. Again the barbel drought continued but the chub were more than obliging with fish to around 4lb finding their way to the net.

With work back on the agenda, it signals the end of the summer for me and with it my visits to the bank will be less frequent. Hopefully I can finish my break on a high note this weekend.

River Perch: A Personal Best!

Following a journey dominated by road works, I finally found myself on the banks of the middle Severn. It was around lunchtime and the first few spots of rain fell as I settled into my chosen area. There was a deeper, steady run much of the way across river with a slacker area on the near bank. This swim had all the characteristics in order for me to exercise my predetermined plan.

I began by dropping some hemp and pellet just past the crease and then left it alone as I set about my second plan. I have been keen to land a big river perch for a while but to be honest, I have never really got round to giving it a proper go. A few half hearted efforts and some drop shotting have found some fish but not of the proportions that are deemed specimen proportions. My aim was a 2lb river perch and the nearside area was hopefully going to contain some.

After 40 minutes of drop shotting and plumbing the depth for my worm rig, I made my first cast with pellet to the baited area. This rod was left on the baitrunner as I continued to feed maggots to my left while giving the worm and drop shot rigs a try every so often, albeit without success. By now the rain

Not ideal conditions to be sat outside

had started. Fortunately, it was pretty mild but the light faded quickly as the mist descended above the rain pitted surface. The banks became treacherous resulting in me slipping and winding myself in the process. Covered in mud, I sat hunched under my umbrella watching the geese and jackdaws going to roost. Unsurprisingly, the low and clear conditions were not conducive to feeding barbel and the now torrential rain meant I was unable to explore other swims. However, I had continued to feed a dozen maggots regularly and the now gloomy conditions started to encourage a few small fish to rise and jump in the near bank area. Although my lobworm bait had been ignored all afternoon, now was surely the time for a big perch to bite if indeed it was going to happen at all. As the latest wave of rain lashed down, the float began to sink from view. I could see it clearly such was the water's clarity. I did not want to be to hasty with the strike as the bait was large and I wanted to ensure it had been engulfed fully. The float was now sinking from sight in positive fashion and a firm strike resulted in the first hooked fish of the day. Undoubtedly a perch and judging from the resistance, a

My first two pounder

decent one too. My first view confirmed it would be a personal best. They say perch is the biggest fish of them all and this one had a colossal mouth, but would it make the magical 2lb? The scales toyed with me briefly as it hovered around 1lb 15oz before freezing on 2lb exactly. I repeated the weighing process a further two times to be sure before posing in the wild weather for a couple of pictures. Darkness soon arrived and the perch feeding window was all too brief. I gave the barbel rod another half hour to see if one could be tempted in the low light but when I was blessed with a short pause in the rain, I decided to make a hasty retreat to the car feeling damp but ultimately satisfied with the results. I think I might have the perch bug so expect to see a few more perch related posts.

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On the bank at last

Where has August gone? It seems ages since I last blogged and it's been a tricky month. Fishing has been tough for most over the past few weeks although I've barely made it to the water's edge. A combination of a family holiday coupled with a bug that not only made the flight home a long one but kept me out of action for the following week. Last Thursday saw me finally feel well enough to make a fishing trip. My destination of choice was the middle Severn. I used to fish the Severn a lot between Bridgnorth and Bewdley but since moving to south Worcestershire it's a good hour's drive and I have the Avon, Teme and lower Severn much closer. However, I wanted some bites and decided the extra drive would be worth it.

A typical middle Severn stretch

 I tried to keep my options open. I would wander slowly to my target area, rolling some meat in the streamy runs in the hope of a bonus barbel or chub. Eventually, my plan was to settle in some deeper water and fish two rods. One with groundbait feeder with maggot hookbait and then a more specialist setup cast 20 yards further downstream. I tried several areas but could not tempt a fish on the rolling meat. I must admit this surprised me a little as it's been a good method for me this season and I'm sure the swims contained a few of my target species. However, this was only a pre-cursor for the main event so I finally settled in an area that I fished before. As mentioned, my main attack would be three maggots mounted on a size 14 hook to 6lb hooklink to guard against any possible barbel breakages. My usual barbel setup was prepared on my other rod with a pva bag to entice any wandering fish hanging away from the main feed towards my bait.

I started to get indications quite quickly that some fish were present and after a few missed bites I eventually started to connect with some small roach. This fish were in absolute mint condition and I

A pristine roach

Variety in the shape of a perch

very much doubt they had been caught before. It was quite pleasant to get amongst some fish rather than wait for one wrap around bite that may never arrive. Although the roach were not huge, probably in the 4oz range, they kept on coming before all went quiet. Quite often this can be as a result of a different species muscling in on the feed and pushing the smaller fish away. I also suspected a predator was in the area as I had seen small fish jumping for freedom on a few occasions. Soon after a much more positive pull registered on the quiver tip. My strike met with something bigger than the roach I had become accustomed to, before a nice perch just shy of a pound was drawn over the landing net. A few more similar sized perch followed before the roach returned together with a few dace and gudgeon.

Meanwhile, my barbel rod had not returned anything other than the occasional tremble. I changed baits to two 8mm Source boilies. The bait was recast with another pva bag of pellets. An angler on the opposite bank, some 100 yards downstream had been enjoying some barbel action with four fish already netted. I had to hope that my regular feeding would bring some fish to my swim. Eventually, without warning the rod hooped around. The unmistakable run of a barbel commenced with the fish surging some 30-40 yards downstream despite a tight clutch. Finally, the fish was forced to turn and I was able to gain some line and bring the fish towards me.  An exhilarating battle ended with a fine looking barbel of 7.5lb gracing the bank. It looked a deep fish that I thought may have been a little larger but it was most welcome as it was the only barbel to come my way during the month of August. The next cast saw another positive bite with a nice chub of 3-4lb safely netted. This two larger fish capped an enjoyable session that saw lots of bites and no less that six species caught. Perhaps I should make the effort to drive that bit further more often?