Autumn fishing for Perch and predator fish can be superb. I’ve been fishing my local river hard over the last couple of weeks and with the levels rising, then dropping, then rising again it’s been tough going. I’ve had plenty of Chub and equally as many Barbel – so I’m not complaining – but I really wanted some stripes.
I like to fish for Perch as light as possible as they are not keen on any resistance. Fishing a raging river with a light quiver tip and a couple of SSG shot to hold bottom just wouldn’t be possible, not to mention the river being the colour of mud.
So…..I dug out some soft lures and spinners and headed to the canal with a guarantee of clear water. Bright but cold conditions were the order of the day so on arrival I was hopeful of some fish.
My approach was simple – 8lb main line straight to a dropper lure hook and a selection of soft lures, from frogs to minnows.
Within the first 10 minutes I had a follow of what looked like a big Perch. I bobbed my lure back under my feet and WHAM, fish on! The fish jumped and before I had chance to properly set the hook it was off. It was a small Zander, I’ve never caught one before so I was gutted.
Not one to give up I had a few more casts but the little man was clearly more than spooked so I packed up and wandered uphill.
I found a backwater a little upstream so I had a few chucks into it and it didn’t take long to have a set of stripes quickly following my little lure. The majority of Perch on a canal are small, but none the less they are great sport and great for youngsters and beginners to catch.
A few fish later the sun had dropped and so had the temperature. I packed up my bag and rod and took a slow walk back to my car, happy with the time I had spent outside outwitting the stripes!
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About Jimmy
Predominantly a river angler, Jimmy does occasionally dip into stillwaters too. You can also find him on twitter as @jimmysallis and facebook, and he’ll be here on weekly basis sharing his bankside exploits. Catch up with his other posts here.
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