Fat perch

This last couple of weeks have been a right drag. Work is a right chore at the minute and add to that a few family issues it seems like everything is depressing. It's a good job I've got a nice little hobby that seems to put a smile on my face now and again. Fishing itself can be hard and if you get sucked in even that can make you feel a bit depressed if things go against you, but all the doom and gloom can be washed away with a few fish.

I made a point a few weeks ago to venture to a few new spots, places I'd never fished and even never even heard if there were fish in. Of course deep down I knew there would be fish and knew someone would already be fishing there at some point. I know I'm not reinventing the wheel or anything but it's fun finding things out the hard way, for yourself and without just turning up at a local carp puddle to bag up. I've ventured to some canal spots that I have no doubt will hold a few pike and perch at least and there's a chance of chub, trout and may be even more. I've stuck to the light set up most of the time with the hope of a few perch, though any fish would be welcomed. Yet all I seemed to keep catching was pike. I guess a pike blog does need a few in there every now and again.

Small pike on the ultra light set up can be great fun and if you do get a decent perch at least you know you can enjoy the fight a bit more than hauling it in on a big stiff rod. But sods law, a perch was something I hadn't even managed to catch this year yet. Honestly, not even one single perch. When soft lures such as those kopytos were doing the business last year for me, this year I can't buy a fish on them. Well not a perch, just those pesky pikes! I do like to use small cranks etc but often they're not the right lure to choose on a ten foot deep canal when the perch are hugging the bottom. However I still enjoy using them and have given them a good few chucks.

On Friday I finished my shift, somewhere knocking on 7pm. For the first time this week the wind had died down, the sun was out and it was a stunner of an evening. With a shitty day at work behind me I decided I wasn't going straight home but was going to go chuck some more lures at perch shadows. Even without a fish I knew this evening would be pleasant.

Pesky pike! A follow from a decent jack then a bump of the lure but whatever it was didn't stick.Then one of those pesky pike did stick and I was no longer blanking before not much later another pike, this time knocking on five pound, smashed the lure and put a bend in the rod and took some line off the spool. Great fun on such a grand evening.

I like using cranks, so I stuck on a new Rapala lure. A 7cm jointed super shad rap in Firetiger pattern. I chucked it about and found that every now and again I was actually hitting bottom. Then I did hit bottom and snagged up. I gave it a few flicks and a yank and it flicked clear. I'd just got in the slack line, lure still stationary, when I felt a bump. I struck in and the fish was on. I think this one is a perch! By golly it is and I scoop the net under it quickly. First glance it looks decent enough, maybe two pounds but as I place the rod down and lift up the net I see this two pound perch has a right belly on it. It's pretty obvious this girl hasn't spawned yet as it's blown up like a balloon. A two pound perch that on the scales went three pound, wow. First perch of the year, only perch of the year and it's a three!

3lb perch