Perch and a lecture

Yesterday I was out for some fun with the light gear again, back to my new spot where I'd found a few fish. I was hopeful of some perch and possibly a chub again. I even took a few slices of bread to feed in while I was there. The idea being that I got lucky with the four pounder the other day, but maybe a bit of a feed with some floating bread might give me a clue to where some chub were hiding. I kept a feed going in every now and again hoping to see a big slosh as a chub took the bait and gave up its position. I never saw an actual lump of bread taken, but I saw a big swirl out of my eye corner, something was about in my swim. However I think I know what it might have been as a little later something showed it's head, there were salmon in my swim!


Now I haven't got a salmon license so I wasn't going to be fishing for them, but I was using lures and they were right in front of me, right where my target of perch were too. If I was to hook one it wouldn't be my fault now would it? Then again, quite what I would do with a twenty pound salmon on the end of my little greys rod I dare not imagine. Truthfully I didn't expect to get one but admit to getting a little excited at the thought. Then just a few short casts later, right where the salmon had been, bang! The end of my rod flips round and I'm shitting myself that this is going to tare arse off in to the distance.

It was a perch! lol. I think I was gutted but also relieved. I bagged a few more perch as the session went on with some good lookers among them. Nothing big but then I was just happy to be out and catching. Again I caught on cranks, spinners and jigged soft baits. I had to work for it, sometimes having to jig my kopyto down in to the gaps between rocks where the perch were hiding. It made it great sport and each fish I had to earn. I also had a small pike take my lure at one point, though it wasn't exactly as planned. I managed to hook a stick and then the said stick and my spinner came to the surface. As they both broke the surface a crazy little pike crashed in to them. No matter what I tried with the lures I couldn't get the pike to take one, maybe I should have put some trebles on that twig?

As the sun was starting to get low in the sky three young lads of around 17-19 years old turned up to fish. I'd moved a little lower down by now and it seems I was fishing where they wanted to get and after a quick chat they moved on. They told me they had come back for more of yesterday where they had a couple of pike, one was so huge it snapped him off. My immediate thoughts were that they had not been snapped but bitten off. I'd also noted the empty packet of spinners on the floor when i got to this swim, so I know where that came from now. I fished for ten or fifteen minutes thinking of another bunch of clueless idiots fishing with the wrong gear. I then started to question myself. What the hell am I going to do about it? Just carry on fishing and then go home and slag off another set of numpties without doing anything about it?

Some fishermen are numpties and deserve a good slap and all their gear taking off them, but who am I to judge who is and isn't, maybe these lads just didn't know any different? I decided to have a walk up to them and see what they were up to. Try to have a friendly chat, spy on their gear and then go from there. When I got there they'd had the odd perch they said and it soon became apparent they didn't have any decent kit, or much of a clue about lure fishing. They wanted to catch a few fish but were no where near tackled up how they needed to be. I saw my opportunity when one of the lads mentioned his line. It looked like 25lb mono to me and it cast his small lure about fifteen feet on his lump of a fibreglass sea fishing rod.

"You want some of this braid on lads, you won't half notice a difference" I explained. I tried to give them some knowledge without sounding like I was lecturing them. I think I got it right as they seemed interested. I offered the lad a go with my set up. I explained the many advantages of braid over mono. That you are directly in contact, there's no stretch and so you feel everything. Rocks, branches, weed, leaves, fish nipping at the lure. Add to that, when a pike hits the lure you feel it straight away rather than the stretch of the mono cushioning the take. I put on a crank lure that I knew had a good wobble to it. The lad cast out and was amazed at how different it felt. The other lads had a go and they all agreed it was much better.

I now had a few questions thrown at me and I tried to add some stuff of my own without complicating things and without lecturing. One thing that was totally apparent was the need for a wire trace. I don't know why, but the lads had a ten inch long length of braid...yes braid...as a trace. I explained this was no good and that they must use a wire trace or they would lose and kill loads more fish.

They seemed good lads. At the end of the day they were not long out of nappies and obviously never been shown the right way to do things. I doubt they're going to rush out and buy all the best tackle since it was apparent they had other things on their minds, such as women and beer. But at least if they get some traces sorted for next time, get some braid and maybe even a better lure rod from a second hand shop I told them to pay a visit, they will not only catch more fish but more of them will live on to become future river monsters. At least I feel better about it. Had I just gone home and ignored them/cursed them then not only am I making it worse I'd have felt bad for not giving it a go.