In autumn and winter a bonus big perch can make all the difference. Here’s how to bag a specimen...
Cup in the feed
To feed chopped worm or casters there are two options - cupping in or using a bait dropper.
Cupping bait in lets the feed fall through the water naturally, which is always a winner as perch will feed off bottom, and not hard on it as tench and eels do. That means pieces of worm falling through the water are more likely to get a big perch interested.
Ping in a few casters
Perch are an active fish, and that means loosefeeding a few casters to get the best out of the peg. This only needs to be
half-a-dozen fired over the top of any chopped worm that’s been potted in, pinging them in every 10 minutes or so. Doing this also gives you the option of using casters on the hook – double caster is a great big perch bait.
Fish a big worm
Lobworms are king for big perch, and often the soft tail end outfishes anything else. However,
early in a match is often when the biggest perch appear, so go straight for goal and use a whole lobworm for the first 10 minutes on the choppy line. Use too small a bait and you may well miss out on a proper lump!
Use a sharp hook
Big baits need big hooks, and a size 12 is just the job. However, you’re looking for two things from perch hooks – sharpness and lightness. Something like the Tubertini Series 2 is ideal, because it’s mega-sharp to set the hook in the bony mouths of perch but also light in weight to help with a natural presentation of the bait.
Strike properly
Once the float goes under, the next job is judging when to strike. Faced with a whole worm, perch won’t always engulf it first time. In fact, they can pick it up and swim a few feet to one side before stopping and swallowing it. Rather than count to three or four before striking, instead let the float move but lift the pole gently, creating a tight line to the float until you can just feel the fish on the other end. This can make the perch think that the worm is doing a runner, and will make it take it properly, burying the float!
