No one can have failed to notice the upsurge in river perch up to and over 4lbs that have appeared in ever increasing numbers over the past couple of seasons. 
On a personal note, I am delighted with this trend, perch having been one of my favourite species for over thirty years. This is particularly true of small stream perch.
My biggest ever perch of 3lb 14ozs was taken from a tiny Great Ouse tributary over thirty years ago (Since this article was written Tony has taken a 5lb perch from the Gt. Ouse – Ed), and I have always felt that if I wished to catch that magical four pounder, I would have to switch my attentions to still waters. However, that is no longer true, and there are exciting prospects for the new season. Venues that I have fished for many years have seen a dramatic escalation in perch sizes, and I intend to take advantage while I can. Unfortunately, with big perch, you can never be too sure how long they will be around. Many waters I have been involved with have lost their big perch stocks almost overnight. With interest in big perch from small streams at an all time high, therefore, let me examine aspects of fishing for this most fascinating of quarries.
The first obvious priority is location, and where big fish in small streams are concerned, this can take much time and effort, as the larger specimens can be incredibly localised. Even within a known big fish water, pinpointing the fish you are after can be a frustrating affair.
As with river fish of all species, preliminary investigation is best carried out in high summer, when flows are gentle, the river low and clear and the weed growth at its height. All other things being equal, big perch will generally prefer the deeper, steadier flows, with the exception of the dawn period, which I will come to later. The summer gives us the best chance of establishing where these deep areas are, and I have lost count of the times I have wandered down the middle of a river in swimming trunks or chest waders, logging the position of all interesting holes, depressions and deeper than average glides. 
With big perch in mind, I am specifically looking for deeper runs alongside bulrushes, steady runs alongside clay banks, specially if the bank is undercut, depressions in the gravel in the midst of lily beds, and deeper runs alongside any kind of cover, in the form of bushes, trees or fallen accumulations of rubbish.
Like all predators, perch are well equipped to take advantage of any ambush point that presents itself. Its coloration gives us a clue to its favourite attack area. Like a tiger lying in long grass, where the stripes are a natural camouflage, perch lie in the aquatic long grass, in the form of reeds and rushes. Thirty years experience of small stream perch has shown me that the bulrush bed is the premier area for big perch. The ideal scenario here is a dense bed of rushes over gravel, where the depth of water is slightly greater than the average for the river, and the current speed steady. While long, uniformly deep and steady stretches do produce big perch, I much prefer a smaller rushy area located at the edge of the main flow, and ideally quite close to gravely shallows. This latter point is important. I will shortly be describing perch behaviour on the shallows at dawn, and a deeper swim in close proximity, to which the fish can easily retire when the light intensity increases, will offer the best chance of continuing sport.
One important point. Many anglers continually confuse bulrushes with giant reed mace, those plants that produce large, sausage shaped brown seed pods. Reed mace thrive in silt, whereas I prefer rich gravel beds for my perching.
Having established those areas seemingly most likely to harbour big perch, now comes the task of isolating the ones which actually do contain them, which takes a great deal of effort. This is where most anglers fall at the first hurdle, because, as big stream perch can be so localised, not every bulrush bed will have specimens in residence. 
A method I have perfected over the years takes advantage of the extreme voracity of big perch at dawn, when much of their usual caution is temporarily abandoned. Present a bait in the correct spot at daybreak and, if there’s a big perch there, he’ll have it instantly. So long is my list of good perch where the bait was taken literally seconds after being cast at dawn that it cannot be coincidence.
My location technique therefore is as follows. Having selected perhaps a dozen swims on a stretch, I will arrange to fish them all in the first hour of daylight. This might take three or four sessions, depending on the size of individual swims. The point is that I do not spend a long time in each swim. Twenty minutes is ample, and generally a lot less time is required. When a bait is introduced at first light, I would expect one of three possible reactions. If there is no bite, you can be reasonably sure there are no perch there. Baits are never ignored at this time of the day. If a small perch is caught straight away, I will normally move out immediately. My experience has shown that, if a big perch is present, little ones are never caught first, although I do stress again that I am talking about first light. Behaviour later in the day is much different. Obviously, little perch know all about the voracity of their bigger relations at breakfast time and wisely keep their heads down to avoid being on the menu.
Thirdly, of course, a big perch could result, in which case one swim has been located for future attention.
Apart from those three very easily identified possibilities, there is a middle of the road situation of an average perch, say about a pound, taking the first bait. Such a fish would obviously be immune from attack by bigger perch. If that happens, it is worth giving the swim more time, or returning to it in future. Having said that, in every swim from which I’ve taken really big perch, say over about two and a half pounds, the biggest perch has invariably resulted from the first bite.
Where we have a fairly long feature, say a thirty yard bed of rushes alongside a deep, steady glide, the perch could be anywhere, and it is important to cover as many positions as possible in that vital first hour of daylight. I normally start at the head of the run at the crack of dawn, laying on with a large lobworm under a simple porcupine quill, fished over-depth, such that the float fishes at half cock. I am never happy unless the float is as close to the rushes as possible. I’ve found that a few inches makes all the difference and I like the float hard against the foliage. As I’ve said, if a perch is close to the bait at first light, he’ll have it immediately, so if no bite has materialised in five minutes, I wind in and reposition the bait five yards down the swim. I want to have covered the entire rush bed extremity in the first twenty minutes or so.
If a big perch is landed, the next cast goes back in exactly the same spot. Big perch are pack hunters, and I’ve had several multi fish catches with this procedure. Almost always, you need look no further than laid on lobworm for this fishing, but occasionally I’ve found it necessary to revert to a scrap of lobworm or a redworm if the fish are finicky, or to revert to baits well off bottom. In these circumstances, I like to trot slowly along the edge of the rushes with slow sinking baits. To do this, I make the float self cocking and bait with air injected lob that just sinks under the weight of the hook, creating a very natural presentation. Of course, when the fish demand this presentation with an off bottom, moving bait, trotted minnows are an obvious and very effective alternative.
Apart from swims identified by all above means, big perch are also found in the half hour or so either side of dawn on gravel shallows, specially where these are in close proximity to more orthodox perch holding areas, such as deep glides alongside rushes. Shoals of minnows and fry of all species spend the dark hours massed on the shallows and big perch take advantage of this fact at daybreak by making sorties through them to obtain an easy first meal of the day. Location of perch can then be entirely visual, as they often attack with their erect dorsals breaking surface. This summer, if you’re capable of getting up early and moving into position by shallows nice and quietly, just watch the surface of the water as dawn is approaching. If perch are about, they will betray themselves, and you can then take appropriate action. Fishing these shallows at the crack of dawn is invariably better with small livebaits such as minnows or gudgeon, with which the perch are totally preoccupied.
After the first three hours or so of daylight in the summer, the chances of big perch in the open water adjacent to rushes recede rapidly, and it is now time to search for them in more shaded areas. This is particularly true on bright mornings as perch show a distinct dislike of strong light. An overcast morning usually sees the active feeding spell prolonged and I have known perch feed steadily until lunchtime if the day is particularly dark and dismal. This, however, is rare in open swims, and after about three hours, you’ve had the best of it. In very hot and settled conditions, with clear blue skies, I’ve known plenty of occasions when sport has been finished for the day an hour after daybreak.
In well shaded areas, there is the chance of a big perch throughout the day, and good places to try are under dense mats of lily pads, under rubbish rafts, around dark tree roots, right in the middle of dense rush beds, and anywhere there is low growing, overhanging foliage creating deep shade.
My favourite swims for this late morning perching are dense lily beds, fishing the bait right under the pads. I either free line, casting the lob on top of the pads and then inching it towards me until it just topples over into the water, or, better still, use a small, self cocking float, fished double rubber to prevent snagging. Greasing the line above the float ensures that the line from float to rod tip does not sink between the pads and helps to prevent becoming hung up on the retrieve. 
For small stream perching, I go to the trouble of using a float wherever possible, as the timing of a strike on a perch bite can be so critical. The bite on a minnow or big lob can be a protracted affair, even from a big fish, with the float often bobbing and dipping for several minutes before finally sliding away, and the worse thing you can do is strike prematurely and prick a fish. Once a big perch has been pricked and lost in a swim, the chances of further bites are drastically reduced. It is also for this reason that small stream perching is one of the few occasions when I regularly use a keepnet.
Although many perch each year are taken on maggots, the angler deliberately seeking perch of a good size will normally confine himself to worms, small fish either alive or dead, and artificial lures. Maggots, however, do have an important role. If you are attempting to establish a big perch swim, using a small feeder or fishing over loose fed maggots is a good ploy for attracting small fish and, hence, big perch. Several of the big perch reported last season were taken on lobworms fished in conjunction with steady maggot feeding.
I do very little lure fishing for perch, but in my limited experience, I have had good success with Mepps spoons, particularly both gold and silver varieties of the Aglia, and the Comet Black Fury. A few fish have also succumbed to a small Voblex. My favourite, however, is a Rublex Ondex, a black, red and silver striped spoon with a bright red tassel. Anybody wishing in-depth knowledge of lure fishing for perch should buy the Book of the Perch, by the Perchfishers, and published by Oxford Illustrated Press. (Unfortunately, this is now out of print, but you may pick up a copy at a second-hand bookshop.
For live or dead baiting, unlike pike, sea baits are next to useless. Natural coarse fish are a must, and I have had good fish on roach, minnows, gudgeon and tiny perch. A small perch is one of the best baits for a big one. Livebaits are effectively fished on free roving gear or, for presenting a tethered bait near a snag or bankside undercut, the paternoster takes some beating. Small legered livebaits work well but if I am static legering I prefer deadbaits, either bottom fished or popped up slightly. This is fairly easy with small coarse fish, freshly killed, where the swim bladder will be intact and the bait naturally buoyant.
The simplest technique on a small river or stream is free lining, with just the bait for casting weight. I will use this method, for example, if fishing a very tight little swim between overhanging branches on the far bank in summer, when there is very little flow. Leaving slack in the line gives the simplest of bite indication. When the line tightens, hit it. Free lining will generally be used with large lobs, mounted on size six hooks to 4lb line.
Where I am freelining small fish, minnows for instance on a gravel shallow at dawn, I normally add a swan shot about a foot from the bait, to both give casting weight and add a little density to what is a very buoyant bait. With all free lining for perch, it is important to keep the rig resistance-free to avoid fish dropping the bait, and a good bow in the line is essential. This is specially so when fishing those gravel shallows at dawn with little fish, when takes can be sudden and very savage.
For float fishing, either laying on or trotting, I like to use a simple quill cocked by one large shot only. For laying on, the shot is placed about a foot from the hook and the float set slightly over-depth so it fishes at half cock. Bites are very distinctive, the float usually shooting up in the water before vanishing across the swim at speed, although, as I’ve already said, a big fish can dither with a bait for some considerable time before giving a strikable bite. Where I want to revert to trotting, it is simple to push the shot up under the float and trot with slow sinking baits.
I tend to use a slightly heavier float where I plan to fish the paternoster, and I generally opt for an Avon float fished top and bottom, the hooklink being positioned between six inches and a foot off bottom. The paternoster is deadly for positioning static off bottom baits near undercuts.
Where there are brisker currents, legering comes more and more into its own. However, perch are very fussy about resistance, and you must always leger as delicately as possible if you are not to be continually frustrated by missed bites. I recommend the softest quivertip you can get away with in conjunction with upstream legering, the most resistance free form of legering possible if you know how to go about it. If you are forced to leger downstream, I have found it better to use a very light bobbin than a quivertip, to reduce the resistance in the gear to the absolute minimum.
One of my favourite legering methods for perch is the rolling leger, making the bait search all the little nooks and crannies of undercuts. The trick here is not to fish too heavy. You don’t want the bait to sink like a stone and fish statically close to the near bank. You want it to be washed right under the undercut. That is a deadly presentation.
On leger tackle, big perch are as difficult to hit as small stream roach. When downstream legering, wait for the definite pull round of the quivertip. When upstreaming, ignore the little bumps and wait for the definite slack liner. Playing the fish requires care. Although they are game fighters, they are not in the same league as, say, tench. They are, however, extremely soft mouthed, hooks tearing out very easily. You must therefore play big perch carefully without rushing them, and use a soft topped rod to absorb all the last minute plunges.
When using live or dead baits we face a dilemma with pike. Using wire is definitely detrimental to the presentation, but we have to ask ourselves whether it is worth sacrificing the odd perch bite for the sake of pike welfare. Personally, as I only use large single hooks for perch fishing with small fish, I do not use wire traces, confident that little damage can result to pike taking my baits. 
For my small stream perch fishing, I carry two rods, a 13ft float rod and an 11ft Avon strength leger rod equipped with spliced quivertip. Whatever rods you elect should have a good through action. As I’ve said earlier, you require an efficient cushioning effect to prevent the hook pulling out of the soft tissue of a perch’s mouth.
I generally use 4 or 5lb line for perch fishing, either Drennan Specimen Plus or Sufix Synergy and the hooks my old faithful Au Lion D’or in sizes 6 and 8,with carbon specimen hooks from Drennan in the smaller sizes. These will be used with redworms. For livebaiting or deadbaiting, a single size 4 Au Lion D’or has never let me down.
The perch is one of the most exciting of our coarse fish and yet one that remains surprisingly unpopular to specialist anglers, although that is now changing as the fish get bigger. Believe me when I say that there are few things as impressive in angling as the sight of a three pound perch, boldly striped with dorsal bristling in the dawn sunlight. If that is a vision you have not yet experienced then you have missed something very special indeed.
