Even with the growth in popularity of fly fishing for coarse species, it takes a brave angler to take on a semi-frozen canal with game tackle but intrepid angler David West Beale did just that and had his initiative rewarded with a giant perch of 3lb 2oz from his local stretch of Grand Union Canal. A home tied jig-style fly, fished slowly but erratically, proved the winning method.
“With many areas frozen solid I figured the bait fish would concentrate into the small areas of warmer water that thawed out quicker,” he revealed. “On a Tuesday afternoon trip, most of the canal was still frozen but I found a channel of ice-free water maybe 20 yards long reaching to the middle of the canal. I cast my fly across the ice and then twitched it back to plop into the water, before starting a very slow stop-start retrieve.
I must have covered virtually every square inch of my ‘ice-hole’ before finally I had a pluck and the line went solid. I was thrilled to bits with the fish as a perch of that size from the canal is an absolute dream come true!”
To prove it was no fluke, David caught several other nice fish on subsequent trips, including a further specimen of 2lb 6oz.
David’s fish joins a growing list of entries to be judged by a panel including Matt Hayes and John Bailey.
“We’ve seen a big upsurge in the number of anglers catching perch on the fly,” remarked Dom Garnett, competition organiser and author of Flyfishing for Coarse Fish. “It can be a really subtle, deadly method and also lets you fish waters that don’t allow lures or baits.”
A special report on catching perch on the fly will feature in the next Fly Fishing and Fly Tying magazine, while this year’s competition also includes a special ‘Predator of the Year’ category. Entrants can win goodies from the Turrall range of ‘Flies for Coarse Fish’, including special designs for perch, while the overall winner gets a choice of Snowbee rod, reel and line set ups, including pike and carp outfits.
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