It's looking inevitable...

[Aknib]

The first full on Perch session of the Autumn...

Yup i'm off in the morning, i've chosen a small, largely overlooked wooded local lake which sits beyond a much larger lake of around seven acres.

I've fished it a handful of times in the past and always caught albeit no big Perch but I have a corner in mind which i've previously walked past but fancied, we all know how Perch like to herd their prey into a corner or bankside to cut off an escape route and the lake itself is fabled to have thrown up Perch in excess of 4lb but i've never had a sniff.

Then again it wasn't supposed to hold Pike (that one always makes me smile) until, a fair few years ago, it hit the local angling headlines with a fish of, iirc, 28lbs so who knows?

I must admit i've got a right buzz for it, the gear is ready and the tackle shop opens at 6 am for bait. The brolly is packed as there are heavy showers forecast but with a largely overcast outlook i'm optimistic of drawing some fish into shallower water, i'll take a look at where the prevailing wind is sweeping in from and make a final swim choice in the morning.

A few worms and a couple of tricks up my sleeve and it might just...

I'm actually struggling to think if i've fished a stillwater during the last two seasons and i'm really looking forward to it.

 

[Aknib]

Well...

It's not going to plan and i'm not even out of bed yet!

For the last hour and a half i've been sat up watching a fantastic lightening display whilst torrential rain has been hammering on the roof and it's still going strong. The forecast is for the rain to ease up by 8am so a curtailed start and maybe more of a general, all round session than specifically targeting Perch if the water's very coloured although my method will still favour Perch and pick 'em out if they're on the prowl.

I'm really looking forward to it though, might even grab a bit of breakfast somewhere beforehand.

 

[@Clive]

Well...

It's not going to plan and i'm not even out of bed yet!

For the last hour and a half i've been sat up watching a fantastic lightening display whilst torrential rain has been hammering on the roof and it's still going strong. The forecast is for the rain to ease up by 8am so a curtailed start and maybe more of a general, all round session than specifically targeting Perch if the water's very coloured although my method will still favour Perch and pick 'em out if they're on the prowl.

I'm really looking forward to it though, might even grab a bit of breakfast somewhere beforehand.

Wuss! You said that you had packed your brolly. Get out there man!

 

[Aknib]

Wuss! You said that you had packed your brolly. Get out there man!

And boy did I!

I 'enjoyed' around two hours of monsoon like weather from midday but the fishing was absolutely spot on if I overlook the fact I was angling for a chunky Perch.

Bream were the dominant species, I reckon I mustered around forty pound or so of them along with half a dozen Tench, enough Rudd to fill a bath, a couple of small commons and a handful of Roach...

Probably one of the best Bream days i've had in the last couple of seasons albeit unintended, I got done on the hooklink too by something very hefty, disappointed with that because I didn't think I was putting that much into it but hey ho.

The Perch did come along, just not of the size I was hoping for but i'm in no way disappointed, a great day's fishing...

The Rudd were a damned nuisance, low bulk shotting to 'bomb' the bait down quickly didn't work and all I could do in the end was overcast and inch the hookbait back beneath them to get under their radar.

I'm almost certain I caught a small Silver Bream too, kicking myself for not taking a picture but the over size eyes and extra deep body are telling me I did which was a nice first for a few years.

 

[@Clive]

Last year I took the barbel goggles off and went perch fishing. I regularly see big perch when barbel fishing. I bought maggots and worms and float fished in the prescribed manner. I got a shed load of bream too. And bizzarly more barbel than I usually catch when barbel fishing.

I don't think that fish read the same books that I do.