| MARK WINTLE |
| Mark Wintle, an angler for thirty-five years, is on a quest to discover and bring to you the magic of fishing. Previously heavily involved with match fishing he now fishes for the sheer fun of it. With an open and enquiring mind, each week Mark will bring to you articles on fishing different rivers, different methods and what makes rivers, and occasionally stillwaters, tick. Add to this a mixed bag of articles on catching big fish, tackle design, angling politics and a few surprises. Are you stuck in a rut fishing the same swim every week? Do you dare to try something different and see a whole new world of angling open up? Yes? Then read Mark Wintle’s regular weekly column. |
OF PERCH AND WORMS
It has often been said that one’s first fish ought to be a perch but in my case, it was not until I had been fishing for several years that I caught a perch, and many years before I caught perch on a regular basis. And whilst I do not intend to become a perch specialist, I’m as impressed by the sight of a magnificent big perch as anyone such that a serious crack for them now and again can’t be a bad thing. Devastated by Disease The little corner of Dorset where I lived had virtually no perch at all in the sixties and early seventies; the Thames had been devastated by perch disease, and it was only when the disease had receded in the eighties that I started to get loads of perch. My early visits to the Stour in 1973 – 1975 had produced a few small perch, and I’d seen one weighed in of 2-1. But, in turn, the disease hit this river in 1976, and the perch vanished. It took a long time for the perch to return to the Stour but by the mid nineties there were shoals back in some reaches. In the last five years there has been an increasing number of good-sized perch being caught from the Stour. Many have come from near Wimborne but there are big ones in the stretches above Blandford, and from below Wimborne right down to the tidal reaches. The Perch are Back Though I’ve had some decent perch from the Thames (best 2-0), the Frome (hardly a perch water at all, yet my best is 2-0) and, last year, the Ouse (2-14-4), I’ve yet to get a two-pounder from the Stour. My best is a last day of season fish of 1-14 from a deep stretch near Shillingstone. Yet, this is a poor reflection on the Stour as far as perch are concerned. Although the big roach have become much, much scarcer, the potential for big perch has never been better. This is almost a reflection of the Ouse, where in Dick Walker’s day, three pounders were the target fish with four pounders reckoned the ultimate; now you can add a pound to those figures. So, it is with the Stour. There were two pound perch caught regularly back in the sixties with the occasional three pounder; now there is a good chance of a three pounder with fish over four pounds recorded, and the remote possibility of a five pounder. All I’ve got to do is find ’em It’s all very well my saying there’s loads of big perch in the Stour, but exactly where are they? This is where knowing my river, listening to other anglers and trying to understand what sort of swim they might be found in is going, I hope, to pay dividends. Though there are few big ones on Throop and the tidal reaches, I won’t be trying to catch them there. It’s too hit and miss, and if I fish that part of the river I shall be trying for roach, chub and bream, fish that are much more widespread. Nearer home at Wimborne, I no longer have the club permit covering the water, mainly because the rowers drive me spare. So, the upper reaches above Blandford offer me my best hope. I’ve got two stretches in mind. One is a long canalised reach above a weir. Much of the two-mile stretch is deep, up to twelve feet in places, and fringed with lilies in summer. This length responds to chopped worm introduced using a bait dropper, and has produced perch to 3-6. Just a mile or two up river there is totality different stretch of river. This is a much more varied series of bend, riffles and pools, with depths varying from less than a foot to twelve feet. There are many overhanging trees, reed beds, and lily beds. Here, the perch are very much resident fish and will have to be sought in their lairs whereas on the other stretch there is more chance of drawing fish to you. I also need the right conditions Although several chalk brooks enter the Stour below Blandford, further upriver it is very much a clay vale river, prone to sudden runoff after heavy rain that colours the water considerably. In such conditions, the upper Stour is hard going for any species never mind perch. When the upper river is at normal winter level, it is often clear, and sometimes too clear for good roach fishing that is better when the river is six inches up and dropping with a tinge of colour. But for perch, I reckon that a cloudy, mild day, with the river at normal winter level, could be just what I’m looking for.
And the right bait Though I’ve had good-sized perch on casters and maggots, the top baits have to be worms and small livebaits. Both work on the Stour, with worms being the preferred bait. Big perch have been caught on small livebaits there, but the numerous jack pike (on their bigger brethren) are more likely to muscle in on the act. What this means is that I’m going to have to get organised, and sort myself out a wormery. I’ve been meaning to do this since last year but haven’t got very far. As a starter home for worms, I’ve filled an old central heating header tank with damp shredded newspaper to see how they thrive. If that works, I’ll make a bigger wormery with a wooden box. First Attempt At the end of September I had my first go for perch on the upper Stour this season. The weather was ideal, cloudy and mild. The river was in good condition with a tinge of colour, and the worst of the weed had died back. Never believe the old chestnut about needing frost or cold nights to kill the weed in the river. It dies in August, and then takes two to three months to rot sufficiently so that a good flood from mid November onwards can flush it away. I tackled with a small crowquill Avon float taking 5 BB, size fourteen hook, and baiting with three inch worms began fishing. At that time, I hadn’t sorted out a worm supply so had only scraped together a few assorted worms. I worked the bait around the edge of the weedbeds in the ten feet deep swim. The first bite occurred after ten seconds. The float dipped and bobbed. Surely, there couldn’t be perch around already? When the float slowly sank away, I struck. And missed. The worm looked slightly nibbled but ok. I cast in again; the same thing happened. And again. What was going on? On about the tenth cast, I finally caught one of the culprits, a greedy little gudgeon not much longer than the worm. Forty casts, four gudgeon and about six worms later the swim suddenly went quiet for ten minutes. Was something a bit bigger on the prowl? This is more like it Then I had a more positive bite. I struck and found I was playing a much better fish. At first, it stayed deep, then as I worked it up in the water, it tried to get into a clump of weed near the bank. For a few seconds it got stuck then I freed it and had under enough control to scoop it out. A perch at last, and a good sized one at that. Though it was short of my target of two pounds, I weighed it anyway, and at 1-11, it was a fine fish and a promising start. I expected this to be the first of at least a few but it was not to be. The swim appeared dead, and it was time for a move. There were two more likely swims on this bank further downstream. Apart from fishing for perch, bream and trout, I’ve never had a lot of faith fishing with worms for fish like roach and chub though I know that they can work. This day, however, the fish were determined to prove me wrong, and despite my best efforts to find more perch, I failed but I did catch loads of roach, dace and small chub, nothing over half a pound, and all on worms. It had been an interesting day, and one that I shall repeat this winter. All I’ve got to do is get organised with plenty of worms, and watch out for the right conditions; you never know, I might get a Stour three-pounder for Christmas! Next week: Twilight Roach |
