Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

Information Page

For anyone unfamiliar with the site always check the FRESHWATER, SALTWATER and TACK-TICS pages. The Saltwater page now extends back as a record of over four years of (mostly) sea fishing and may be a useful guide as to when to fish. The Freshwater stuff is also up to date now. I keep adding to both. These pages are effectively my diary and the latest will usually be about fishing in the previous day or two. The Tactics pages which are chiefly 'how I do it' plus a bit of science are also updated regularly and (I think) worth a read (the earlier ones are mostly tackle and 'how to do it' stuff so if you are new to fly fishing or spinning these are the ones for you).

16 October 2007.

Perching.

It's a while since I went perch fishing so, after doing Monday's duties (house, garden, visit to bank, etc.) I decided to try and catch a decent perch. First of all, by float fishing maggots, I managed to arm myself with a variety of small fish for bait. A roach, a minnow, a gudgeon, a rudd, two dace and a perch. I set up a simple paternoster with some 15lb wire (for the inevitable pike), a size 2 circle hook and a small lead (about 8gm). By the time I got to the river it was about 13.00hr on a dull, mild day with hardly any wind. The river was very low and clear with lots of dead leaves drifting downstream.

First I put on the roach. the second'perchy' spot that I tried produced a bite and as I tightened to it a pike of about six pound hove into view. It plunged away under a raft of weed and roots and (fortunately) came unstuck. Unfortunately it took my bait with it. The next cast was with a dace which promptly fell off. Then I tried a minnow which after a while and a couple of moves, produced a knocking bite and a perch of perhaps 250g. The remaining dace brought me a perch that was half as big again. Nothing on the gudgeon (my biggest bait) which eventually fell off as I cast. On went the rudd and a good bite materialised into a perch of about one kg - excellent! Nothing on the perch livebait so I let it go and went home. Not bad for a couple of hours fishing.

Small one!

Another picture.

Out of the water.

A better fish.