Chew Valley and three perch over 3lbs

Well the seasons really fly by. Andy had asked me to share a boat on Chew for the second day of pike fishing. He had fished it the day before and caught some perch and pike. His boat partner had caught some well over 3lbs and another boat had a 4lbs 6oz perch. So we talked on the phone the evening before to decide tactics for the day.

He likes perch fishing and me too. It was him who introduced me to prawn fishing for them on some of the commercials. So we decided to fish for perch for the day and have one pike rod out hoping for one of the giants that swim in the lake.

So we arrived and the chap who had caught the 4lber showed us the lure he caught his fish on, however Andy and his mate had used something different and caught the day before too.

So after a great breakfast we just missed the best spot by a minute or two as our boat engine just wouldn’t start and we needed help from the ranger there. Finally we moored on a buoy close to the spot. The guys who beat us to it were catching a few perch and one or two they photographed. We were getting hits on the lures every cast but because they were small fish the hookup rate was not good.

The weather was overcast and rain pouring down. This was the second day of getting a soaking as I had been on the H.Avon guiding the previous day with Rod where it was equally as wet.

Today the bonus was that there was no wind and just a gentle ripple on the lakes surface. Perfect for perch.

We could see the perch chasing fry throughout the day.

I was lucky as I landed the first big fish of the day. A perch of 3lbs 7oz.

3lbs 7oz

We continued watching the other boat land some stunning perch. We were catching plenty however not many over 2lbs.

Perch 2lbs 8oz

Andy caught a couple of pike on lures and one on the dead baits too.

One of the jack pike

I couldn’t believe it when I hooked another big perch. I was using an Avon 1.25 rod which was perfect for the job of casting. Using 30lb braid and a wire trace (rules says you need to use this) seemed to work well. My only fear was that the braid would twist around the tip and when casting it would shatter. However I needn’t have worried.

Anyhow I could feel this was a good fish and in te clear waters of Chew another large perch came into view. this was another 3lber at 3lbs 6oz. What a beauty!

3lbs 6oz

I was now feeling sorry for Andy as he didn’t catch a 3lb perch yesterday although his mate did. Time was going on and Andy was catching some perch to 2lbs 10oz.

Then the two guys who had the best spot decided to move and asked us if we wanted to move over and anchor up which we duly did. They had 6 perch over 3lbs to 3lbs 15oz so a great start for them.

So with us settled over the spot we continued to fish. Guess what I only caught another lovely perch of 3lbs 1oz.

Perch 3lbs 1oz

I was now willing Andy to catch one. Again he was getting them to over 2lbs but no 3lbers. We were still getting hit after hit each time we retrieved the lure and sometimes you would hookup only for the perch to come off.

Then it was Andy’s turn to hit into a big fish. he played it gentle and sure enough a beautiful 3lbs 6oz perch slide into the net. I was so so pleased for him.

3lbs 6oz perch for Andy

The perch fed all day and I lost count of how many we landed but it must have been over 50 each. With the overcast skies the light disappeared quickly and soon it was time to call it a day and return back to the lodge. So no piking for us and a great perch fishing day. Again we were flexible in our approach and seeing the perch slamming into the fry first thing in the morning had us starring at an opportunity that we couldn’t miss.

Thanks Andy for a great day out again.