With the rivers still in flood and the fishing being really difficult Andy (you should have been here yesterday) Cowley and I decided to revisit the perch lake once more. Now Andy returned to his swim from his last visit where he caught those two 3lbers. I wanted to fish another swim still in deeper water. As I wandered around the lake it was apparent that a carp angler was in the swim next to where I wanted to fish and on further inspection it looked like his 3rd rod was positioned right along the bank where I wanted to fish. I then spotted another swim that offered a better ambush point for the perch. So I left the carp angler alone and headed off to the other 2nd choice swim. The weather was near perfect overcast little wind and slight mist in the air.

I arrived and set the rods up with identical rigs and out went the spomb rod loaded with live red maggots and pieces of prawns. I was baiting distinct areas but with them being reasonably close together.

Soon all rods were out and fishing. It was within 5 minutes when the bobbin on the right hand rod jingled it’s way up to the butt ring and I struck into a perch. From the feel of things it was a good one too. I could feel the perch twisting and turning in the depths of the lake trying to evade capture. The thump thumps from the angry perch continued right until I saw it slip into the net. I unhooked the perch placed it in the net and recast to the spot once again. I weighed the perch and sure enough it was 3lbs 3oz and a great looker. I placed it in the net ready for a photo when one of the other rods was off and I struck into another hard fighting perch. This one went into the same landing net as the 3lbs 3oz perch. I unhooked and weighed the perch immediately and it was 2lbs 11oz. What a brace. Within seconds the other rod signaled a run as the bobbin spluttered up to the butt ring. I struck again and played another huge perch to the bank and the waiting landing net now containing 3 rather large perch. I unhooked and weighed this fish at 2lbs 12oz. With this going on I transferred them to a much larger net and phoned Andy. He saw I caught one perch but couldn’t believe that I had 3 in the waiting net when he arrived.

Andy did the business with the camera and captured some great snaps. One was where we were taking a photo and I had another run which the perch dropped as I was away from the rods.

So what a start for me. It didn’t stop there as I soon had another couple of 2lbers at 2lbs 12oz and 2lbs exactly. Then unbelievably I had a another run and struck into a battling perch that gave me a real run around on my light hooklink shaking of the perches head and dives from the fish into the lakes depths was fantastic. I played this one very gently as it felt a very good perch. The clutch was well slackened off as it came close to the net. It looked enormous.

By now Andy was around on my bank and in the next swim as he didn’t have any indication where he was sitting. He did took the photo’s and what a great job he did.

Then I lost 2 fish in quick succession which does happen occasionally when perch fishing. I was lamenting this to Andy when the bobbin rose slowly to the butt ring and I struck into another perch. This too felt like a really good fish and almost tangled with the other line. The soft quiver tip absorbed the thrust from the perch and it’s wonderful when you see the colour and size of the perch in the clear lake. Soon it was in the net and Andy photographed another 3lb perch for me at 3lbs 3oz.

To say I was elated and not even 10.30am would be an understatement to say the lease. What a start. Poor Andy hadn’t had a bite as such. Having said that he did have two 3lbers and a huge fish at 3lbs 13oz and 4x 2lbers on the last visit I’m sure he would begrudge me some lime light.

I sat down at 11am to have a cup of coffee that’s how busy it had been. I had been spombing out more bait after each fish and had got through about 60% of my bait. That was 4 pints of maggots and a couple of packages of prawns. I said to Andy this can’t keep going. Then a few minutes later the bobbin rose once more and I caught a perch that ruined the whole day. It was a sub 2lber at 1lbs 10oz. Andy moved back to his original swim as we thought the fish would move there later in the afternoon as they did the previous visit.

I said to learn more about the lake I would move swims to the other end of the lake. I did so at 1.30pm after nothing much happening.

I baited up the next swim identically to the first and all I got were a few half hearted pulls and lifts and nothing else. I fished it for 4 hours into darkness without a perch to my name. Andy moved to another swim and had one small perch but again nothing larger.

The question is weather the perch just fed in the morning or that they were not out in front of us come the end?

Even so 3x 3lbers for me plus 2.12,2.12,2.11,2.0,2.0 and 1.10 is great fishing.

In hind sight perhaps I should have stayed put and the perch might have come back on the feed again!

What about if I had fished my first choice swim would the result have been the same. It’s a funny old game!

Happy days!

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