Big perch question?

[peter crabtree]

For those of senior years and good memories my question is....

Were perch of the big sizes we see today as prolific before the perch disease drastically reduced their numbers in the 1970's?

 

[Bob Hornegold]

For those of senior years and good memories my question is....

Were perch of the big sizes we see today as prolific before the perch disease drastically reduced their numbers in the 1970's?

No Peter, I fished the London Reservoirs in the Perch heyday's and a 3lbder was regarded as a very big Perch, a 4lbder a real monster.

Lets be honest about, mid to high 4s are now regarded as the bench mark for the Perch experts, 5s and 6s are the monsters now !!

So we have come a long way since the last outbreak of Perch disease, but it could be just around the corner.

Now is the best time in my lifetime to land a Perch of your dreams.

Bob

 

[barbelboi]

I believe that it was the 80’s before a big 5 was being caught although didn’t DW catch some big 4’s from Arlesey Lake in the 50’s?

 

[Philip]

Wasnt the Perch record something like 4.12 for many years ? ...caught in the 60s from Oulton broad, something like that.

Now it appears 4s are all over the place..rivers, commercial lakes, gravel pits, you name it. I used to think the Perch record was one of the ones most likly to go when it was 4 something.. now its over 6, thats a very big Perch even by European standards.

I wonder if the signal crayfish influx played a part in this boom? Whatever the reason I think its one of those "make hay while the sun shines" situations & nows the time to try and catch a whopper.

 

[thames mudlarker]

No Peter, I fished the London Reservoirs in the Perch heyday's and a 3lbder was regarded as a very big Perch, a 4lbder a real monster.

Lets be honest about, mid to high 4s are now regarded as the bench mark for the Perch experts, 5s and 6s are the monsters now !!

So we have come a long way since the last outbreak of Perch disease, but it could be just around the corner.

Now is the best time in my lifetime to land a Perch of your dreams.

Bob

Yep I very much agree Bob,

I'd say there's far more waters now with big perch than ever before,

Perch in waters where a lot of anglers seem to predominantly carp fish for example the perch seem to thrive on neglect,

Even the rivers over the last few years I think have made a massive come back and it's the rivers that I much prefer to fish,

You may possibly remember me Bob, it was a few years back when we had the last lot of snow and I came up and spoke to you at Waltham abbey / fishers green and you was the only one fishing in the snow after about a about a 4 mile stretch from Enfield that I had just walked, from memory you'd literally just had a bypass but couldn't stay indoors and needed to be on the bank in pursuit of those monster chub, I think it was only a matter of a day or two after that you had the 9 lb chub on the bank :thumbs:

I've noticed that there are some very good perch coming out just a little further upstream on the Lea literally very close to yer club water that you mentioned you was a member of with a few well over the 4lb mark to 4lb 10oz.

Incidentally I'm interested in the Osprey group Bob as I believe that your the chairman, if there's any info you could possibly send me via PM it'd be very much appreciated,

Hope that everything is ok and that yer keeping well

 

[Bob Hornegold]

Mudlarker

Send me a PM and I will give you some details, I do remember someone talking to me, it seems a long time ago now.

I have had a Stroke and a second Heart Attack since then, which have certainly slowed me down.

The Lea is a Premier water for Perch and there are many hot spots, it's about doing your time and sorting out the methods you prefere within your capabilities.



Bob

 

[thames mudlarker]

Mudlarker

Send me a PM and I will give you some details, I do remember someone talking to me, it seems a long time ago now.

I have had a Stroke and a second Heart Attack since then, which have certainly slowed me down.

The Lea is a Premier water for Perch and there are many hot spots, it's about doing your time and sorting out the methods you prefere within your capabilities.



Bob

Ok mate, PM will be sent :thumbs:

 

[S-Kippy]

For those of senior years and good memories my question is....

Were perch of the big sizes we see today as prolific before the perch disease drastically reduced their numbers in the 1970's?

Not in my experience. Things were & are pretty much as Bob says. I keep meaning to have a go for a decent perch but there are too many other things [ some fishing related] taking up my limited time atm.

 

[Bob Hornegold]

I'm going to post a picture of the man who taught me to fish, his name was Roy Child and a brilliant angler, the founder of the West Essex Specimen Hunters.

That was the second Specimen Group to be founded after the London Specimen Hunters and we all fished together on the London Reservoirs.

The Picture shows a group of Perch that Roy caught in a couple of hours, which was not unusual, we could catch 50 Perch of this size in a morning.

The size of these Perch were between a 1/1/2 and 21/2lbs, a 3lber was big and anything above that was exceptional.

Bob

View image in gallery​

 

[old school]

Fond memories of the george,and the william girling.

 

[peter crabtree]

Thanks for your replies folks. I did fish the canal and river Gade in the 60's as a kid and only caught small perch so wanted a wider view.

Which leads to the question "Why are they so much bigger now?"

 

[S-Kippy]

It's a very good question. I don't think there is much doubt pellets and boilies have a lot to do with the increase in size of say Chub, barbel and carp. Perch less so directly but they do predate crayfish so that's something else that wasn't a major influence 30 odd years ago. I think neglect is a factor.....ie that the survivors were left alone to recover and maybe were the stronger examples leading to breeding populations nowadays generally producing more robust/larger fish. Rivers are generally cleaner and that might be a factor too.....as I think is much better fish handling .Preyfish availability has to be in the mix too....and possibly reduced competition ?

Maybe even the fact that fewer were taken for the table ? I'm no scientist but I'm sure the bigger than average size of perch nowadays is in some way linked to the effect of the perch disease and the genetics of the survivors. Add to that environmental influences and maybe that might be why we are seeing bigger perch than ever before.

I really ought to have a go for a big one. Perch have never been a species I've ever specifically targeted but when they reach a certain size they are impressive brutes.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Perhaps with all the focus seemingly on big carp, barbel etc. is it likely big perch have slipped under the radar as a 'fished for all year round' species?

I fish two lakes where biggish perch are to be found and are oft talked about, BUT I've never seen or heard of anyone specifically targeting them......Two weeks ago mid morning I had a 'follow' where a sizeable fish rushed (several times) at a small roach I was reeling in before disappearing into the depths. I immediately thought " I must give them a go" but never did anything about it as I was focused on roach.
Bob Horngold/Jerry's fish has made me think to the extent I've even started reading 'Perch - Contemporary Days & Ways' by Bailey/Miller (the only book I have on perch) just to have a look at rigs etc. Rather old (1989) but it's a start....

Anyway, I'm thinking conventional baits like lobs/ prawns and current gear to begin with before I go silly and start buying loads of tackle.............

TBH I'd be more than happy with 3lb plus!

 

[103841]

The beauty of it is, you don't need loads of tackle. I've found my pellet waggler rod perfect for perch fishing.

 

[steve2]

I did catch some big bags of perch back in the 60's but 2lbs was my a biggest back then. That as been broken many times in the last few years now just under 4lbs, 3lbs 15ozs to be exact. Taken from a small stream when lure fishing for chub.

 

[binka]

I've even started reading 'Perch - Contemporary Days & Ways' by Bailey/Miller (the only book I have on perch) just to have a look at rigs etc. Rather old (1989) but it's a start....

I recently read that too Tony, is it me or do the fish in the photographs generally look of a rather insignificant size, even for 1989?

I'm hoping to meet Bailey in a couple of weeks time and might just give him a good ribbing about it

 

[Graham Elliott 1]

Had a meet once with Steve Burke of the Perchfishers. Luckily he invited me to fish his lake in Sussex? Wingfield?

In his book he reckons a 4oz roach is best for a big perch.

 

[john step]

Just musing on this bigger perch thing.
There was a thread recently about bigger pike getting thin on the ground.
Pike have certainly taken a hammering by being taken for food in some areas as we all know.

Are the perch filling a gap in the food chain where pike are diminished?
There are large perch in some commies where pike are absent.

Are there waters where pike are numerous and there are also big perch?

I can't think of any near me offhand.

 

[barbelboi]

Yes, I'm a believer in 3oz plus if you want to avoid the sprogs...............

 

[john step]

Yes, I'm a believer in 3oz plus if you want to avoid the sprogs...............

Whilst using a suspended rudd (bigger than 3 ozs) deadbait on the Witham last year for pike I kept getting takes from perch...all of about a pound.
Makes you wonder how big a bait a big stripy could engulf.