Perch are almost always found together with pike and thus have very similar
requirements concerning there home waters. They do like slightly deeper water
compared with pike, also the will tolerate stronger current and turbidity. But
you will find them next to each other more often than not. They have a special
affinity towards all sorts of structure in the water: shoals ( called
"perch mountains" in German) , any kind of post, anchored boats, bung
walls etc. but also any form of vegetation.
Behaviour
The perch is one of the smallest predatory fish. Often you will find it in
groups of more than 5 or even, much like cyprinids or coregones, in shoals of
hundreds. The really big shoals will be found in larger lakes, but you will find
large groups in canals and rivers as well. A group of perch will often hunt by
surrounding there prey. Perch actively search their prey and will hunt it down
over a certain distance. They don't just pounce on it like a pike, but are able
to follow on track surprisingly well behind a baitfish zigzagging in panic
through the water. Perch like to stroll about, always showing up at their
favourite places. But they can also be quite stationary. They are very versatile
fish and will adapt their behaviour to the circumstances. They make the
impression of being more "intelligent" then other fish, whose
behaviour seems to be much more predictable.
Fishing
Perch a curious fish and will often bite into quite large lures. I have
caught most big perch on lures intended for pike or zander. Often they are
tempted by quite fast and/or jerking retrieves. Sometimes the complete opposite
is the case and the lure has to crawl along the bottom like a snail. And finally
they can make a fool out of you by following your lures curiously without ever
biting. That seems to happen especially, if you can see the fish standing
somewhere. For perch searching as well as waiting
can be the right strategy, depending on the circumstances. In some waters
good places will be passed by groups of perch again and again. So if you know
these places waiting is the perfect strategy. With luck you might discover the
direction of the perch an be able to follow them.
Lures
Spinners in sizes 2 to 5 (Comet, Aglia,
Lusox, Lusox-Doppel,
Libelle, Effzett) are
good lures for perch. They can be retrieved slowly and quite evenly. They should
always run near the bottom or some structure ( posts, bung walls, boats, etc). Plugs up to about 7cm in length, or
even bigger ( Shad
Rap, Rapala Minnow ) are
also often successful, these I like to retrieve in an aggressive manner with
irregular jerks. Especially if you have followers it pays to speed up your
presentation. Soft plastic lures (Twister)
are also very good for perch. The classic jigging retrieve is not always the
best, I have had more success with slow dragging presentations with a modified Carolina-Rig
(lead on a side arm). For this I use rather small twisters (grubs) rigged on a
normal worm hook in colours like red or black glitter in clear water or
white/yellow when it's more turbid.
Perch will also take surface lures (Popper),
especially when they are in a hunting mood, they can be caught readily on them.
They also go very well on the Hegene and will take spoons.
Tackle
For perch you will do well with the tackle
classes from ultralight to medium. The size of your tackle will be
determined by the lures you want to use, as you will be able to safely land even
the biggest perch on very light tackle, if you have to.
Because you will almost always find pike, where perch
are around you should use a light steel trace.
