Weekly round up #3 : LRF a versatile week!

Sunday and I headed to the coast again and this time I was looking for Bass. It was good to be back on the reef and although I didn't catch any bass I saw one or two so I will concentrate a bit on them soon. Truth be told that after a couple of hours working the reef I turned my attention to delights of the rock pools and spent a fun hour or so winkling blennys and long spined sea scorpions out of them before moving off to hook up with Ritchie for a harbour session.This predictably turned into another rampant sea trout frenzy with loads of trout falling for Xesta After Burners as well as Ice jigs. What was especially weird was that we were vertically jigging the mini metals in a style normally reserved for coalfish, the trout seemed to love this style of retrieve as much as the coalies! It was silly fishing but fun none the less, I can't help wondering where the coalfish are as they are normally the predominant species.

Another week another load of wee sea trout!

Tiny but pretty, this one fell to a vertically jigged Ice jig

It's been a year since I last spooled up my reel with line and my Pontoon Exteer PE.1 braid was needing to be replaced. Now I am aware that technically PE.1 braid is a bit heavy for LRF purists but due to having no money I had bought a spool as it was the lowest diameter, quality braid that I could get for £10! I have decided this year to go lighter when I can so when I saw that Art of Fishing had some new braid in from Duel I was really keen to get some to try. I have always been a sucker for Duel and Yo Zuri products and I associate the brand with usable high quality products. I do admit to being a Duel fanboy though!
After a brief discussion with Ben I settled on some Duel Hardcore x4 PE0.6 as the breaking strain was the same as my previous line but nearly half the diameter! Now I generally don't believe the stated breaking strain on most braids as they very rarely live up to their claims when used in the field. All I was interested in was if the new line was as strong as my old line.

New Line,Duel Hardcore X4

When it arrived a couple of days later I was straight into it for a comparison test. I took a meter section of each line and tied a figure of 8 loop on each end of the line. I then attached one end to a set of scales and pulled on the other till the line snapped. A primitive and brutal test but both lines broke at the same breaking strain despite the new line being nearly half the diameter, perfect.

The colour is Milky Green and is certainly way more visible than my previous dark grey line, whilst still being on the subtle side of hi vis lines. The feel of the braid is comparable to other high end Japanese braid being very soft and smooth .

when I came to use it it was brilliant, the lower diameter added yards to the cast when it came to using 1gram jig heads. It was smooth and tough and even though I put it through various snags , trees and fish it performed faultlessly and I didn't have to adapt my fishing style to cope with the lower diameter as it was just as strong as my old PE.1 line.

In short, I love it!

As well as re stocking various dropshot weights and hooks I also bought a packet of Xesta 1.6" Stick Star lures as they look custom made for trout and they came in my favourite colour,pink/pearl glitter (LPBS).

I nipped down to the river to try them out and mounted on a 1gram #8 Xesta Slow Down Star head they were dynamite! Within a couple of hours I had landed two good trout both going 27cms  and lost a couple of others. The fish really hammered the lures and despite getting two fish, a few trees and numerous rocks the soft lure was still in tact. They really are surprisingly durable for something so soft.

Trout dynamite, Xesta Stick Star 1.6" lure mounted on a 1g #8 Xesta Slow Down Star Head

Wild urban brown trout , brilliant!

I love catching them!

Trout number 2 was a real leopard spotted one,both fish were 27cms.

A couple of days later I headed off to the perch loch with Skippy (my boat) and first mate Ritchie Bewsey. Having bought our Permits we launched into the loch eagerly wishing to see one of the stripey denizens of the deep. It was hard fishing ,using our light rock fishing gear we concentrated around the normal haunts but there was hardly any perch activity. There were however plenty of brownies and Ritchie soon succumbed to temptation and rigged up a Xesta After Burner having replaced the hook with a #8 fly ( forgive me I can't remember the pattern!).

A few casts later and he hooked and landed the first fish of the session a beautifully golden wild brown trout which was released after a couple of pictures. 

Ritchie shows off what tipping a metal jig with a fly can produce, what a magnificently golden trout!

I stuck to diligently dropshotting for perch and I took the boat into various bays and weed beds to try to find them. Ritchie found them before me and manged a couple of nice perch on a soft lure/jighead approach. Eventually I manged to hook a good fish on dropshotted Lake Fork Live Baby Shad, looked about a pound but I will never know as I bumped it off the hook whilst trying to land it!

It was disappointing but I was truly heartened to see the perch back feeding in the loch and figured I would find some more feeding. It wasn't until the last half hour when I found them and managed 3 perch all falling to the lake fork with the biggest going maybe 0.75lbs.

This was the biggest of the 3 perch I had, I am just so relieved to see them active in the loch again!

So there you have it a fairly fun week with all fishing done on my LRF gear and I hope it shows how versatile this style of fishing can be as well as how much fun it is.

I have also made a video compilation of the weeks fishing, I hope you enjoy watching.

It can be viewed in 1080p.

Tackle used

Rod: GraphiteLeader Corto EX 7'9" 0.5-8gram Tubular tipped.

Reel: Shimano Technium 3000

Line: Duel Hardcore x4 PE 0.6

Leader: 6lb Greylon Fluorocarbon

Tight Lines!
Jake

Back on the big Loch

Scott and I schedules managed to coincide for once and we arranged to meet up and head west to the big loch. I was on a mission to try some new lures and Scott was still chasing the elusive Ruffe.

An early start had us by the pier at the loch by 9am only to find the pier under  a foot of water! Luckily we had our waders on and Scott had extending legs on his seatbox so we set up in the wet on the pier.While we were setting up another angler joined us from his nearby camper van, it turns out we had talked via email about dropshotting, indeed he had caught some fine perch the day before and was looking forward to another crack at them.

We all quickly set up our gear and I went with my standard dropshot rig, 8lb fluro leader, #8 hook ,7g weight and I rigged a Lake Fork Live baby shad on the hook. Scott set up with maggot feeder tactics and was into roach within about 5 minutes.

Scott displays another nice roach

After about 25 minutes I still hadn't had a bite so I decided to swap lures and rigged up a 4" Z -Man Finesse Shadz in pearl white.

I hadn't had a chance to try the lure before so I was surprised at how good it looked when worked on a dropshot rig. Due to the buoyant nature of the lure I could really get the lure to shiver and shake with tiny twitches of the rod.

I began to work the same areas as before concentrating on the steep shelf into deeper water. I was concentrating on feeling the weight bumbling along the bottom as it followed the shelf up to shallower water when suddenly I felt nothing. A couple of turns of the handle and a flick of the wrist set the hook into a fish that had taken the lure and swam towards me, which was why I felt the absence of weight on the line. As I set the hooks the fish powered back down the shelf and I instantly knew it was a pike. I held the fish letting the rod do the work and it quickly suppressed the feisty jack with its fighting curve. As the pike rose up through the murky depths Scott readied the net  and I guided the pike into it.

It was a nice looking fish of around 3 to 4lb and while not a big fish for a pike it was great fun to catch on my light tackle. The last fish I had caught had been a blenny so it was very satisfying to catch a fish that was capable of putting a good bend in the rod.

I unhooked the fish and Scott helped me grab a couple of trophy shots before releasing the pike back to terrorise the local roach population.

Drop shotting a ZMan Finnesse shadZ did for this pike.

I carried on fishing , working various lures all around the area but the only action was coming from Scott and his never ending stream of pristine roach. The hours passed and the cold really started to hamper my fishing, luckily Jim magically produced some cups of tea followed by the worlds greatest bacon roll which manged to revive me somewhat. The weather grew darker and still us hardy dropshotters continued to blank.

Scott was still catching roach when he gave a shout and I looked to see his feeder rod with a good bend in it. Could the perch be making an appearance? As the fish rose up in the water I readied the net and was surprised to see a big Powan slipping into the welcoming landing net.

Scott was rather pleased with this lovely fish and quite rightly too, although we found it quite amusing that he had been trying to target one of the most prolific species in the loch only to catch one of the rarest!

Scott manged to catch a rare Powan,a nice size too!

Soon it had grown too dark too fish so we began to pack up, it had been a tough day for us all which really made me appreciate my solitary jack even more. As we drove back with the heater on full blast and the feeling returned to my extremities I couldn't help but feel excited for my next trip back to the big loch. I hope I can get back soon!

Tight Lines
Jake

The fickle loch

October and November last year saw Ritchie and I heading back to hunt perch with the boat. We managed two sessions, the first was a couple of weeks after our ridiculous perch haul a session that resulted in over 80 fish between us. So needless to say we were really looking forward to it. This time we were armed with a new second hand 2hp petrol outboard and I was really keen to see how it would perform.

When we arrived at the loch we quickly got our gear stowed and launched the boat. As we drifted out from the shore I readied the engine and gave it a single pull and it roared into life. This produced a couple of whoops from Ritchie and I, as we hadn't actually got over rowing speed with the boat before! Our powered elation was cut short 30 seconds later when the engine lost all power and cut out, stubbornly refusing to live again.

We were a bit disappointed we couldn't continue our speedy journey across the loch but luckily I had my electric outboard and this was quickly put into place and we continued to our perch marks.

As we slowly whirred our way to the place where the perch had been on our last session the rain began and with nothing but thick grey cloud cloaking the land it would be there to stay. We arrived at our chosen mark and began the first drift. Both of us use our LRF setups for perching and I went with my standard dropshot rig. This consists of a 3 foot 8lb fluro leader with a size 8 offset wormhook, tied via a palomar knot halfway down. I then clip a 7g dropshot weight about a foot from the hook and rigged a Lake Fork live baby shad. Ritchie meanwhile had rigged a 3" Sluggo on a  2g Xesta jighead and he began to work all areas of the water column while I concentrated on working the deeper reaches.

After about 20 minutes we drifted past the opening to a burn and I saw Ritchie's rod suddenly snap upwards as he set the hook on a fish. The rod tip bucked about as the fish thrashed erratically on the end of the line. This instantly aroused suspicion that it wasn't a perch as they tend to try to bore down deep when hooked. Indeed, as the fish came closer, we could see it was a nice brown trout, the first one Ritchie had had on the sluggo and his first from this loch.

"Do you want the net?" I asked

"Nah, should be cool." said Ritchie .

"Bugger that!" said the trout, promptly spitting the hook and with a gleeful flick of its tail he disappeared into the depths.

We laughed off the loss of the trout and soldiered on with not even the rain dampening our enthusiasm. We searched and searched for the fish, hours passed with not even a bite for all our efforts. By this stage we were slumped soullessly at either end of the boat, our conversation had descended into a few wheezed expletives of frustration punctuated by damp coughs. Cold, wet and miserable we decided to start making our way back to the slipway.

We stopped off for one last drift in the rocky bay, an area we had steamed passed without trying. Pretty much as soon as we cast out we were getting bites but with our numb hands and damp spirits it took a while to connect. Eventually we manged to land a couple of Perch each and with honour saved we damply motored back to the van and with the heater on full, headed back home.

It was hard going but we each managed a couple in the end.

A couple more weeks passed and we had another window to get the boat out onto the loch and I for one was looking forward to the challenge of finding where the perch had gone. When we arrived at the slipway conditions couldn't have been more different, flat calm and clear blue skies, a lovely Autumn day. Again I had come with another new outboard engine except this one started first time and kept running! The little 2hp engine got us to our first mark really quickly and this gave us scope to really get around the loch to search for the fish.

Using the fishfinder and my knowledge of the loch we tried all the usual perch haunts but all were devoid of fish. We then started on new ground trying bays we had never been able to reach before but again with the same result, nothing!

Flat calm

We went through a host of lures and it was about 4 hours in when Ritchie manged to finally get a bite and promptly landed an out-of-season brownie. He had tempted the fish on a 5g Xesta After Burner jig tipped with white Isome, an innovative and effective approach. We grabbed a picture then he released the trout while I carried on fishing.

Ritchie managed to catch an out of season Brownie

We had drifted into the rocky bay where we had caught perch previously and I had changed lure to a Jackson Cymo vibe lure. I was hoping a noisier more aggressive lure may get some reaction and it wasn't long before a fish nailed the lure. This turned out to be another wee out-of-season brownie which, after a quick pic, was put back. We fished on for a bit but with nothing else doing we called it a day and headed back.

I managed one too!

What a contrast to our previous trips, where the water had been thick with perch and it was a fish a chuck on any lure! I have my ideas as to where the fish have moved; one is that they may have headed to the bottom end of the loch where the flow is greater. This is one of the puzzles I love about getting to know a loch's seasonal fluctuations and these two relatively fruitless sessions should prove more valuable in terms of getting to know the loch.

I hope to put that knowledge gained to the test on my next visit!

Tight Lines

Jake

Car Topping, Cherry popping, Perch fun!

After the first loch session on the boat, I had been itching to get back and so I made plans to fish the following weekend with Ritchie Bewsey. Ritchie had never tried for perch before and he was keen to try to get his first one. I had also managed to get a 30lb thrust electric motor for the boat so was looking forward to some powered perching.

Ritchie met me at my house in town bright and early and together we loaded the boat into his van. The forecast was cloudy but otherwise fine, although the wind would get up a bit in the afternoon.

An hour's drive later and we were at the loch after buying our permits and getting the key to the slipway. We unloaded the boat, got our gear stowed and launched into the loch. The old engine, which is held together mostly by gaffa tape, performed perfectly and we silently cruised to our first destination.

Tackle-wise we were both using our LRF gear and mine consists of a 7' 9" GraphiteLeader Corto EX rod, Shimano Technium 3000 reel, PE 1 Pontoon Exteer braid. On the business end it was my standard drop shot rig 3' 8lb Fluorocarbon leader and about half way up I tie a #8 offset worm hook via a palomar knot and I clipped on a 7g dropshot weight 30cm from the hook. I went with my go to lure, a Lake Fork Live baby Shad in watermelon red flake.

We anchored and began to cast 360 degrees around the boat. I worked the lure back very slowly with little twitches, hops and pauses. Our first couple of spots yielded nothing but it was easy to engage the engine and silently motor to our next spot.

After about 30 minutes of fishing we started to get interest from the fish and Ritchie managed to bag his first ever perch. The fish gave a good scrap and as he played it towards the boat . I duly did my landing net duties and a very happy Ritchie held his first ever perch, a nice fish of around three quarters of a pound.

Job done! Ritchie displays his first ever Perch.

I was quick to follow suit, all be it with a smaller fish which was quickly unhooked, photographed and put back. We managed a few more before the action dried up and we had to motor off to find them again.

Mine was considerably smaller!

We silently cruised around to a point where a burn entered the loch and began our casting around the boat. Yet again Ritchie was first into a fish and it was another nice perch again nudging the pound mark. I managed a couple of smaller ones before we decided to head out into deeper water.

Ritchie's new PB a beautifully marked one pounder

I was enjoying some great fishing too

The moved proved ridiculously successful. I had cruised out to maybe 100 meters from shore and anchored up to stop us drifting. First cast was nailed by a perch as the lure dropped to the bottom of the loch. It was not a big fish but was very wild and I had to play it back some distance to land it. Meanwhile Ritchie was also into a fish, again not big, being around the half pound mark but likewise was great fun on our light rods. We quickly unhooked the fish and recast to exactly the same result, double hook up and a fun fight.

The fishing went silly at this point and we caught perch after perch after perch. Ritchie and I were really having a laugh, it was just like coalie bashing with hoards of ravenous perch mercilessly attacking our lures.

We began to have fun by trying lures that we had never caught on before. These consisted mostly of creature-type baits and we whipped through a fair old selection, all of which were getting hammered by the perch.

Fish Arrow Flash J pintail, the perch loved these!

 Ecogear Bug Ants were also readily attacked by this golden mouthed specimen.

As the weather began to deteriorate we began to prepare ourselves to motor back to the slipway, having a goodly number of " last casts" before we upped anchor and headed back. The short run back was rather unpleasant with a squally head wind making it quite choppy and cold. The engine was running low on battery power and this and the headwind combined to make it a slow, arduous journey. Instead of taking 15 minutes to do the run back it took an hour, with swans overtaking us such was our slow pace.

Eventually we got back and got the boat loaded into Ritchie's van and, although cold and tired, we were both completely blown away by the number of perch caught. As always the perch were pristine and although we caught nothing larger than a pound the non stop action had us buzzing all the way home. One thing's for sure, I do need to get a petrol outboard for the boat as it will open up more of the loch to us and make the journey back to the slipway bearable!

Tight Lines
Schogsky

James and the giant perch

A couple of weeks ago my friend Jamie came up to visit from Wakefield, he had brought his lure fishing gear and was very keen to get out and give it a blast.Jamie and I have fished some far flung places, Cyprus for largemouth Bass, Spain for carp and around Yorkshire for various coarse species. He was quite keen to go light rock fishing and I was more than happy to oblige!

His visit also  coincided with my newest purchase, an 8' car toppable dinghy and I was itching to get out and see how it performed. Our plan for the weekend was to head down to St Abbs on the Friday to play in the harbour then head to the perch loch on Saturday for the perch and the new boat test.

we headed to St Abbs and I lent Jamie my Cormoran ULF rod  as it was more sensitive than his heavier spinning rod.We rigged up simple dropshot rigs #8 hook tied via a palomar knot on 8lb fluro and clipped on a 7g weight 30cm from the hook.Gulp sandworm was the lure of choice and as soon as the lure hit the water it was swarmed on by wee coalies. Ritchie had also joined us and we  caught coalie after coalie with the odd codling thrown in for good measure. Jamie was really enjoying himself, he had never experienced the non stop action of a coalie swarm with every cast producing a fish. With Jamie in coalie land Ritchie and I tried our best to target flounders but getting a lure past the coalies was nigh on impossible! In fact Ritchie had fished the past 3 days in various areas around St Abbs and hadn't been able to escape the ravening hoards.

We moved around trying to find other species but it wasn't until near the end of the session we finally manged to bag a couple of flounders each. We were working our lure over the shallow sandy areas and we saw the flounders chasing the lures. It was really tricky to catch them as the coalies kept diving in and intercepting the lure, it was only through sheer persistence that we eventually caught a couple of flatties each. Flounders are one of my favourite species to catch so I was really chuffed we manged to grab a couple, Jamie had never caught a flatfish before so he was doubly pleased to have a new species and on a lure too!

A happy angler, Jamie shows off his first flattie

We really had to work at avoiding the coalfish to get the flounder

One of the two flounder I managed to tempt

Although the session had been fun, I was heavily distracted by the prospect of trying my new boat. At last Saturday morning came and Jamie and I loaded the car up with tackle, life jackets, food and popped the boat on the roof.

My new toy on the roof and ready to rock

 The journey up was an anxious one as I was constantly worrying about the boat being secure, however apart from it singing like a boiling kettle as we went over 40mph it remained securely strapped to the roof bars.We stopped off at the fishing tackle shop and got our permits and the key to the slipway . At the loch we quickly got the boat to the water and stowed our tackle and supplies before setting off on its first fishing trip. The loch was flat calm with the clear water as smooth as glass and with the warm sun out it really was the perfect day to fish. I had no engine or fishfinder so it was under oar power that we headed off to my normal shore spots for the perch.It took about 1/2 an hour to row into the rocky bay that usually throws up perch from the shore and we anchored about 60 meters offshore. We both still had the same dropshot rigs on from our flounder foray at St Abbs only instead of gulp sandworm we rigged up some lake fork live baby minnows.

Fishing without the aid of a fishfinder/sonar meant I had to locate the fish through a combination of knowledge of fishing it from the shore and instinctive water craft. The tactics once we had reached the rocky bay was to anchor up, then make long casts 360degrees around the boat.We then slowly worked the lures back giving the rod little twitches and pauses. Once we had completed our circle of casts with no bites we upped anchor and moved further up the bay. it was on our third anchor that Jamie started getting a couple of wee taps and a couple of casts later he managed to bag the first perch. He was really pleased to get the first fish and doubly satisfied as it was taken on a new technique he had learned the day before. I did the necessary glory shot and after we released the fish I got back to fishing. It only took a couple of casts and I was into the perch too and while not a big fish it still provided much fun on the LRF gear.

We managed another 2 or 3 fish from the area before bites dried up and we upped anchor and rowed another fifty meters along the bay.

Jamie unhooks his first perch of the session

Lake fork Live baby shad does it again

My first perch of the session

See ya!

Again we went with the same tactics, anchoring the casting right around the boat till we got interest in the lures. It didn't take long and soon we were both into perch again. I managed a couple of better ones close to the pound mark and Jamie had a couple as well. Again when the action dried up we moved up the bay another 50meters or so and repeated the process. Jamie was in first and as he was playing in his fish I had a couple of taps and struck into a better fish. As I played the fish up through the clear water I noticed another fish following it up which turned away as I reached out with the net to land the perch. I unhooked my fish and took a couple of pics as it had a really golden colour especially around its mouth.

Super stripey with a golden sheen, what a lovely combination

It had a really yellow mouth

 I quickly released the fish and flicked the lure out around 12 feet away from the boat , I let it hit the bottom then I began to shake the rod tip a bit whilst giving tiny twitches. Pretty much straight away I felt a tap then the line went slack as the fish grabbed the lure and swam towards me.A flick of the wrist set the hook and the rod went into its fighting curve as the fish powered off stripping some line off a lightly set drag. As I played the fish back towards me I was aware it was a good fish and as it rose up through the water I got my first look at it, a PB for sure! The fish made another couple of spirited dives and these were nerve wrecking  but eventually the fish was wallowing on the surface and we quickly slipped the net under it.

What a fish! A brilliantly coloured, pristine conditioned, fin perfect beast of a wild perch. Jamie and I couldn't believe the size of it, we grabbed some snaps of the outlandish fish and popped it into the net to recover whilst I hunted for my scales. The scales however were conspicuous only by there absence leaving me only able to estimate its weight. We measured the fish which came in at 40cm and I guessed its weight at  between 2.5 and 3lbs. In the end I put it at 2lbs 9oz which was an under estimate but it was an ounce over my previous personal best which had stood for 18 years or so!

My new personal best perch

What an awesome fish

Gorgeous!

The obligatory ruler shot, 40cm of wild loch perch

Out of all the fish I have caught over the years this one is very special to me,awesome.

I released the fish in a state of happy delirium, my new boat on its first fishing mission had broken my long lasting perch PB, I couldn't have been happier!

We fished on for another couple of hours which yielded plenty more perch of around the half to three quarter pound mark before it was time to begin the long row back to the slipway.

Eventually we got back and unloaded the boat before popping it on the roof bars and heading back to town with arms that now felt like boiled noodles!

What a day, both of us had done our PB's and the boat had performed brilliantly and to cap it with such a beast of a perch had made the whole session truly one to remember.

Perch fever is back and I hope to get an engine for the boat for the next session, one that I am really looking forward too!

Tight Lines

Schogsky

Loch sessions: The big and the crooked.

A couple of weekends ago I had a job which involved me heading over to Glasgow for the afternoon, needless to say I took the opportunity to hit the big loch while I was there! I had one thing and one thing only on my mind and that was Perch. I would only have three and a half hours at the loch before I had to leave so for once I travelled light. I stashed my little Sakura leg bag with a few packets of Lake Fork Baby Shads and a packet of 3" Fish Arrow Flash J Pintails, dropshot leads and hooks, net, and landing mat and after getting my permit I was fishing within five minutes of leaving the car. I rigged my ever faithful GraphiteLeader Corto EX with dropshot rig comprising of a #6 offset worm hook tied via a palomar knot, clipped on a 7g dropshot weight and began to fan cast around. The wind was coming nicely over my right shoulder and it aided casting distance considerably allowing me to search a wide area of water. I hopped the lure back twitching and shaking the rod tip and as it came past some lilies I felt a couple of plucks before the rod bent into the fish. I felt the jagged, scrappy darts and shakes of a perch and after a brief fight quickly brought it to the net.

Within five minutes of fishing I had my first perch.

Brilliant! It had taken an age to find the perch on my last trip and this was a classic wild perch, with wonderful markings and about 30cm in length. After putting the fish back and I quickly recast to where the perch had been lurking. Again as the lure came past the lilies another perch seized the lure, this one was a better fish and kited hard for any cover it could find. I managed to guide it past the weed beds and into my net. This fish had really wolfed down the lure and I had to use my forceps to unhook it. It measured 33cm and was well over a pound in weight. I released the fish and made another cast with the same result, another chunky perch of around the same size.

This 33cm perch fell for a 3" Fish Arrow Flash J Pintail minnow.

With the perch coming thick and fast I had some fun taking one handed pics as I landed the fish.

These loch perch are absolutely fin perfect.

I was in heaven, the sun was shining and every cast was getting attention from the big hard fighting perch. These big loch perch are in really prime condition, lean and well muscled with beautiful markings and lots of stamina.

Another gorgeous wild loch perch comes to the net.

Another big perch falls for the black and gold Flash J minnow.

After I had caught four or five fish from the honey hole it went quiet for about fifteen minutes then they were back and were violently attacking the Flash J pintail. Another four or five perch followed including a cracking 36cm beast which went to nearly 2lb and really gave me the run around. I had to change the flash J a few times as the Perch were ripping it from the hook and their teeth had made it look like the lure had been assaulted with rough sandpaper.

This was the biggest fish of the session. A lean and well muscled 36cm perch.

Sunshine and another perch on the mat, I couldn't have been happier!

With the majority of perch being between one and two pounds and landing nineteen in total  it was a bit of a red finned, red letter day.

The fishing continued in the same vein and when the time came to leave it was very hard to do so! What a day, nineteen perch in three and a half hours with the majority being between one and two pounds, I was deliriously happy. The only cloud was that I had managed to lose half my line on a long cast when I snagged and the line went at the reel, which was the result of a previous wind knot. The journey home was spent in a happy daze, I had been utterly spoilt and I could have stayed there fishing forever!

That wonderful few hours had not cured my desire for perch, in fact it had made it worse and I spent the next couple of days desperate to get back. I ordered some new Line from Art of Fishing, going instead for some new line Pontoon 21 Exteer braid in PE 1. The line arrived and with it my opportunity to go fishing, such was my perch fever that I opted to go back to the big loch on my birthday even though it meant only having 3 hours there, well it had been enough last time! On arrival I noticed the water clarity was much worse and the rain had raised the water level quite a lot. Unperturbed, I grabbed a permit then went straight back to my honey hole. Unfortunately after an hour or so of fishing I hadn't even had a bite, a bit of a reality check compared to last time. I went in search of the perch wading around reed beds and lilies and while there were a lot of little perch the lunkers had moved on. I managed one smallish perch on a dropshotted Lake Fork Live Baby shad in pink and also had the opportunity to test the line.

Not big but a birthday perch is not to be sniffed at!

The line was good, strong, supple, thin and gave me great feedback from the lures. It may be ever so slightly rougher than the Sunline Super PE, which is my go to line, but it performed just as well. Although I was disappointed I still found it very interesting as to how the water level rising had affected the perch's behaviour and vowing to come back again soon I headed home.

Again after a couple of days the perch fever got too much and I had to get out again, this time it was up to the crooked Loch Lubnaig as I didn't want to waste time hunting new areas on the big loch. I bought my permit and when I got to the loch I could see the water level was up. Visibility was crystal clear as always and I rigged up a 3" black and gold Flash J on a dropshot rig. I began to fish along the weed beds and across a rocky bay.  It must have been twenty minutes or so before I got my first perch, another vibrantly coloured  denizen of the loch. I took a couple of pics and released the fish and was quick to recast to the same spot.

A classically coloured crooked loch perch,

Normally this would have resulted in more fish but yet again the increase in water level had changed the perches behaviour. They seemed to be much more spread out and I had to really search the loch to find them. When I did I could only winkle out one from each spot before they moved on. I carried on fishing for another couple of hours and manged nine in total with the biggest going around 30cm and just under a pound.

Flash J does it again as another fine perch is guided to the net

They were really nailing the lure.

Another nice perch comes to the net.

The final perch of the session came to me bathed in golden light.

Beautiful.

Then it was time to leave and as I headed home I mulled over the perches change in behaviour, I love the fact they always keep me guessing and just when you think you have them sussed, it changes and you have to rethink. The perch fever has returned and I am more determined than ever to get past my 2.5lb barrier, I can't wait to get out perch hunting again!

Tight lines,Schogsky.