Perch
A handsome and bold fish the perch has a greeny-brown back with a series of dark vertical bars across the upper sides.
It grows in size up to 6lb in the UK, the current UK best being caught in one of the Canal & River Trust's reservoirs, Wilstone near Tring. Perch are a very common fish in canals, perhaps third only to roach and gudgeon in overall numbers. Larger perch are predatory with younger fish consuming a diet of insects and insect larvae.
How to catch perch
A bold biting fish, small perch can be caught in abundance close to the nearside bank using maggots or a piece of worm as bait. The bigger perch tend to be found in the centre of the canal and a good tactic is to feed plenty of worms and then use a worm or maggot hookbait over the top of where the loose feed was introduced. The perch will often swallow the hook deeply, this is best retrieved using a disgorger or in an emergency cut the line as close as possible to the hook.
Top Trust venues for perch
- The whole canal network is well-populated with perch
Top Trust reservoir venues for perch
- Wilstone Reservoir
- Clattercote Reservoir
