Birthday Bliss

Perch - the freshwater tiger, the fish with more mouth than brains, a creature so often a saviour of fisherman's day trips.
If you fish in freshwater it is extremely likely you have caught a Perch. Juvenile Perch are some of the greediest and bold fish in UK waters. They are also quite probably the prettiest. I have so many memories of days catching 40 or so fish on red maggot around 11 years old. In those days a fish of nearly a pound felt like a world record, a fish to be talked about for months. But everything changes when you catch a specimen...

My first Specimen Perch came whilst deadbaiting a roach in the margins for Pike at 12 years old. I can remember the rod pulling round ridiculously and I was sure I had a monster Pike, I had something more special. A two and a half pound Perch. I had never even dreamed of a Perch so huge. It blew my young mind and I never looked at the species the same way again. Those maggot munchers were potential roach murderers and it fascinated me so. I have been lucky to catch many more two pound plus fish since then but not many meant as much as the fish caught on Wednesday 3rd February (my 26th Birthday).

I have been a bit desperate for a fish as late and (as it was my birthday) an early finish at work and therefore a chance to fish was not to be taken lightly. A couple of hours at my favourite Perch haunt with Robbie and my Dad Phil gave me great hope of a first fish of the Challenge. I had still not caught on my new Shakespeare Lrf set up and it seemed perfect for Perch. It is quite simply amazing how far you can cast a 5g lure on a light setup. This allows you to cover a lot of water whilst also being able to appreciate even the smallest of fish.
We fished for a good hour and a half with no interest. My nerves were starting to get the better of me. Surely not another blank? Then Robbie let out those beautiful two words - fish on! The sun was setting and the magic hour had sparked the perch into action. Robbie's fish was a proper warrior. A fish that made up for its lack of beauty with attitude.

Renewed optimism I cast again and three chucks later I had a fantastically strong take. The ultralight rod bent wonderfully in the light of the sunset and I just enjoyed the fight. He wasn't going on huge runs but also wasn't coming in easy, big head shakes and staying deep. When the fish came to the net I could finally appreciate my first fish of 2016. A perch with a belly to rival most avid beer drinkers. Close to Three pounds we didn't need to weigh it. Just photograph it in the early evening sun and release it to terrorise the roach once more. 

I was ecstatic. A specimen Perch had once again brought a massive smile to my face.

Let's hope this is the start of a really special year!

Thanks for reading.