Hey guys,

I have never fished for any other species other than trout on the fly and was wondering what the better patterns are for perch? is it just lures like cats whiskers and damsels or are buzzers and nymphs worth a go aswell.

Any help would be great.

im sure lures with red or orange are usually hot for perch!!!!.
fry patterns work well too,as do streamers.

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dont you just love nature

So the other flys i mentioned are a no no mate? I dont have many lures so i was kind of hoping normal nymph types or cormmorants would do well. Its for a venture up the barrhead dams which ive no fished in years.

my, my, the barrhead dams ,i think you will find it much harder than the last time you fished it ,and hell yeah the flys you mentioned will catch perch no doubt ,but Ive been up the dams 2-3 times over the last 5 month and Ive only had one pike ,but ask Alex Carney who runs snypes and harelaw dam as he knows quite a bit about the dams as they are now.

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dont you just love nature

Cheers mate, im up quite often with my dogs but never fish it for some reason?? next thread i see alex chatting in il hijack the thread for advice

I've seen photo's of perch caught on buzzers and they can be caught easily on heavy nymphs. In my experience of perch fishing they dont come very far off the bottom although in summer they tend to be caught in the margins, on the canal at least.

Although the nymphs etc will work i prefer the excitement of pulling lures, quite often you'll see 3 or 4 perch chasing the fly. providing you use light enough gear they are decent scrappers and are well worth chasing. As ive said a few times on here before, flies with a heavy head i.e beadchain or dumbell eyes work best, the jigging action appears to be deadly for stripies.

I would try the forth and clyde canal for them, look for areas with decent water clarity and fish to structures and the marginal shelf, especially important for perch, i rarely find them in open water. In a few weeks time they will move to the margins and will be a bit easier to catch. Hitting the canal with my 3# and a box of lures is one of my favourite ways to fish.

Thanks mate.

I fish a little lake with my float tube from time to time and used to get plenty of perch on small white gold heads. white fritz body and a white marabou tail. Catches plenty of trout. Don't tie them too big, a size 12 hook is plenty.

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Caught it on a Big Green Hairy Thing!

I would agree on the size, flies maybe 2-inches long are ideal. Although some people catch perch while after pike ive never even had one follow, and any bigger lures have been ignored, the only exception i guess would be if you spotted a bigger fish and were targetting it specifically.

I fish for them sometimes when the trout are off . The lough i fish you can find them taking small flies off the top in the summer , if you get a chance try and catch one on a dry . They are a very spooky fish so stealth is needed . Although the Perch is a Predator they can sip off the top very softly when feeding like this and they are a real challenge to hook , but very good fun

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Cheers Danny

Co-Founder of S.S.F.D 2010