Autumn is here and so are the big perch and where I live with October comes the possibility to make dreams come true! Especially if your dream is to catch a really big perch. By big perch, I mean a 45 cm plus beast, that mythical mark which makes them become a new species: the "mega-perch"!
51cm of muscle
Everything changes, their behaviour, their morphology and their power! This means you have to adapt your strategy and your gear, here is my selection to be able to land one of these crazy stripy fighters:
- CHOOTEN S-198 ML : for soft lures
- CHOOTEN S-210 M : for blade and spin tail lures
- GUNKI THV 1500 reels for both rods spooled with 0.10 and 0.13 SLIDE BRAID
The right gear is essential to landing these beauties
There is no secret behind the fact of them getting so big: they have managed to outsmart all that nature or man could throw at them. This means that you are going to have to go ultra-realistic and adopt a really subtle approach. Soft lures are perfect for that and that is what I use my first combo for (Chooten S-198 ML + THV 1500). To get these beauties to bite I just love the minimalistic vibrations of the V²IB rigged on an 8 to 12 g jig head. If I cannot get them to bite on a classical-style animation, I will switch to a more jerky and shaky one. For that the KIDDY rigged on a G'SLIDE head is perfect, the streamlined association will enable an insane darting action that perch just cannot resist.
A Gunki V²IB, a must have for big perch
And like with all predators, sometimes you just have to switch to max vibrations mode to get them to react. To insist until they flip and attack your lure with wrist snapping fury! For that I use my second combo (Chooten S-210 M + THV 1500), perfect for blades and spin tail lures. The KAIJU BLADE 43 & 55 and the JIGER 55 S are my favourite weapons for this style of fishing. Worked in an "up & down" way or simply a "cast & retrieve" one, perch just love them! If I have to fish close to the bottom or with a jerky style animation, then I will use the Kaiju Blade, but if I need to fish with a gliding action or in mid-water, then I will use the Jiger. In both cases, vary the animations and lures until you find the pattern of the day.
The Gunki Kaiju Blade, when vibrations are the key
Wait no more, go and catch a mega-perch!
Vincent de Bruyne
