Dan Spearman has been among the 3lb perch again at Upper Tamar with a run of several perch to 3.04 since the new year. Dan is after the elusive 4lb+ fish which are in Tamar but it’s only a matter of time.
Big Perch from Stafford Moor
Stafford Moor is renowned for its Specimen Carp and bumper Match fishing nets but is also holds a good head of other specimen fish including perch and huge eels. Neilsen Jeffery is a well known Match angler but enjoyed a great pleasure session on Beatties Lake landing several bream and this stunning perch of 3lb.
Amazing haul of specimen perch
Alan Blair has had an amazing perch haul from Upper Tamar lake, on the Cornwall and Devon border. He caught nine perch, five of which were over 3lb in weight with the largest being 3lb 9oz. The smallest was 2lb 2oz! Alan used Nashbait Spod Cloud groundbait to get the small silver fish in the swim before the Perch moved in and seized his prawn hook-baits. Upper Tamar is renowned for its stock of large perch and its only a matter of time before a 5lb+ fish is caught.
Big Reservoir Perch
John Shapland enjoyed a cold days fishing at Jennetts Reservoir using quiver tip tactics to catch skimmer bream and small roach. A raw prawn bait fishing in the margins tempted this lovely perch of 2lb 9 1/2oz.
A Handsome perch
Ashley Bunning has followed up his capture of a common carp called ‘The Don’ at 34.04 from Upper Tamar Lake with this cracking Perch of 3.12 caught on an Eco Gear Ikajako soft lure fished from the perch boat.
Kevin Smith has also been in the action with this lovely 3.08 Perch from the same venue.
Two – four pound perch highlight of Lure fishing day at Upper Tamar!
An excellent report from John Deprieelle on the recent lure competition at Upper Tamar.
Upper Tamar kayak comp
The first kayak event on Upper Tamar reservoir has been and gone and despite all attempts from mother nature, the event was a success.
When fishery manager Ben Smeeth gave me the thumbs up to organize a kayak comp on the stunning venue set in Cornwall near Bude, I was delighted. This 80 acre reservoir is home to some of the biggest Perch in the Southwest but locating them can be tricky at times. With Kayak lure fishing becoming increasingly popular this was the perfect opportunity to get afloat and see if we could find a few of the dark destroyers.
The eve of the comp wasn’t looking good though as 50mph plus winds howled across the venue. That night I lay in the tent worrying that all my plans might be shot down in flames. As expected some people cried off as for some it was a long journey to just turn around and go home but the die hard anglers were there on time and it was left to the group to decide what to do. We decided to at least head out and give it a shot and test the water so to speak. I might add at this point that Savage gear had kindly donated free goodie bags consisting of T tail fat minnows and cannibal shads for all entrants. On top of that there was a prize for the biggest fish caught on one of the said lures.
We all launched into the white water being blown around like paper hankys but just 10 mins into the comp Bristol angler George Osborne hooked into a fish that not only smashed his previous PB but also caught it on the cannibal shad. The fish weighed in at 4lb 5oz and 44cm. One very happy angler and an incredible fish to set the pace. From there on people started to catch steadily and fish of almost every size graced the boats from just ounces going up in every pound class right up to another fish of 4lb 4oz caught by Lee Garner.
It wasn’t all fun and games though as the weather did claim some of us and over a thousand pounds worth of fishing tackle now sits at the bottom of Tamar reservoir. Four rods and reels, a box of lures, a set of car keys and lots of tears(mainly mine) were the price to pay but everyone took it in good spirit and the fish gods returned us with big fish as compensation.
As the afternoon came the winds finally gave up and for an hour we sat on a flat calm lake as if nothing had ever happened. The fishing slowed up but one final fish just under 4lb marked the end of an enjoyable, eventful day. We ended with two fish over 4lbs, ten fish over 3lbs and loads of fish over 2lbs.
I had hoped for a fun event which wasn’t too competitive with a lot of laughs and I think I achieved just that.
The biggest single fish of the day went to Tony Chesworth with a massive spawned out fish of 47cm(3,14).
The biggest fish caught on a Savage gear lure went to George Osborne measuring in at 44cm (4lb,5oz).
Dom Garnett kindly donated a signed copy of his book for the smallest fish and this was also caught by George Osborne at 14cm.
In 3rd place was George Osborne who looked like he was going to clean up.
In 2nd place was Adam Moxey with a string of fish to low 3’s
And 1st place went to Lee Garner who certainly had the lions share .Everyone who placed went home with goodies from Savage Gear, Costa, Cash and vouchers from Culm Valley angling.
Plans are already in place for an autumn event but these competitions can only exist with your support so watch this space. Massive thanks to Ben and Gary at SW lakes, Richard Taylor at Savage gear, Danny Parkins for the Costa prizes and Culm Valley angling.
John Deprieelle
(Northern John)
Competition Organiser
TIME FOR A PERCH
Perch are undoubtedly a joy to catch in many ways with their striking colours, defiant spiky fins and willingness to feed throughout the colder months. The waters of North Devon have large perch in good numbers but never take this for granted for there was a time when a devastating disease depleted stocks of perch all across the country. I can remember perch being plentiful in many Devon waters and then becoming almost non existent for several years. Big perch also tend to be subject to boom and bust with a water producing some massive specimens for two or three seasons before that particular year class dies out. I well remember targeting large perch in Melbury reservoir and landing several to 3lb 14oz. This was exciting fishing but from what I can gather the large perch at this venue have all but disappeared. Of coarse where big perch have flourished once they can once again and all it needs if someone to give it a try.
(Above) Chris Lambert Upper Tamar perch
Upper and Lower Tamar both contain large populations of specimen perch with every chance of 4lb plus specimens. Many smaller still waters also contain specimen perch including, Legge Farm, Oaktree, Riverton, Slade Reservoir, Stafford Moor, Anglers Paradise, Furzebray, Spires Lakes, Jennets and many others.
Another delight of perch fishing is the variety of successful methods that can be employed including livebaiting, baitfishing and lure fishing.
A keen perch fisher is North Devon based Dan Spearman who tempted these beauty’s to 2lb 13oz from an undisclosed local still-water.
If you want to learn more about perch fishing I suggest yo track down the excellent book dedicated to the species entitled “The Biggest Fish of All” The Perch Fishers.
Perch on the lure
Local perch fanatics John Deprieelle and Martin Cox enjoyed a days perch fishing from the boat at Upper Tamar last week. John sent in this report to South West Lakes Trust:
‘It was a pretty windy day with high gusts and I almost called off but as it was the first warm day after a sharp frost it had to be worth a go. The water temp was really low which can make things difficult (can you hear the excuses building up?) but after an hour or so the first fish of the day was in the net. The choice of lures was a lot smaller than I would normally use and we had to switch to drop shotting on a very slow retrieve to get bites as the fish were hugging the bottom and in really deep water. After searching out most of the lake we got a slow but steady rhythm and ended the day with a bag full of small fish, lots of nips and plucks and 2 really good fish up to 3lb 6oz. A lot of effort from dawn to dusk but well worth the reward for these stunning hard fighting perch’.
The most handsome fish of all? Upper Tamar Perch
Chris Lambert and Adam Moxey enjoyed a memorable session at perch mecca Upper Tamar last week. Fishing from the perch boat they caught four fish over 3lbs, two fish over 2lbs lots of small perch and a cracking 4lb fish all on 3 inch soft plastics. Congratulations lads! Anyone who wants to book the perch boat needs to call 01566771930.
PERCH MECCA – BOAT ACCESS – UPPER TAMAR
Ben Smeeth sent me this information on Upper Tamar; sure to be popular; I was tempted to keep quiet in case I cannot get on the boat myself!!!!
Perch fishing Mecca Upper Tamar has a rowing boat available for anglers to hire over the winter at £10 per day starting on Monday 7th November. There must be two people in the boat and it must be booked and paid for in advance on 01566 771930. Further details are available on booking. Anglers are required to buy a day permit when arriving at Tamar and the boat is only available for perch fishing. Venue regular Chris Lambert sent us in these pictures of some fish he had last winter from the boat at 3.06, 3.12 and 3.14!!
