All fish
Predators🇬🇧 Native🌱 Good for beginners

Perch

Perca fluviatilis · Also called Stripey

Bold, striped and greedy. Perch are many anglers' first fish, and big ones are among the most prized.

A striped perch with spiky top fin swimming near the bottom
Photo: Gilles San Martin · CC BY-SA 2.0
Typical size
2 oz – 8 oz
A good one
2 lb (3 lb+ is a real specimen)
Length
15 – 35 cm
Best time
All year

🏆 British record: 6 lb 3 oz (2.806 kg), Shared by two fish: Stream Valley Lakes, Sussex and Willstone Fishery, Hertfordshire (2011)

How to spot it

Green-bronze with five to eight dark vertical stripes, a spiky front top fin and bright orange-red lower fins. The two top fins are separate.

You won't mix it up with much: the ruffe is similar but smaller, slimy and spotted, with its two top fins joined into one.

Where to find it

Almost everywhere: canals, rivers, lakes, gravel pits and commercials.

Perch love structure. Look around moored boats, bridges, lock cuttings, overhanging trees, sunken branches, reed edges and anywhere small fish gather. Big perch often sit close to features in deeper water.

Find waters near you

Feeding habits

Perch are predators. Small ones eat insects and worms; bigger ones hunt fry and small fish, often in packs that drive shoals of fry to the surface.

They feed best at dawn and dusk and in coloured water. Autumn and winter are the time for big perch.

Best time: All year. Autumn and winter for big perch. Dawn, dusk and dull, coloured-water days.

Favourite baits

  • Lobworms or dendrobaena worms

    The number one perch bait.

  • Red maggots

  • Prawns

    Great for big perch and less likely to be grabbed by small fish.

  • Small lures

    Drop shot, small spinners and soft plastics.

  • Small fish deadbaits

    Where the water's rules allow.

How to catch it

Worm on the float

Near any cover, any water

Rod
11–13 ft float rod
Reel
Fixed-spool (2500)
Line
4 lb main line
Hook
Size 10–14
Bait
Lobworm or a few dendrobaenas

Set the float so the worm is just off the bottom, right beside a feature such as a boat or reed bed. Chop a few worms and throw them in to start. Give the float a moment to go properly under before you strike.

Drop shot

Canals, marinas and around structure

Rod
7–8 ft light lure rod
Reel
Small fixed-spool (1000–2500)
Line
Braid with a 6 lb fluorocarbon leader
Hook
Size 6–8 drop shot hook
Bait
2–3 inch soft plastic

The weight sits on the bottom and the lure hangs 30–60 cm above it. Lower it next to cover, keep the line tight and twitch the rod tip gently. Move to a new spot every few minutes.

Handling and rules

The top fin is sharp! Smooth it down from front to back with a wet hand before you grip. Perch often swallow worms, so keep a disgorger or forceps handy and strike a little sooner if you're deep-hooking them.

📜 Rules and seasons

On rivers, streams and drains in England and Wales there's a close season for coarse fish from 15 March to 15 June. Most lakes, ponds and canals are open all year, but check the water's own rules.

Check the official rules on gov.uk

Watch: catching perch

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