With the weather cooling somewhat during the week which saw temperatures plummet I waited until some mild weather arrived before heading out.

The rivers were pushing through and carrying several feet of floodwater so I decided that it might be an ideal time to visit a local commercial fishery in search of perch. 

Arriving at first light I set about catching some live baits and after 15 minutes I had several positioned against some overhanging bushes on the far bank.  After a couple of hours and a lack of action I knew a change of tactics were in order.

A quick trip back to the van saw me grabbing my match tackle.  Using a pole for specimen fishing is a very underrated tactic and used in the right situation can take some beating.  Chopping a quarter of a kilo of mixed worms and using Sonubaits P Mix ground bait as a carrier I soon set about introducing the feed over the near bank shelf.  The first 20 minutes saw me net several small perch before the next bite saw the elastic stretch out indicating I was into a better fish.  A good perch was the culprit and weighing 3lb 1oz was great fun on the pole.  Steadily loose feeding red maggot ensured the action continued and several other good perch the best being another ‘three’ weighing 3lb 2oz made for an enjoyable days fishing.