A 40+ Perch Sees A Plan Comes Together For Nick Marsh!

Nick Marsh (Fox Rage) and Thom Hunt (Westin) recently went in search of predators on the open waters of a rather large reservoir. During the most recent visit, they focused their attention on catching perch.

After analysing their previous fishing session, they concluded that targeting perch on shads might not be the best strategy as it could attract the attention of ravenous pike. Therefore, they decided to adopt a more cautious approach and stay under the radar by using big, dark creature baits. This way, they hoped to avoid drawing unwanted attention and increase their chances of catching the desired fish without any interference.

When A Plan Comes Together

The strategy that was put in place seemed to be paying off, as the duo had managed to catch a decent number of perch measuring between 35cm to 39cm. Everything was going according to plan, but it was a bit disappointing that none of the fish had crossed the coveted 40+ mark yet.

As the day progressed, Nick’s hopes of catching a bigger fish were dwindling, despite having a successful day so far. He was content with the catches he had made, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that he was running out of time. 

Suddenly, he felt a solid thump on his Strike King 4′ Rage Craw CrawDaddy lure, and his line went taut. The fish had hit the lure with such force and then disappeared in an instant. Nick couldn’t help but let out an expletive in frustration. However, as he did, a fish (possibly the same one) hit the lure again, and this time Nick was ready. 

To his surprise, a whopping 43cm perch surfaced, and not the usual nuisance pike that he had been catching all day alongside many perch. Nick couldn’t believe his luck and felt a sense of satisfaction – the plan had worked!

After a cold yet sunny day of successfully hauling many perch and pike both Nick and Thom had their fill and headed home. I think we can all agree that when a plan is formed and it works another piece of the jigsaw is added to the overall picture. Despite wanting to land bigger fish each time we go, the real ‘rush’ comes from working it all out. 

What did Nick Use?

As with all good predator fishing sessions even though we all head out with a preconceived idea on what we’ll throw we tend to mix up the lures when necessary. Nick is no different and despite landing the biggest fish of the day on the Strike King 4’ Rage Craw CrawDaddy, he also had success on a Strike King 12.5cm Caffeine Shad and a Fox Rage 3.5’ Natural Critter.