It doesn’t matter if you’ve been fishing for years, or only recently taken up angling as a hobby.
Catching a perch is always rewarding, and they are such fierce little fish.
You can catch perch on all sorts of waters, from canals up to large lakes. There is also more than one way to catch the most popular species out there. On top of that, there are so many different baits to use to catch perch, some attracting the bigger ones than others.
So what are the best baits to use to catch perch, whether in large numbers? Or trying to land the biggest one possible?
Top 3 Baits To Use To Catch Perch
We are going to run through the best 3 baits to use to catch perch.
Their natural diet is made up of crustaceans as well as insects. Larger perch prefer worms, other small fish and fish fry.
These baits will work regardless of what type of water you’re fishing on. Swelling your keepnet no matter what the weather is doing. As well as making sure you continue to catch perch all year round.
#1: Maggot
If you’ve done any form of course fishing at all in your life, you will have put a maggot on a hook.
They are my, if not most people’s bait of choice and not only to catch perch.
Most, if not all angling centres will stock maggots on their bait counter. Maggots come in all sorts of colours, red, white, and yellow are the most common. I’ve used fluorescent pink in the past, and even seen lime green, purple and blue in the past, but I’m not convinced they work.
My favourite all-around colour is the red maggot.
That’s because they look like a bloodworm, which is the natural diet of many fish like perch.
One thing to remember is to take the colour of the water into account. When there’s a brown tinge to the water, bronze maggots work well for perch. It can be more of a trial and error approach, I like to try different colours or a combination to see if they work.
Another reason why maggot is the best bait to use to catch perch is its versatility
It doesn’t matter what technique you are planning on using, or if you change tactics in a session.
Put a maggot or two on your hook and it’s like a beacon to perch. I’ve fished the float, waggler, feeder and pole all using maggots as the hook bait. The combination has helped me haul in huge numbers of perch, along with catching some big ones too.
#2: Worm
Worms are another staple to an angler’s bait selection.
Again, not only helps you catch perch but a selection of different species of fish.
I know many people don’t like using worms as bait. It comes because it can be quite difficult to get on the hook. An option to get around this is to put them in the bait you are throwing out to attract the fish.
Like maggots, worms look a lot like the natural food of perch, bloodworms.
I’ve touched on using worms in baits to attract perch, but they don’t lend well to as many different techniques.
Where worms come into their own is when using a float, either with the rod and reel or pole fishing. One of the best uses of the worm as hook bait is if you’re fishing the pole on stretches of water such as a canal. Don’t ask me why but it seems to be a great combination for that type of water, allowing you to land some larger perch.
#3: Minnow Deadbait
Now, it may come as a surprise that perch will eat other species of fish.
I’ve always put them in the same category as Pike, not only because they can be aggressive.
The main reason to use deadbait is that it’s very effective if you’re trying to catch larger perch. I’m not sure why it works so well, but if you have a shoal of perch in front of you. Using deadbait will put off the smaller fish, which is perfect if you’re after a P.B.
Using deadbait is a great way to catch perch, as well as being able to upgrade to bigger predators too.
It’s not the easiest form of fishing to get into and will mean you buying even more equipment (not a problem).
If you do decide to get all the kit needed to start fishing using deadbait. It will open up more options to catch large fish in the colder months. A lot of predators seem to remain active when it’s cold compared to other species of fish.
Baits To Use To Catch Perch
If you want to catch more perch you can’t go wrong with the humble maggot.
Depending on where you’re fishing and the technique, worms are a good option.
If you’re after a larger perch as you want to have bragging rights. Either worm or deadbaits are a great option and seem to work well over maggot. Deadbaits are also a perfect choice for if you want to continue to fish when it’s cold.
If you want to be able to record your fishing trips. Detailing things like bait used, and what techniques you used, why not check out our mobile app?
You can download the app for Android and iOS now, it’s also free to get started using the app.
