Not all anglers are after the big British trophy fish such as carp and pike. With a lighter rod and a bit of guile, fishing for classic, beautiful fish such as bream, roach and perch can provide a real challenge. But what is the best bait for freshwater fishing in each case?
Best Bait for Roach Fishing
Roach are not the most fussy of fish. Maggots, sweetcorn, bread, worms and casters are all sure to tempt the roach into a feast, whether in still or moving waters.
Catching the small ones never seems much of a problem, especially with single or double maggot as the lure. However, the British record for this handsome fish is over four pounds (around 2 kilos), so there are some real giants out there.
Trotting a stick float on a river with maggot as bait can bring rewards, but for anglers plagued by perch, rudd, dace, gudgeon or small roach snaffling the bait, a switch to a single piece of corn sometimes works as it tends to discourage smaller fish. Breadflake can work too, or a single caster with a small hook hidden inside is also a decent option.
Best Bait for Perch Fishing
Real perch aficionados love to catch these predators and they can grow to monster sizes in Britain, up to about five pounds (around two and a half kilos). Fearsome yet beautiful, these specimens are instantly recognisable for their green body slashed with black stripes, and a spiky dorsal (so be careful when handling them).
As the fish are predators, live baits tend to be the most effective when perch fishing. A bunch of maggots is always a real winner, especially for the greedy smaller perch, and for the bigger ones an earthworm or chopped redworm are also fairly reliable.
Of course, in lakes or rivers with big perch, it's also possible to spin for them with an artificial lure, or try a deadbait, which can be bought from most tackle shops. Freshwater deadbait, such as gudgeon or minnows, are sound choices if taking that route. At any rate, a size of about two inches (five centimetres) tends to work best.
One method to help attract perch is to use a cloudy breadcrumb groundbait to attract fry into the area. That, in turn, will drag in hungry perch, and many anglers have huge success casting a float rig with a small deadbait into the area of activity.
Bream Fishing Tips
These giant slabs of the deep provide beautiful sport and hitting a run of them in a lake or river is really exhilarating. Even a four pound (about two kilos) bream can put up a decent scrap, but the British record is now over 20 pounds (around 9-10 kilos).
Bream often respond to decent levels of groundbait, particularly a simple breadcrumb. They feed on the bottom, so a cage-feeder of crumb is always a decent place to start.
As far as the hook goes, the best bait for bream is tricky. They can respond to pinkies, redworm, casters or sweetcorn, but simple breadflake is often worth a go. Squeeze a fluffy piece of breadflake around the end of the line, leaving a nice fluffy bit of bread at the top, then slide the hook into the bread by gently tugging the line until the hook is hidden. A sweetcorn-single maggot cocktail can also bring decent results.
Related articles:
- Choosing Bait for Freshwater Fish – Carp, Crucian Carp and Tench
- Free Line Fishing – The Most Enjoyable and Best Way to Catch Carp
Daniel Trelfer - I'm a freelance writer and also work in television on and off. I'm looking forward to exploring a range of my interests at Suite 101, ...
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