ABOUT THE PERCH 119 



The perch in a well-preserved and favourable water will 

 reach a very fair size. I have heard of them reaching the 

 great weight of six, eight, and one of nine pounds ; and 

 in the Fishing Gazette of last Christmas (1906) there was 

 an account of Colonel Thornton's sporting tour of one 

 hundred years ago, in which the gallant colonel speaks of 

 catching two perch weighing seven pounds each ; and 

 also in the same issue of that paper there was a character 

 sketch of a river-side worthy who maintains that he had 

 taken a seven-pound perch. I don't know whether those 

 worthies ever did afterwards knock a few ounces off those 

 perch, but, anyhow, I should be inclined to do so, for I never 

 saw or heard of one that exceeded four and a half pounds, 

 and very few of them, only four I fancy in the whole years 

 of my career, and only one was a river perch. This came 

 from the Dorsetshire Stour, and scaled four pounds six 

 ounces ; the other three were lake fish. From two and 

 a half to three-pounders have been frequently caught in 

 the Thames, the Avon, the Ouse, the Nene, and even the 

 Trent, while the Wye also contains perch of a good size ; and 

 the New River must not be forgotten, some good and very 

 handsome perch inhabiting that water. The Kennett too, 

 in many of its reaches, produces perch that are second to 

 none as far as shape, colour, and size are concerned. 



Perch are blessed with large mouths, and it is marvellous 

 sometimes what they will attempt to swallow. I think a 

 perch must regulate the size of his quarry by the size of his 

 mouth, and not by what his stomach will hold, for some- 

 times it is impossible to swallow the thing he runs at. I 

 remember once getting two or three very large spoons 

 for a gentleman to use for pike in Loughs Conn and Cullen 

 in Ireland ; these spoons were six inches long and three 

 wide, with hooks at each end like mooring hooks, and yet 

 the first fish he fairly and squarely hooked was a three- 

 quarter-pound perch. Whatever that perch took it for 

 passes my comprehension, for my friend said when it vvas 

 worked in the water it gleamed like a dinner-plate. 



