Perch mean prizes

James Legge was a 19th Century sinophile, who in addition to being an afficianado of all things Chinese was known to enjoy inventing a proverb or two of his own in imitation of the wise men of the country he'd come to admire so much. One of his offerings was "the wise find pleasure in water; the virtuous find pleasure in hills." As a member of the clergy it is an expectation of some that I will embody both of these traits, however if the saying has any truth in it I have to concede that it would result in my wisdom far outstripping my virtue! I love nothing more than being beside water. 

Today the water I was beside had a slight chop to it and my perch bob elegantly rode the small waves that the wind produced on the water's surface. It was a perfect day for fishing in general terms but less so for pursuing perch, which was somewhat unfortunate as I was fishing in the annual John Rellie Memorial Match organised by the Christian Angler's group, an opportunity to raise money for charity, remember our friend and former member John, and to compete for the trophy which is now in its fifth year, with my name having twice previously been inscribed on it.

While I enjoy fishing in the summer it is as the weather turns autumnal that my fishing gains in intensity. Summer fishing has its own compensations (chiefly related to the weather) and I busy myself using traditional methods to catch F1's (which I hate), common carp (a species for which I have only a little fondness), tench and rudd (both of which I love) and, on real red letter days, plump buttery golden flanked crucians. Autumn, winter and early Spring (in fact any month that has an "r" in it) are, for me, spent almost exclusively in pursuit of my favourite fish- the perch. 

We are all,to some degree, the result of our stories and the ways in which we've owned those stories and retold them to ourselves over the years. My fishing story began in the summer of 1981 and then, as now, perch were writ large on its pages. As young boys we would fish intentionally for perch on the pleasant rhodedendron and tree-lined lake that was set incongruously in the middle of the housing estate on which we lived. We'd stand with six foot Woolworth's spinning rods clasped tightly, a float set at two or three foot depth and a worm impaled on the hook and wait poised for the small fry to scatter accross the lake's surface, jumping and skittering in an attempt to evade the hunting packs of perch. The trick was to cast into the middle of the scattering fry and- more often than not- the result would be a perch of around 4 ounces being swung to the bank, full of bristle and spikey indignation. The perch I target now are far bigger than anything I might have dreamed of in that summer which, in addition to seeing me fish most days of the school holiday, also saw the commencement of the ill fated marriage of the then Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, but my love for the species remains undimmed by the passing of time. 

So, to today's match. The weather, that staple of British conversation, was surprisingly mild for late October and at times, as has been alluded to earlier, frustratingly sunny (perch are no lovers of sunshine and prefer low light levels), but in a match in which sociability and renewing friendships is as much a factor as the actual fishing itself, the weather was, I suspect, welcomed by most. 

I caught a couple of small perch early on in the proceedings before my float disappeared for the third time and my strike met with more obdurate resistence. A couple of minutes later a fine perch of 1 pound and 13 ounces was resting in the landing net, a fish which, at the time of its capture, put me joint first in the competition. 

I always enjoy catching perch but on this occasion the pleasure was added to by the fact that I was using a newly acquired rod for the first time. Although new to my collection the rod, a Milbrolite, is probably somewhere around fifty years old but is in mint as-new condition and had, I suspect, never been used before today. The rod passed the test admirably and I have no doubt that it and I will share many adventures together before age, infirmity or mortality bring my angling exploits to a close.

In truth, it was a day of few bites (my reward for six hours of staring at a float was three perch and one rogue bream) and no single angler managed more than a handful of fish but it's a tribute to either the quality of the lake we fished or that of the anglers who were fishing it (or perhaps both) that despite the less than easy nature of the fishing eleven perch of over a pound were landed, six of which were of 1 pound 10 oz or more and one of which exceeded the 2 pound mark. John, the eventual winner of this year's trophy with a fish of 2 pound 1oz is fittingly a former chairman of The Perchfishers and backed up his winning fish with a brace of pound plus perch. My 1 pound 13 ounce sargent was only enough to secure me joint third place. 

The day concluded with the presentation of the trophy to John amid much back slapping, expressions of congratulation and shaking of hands. It remains for others to decide whether or not I qualify as wise in line with the quote in my opening sentance but I had certainly "found pleasure in water", or perhaps more precisely in seeking (with only partial success) to plunder its aquiferous depths in pursuit of perch. I can think of few better ways to pass time than fishing in good company while raising money for a local charity. As a lover of competitive sports and for many years an amateur footballer I have never concurred with the modern primary school sports day notion that "it's only the taking part that matters" or the claim that "you're all winners" but in this instance both assertions felt as if they had the ring of truth to them- just spending the day fishing alongside friends was its own reward and the fact that someone else's name would be engraved on the shield hadn't diminished my pleasure at all. John was a worthy winner, I'd had a great time and I've got another six months to hone my perch fishing skills in the hope of regaining the trophy next year!