Perch enjoy a varied diet - there are few small estuarine life forms that they won’t eat. The normal diet consists of small fish like glassies and crustaceans such as crabs, mud prawns and swimming prawns. The small black crabs found on the banks of the warmer estuaries are particularly favoured and perch will often come into shallow water to feed on them. In addition to these run-of-the-mill food types perch will also eat grain, fruits and insects, with falls of flying ants in spring triggering hectic feeding activity in the upper reaches of some estuaries. In the marinas of the big East Coast harbours perch have become accustomed to a diet of plate scrapings thrown overboard by yachtsmen and I know of a couple of big specimens that lurk under the keels of moored yachts waiting for handouts. Targeting these tame fish probably wouldn’t go down well
with the yachties so they are best left alone. A four or five weight outfit matched with an intermediate line is ideal for perch unless you intend to cast a popper or surface pattern in which case a floating line is required. Most of the estuarine situations where the species is targeted are shallow, so sinking lines are unnecessary and in fact are often counter productive as they drag the fly through the bottom sediment and create a disturbance that terrifies everything with fins except gurnards who quite like it. Rod length leaders and fairly light tippets give the best results. Perch will tackle most small fly patterns with Clouser’s, flippers, poppers, zonkers and Charlie style patterns all being successful. It’s nice to have lots and lots of salt water patterns and to gaze intelligently into your fly box while the missus admires you from the bank and possibly takes a photo but in truth all you need is a few Salty
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