EXPLORING RIVER - Searching for BIG PERCH

I love to explore new waters

You never know what you
might catch

How big they are

and how hard it's gonna be to
find great spots

But if you work hard and in the
end fins a good spot

The reward can be really big

I've got a friend named Niclas Edström

we've fished together for years and
caught a lot of nice fish

I'ts been a while since we filmed together

But now it's finally time to do that again

The idea is that Niclas and I are gonna
explore a river

that I've inly fished in once before

I didn't caught any huge fish but it felt
like it had potential

for huge perch

It's heavy

a nice perch

It's bigger than 1 kg

I'm from Linköping and have driven
2 hours down in Sweden

To have a look at this river

I usually fish in another river

And have a lot of experience in
how to fish rivers like this

I think we're gonna be able to crack
the code in this river aswell

You need to gather a lot of informationen
when you're exploring rivers like this

look at google maps and depts

and try to find some nice backwater

In the winter the perch are often
stationary in deep holes

you need to fish the lure really slow

It's always fun to set up a goal when
you try a new water

I think that a 1kg perch
in here are possible

so the goal for today is that both
Tobbe and I are gonna catch a 1kg perch

But first we'll read some of your comments

Sebastian want us to say hi to
his son Lukas

He's been ill for 5 days

It sucks to be sick for so long and
not be able to fish

So here's a big hello from us Lukas

We have a comment from Bergling saying
that Niclas are gonna be in the videos

I haven't been in a video since fall 2020

But now in 2025 it's time to use
all the gear

and show how to catch a real pig

you can hardly believe it's
middle of winter

it's almost 6 degrees outside

no ice in the edges with no wind

it's suppose to be -15 degrees now

but we're grateful for good weather

So that we can fish

Tobbe and I have been fishing
together for many years

It's been a few years
since we filmed together

It'll be exciting and fun

I fished in this river once before

It was first most 2 spots that
we caught fish on

It was this backwater and a spot
further down stream

there is a current just by the ice

going to a dept of 2-3 meters

we caught most of our fish here back then

It's always a good idea to start at a
spot you know hold fish

And when you then find out what works
for the day

Then you can start searching
at other spots

I like to fish with crawfish imitations
when fishing in rivers

I'm gonna start with a carabus

I've frerigged this one

the weight up here runs free on the leader

that made the lure swim different
and more flowing

It can be really hot this time of year

looking at the sonar
it's only 0,6 degrees in the water

The perch might strike good
but very careful

So we need to fish really slow

I'll try a monkey ned in the color junebug

I can bounce it slowly along the bottom

The goal is to catch a 1kg perch each

The big perch often want bigger lure
so I'll try the bigger monkey ned

Let's hope we can clear our goal
for today Niclas

let's catch them

- you have faith in this spot?
- It feels hot

It looks promising

It would be nice
to have the first contact fast

The you know that there are fish here

was that a contact?

I got one!

Just by the edge of the current

Not the biggest fish
but it's a first

It's a recipe that
we're doing something right

Look what a nice perch

really high perch

That's a good sign, if they're long
and high thy are heavy

it's kinda red aswell

a very nice perch

Ned worm are usually efficent
at this time of year

This one will have to swim back

and we keep on grinding

But at least we know now that
they are here

well done Tobbe, we have a recipe that
they are here

we'll keep on grinding and see if
we can catch another one

I got another one!

2 casts and 2 fish

A little bit bigger

- you got one aswell?
- yes yes

- is it better?
- biggest of the day

He just took the whole carabus

really hot

they are at that edge

a 0,3 kg perch at least

not 1kg yet but we're getting there

double strike is always nice

this one is as small as my first one

this ned might deliver small fish

But we only caught 3 fish so far

They can be really stiff when it's cold

They can be slow when we release them

It would've been so nice
to catch a 1kg now

You fish with better confidence once
you catch a few fish

It's just a matter of time!

- better?
- yeah better

a better fish!

Look Niclas it might be a....

NO!

It's a pike

it's a pike, I thought it was a big perch

Of course the pike eat worms too

He fooled me

It looked like a perch

These pikes are the perfect size
that make you think it's a perch

It's important to look if the
leader will hold up

and it did'nt so I need a new one

I would'nt want that to happen if
I caught a dream perch

I would've cried all night

we've arrived at a new spot now

we caught a few fish at the other spot
but it went quiet

so we tried and find a new spot

We are at a backwater that
we really believe in

Perch are often found in the
edge of the current

where the water is calmer

we're gonna start fishing here now

it's often easy
to find spots like this in rivers

You can have a look at Google maps

and when you arrive at the river you
can fish the spots fairly quick

are there perch that want to bite
they bite straight away

a few fast casts here and we'll see
if this spot can deliver

it's some grass to the right

There!

I got one!

It's big!

BIG!

I think this one is a perch

a really fat perch

Look at it

Look how fat it is

definitly the biggest one for today

a really nice one

it's a carrot perch

You could say it's eaten a lot of carrots
but I don't think it has

It's so orange because it's eaten
a lot of crayfish

hence the color and that's why it
has become so fat

The belly can become orange

I'll release this one, it's about 0,5kg
so only half our goal

bye bye

The sun came forward

A weather different can make
the perch become more active

So we just cast again

fun to catch more fish

I want a kilo perch now

NO!

that one looked nice

that was a better one

please bite again

there!

it's a small one

not that small

You can see it's different families
of perch in this river

some of them eat a lot of crayfish

and this one is more pale

this one probably eat roach or bleek

They have different colors depending
on what they eat

I'll release this one
and we keep on grinding

It would be so nice if we could
catch a real pig today

I got one!

I got a fish aswell now
it was my turn

really fat

I did as Tobbe and tried a ned aswell

Look how scarred it is

really weird, on the other side to

Let's see if it's a crayfish perch or not

It was

look at all those dots

a really nice fish

release it and hope to catch a kilo perch

It's wonderful to
be standing here in January

It's really warm and nice

It would be even better if we could
catch a really big one

But I think we'll do it if we
just keep on grinding

There are not that many that fish with ned
even though it's so efficent

It look ugly
like a stump

but for some reason the perch love it

You can't fish ned to slow

do some slow twitches
with a light jighead

and let it jump over the bottom

and do some pauses so it stand still

Niclas did fish with freerig

and as soon as he changed to ned
he caught more fish

so we keep on grinding with ned

I got one!

It feels better

It's huge right?

what's happening Tobbe?

I think it might be 1kg

- already? after just half the day?
-I think it is

Let's have a look at it then

I think it's a perch

Well how heavy is the perch then?

8-10kg maybe

- No Hg I mean
- you think so?

It's long, maybe 40cm

I think it's at least 900g

but with some luck it can be 1kg

a perch on 1kg is a really big perch

let's measure it

quickly measure how long it is

the pig sound

It's long Niclas

- yeah it is
- it's 45cm

It's really long

wow, that could be a 1kg perch

45cm perch in this river is really good

There aren't that many of them here

And not that fat because it's winter

If I caught it in March/April it could've
easily be 2-3hg more

But I think that it might be over 1kg

So let's see

We'll weigh it in our kitty cat bag

let's put the scale to zero

get in there

the moment of truth

It's just over

1,02kg

Yes 1,02 kg

My goal is cleared

But our goal is that both of us is
gonna catch a 1kg perch

So now it's Niclas turn

I'm glad for that fish

The biggest one I've caught in this river

They are here indeed

Tobbe is check
so now it's my turn

I'll keep on grinding with my ned

This monkey ned is so eaten
and the hook is loose

I have a great tip for that

The worm is round so you can just
turn it

and put it through another spot

And it's like a new lure again

You can save a lot of many by doing that

The way to go when you're from Småland

Don't let anything go to waste

That's my tip to save money

we've put the boat over there and we're
gonna be fishing from land

sometimes it's hotter to fish from land

and form another angle

So let's try it and see

We've found a good spot with a lot
of fish in this river

So we keep on grinding here

I think they are stationary here in
the backwater

And are tricky so I think we need
to fish slow

Slow and different ways