Early in autumn it’s a case of searching for fish. The best way to cover a lot of water is to pick a shad pattern with a paddle tail. One that I’ve caught loads of perch on is the Quantum Q Paddler in the smallest 8cm size.
There are lots of colours to have a go with, but I find something that looks like a fish to be most productive, because smaller bait fish like roach are still scattered about and there are a lot of them for perch to eat!
A 3g jig head is perfect for canals
I fish a Paddler with a dark back and silvery sides on a Korum Squirm Head jig head – a 3g head on canals, 5g or 7g for rivers. Heavy jig heads aren’t needed as perch will normally be in slack areas on running water where the flow is much slower.
The lure’s paddle tail causes it to waggle and mimic the swimming action of a wounded prey fish.