Chasing perch in the Swedish region of Jämtland

LUREVO SPINNING LURES ALSO CONVINCED THE PERCH IN SWEDEN

We’ve reached the end of the fishing season here in Jämtland – a beautiful Swedish county rich in lakes and a true paradise for pike and perch anglers. Once again, this season brought plenty of great catches and memorable fishing moments. We caught many large pike, both on topwater lures and around the reed edges or in thick weed beds. But this year, in addition to pike, we wanted to focus more on hunting big perch – a species I truly love, both for its vibrant colors and for the way it strikes fast and fiercely.

THE BEST SEASON AND GEAR

Here in Jämtland, the best months for perch fishing are July and August. We're about 500 kilometers north of Stockholm, on the edge of Swedish Lapland. The first sunny days help stir up large schools of baitfish, which in turn attract our beloved perch into mid-shallow waters, where we can target them with spinning rods using light, sensitive tackle. Classic lures like spinners, small minnows, or small to medium soft shads with jig heads between 7 and 10 grams all work well. But this year we also had the chance to test some innovative lures from the new brand Lurevo – across a variety of stunning lakes.

NEW LURES, NEW CHALLENGES

Contrary to the old saying, "Don’t leave the old road for the new one – you know what you’re leaving, not what you’re getting", this year we deliberately chose to try new lures for perch fishing. Our goal for catching large perch was to use innovative lure designs. We tested several options that differed from the usual soft shads, and I can assure you: they produced some truly impressive results!

FISHING TACTICS

Unlike the approach used in many southern European deep lakes – where perch often hold in large schools at depths of over 20 meters – targeting big perch in Swedish waters like these requires a more active search approach. The key is to find schools of baitfish at mid-depths, typically between 5 and 10 meters. That said, it’s not uncommon to find large perch over 40 centimeters actively hunting in much shallower water, near rocky edges or weed lines.

That’s why I was determined to find and test new lures that could be effectively fished at these varying depths using light, sensitive rods with short tip twitches. These new lures – with jig heads, soft tails made from fabric, chenille, and elastic – proved incredibly effective for triggering strikes from solitary big perch, both in shallow water and across the depth range.

THE FIRST DAY OF TESTING

We leave the lodge full of anticipation, aiming to catch perch over 40 centimeters, armed with our rods and new lures. We're heading to a recently discovered lake where the presence of big perch has been confirmed. After driving down dirt roads through beautiful forests, we reach our destination – a stunning little lake of incredible beauty. Surrounded by silence and nature, we start dreaming of great catches even before casting a line. We launch our inflatable boat and begin this new adventure. At the beginning of the lake, the bottom is just two meters deep, with sand and rocks – the perfect environment to start testing our new lures. We begin with the Blade Runner, equipped with a small metal propeller and soft tails in fuchsia, silver, and pearl colors. I cast the lure and retrieve it slowly, adding gentle rod tip twitches – this is the go-to technique for perch in shallow water. And sure enough, the first strike doesn’t take long – a beautiful perch just shy of 40 centimeters bends the rod with a powerful hit and a fast, determined fight. This is exactly what makes me fall in love with perch fishing over and over again.

We continue fishing, alternating lure colors. Given the water clarity, fuchsia and silver tails combined with purple and black elastics prove especially effective. But now it’s time to explore new spots, so we decide to move into deeper areas of the lake to test our other lures with heavier jig heads. We stop over bottom depths of around 10 meters, lower the lures all the way down, and once again fish them with short hops and subtle retrieves. Even here, the big perch don’t hesitate to attack. The chenille tail of the Python proves to be absolutely deadly thanks to its sinuous movement in the water and its fluorescent colors that draw even more attention from the perch in these crystal-clear waters. In particular, the orange version turns out to be spot-on – the most successful color of the day.

SECOND DAY OF TESTING

Encouraged by the excellent results at the small lake, on the second day we decided to test our lures on a much larger and deeper lake. This time, we also used a fish finder, an essential tool for locating baitfish schools – and wherever they are, big perch are usually not far away. Once again, the water was crystal clear, giving us the perfect opportunity to challenge and validate our lure presentation strategy. We headed straight to areas around 10 meters deep and soon spotted bait balls on the sonar. We quickly dropped our lures with orange chenille tails, and just like that, we landed two solid perch – another rewarding confirmation of our approach.

But in deeper waters, baitfish tend to move quickly, and the fishing turns into a constant search. Often you catch two or three fish, and then the shoals shift – and with them, the perch disappear too. This element of search and strategy is one of the things I love most about this type of fishing: it demands precision and focus and keeps the adrenaline pumping with every cast.

Thanks to the water's clarity, we even managed some sight fishing over 4 to 5 meters of depth. We could see the perch hunting below, and one of the most thrilling moments of the trip was watching the lure bounce along the bottom and then seeing a perch – with its beautiful dorsal fin raised and mouth wide open – strike and completely inhale the hook!

Incredible days and successful tests that allowed us to discover unique lures for targeting this stunning species, which never ceases to amaze me.