With spinning enjoying huge popularity, many known predator swims are increasingly being over-fished. You will often hear: “the swim has been fished to death”, “the swim is burnt out” or “it’s not worth going there any more!”.

In some cases, it may well be that the fish are avoiding the swim or at least not visiting it as regularly as in the past. However, it could also be that the fish are still in the swim but are stubbornly and persistently ignoring all familiar or unnatural baits.

My buddy Ralf and I visited one such swim on a sunny autumn day. We actually wanted to avoid it since even baitfish did not bring the desired success on previous visits. However, we decided to give the Quantum Joker a chance as it would surely be unfamiliar to the fish here. The very first cast produced a bite and a medium-sized perch. A good omen and Ralf needed no more persuasion. We had found the lure that would make the perch drop their guard. Then, after two missed bites, I hooked a good 45-cm perch right in front of my feet but lost it straight away. I was still voicing my disappointment when Ralf shouted: “Don’t worry. I’ve got one now!” And what a one it was! The rod was bent to the limit and I was on my way to take photos and help land the monster.

Everything ran smoothly and the tape measure read 49.5 cm. Just short of that magical threshold but, of course, we were still ecstatic. A première for the Joker and a new personal best. The interesting thing was that we weren’t retrieving the Joker along the bottom but around two metres below the surface. 

One thing is for sure. I won’t be going fishing for perch again without the Joker. And the same goes for Ralf.

Dirk Fastenau, Quantum Specialist Team