Huge Ouse perch for Perna

ADAM Perna’s successful year shows no sign of slowing down with this 3lb 11oz perch the latest specimen to grace his net.

The 27-year-old Oxfordshire-based all-rounder has already banked roach to over 3lb, pike over 29lb and numerous specimen perch and zander in the past 12 months.

His latest predator fell to running-leger tactics from a small tributary of the Ouse.

“This fish was caught a bit further down from a near-bank slack and took a legered lobworm tipped with the trusty red maggot,” said Adam. 

“This time I was on the tip due to the river carrying a bit of extra water and the bait was presented over a scattering of maggots and chopped worm. The fish look very colourful and in fine condition at this time of year.”

Adam used an 8lb mainline to a 2ft fluorocarbon hooklink with a 0.5oz running lead and a size 6 Drennan Super Specialist hook.

Brace of 3lb perch on lobworms

THIS brace of 3lb-plus perch were the highlight of a productive days fishing on an East Anglian stillwater for Phil Spinks.

The Norfolk-based all-rounder caught the fish, along with numerous other specimens between 2lb 4oz and 3lb 4oz, while shooting a feature for Angling Times Predator magazine.

“I made an early start arriving at the lake at 9am, but the conditions looked far from ideal as it was a sharp frosty morning with clear skies,” said Phil. “I always prefer overcast mild days for perch fishing this time of year and in the back of my mind I was worrying the perch wouldn't play ball – I needn’t have worried though!”

His successful tactics consisted of air-injected lobworms popped-up on size 6 Korum Xpert Specialist hooks and 4lb Power Mono hooklinks.

Big perch on the feed

PERCH personal bests tumbled at a host of stillwater venues this week as the prolonged lower temperatures and frosty mornings sent the species on the feed.

One man taking advantage of the seasonal bonanza was Wyn Jones, who was rewarded for persevering at a rock-hard Hertfordshire venue by landing a 4lb 11oz cracker following his only bite of a day session.

The 54-year-old gas engineer from Cheshunt had endured numerous blank days over the past three seasons at the water, with just one lost fish to show for his efforts. But all those countless unproductive hours soon melted away with the capture of the special fish, which beat his previous perch pb by a whopping 1lb 10oz.

“I was just pouring a final cup of tea before I started packing up, when the bite came out of the blue.  It was a fantastic fish, and I’m still buzzing from the capture to be honest. It’s incredible the difference catching just one fish can make to your morale – I was beginning to think I’d never catch a big perch from the venue, but now I can’t wait to get back there for another go!” said Wyn.

He used a simple swimfeeder rig on a running link, with 6lb mainline, a 4lb hooklink and a size 12 hook holding three bronze maggots.

Another angler who banked a new personal best on his only bite of the session was Lee Chatfield, who landed a 4lb 5oz fish from a southern Stillwater. The 36-year-old threw away the rule book and polefished a king prawn hookbait over a mix of chopped prawns, chopped lobworms and red maggots soaked in Sonubaits Krill liquid, introduced on a little-and-often basis.

“It was hard going because of all the recent rain, but one bite can change your day and makes it all worthwhile. The fish will be well over 5lb in February, when I will hopefully catch her again!”
The fish beats Lee’s previous best perch of 4lb, caught from the river Thames.

King prawns have also been doing the business for Bob Langford, who has had a rake of big perch from his own Springfield Meadows during a series of short evening sessions, topped by a 5lb fish taken last week.

Freelining his bait under overhanging trees did the business for Bob, who told Angling Times:
“Visitors to my lakes have had loads of decent perch over 3lb while targeting carp with prawns, so I thought I’d give them a go. In a couple of evenings last week I had fish weighing 3lb 12oz, two at 4lb 2oz and then the big one. I always knew that there would be a ‘five’ in there!”

Surprise 4lb 2oz River Ivel perch

When Chris Mount went fishing for livebaits for an upcoming pike session the last thing he expected to catch was this stunning 4lb 2oz perch.

The Bedfordshire-based rod had embarked on an early season predator trip on the Jordan’s Mill stretch of the River Ivel and set up a light waggler rig to catch minnows for bait.

But his rhythm was soon disrupted when the float went under and the culprit shot off.

Convinced a small jack pike had taken his maggot hookbait he waited for the 2lb line to break but the tension set in once the distinctive dorsal fin of a large stripy broke the surface.

“I couldn’t believe it and I knew I had to take my time as I was using very light gear. It was a huge surprise but I’m delighted as it beat my previous best for the species by 10oz,” said Chris.

Livebait success for 4lb 1oz perch

Switching from lobworms to small livebaits towards the end of his session resulted in this superb 4lb 1oz 8dr perch for Rory Kingerley from a southern river this week.

Having lost a couple of fish to hookpulls in the heavy weed during the morning of his trip, at around 4pm the up-and-coming specimen ace changed his line of attack to a paternoster float set-up sporting a small lip-hooked bleak.

On his first cast he missed a lightning fast bite, but didn’t make the same mistake a few minutes later when a fresh bait was swung out and the float sailed away confidently.

“Initially, I thought that it was a pike, but then it started banging its head and I knew it must be a perch. I saw it about a foot below the surface when it was half way across the river and knew I was attached to a big fish, so it was ‘heart in the mouth’ stuff from then on!” said the 29-year-old, from Surrey, who works at Apollo Angling in Milford and used 6lb Hydro Flo main line, a 5lb Target fluorocarbon hook length and a size 6 hook. 

Year's biggest river perch landed

A devastatingly effective tactic known as dropshotting has accounted for the biggest river perch of the year that tipped the scales at 4lb 12oz.

Paul Elt admitted that the weed-choked swim on a tributary of the River Ouse would have been unfishable had it not been for the method that involves the manipulation of a small rubber lure attached directly to the mainline above a lead.

The Cambridgeshire-based angler got his session off to a flying start, landing a trio of perch to 3lb in quick succession before a pike moved in and forced all of the fish out of his chosen swim.

He then moved downstream and dropped his rig in to a tiny hole in the middle of a weedbed, and after a handful of flicks of his rod tip his 10cm Fox Split Tail lure, that was tied to a 6lb leader and a braided mainline, was hit by the impressive specimen which broke his previous personal best for the species by 7oz.

“I wouldn’t have caught this fish on any other method and I honestly believe it’s the most exciting thing to come in to the sport since the hair-rig,” Paul told Angling Times.

“Because the lure sits directly above the lead I could drop it straight in to the hole in the weed without any fear of it getting snagged.

“I had only been in the swim for a couple of minutes when the perch absolutely nailed the bait and I must admit that my knees went to jelly when it broke the surface because it looked like a bream in a perch suit.”

Also getting in on the big river perch action was Southern Fisheries boss Jason Lewis, landing a 4lb 2oz specimen from the famous Royalty Fishery on the Hampshire Avon.

It set a new personal best for him after it took a floatfished bleak livebait that was presented in a swim known as the Piles.

He said: “I was actually fly fishing when I spotted the fish in the water looking at my hookbait. I quickly swapped my tackle over and hooked into it almost straight away. I’m glad I made the change as I believe that this is the largest perch recorded from the venue so far this season.”

Brace of 3lb-plus perch

Nick Marlow’s rich vein of recent form for catching big perch continued this week when he banked a fine brace weighing 3lb 7oz and 3lb 2oz during a day trip to Upper Tamar Lake in Devon.

The Marukyu UK marketing manager used a range of Ecogear soft plastic lures and, fishing in 12ft of water, used a seven-foot light spinning rod, 6lb braid to two feet of 5lb fluorocarbon leader. He took ten other perch during the session.

“I’m always very impressed with big perch -they fight so hard for their size,” said Nick, who revealed that the Ecogear Orange Para Max was his most successful lure on the day.

Nick’s latest catch continued his great season, which has already seen him land 25 perch over 2lb, nine zander to 7lb 2oz, four big eels and four 20lb-plus river pike.

“I’ve always considered myself more of a carp angler but predators have well and truly taken over now!” he said.

Massive perch haul on prawns

Attracting the shoals of small roach into his swim proved to be the key to success for John Deprieelle, who landed an impressive 42 perch ranging in weight from 1lb 8oz up to 3lb 8oz in a single afternoon from Upper Tamar Lake in Cornwall.

The Bude-based freelance photographer started his session at the 81-acre venue fishing a groundbait feeder filled with breadcrumb and maggots. After catching a steady stream of small redfins, he switched to a king prawn hookbait, and didn’t have long to wait for the resident predators to show an interest.

He said: “This tactic of drawing the prey fish in has served me well in the past. It’s certainly worth the effort as the action can be non-stop when the perch arrive.”

For more info about the venue visit: www.swlakestrust.org.uk

Carp water produces trio of big perch

Seb Drea proved that if you want to catch big perch then you should look no further than your local carp water as he beat his personal best three times in as many days with the biggest fish topping the scales at 3lb.

A simple rig that was constructed from 6lb line, a size 8 hook and a couple of swan shot to keep it all on the bottom, was all he needed to tempt his trio of specimens that also featured fish weighing 2lb 1oz and 2lb 4oz.

Seb’s fishing partner Mike also got among the fish as he slipped his net under a 2lb 15oz perch, which also fell to a lobworm hookbait.

Prawn hookbait fools 5lb 9oz perch

After losing a good fish on his last session at Stream Valley Lakes, Jim Mathews returned and set the record straight with this 5lb 9oz perch from the East Sussex venue thanks to a clever baiting strategy.

With conditions far from ideal for a big stripeys and bright sunshine forecast for the day, the 31-year-old Essex-based rod wasn’t overly confident of his prospects. However, within an hour of casting out towards an overhanging bush on the far margin, his ultra-light homemade bobbin twitched and rose to the top as the impressive predator picked up his hair-rigged jumbo king prawn offering.

“I think perch are a greedy fish and will always go for the biggest bait that requires the minimum effort for them to reach. By offering a whole prawn over several broken up pieces I felt that I was increasing my chances of them actually picking up the hookbait.”

After striking into the bite, at first Jim thought that a carp was responsible because of the power of the fight.

“Several minutes after I hooked it the fish surfaced and my girlfriend and I both caught a glimpse of my adversary,” he told Angling Times.

“Needless to say, I went very quiet and my legs started to wobble. As it broke the surface for the final time, Carla slid the net under the most amazing of creatures and I was left to reflect on a truly great angling moment,” he added.

After photographing and returning his new personal best, Jim went on to land further specimens of 3lb 7oz and 2lb 9oz. The trio of predators were all beaten with size 6 Drennan Super Specialist barbless hooks and 4lb Daiwa Sensor hooklinks.

“It was only the third time I’d fished the venue, and although I’d caught on my previous two trips I hadn’t landed anything spectacular. I was disappointed when I lost a decent fish, but this perch more than made up for it. I’ve caught carp to 53lb 12oz in the past but I definitely rate this catch more highly,” he added.

For more details about fishing at Stream Valley Lakes, call Crowborough Tackle on 01892 667671.

Sweetcorn fools venue record perch

This huge 4lb 6oz venue record perch certainly gave Mick Taylor a big surprise when it took his polefished corn hookbait intended for bream.

The Lincoln-based angler has just purchased a static caravan at his local Grange Leisure Complex and celebrated in style when a session on the day-ticket Twin Lake produced the biggest perch ever caught at the Mablethorpe venue.

It sets a new personal best for Mick who, beat the fish with a 2lb bottom that was attached to a size 18 hook.

“I laid a bed of pellets and pinkies down and was happily catching bream when I hooked what my friend and I thought was a carp, but it turned out to be the biggest perch any of us had ever seen!” said Mick.

Specimen perch haul from commercial

Norfolk specialist Gareth Goldson once again proved the spoils that can be on offer at the thousands of small commercial fisheries dotted around the country when he compiled a cracking haul of perch that included no fewer than 11 fish over 2lb to a best of 2lb 14oz.

All of the fish fell to small roach deadbaits, presented on low resistance running leger rigs incorporating 1oz leads and 6lb fluorocarbon traces.

Gareth, a tennis coach from Cromer, told AT: “The weather was truly shocking, with rain falling heavily most of the day. I had to wait until late in the afternoon for the action to really heat up, and just as the light was fading I twice received takes on my two rods at the same time!”

Biggest perch ever to be caught from Dorset

Eagle-eyed Dorset specimen angler Jamie Stanley’s sifting of match reports in his local newspapers paid off when he banked this personal best 4lb 14oz perch on a floatfished roach livebait.

Reading about match anglers catching big perch on luncheon meat a few years back put the Poole boat builder on the trail of a six-acre clay pit, and with club book in hand he started a campaign that was to produce a host of fish between 2lb and 3lb, with the odd ‘scraper’ 4lb thrown in.

All that paled into insignificance however, with his most recent trip that turned up the new best, which the 40-year-old believes is the biggest perch caught in Dorset and beat his pb by 4oz.

Jamie used 4lb line straight through to a size 4 Drennan Carbon Specimen hook, presenting his three-inch roach 10ins overdepth on the waggler, anchored with a couple of SSG shot.

Perch pb broken twice in one session

The South West region of the UK isn’t renowned for its specimen coarse fishing opportunities, but that didn’t stop John Deprieelle from smashing his personal best twice in one session after banking perch weighing 3lb 6oz and 4lb 4oz.

Having recently moved from Southport in Merseyside to Bude in Cornwall, the 38-year-old targeted the daunting 82-acre Upper Tamar reservoir and struck gold when he put his faith in a simple feeder rig with a lobworm hookbait.

The capture tops a prolific spell for the freelance photographer, who also recently beat his canal pike personal best with a fish that topped the scales at 22lb 10oz and was caught from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

Terry Hearn lands big brace of perch

Carp fishing legend Terry Hearn once again proved his credentials as one of the finest all-rounder anglers in the business last week when he took this brace of fine perch from his local River Wey.

Just a few weeks after taming a big double-figure barbel from a tributary of the River Thames, the Surrey-based ace turned his attention to ‘stripeys’, and enjoyed a brilliant session with his father Barry, the pair both taking 3lb-plus specimens using small livebaits presented underneath homemade ‘bobber’ floats.

Read about Terry’s day in a full-length feature, only in tomorrow’s Angling Times.

Deadly new perch bait uncovered

A short session on a popular commercial complex ended with angling coach Russ Evans netting 12 perch over the magical 2lb barrier with the biggest breaking 3lb.

The Gardner and Sticky-backed rod reached for an unusual supermarket offering and then flavoured it with a pungent additive to try and make the most of his outing on a freezing cold day.

While those around him struggled for bites, Russ was into fish instantly and the action never stopped until the end of the outing.

“This bait is absolutely incredible in the winter. It has a really noticeable smell and big perch find it irresistible in even the harshest of conditions,” explained Russ.

For more details on the winning tactic, pick up a copy of next week’s Angling Times, on the shelves from Tuesday February 14.

Ivel perch bonanza

This amazing self-taken picture of a 4lb 4oz personal best perch is the work of specimen hunter Dan Sales.

The angler, from Hatfield, Herts, continued his recent run of good form when he landed the fish, along with five others between 2lb 8oz and 3lb, during a session on the River Ivel.

He began by introducing maggots into three different swims and then spent a little time in each, a link-legered lobworm proving to be the winning tactic.

All of his fish were beaten with the help of a 4lb hooklength and a size 8 Drennan Super Specialist hook.
 

Ouse perch at the double

Tim Ray had every reason to smile when he paid a visit to the in-form river Ouse in Bedfordshire to bank an impressive brace of perch that topped the scales at 3lb 10oz and 3lb 7oz.

The boss of Willards Tackle in Milton Keynes set his sights on a stretch of the waterway at Newport Pagnell and took both fish on spinner tactics after making the decision to stay mobile rather than stick with the usual legered lobworms approach that have accounted for many other specimen perch from the river in the past few weeks.

Famous perch venue to close to fishing

One of the greatest perch fisheries of all time is soon to be lost to fishing.

The famous Twins stretch of the Great Ouse near Buckingham, the venue where Martin Bowler banked a 5lb 4oz monster for Catching The Impossible and where John Wilson has caught 4lb fish on camera for Go Fishing, will shut at the end of the current river season.

This is because the landowner has declined to renew the 60-plus-year-old lease of Buckingham AA, in favour of applying for an Environmental Stewardship (set aside land for wildlife) from Natural England. This doesn’t necessarily mean fishing has to stop – several angling clubs on Worcestershire rivers co-exist perfectly well with Environmental Stewardships - so club officials are very disappointed by the decision.