One cast, two perch for 7lb

Predator expert John Horsey enjoys nothing more than targeting big perch with fly fishing tactics and his love for that arm of the sport grew stronger when he netted two fish for over 7lb…on the same cast!

During a session at Chew Valley the professional angling guide shunned the more of traditional approach of lure fishing and set up a rig incorporating two flies and a pair of hooks which tempted fish of 4lb and 3lb 2oz.

And to prove the catch wasn’t a fluke, John experienced over a dozen double hook ups during a manic week on the Bristol water, including another huge brace of perch weighing 3lb 11oz and 3lb 9oz.

It is a tactic that he originally took from his game fishing armoury and he hasn’t looked back since first using it several years ago.

“When I’m trout fishing I use four flies on a 20 foot leader and I was confident that if I scaled this down to two flies on a 10 foot leader I would have a good chance of catching some very big perch,” explained John.

“The flies are spaced out five foot apart and it has proved to be devastating when there are big shoals of the species on the hunt – it’s common to have two fish take flies at the same time and it can lead to a fantastic fight,” he added.

Choosing the right fly has also proved to be important, with a number of carefully selected patterns the most effective. He said: “I use minkies and others that replicate fish fry. The perch are shoal feeders and hunt down fry together, hence the high percentage of double hook ups.”