20 kilos of bait for one monster perch

A mammoth baiting campaign that saw John Deprielle pile in 20 kilos of bait during a single day session ended with the capture of this huge personal best perch.

In order to feed his way through the sheer numbers of carp and get through to the big perch at his chosen commercial fishery, the Devon-based specialist introduced as much bait as some anglers would use in a month, and his reward was this 4lb 12oz specimen.

“I’d heard from a match fishing friend of mine that there were big perch in this water, but it’s also full of carp and silverfish. Every time I fed a handful of bait, the surface of the water just erupted with hungry fish.

“The only way to get through them was to keep piling the bait in, and I didn’t stop all day.

He hauled his way through more than 100 carp and countless silverfish as his endless bombardment of groundbait, hemp and pellets hit the surface at a stillwater in the South West.

Then, after hours seven hours of constant feeding, John finally set his hook into the jaws of his intended quarry – a perch that beats his previous best that stood at 4lb 8oz. It took a floatfished worm hookbait.

“Many anglers might have given up because it seems like a lot of work and bait to try and catch a perch, but when the reward is a specimen like this it makes it all worthwhile,” John continued.

“There are so many commercial fisheries out there that contain big perch, but they are hardly ever caught because people just don’t fish for them.”