Massive perch on a £1 lure!

A lure bought for £1 from a car boot sale is to thank for one of the biggest-ever hauls of specimen perch.

John Deprieelle and Ben Humber boated 30 perch over the 3lb mark, topped by a 3lb 14oz specimen, during a day at the incredible Chew Valley Reservoir.

The Somerset venue, widely regarded as the UK’s best predator water because of its stocks of huge pike, proved that it holds much more when the pair switched to targeting perch after a pikeless morning.

“By 1pm we hadn’t had a touch from a pike so we changed our attack, and that’s when the day turned into the session of a lifetime,” John told Angling Times.

“Initially the odd perch turned up, but then I decided to give a little lure that I found at a car boot sale a try – and it just went off big time.

“They just couldn’t get enough of this thing – you could see the bow waves made by the big perch as they fought to grab hold of the lure as I was retrieving it back to the boat. The transformation was incredible.”

By the time they returned to the fishing lodge, John, from Exeter, and Ben, a Fox Rage consultant from Bristol, had shared in the capture of more than 40 big perch.

“Ben had taken a few fish, but then he found a lure in his collection that was as similar as possible to what I was using, and from then on his catch rate improved no end,” John continued. “We had numerous double hook-ups, follows and missed fish too, as well as six pike to mid-double figures. 

“It really was incredible and we won’t be forgetting it in a hurry.”

The haul didn’t come as much of a surprise to John Harris, who is Fisheries and Recreations Officer at the Bristol Water-controlled Chew Valley Lake.

He is fully aware of the perch potential of the vast venue and says there’s every possibility it could contain a specimen that beats the British record, currently standing at 6lb 3oz.

“I would be so bold to say that this venue is more likely to produce a perch record than a record pike,” said John.

“This is one of the best catches of perch we’ve had on lures, but we have massive catches of them every year, especially to those fishing with flies. I’ve had loads of them over 3lb on that tactic, and the vast perch stocks prove just what an incredible venue this is.”

Chew Valley Reservoir has produced more than 40 pike over the 30lb mark since it opened for its annual predator fishing season, and the biggest reported so far is a 39-pounder.