It's not too late for a big perch!
It's not too late to smash your perch personal best – as a host of superb catches of specimen stripeys this week has proved.
The cold and wet spring has been great for big-fish anglers targeting the powerful pocket predators, which have been feeding heavily at stillwater venues right across the nation.
The biggest UK perch of the week fell to all-rounder Ryan Hayden, who banked a fine 4lb 6oz fish from a southern stillwater.
After fishing for most of the day with a worm and maggot approach, and with just one small fish to show for his efforts, Ryan decided to switch to lure tactics around two hours before dusk – and at that point his fortunes changed dramatically for the better.
“The bait approach just wasn’t working, so I started casting jigs in the hope of getting a bite,” Ryan told Angling Times.
“When the jigs also failed to get the desired response, I switched to a standard spinner, in a gold and yellow colour scheme, to cut through the murky water of the venue and match the rudd that are in the lake.
“Sure enough, inside five minutes a huge perch smashed into it just a rodlength from the bank and after a short, powerful scrap, the fish was in the net.”
Ryan used an 8ft 6ins Drennan Esox rod and a reel loaded with 6lb braided mainline and a fluorocarbon leader to beat his old personal best for the species by a clear 6oz.
Elsewhere, Matthew Fernandez suffered a series of crushing disappointments before finally getting in on the action with a fine 4lb 2oz perch.
The 31-year-old from Hampshire had already lost three big stripeys during his session on a southern stillwater, but he persevered to make the fine catch.
He said: “I thought that my chance had gone, but right at last knockings the float slid away and I found myself connected to what felt like a big fish.
“The centrepin screamed away and my rod suddenly had a very healthy bend in it!
“After a ‘heart-in-the-mouth’ battle my new personal best
was nestled in the bottom of my net.”
Matt’s perch fell to a whole prawn hookbait floatfished over a bed of chopped prawns close in to the bank.
l Want to beat your own perch personal best this week? Turn to page 34 to discover Bait Doctor Paul Garner’s top baits for targeting the species!