One of the greatest river perch hauls ever!

A phenomenal haul of specimen river perch topped by a monster of 4lb 4oz has been taken by specialist James Champkin.

The arrival of colder weather seems to have spurred the nation’s sergeants into a feeding frenzy, and this latest catch is further proof that now is the perfect time to target one of the country’s most sought-after coarse fish. 

James, who works for the Angling Trust, took advantage of the sudden cold snap to bank nine perch over the 3lb mark, including the four-pounder, from a stretch of the River Lea in Hertfordshire.

Over three short trips, none of them more than a couple of hours long, the Leighton Buzzard angler used worm and maggot tactics to fool all nine stripeys, in what turned out to be a fishing fortnight to remember for the 25-year-old. 

James said: “I’ve managed to find perch in a new area of the river to me so far this winter, and the results have been amazing.

“All fell to a quivertipped lobworm while I sprayed red maggots over the top to attract small prey fish. The pace of the fishing at times was frantic, with bites coming from the moment the worm hit the riverbed.”

James tempted his fish on 1lb tc Avon rods with ultra-fine, 0.5oz fibreglass quivertips to encourage positive bites from the perch. 

Completing the set-up was 6lb mainline and 4.4lb fluorocarbon hooklengths connected to size 8 wide-gape hooks. Two SSG shot were mounted on a short length of line to form a running link-leger.

“Despite what many people say, I’ve found that big perch often give very positive bites when you use a fine tip, slowly pulling the quiver right round,” James added.

“If you do receive a very delicate bite it inevitably results in a pike! 

“I’d actually caught a jack pike earlier that morning and as soon as I hooked the big perch I just thought it had to be another pike, such was its weight and power. 

“It powered off and I had to really give it some stick – expecting a pike to pop up I wasn’t too concerned about losing it, but suddenly I saw a flash of black stripes and I started to play it a bit more carefully!

“At 4lb 4oz it was just 1oz short of my personal best but no matter – what a perch it was!”