Match angler's shock 5lb 5oz river perch
Lee Bennett only had two bites during his latest fishing match but they both produced a 5lb 7oz tench and this colossal 5lb 5oz perch. The Midlands Angling Supplies-backed angler entered into an open on an Earl of Harrington AC stretch of the River Derwent and specifically fished lobworms to target the resident perch shoals.
He told Angling Times: “I bait-dropped plenty of choppy and casters at the start of the match and on my first drop in the float slid under. “The fish stayed deep and I thought it was a pike until it surfaced – it was at this point my heart was in my mouth!” Lee’s perch smashed his personal best for the species by 2lb 5oz and he also ended a 20-year search for a tench from the River Derwent. On top of this, his 10lb 12oz total was enough to claim the top spot and a match win.
Lobworm produces a 4lb-plus perch!
Yorkshire stillwaters aren’t generally known for their huge perch, but a commercial fishery produced this 4lb 1oz specimen.
Specialist rod Mike Townsend was fishing a venue in the south of the county with a link-legered lobworm when the predator fell into the trap.
The local angler used a rig made from 4lb mainline, a 3lb 8oz fluorocarbon hooklink and a size 12 hook.
Bumper week for perch with this Ouse monster topping the bill!
Perfect weather conditions this week have seen huge perch go on the feed, with big catches and huge individual specimens landed in an incredible week for stripeys. The biggest fish reported to Angling Times was this mint-conditioned 4lb 6oz perch, part of an impressive haul taken on a lure by former Drennan cup champion Jamie Cartwright.
He visited a stretch of his beloved Great Ouse and used a light jigging outfit to put together a catch that included fish of 3lb 1oz, 2lb 15oz, two at 2lb 14oz and 2lb 6oz. The Northamptonshire Specimen Group member’s biggest fish is a new lure-caught personal best and falls just 3oz short of his overall perch pb.
“My eyes were truly opened to the effectiveness of lure fishing when I caught 15 perch from a swim I’d been struggling to get bites from on conventional tactics and baits,” Jamie told Angling Times. “I had worms and maggots with me but I didn’t even take the lids off the tubs.” Jamie used a 9.5cm Savage Gear shad presented on a 7g jig head teamed with a size 2/0 hook.
Lure fishing ace Sam Edmonds also got in on the big perch action with a stunning 4lb 2oz specimen from a southern river. The Abu Garcia-sponsored angler also reached a personal milestone, because the capture was his 100th perch over 3lb caught from the UK. His latest fish took a Texas-rigged Berkley Havoc Rocket Craw in Green Chartreuse.
He said: “Unbelievably, this was the only bite I had all afternoon. I was hoping to reach the milestone of 100 three-pounders before the season ended, so to do it with a perch of 4lb 2oz is more than I could have dreamed of.”
A long-term campaign in search of a new personal best ended in fine style for Matt Fernandez when he took a fin-perfect 4lb fish from a southern stillwater. The Cygnet Tackle and Dynamite Baits-backed angler had spent several years in search of a huge perch, and struck gold with a link-legered king prawn hookbait. He said: “Landing a 4lb perch has been a top priority of mine for years, and I’m delighted to have finally got there.” Two more fish weighing 2lb 6oz and 2lb 10oz capped off a memorable hat-trick for the Southampton all-rounder.
It’s not just dedicated specimen anglers that have been getting in on the perch sport – England capped matchman Callum Dicks bagged over 50lb of the species from the River Wye.Fishing peg 89 in Hereford, the Maver-sponsored star worked with long pole and worm hookbait to find several perch over 3lb, with the best of the bunch going 3lb 12oz. Callum said: “The Wye perch fishing rarely gets the credit it deserves. Hopefully, this will show people just how big these fish grow in the venue.”
Monster 5lb River Thames perch is caught while lure fishing
This is one of the biggest Thames perch ever at 5lb 5oz.
Justin Beale described the fight that the huge fish put up as ‘the most ferocious that he’s ever experienced’ when he fished a snaggy area.
Justin Beale's huge 5lb 5oz Thames perch was caught on a lure.
The experienced specialist certainly knows exactly where the venues big predators hang out when it’s carrying extra water and milder winter sparks fish into feeding.
After searching around areas among the sunken trees in his swim, he decided to cast his lure into open water and this is when he set his hook into the specimen.
“Big perch don’t spend all of their time around snags as they venture into open water to hunt and that’s where this fish was when it smashed into my lure,” said Justin.
“It was on my fifth cast on a really slow retrieve when I got the take and it came straight to the surface, shook its head and then I didn’t see it again for around 10 minutes. The fight was incredible.
It’s a capture that further proves Justin’s intimate knowledge of the vast waterway as this is the third perch over 5lb he’s banked as he’s previously landed fish weighing 5lb 9oz and 5lb 1oz.
The winning bait was a Keitech Swing Impact that was coupled with a light rod, 4lb braid and a fluorocarbon leader.
“Some anglers spend way too long on the bank,” Justin continued.
“I watched the weather charts and saw the warmer weather coincided with the influx of extra water and I knew exactly where the big perch would be. You only need to be in the right place at the right time and for me this is usually for an hour or two after work and this was the case on this occasion.