Surprise perch catches in matches
When Gary Hampshire’s tip pulled round he suspected a carp to be the culprit, so you can imagine shock when he realised he was connected to this immense perch, caught on would you believe it, the bomb and pellet!
The fish came during a tricky day fishing at Doncaster’s Lindholme Lakes, where his 6mm bait was picked up by the special fish.
“At first, I thought it was a carp,” Gary revealed, “but when it broke the surface, I was absolutely gob smacked! I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Unfortunately, I didn't have any scales, but I ran back to van and got the tape measure.
“The fish was 48cm long, and I would guess it weighed over 4lb.”
Yorkshireman Darren Richards was also in for a shock when he banked this 4lb 3oz perch during a Christmas match with his local angling club.
Fishing the River Wharfe in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, Darren had been catching small dace, so he decided to change his hookbait in the hope of something larger.
“I thought I would try hemp and caster in the feeder with a small piece of worm on the hook for maybe a bigger dace or small perch,” Darren explained.
“I didn’t think for one minute I might catch a fish this size - it only just fit in my small landing net!
“I was and still am buzzing about catching a specimen fish and a new PB.”
The fish equals the Wetherby Angling Club’s record perch, and Darren went on to win the match with a weight of 4lb 7oz.
Monster perch results in lost phone
DESPITE dropping his phone overboard Charlie Coppolo fished through the despair to boat this immaculate 4lb 8oz perch.
The lure-fanatic’s session on an Essex reservoir was certainly a tale of two halves, as he explained:
“The day started fantastically with my first bite producing a new PB of 4lb 10oz!
“I was buzzing but whilst sitting back staring at the photos on my phone I somehow managed to juggle it in to the air and over the side of the boat.
“With no back up or anything, I could do nothing but just watch the only photo I have of my PB just slowly sink to the depths.”
Undeterred the 32-year-old fished on and whilst drop-shotting a purple dropshot Molix SV Crawfish he managed to land the 4lb 8oz specimen alongside another fine stripey of 3lb 8oz.
South West canal hits top perch form
AN angler fishing for silvers on a Somerset canal recorded one of his best ever sessions recently when he encountered a shoal of large perch - including a monster 4lb-plus specimen.
Mark Affleck was fishing the pole on the Taunton and Bridgewater Canal, when after putting together a nice bag of roach on casters, he decided to switch to his worm line, with tremendous results.
“What a great fight on light pole gear, unfortunately the pictures didn’t do it’s size justice”, he said.
Taunton Angling Association’s Dan Baldwin told Angling Times previously of the canals potential for large perch, he said: “The perch are spread throughout the canal but there are some noted hotspots. Bathpool Boat Docks, Chalton Orchard and upstream of Maunsel Lock, all hold lots of perch ranging from 1-3lb.”
It certainly looks like now is a great time to try and catch these fish. If you fancy a go yourself head to www.tauntonanglingassociation.co.uk for tickets.
