4lb 3oz OUSE PERCH ON FLOAT TACKLE!
Pensioner’s haul also includes five over 2lb and a ‘three’
THE biggest river perch of the season has been banked at 4lb 3oz – on float tackle.
It was taken by big-fish angler Alan Lawrence from a Luton Angling Club-run stretch of the Great Ouse in Bedfordshire.
It formed part of a memorable haul of big perch made by the Henlow-based rod that included five specimens over 2lb and another fish weighing 3lb 1oz. All were taken on a trotted lobworm hookbait.
Alan decided to target perch only after spotting some big perch in the margins during a chub fishing session the previous day.
“Despite all the recent rain the river was still running clear and I spotted a few decent perch feeding in the margins, so I decided to return the next day and target them,” he said.
“I’m glad I did – they make a nice change from my summer tench fishing.”
Arriving on the river to find an extra 3ft of water on, Alan fed heavy balls of soil, chopped worm and chopped prawns tight to an overhanging tree where he knew the fish would be hiding.
Using a handmade bobber-style float, a 14ft rod and a centrepin reel, the pensioner had a 1lb-plus fish first cast before going on to catch perch of 2lb 4oz, 2lb 5oz and 2lb 12oz – and then the two biggest of them all appeared.
Unfortunately, Alan then had to cut his session short.
“I would have stayed on into dusk, as I think there may have been even bigger perch in the swim, but unfortunately a large pike was making a nuisance of itself every time I reeled in a fish so I decided to pack up early,” he concluded.