PREDATOR BONANZA!
Biggest perch of the year & massive pike! Find out how to get amazing action too!
DICK Walker once described the humble perch as the ‘biggest fish of all’ and it’s hard to disagree when you look at the picture of Bob Hornegold and his 4lb 11oz fish on pages 8&9 this week.
It’s the inset image of the fish recovering in the landing net which does it for me – just look at the width of it across the shoulders!
Love them or loathe them, it’s hard to ignore that the new predator season has opened with a bang this year and I can’t remember a time in nearly 40 years of fishing where big predators – perch especially – are within reach of all anglers.
Even if you don’t get the luck of the draw when it comes to a dream boat ticket on the big reservoirs (and let’s face it most of us won’t!) you shouldn’t be downhearted and instead look to what you’ve got on your doorstep.
Proof of that came from a guy I bumped into a trade show recently who showed me pictures of numerous big twenties and even fish over 30lb he’d caught from stretches of his local canals. He’d even caught a near ‘thirty’ that morning on his way to the show! His advice was simple - stay mobile, give the fish something decent to eat, and expect the unexpected.
Talking of trade shows we’ve been out on the road again to bring you first looks at new kit from Daiwa and Nash, including poles, reels, and some of the best luggage I’ve seen – see p40-43...