Its an incredible week for fishing’s history books...

PERCH have been described as the biggest of all fish, and they don’t get any bigger than Matt Atkins’ record-breaking specimen caught this week - it’s an absolute breeze block!

If that wasn’t enough, the same weekend produced a new British best carp – all 75lb of it – some huge bream and barbel, and big weights of silverfish, making it a truly remarkable week for fishing.

For those who might have been thinking about packing away their gear now the weather is a bit more inclement then hopefully these captures may just inspire you to hold on to that thought for a little while longer.

Autumn really is the time for action and it would be a shame not to take advantage of feeding specimens and migrating shoals to their cold-weather haunts. As they say, you have to be in it to win it!

This week also sees the launch of one of the Angling Trust’s biggest-ever campaigns – Anglers Against Pollution. It’s a cause we’re backing fully, and I hope you will too.

We anglers are already the eyes on the bank for our natural waterways, and usually the first to notice something might be wrong with the water quality or its inhabitants.

We’re quick to make emergency calls to report incidents, helping to prevent loss of precious stocks and habitat. That’s not going to change, but what this new campaign is aimed at doing is ensuring the laws which protect our environment are enforced and hold accountable those who cause damage or fail to protect our amazing natural world.

By combining the voice of thousands of anglers, this won’t just be for the good of fishing, but for nature and the public too.

Find out how you can support the campaign inside this week’s issue...