THE LAST hour of daylight is often touted as being the best time to catch big perch, and Mark Hewett rubber-stamped that time-honoured advice when he landed this 4lb 7oz fish from the River Lea.
The southern river is famed for its big fish, and while the huge chub and barbel that live there often steal the headlines, its perch are certainly also well worth targeting!
Mark was fishing with his friend Oli, and the pair ventured out in his boat – The Purist – which enabled them to stay mobile. They enjoyed an action-packed trip, landing no shortage of perch to 3lb 4oz throughout the day, but once the sun dipped below the horizon the real specimens began to come out to play.
In a busy spell, both Mark and Oli landed a fish over 4lb, with Mark’s 4lb 7oz perch sharing the net with an impressive fish of 4lb 4oz for his friend.
Livebaits accounted for both the specimens, underlining their efficiency as a hookbait at picking out the bigger specimens from among a shoal.
Mark placed his faith in a sunken float paternoster rig, with his bait suspended 18ins off the bottom. It’s a technique he always likes to use once numbers of perch have been located in an area.
He presented his livebaits using a size 8 Drennan Barbel hook tied to a hooklink made from 8lb fluorocarbon.
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