Sometimes when you go fishing, everything falls into place and you experience one of those sessions you will never forget. Very often, these outings come about when you are fishing alone, but when you get to enjoy them with your angling friends, it makes them just that bit sweeter.
Drennan's Mike Davidson dropped onto the Thames with a good friend recently, and the results were simply staggering, in a session that saw them both break their long standing perch PB's.
“I managed to get afloat on the Thames for the first time in months, and the plan was to return to an area that, almost a year to the day ago, I’d enjoyed a great perch session.
“I was fishing with my good friend Paul Harris Senior and had been thinking about trotting down to the same boat as before and catching a few fish.
“The river was in perfect condition, with recent rain freshening things up on a calm and autumnal morning.
“As we motored to the spot, we were both feeling confident, however as we approached the swim and saw it was choked with weed, that confidence quickly dropped.
HERE ARE SOME EXCELLENT TIPS TO HELP YOU BANK A BIG RIVER PERCH.
“After 10 minutes fishing with no response, we decided to drop another 100 yards downstream to a clearer area.
“It’s a spot I’d never caught anything from and certainly wasn’t where I’d envisaged fishing, but what followed were 45 minutes of carnage!
“Paul had a bite on his first trot down with a lobworm which unfortunately resulted in a lost fish.
“After that we went toe to toe, getting bites every put in and, more often than not, playing huge perch at the same time.
“We put our fish in a keepnet each, and, amidst the chaos, I had no real idea of the enormity of what I was putting in there!
“After around eight fish each, bites dried up, and we decided to analyse what we had caught.
“I had caught eight, all of which were over 3lb, but I could see that two of them stood out.
“For 16 years my PB has stood at 4lb 5oz, and my mind was blown when these two biggest broke that, weighing 4lb 12oz and 4lb 13oz! These were followed by specimens of 4lb 4oz and 3lb 14oz, whilst I released the remaining four ‘smaller’ ones.
“Paul landed a smaller stamp of fish, with his biggest was a 4lb 4oz specimen and a river PB for him.
“We did try for another few hours on other spots but didn’t manage a bite. However, neither of us were bothered. It was a great morning’s fishing that we will live long in the memory.”
