A simple change of lure brought Guy Elson "the best perch session of his life" topped by this 4lb 6oz perch.
Below he shares the story...
“On a bright spring day I decided to have a session at a commercial fishery in Kent to try to catch one of its big perch. There had been torrential rain the day before, and when I arrived late morning I saw that this had caused the lake to colour up, leaving around 1ft of visibility.
“I’d planned to use a discreetly-coloured, soft plastic lure, worked along the bottom, but after seeing the water conditions I knew that something more vibrant would be called for. I reached for the loudest and brightest lure in the box – a Rattlin’ Salmo Hornet. As its name suggests, it has a rattle, which would hopefully create a commotion and alert the perch, and it was also a lovely vibrant yellow colour.
“After seeing a few baitfish top on the south side of the lake, I chose to start there. First cast I had a take, but didn’t connect, and when the same thing happened twice more in the next few casts, I realised something was up. I’d recently changed the hooks on the lure over to singles, so I decided to switch them back to small trebles.
“First cast back out I connected with a good fish, and after a few deep lunges and tense headshakes I netted a stunning 3lb 6oz perch.
“After taking a few photos, I cast back out, and shortly after struck into another fish. This one just stayed deep, battling away. When it surfaced, I came face to face with the biggest perch I’d ever seen. It weighed 4lb 6oz, and I was in total shock!
“Once I’d released my prize, it was straight back out with the lure again, and over the next few casts I had two more perch weighing 3lb 8oz and 3lb 15oz. I was at the gates of perch heaven. and the bright, rattling lure was the key!
“Just as soon as the action started, it finished, but in a manic one-hour spell I’d missed three takes, lost a fish, and landed four between 3lb 6oz and 4lb 6oz. I’m privileged to experience what can only be described as the best perch session of my life!”
