After a patchy start to his crucian campaign, Adam Perna was rewarded with a magnificent brace of four-pound crucians and a new personal best of 4lb 1oz.

After moving to a new swim after an unproductive session, Adam managed to get a couple of bites, at first a few crucians to just over three-pound, but as night fell he lifted into something a bit special. A bar of gold weighing 4lb 1oz, his target weight achieved and a new personal best set, he was lost for words.

As daylight broke, Adam received another take on the same rod and after a very spirited fight, another huge crucian gently slid over the net, this time at 4lb exactly, just an ounce off his new personal best.

“It was a once in a lifetime session. To catch not one, but two four pound crucians in a 12 hour session is unbelievable,” added Adam.

In the daylight hours, Adam chose to fish a spot between 25-30 yards out, only using the bait delivered by the feeder, recasting the feeders perhaps every 30-45 minutes to keep the swim topped up. This was something completely different to most of the other anglers who opted to fish methods over a bed of groundbait.

At night, Adam chose to fish much closer in, perhaps 10 yards out or less, a tactic that has worked for him in the past. This time fishing the method feeder over a scattering of bait consisting of pellet, corn and hemp, and recasting on the hour.

Adam’s rig consisted of a large Drennan In-Line Flat Method Feeder using Blakes’ Baits Nutter Method Mix moulded on, with a short 3” hooklink made up of Supplex Fluorocarbon in 4.4lb breaking strain.

“Supplex is very soft and supple compared to stiff fluorocarbon on the market, this means the rig does not spring away from the feeder once the method mix has broken down, leaving your hookbait in the prime spot for a bite,”added Adam.

Using a single hair-rigged fake yellow caster as a hookbait during the day meant it stood out against the dark method mix helped get a few extra pick-ups when the going was tough. But during the night Adam opted for a different hookbait, a small piece of cork with Blakes’ Baits Nutmix Paste wrapped around it to create a critically balanced bait, with plenty of attraction.

To top his red-letter session off, Adam also managed to sneak out 3 carp, all into double figures one being a new personal best of 23lb!