Matthew Fernandez managed to fit in a perch session over the Christmas break and was rewarded with a new personal best of 3lb 4oz.

Arriving at his chosen commercial, Matthew’s swim choice was very limited as the banks were lined with carp anglers taking advantage of the mild weather. Luckily a swim that previously produced for him was free and without hesitation he made his way around the lake.

“My setup for commercial perching consists of two Series 7 12ft 1 1/4 specialist Avon/Quiver rods, matched with small fixed spool reels loaded with 6lb Feeder & Method Mono. A simple low resistance running rig with a 13in Supplex Fluorocarbon hooklink and a size 5 hook completes the setup,” explained Matthew.

With each rig baited with a king prawn, he lowered them into place just down the marginal shelf and fed over the top every few minutes with half a pouch of maggots.

“It was a slow day with two aborted takes first thing, but then at dusk I received a very steady rise on the bobbin on my left-hand rod. I closed the bail arm and struck into what felt like a decent fish. After a very spirited fight, the perch surfaced and was quickly scooped up. The needle spun round to 3lb 4oz, a new personal best and a very welcome fish after such a hard day.”