There's a certain satisfaction to be had in landing your target species, but for even the most single-minded of anglers, banking something that was entirely unexpected can also be a total joy!
Each season we receive reports of the odd shock catch, even in the modern era of named fish and detailed stock levels , it’s still possible to be caught totally off-guard!
One such angler to catch more than he bargained for was Phil Dellman from Hampshire, who landed a giant 11lb 4oz brown trout while perch fishing! He was targeting a ‘riverised’ section of canal in Berkshire when the fish took a five-inch-long artificial worm.
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"I was going out for perch on lures. I'd decided a few days before that I wanted to try something a bit different from what I'd been using, as the perch were not really interested in what I'd been throwing at them in recent sessions," Phil told us.
"I was only landing a few wasps and jacks, and the better fish, if they did follow, would shy away at the last minute and disappear out of sight. I decided to give the NineSeven Tungsten X2 worm a try, which was mounted on a size 3/0 Rock LS hook."
"On the day, as soon as I pulled up in the car park, I went straight to the water’s edge to check the color of the water to help me decide which color to opt for."
"I opted for the X2 worm in Brink color, as I felt this was more natural than the pearly white option, but I could still see it down to about 2 to 2.5 feet," Phil added.
“I’d cast to the far bank andlet the worm bump over gravel and rocks."
“A split second later, I had the ‘bang’ of a proper bite, and the trout shot clean out of the water!"
"Five minutes later, with my adrenaline pumping, I had the fish in the net! I didn’t get my perch, but who’s complaining?”
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