One of the best things about angling is that, if you’re in the right place at the right time, anyone can catch the fish of a lifetime... and six-year-old Leo Deprieelle certainly proved that with this phenomenal 5lb 1oz perch!
Each weekend, his dad John takes him and his older brother, Dylan, fishing, and predators are their favourite winter target. Having heard of a huge perch swimming around in Devon’s Clawford Lakes, the trio decided to pay a visit.
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“I was expecting to find a small pond, but the water looked harder than I expected,” John revealed.
“It’s filled with features, which made location tricky, but with two small kids in tow, we had to fish the safest-looking bank.
“It was an area that didn’t look too good, but we divided tactics between the pole, float rod
and tip rod, using worm, maggot and prawn baits.”
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The day started slowly, with only a few roach to show for their efforts, before Leo moved swim to where a tree had recently fallen into the lake.
“He was using a whole prawn hookbait, which he’d glugged for added attraction, alongside a feeder packed with chopped prawns and worms,” John said.
“He sat and catapulted maggots over the top, and not once, but twice, he faked that he had caught the big perch!
“Talk about the boy who cried wolf, and after his third shout I laughed until I heard his clutch singing! I assumed it was a small carp, only for a big perch to surface before diving back down again. At the second attempt it was in the net, and instantly I knew what he’d caught.”
After making a quick call to the fishery manager, the perch was weighed on two sets of scales, one of which read 5lb 2oz, the other 5lb 1oz, so they settled on the lower figure.
“It’s not bad for a six-year-old!” John joked.
“It makes me happy to see the passion a little person can have. I’m a very proud dad.”
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