Reigning Drennan Cup Champion Jamie Cartwright from Northampton has been on the trail of big perch from one of his local rivers.

Arriving at dawn for a short morning session, Jamie knew it was going to be a hard day with the thermometer in his car reading -3ºC!

Jamie explains how the day unfolded: “I was pleasantly surprised when a small perch of about a pound picked up my link legered lobworm after half an hour’s fishing, so I was fairly optimistic of more action. After a short while, I had a slightly larger fish, getting on for 2lb followed by another around 3lb.

“My next bite was a very gentle succession of plucks and a speculative strike met with solid resistance. After a good scrap, a really deep flanked fish with a mouth like a bucket popped up on the surface and rolled into my waiting net. I was really excited by the size of this fish and thinking I could be looking at a personal best!

“I shouted to Gareth Goldson, who was just downstream, as we’d met up for a pre-Christmas jolly. We were both convinced it would be around 4lb 8oz, but on the scales it proved a little too optimistic, but at a weight of 4lb exactly I could hardly be disappointed. On closer inspection, the fish had quite an empty belly and will no doubt be a lot bigger towards the back end of the season. I managed another smaller fish before packing away at lunchtime, very happy with my morning’s fishing.

“I returned with another friend the following morning to see if I could replicate the results of the previous day. Unfortunately, despite the conditions being far better, (or so we thought) we both really struggled. The wind was really gusting strongly so we tucked ourselves away in the trees to shelter from the wind.

“We had to wait all day for the perch to feed but typically when it’s bitterly cold the perch finally fed just as the last rays of light were disappearing. I managed a nice perch of 3lb 2oz before the light went completely, which saved the day really, but to be honest I was still buzzing about the result from the previous day.”

Jamie’s setup consisted of a 12ft Series 7 Specialist Avon/Quiver 1.25lb Rod coupled with an FD4000 reel. The rod is perfect for fishing small live baits with the Avon top or for link legering lobworms using the quivertip section.