A day-ticket fishery has produced a perch of-a-lifetime weighing 4lb 12oz for Paul Garner.

Thames Water’s Farmoor Reservoir is known to be a tough nut to crack but Angling Times columnist Paul Garner more than proved the predator potential of this vast 400-acre fishery that’s split into two lakes known as No 1 and No2.

Paul Garner has been targeting the venue for several years now and his persistence finally paid off when he spotted a group of fish sitting beneath a shoal of fry ‘No 1’.

The Nash-backed specialist clipped on a Berkley Pulse Shad in Firetiger and made a cast in the direction of the fish and after letting the lure hit the deck started a slow retrieve and the new personal best snatched his bait.

“Most of the time the perch are only seen when the odd big fish is washed up dead, but a fish of 4lb 12oz was caught from the no.2 reservoir last year by one of the wardens, so I had to keep trying,” said Paul.

“The last time I came close to catching a perch,  in fact the last time I saw any on my echo sounder, was three years ago.

“So you can imagine what a surprise this fish was as I was expecting a trout to pop up by the side of the bottom, but was blow-away when a massive perch came up instead…What a fish!”