Although the thought of a few extra hours in bed is appealing to most of us, Shane Close was up at 5:45am to head off in search of a few perch recently and was rewarded this immense 4lb 13oz perch.

Arriving at his chosen venue, Shane hadn’t had a touch on his normally reliable Craw lure, so switched to a Fish Arrow Flash J lure – a slimline rubber pattern, four-inches long, that imitates a baitfish. Straight away, he received indications and landed a few smaller fish to around half a pound.

Reaching a deeper area, his lure was firmly hit by what he knew to be a decent perch from the off. Giving big head shakes, the fish stayed deep, and he played it slowly before slipping the net under a deep bodied and long fish. On the scales, the fish went 4lb 13oz and is a new UK PB for Shane.

Well done Shane!