Giant Perch For Everyone

For a limited time, Viaduct Fishery’s match-only water has been opened to day-ticket anglers... and it’s full of huge perch!

- Tony Grigorjevs

YOUR face lights up as you spontaneously plan a trip to a prolific fishery that is showcased in a magazine only for your hopes to be dashed when you discover that access is restricted.

Waters holding huge specimen fish are often responsible for creating the ‘closed shop’ mentality and numerous commercials have also reserved pools solely for match anglers.

In fairness to the owners of such venues, almost all of them make sure pleasure anglers have plenty of other options where the action is just as good, but that won’t entirely dispel the feeling of discontent if your appetite had been whet by a particular lake you cannot fish.

Somerset’s Viaduct Fishery is made up of six beautifully landscaped waters, with Campbell Lake put aside just for competitions.

The 200lb-plus carp hauls are what many anglers are after but the lake has revealed a very special secret that pleasure anglers are able to enjoy for a limited period.

Garbolino and Spotted Fin’s Dan White enters numerous events on Campbell each year and while carp make up the mainstay of the action, there is another species that makes a surprise, yet very welcome, appearance.

“You can be catching lots of carp and then all of a sudden the float will dip and a giant perch will be in the net minutes later,” explained Dan.

“Fish of 2lb are caught in most matches, 3lb specimens are not out of the question and the biggest ever landed was over 4lb!”

With fewer match bookings in the depths of winter, fishery owner Steve Long has now temporarily opened up the water up to budding perch anglers on weekdays when no competitions are taking place.

To celebrate the decision, Improve Your Coarse Fishing caught up with Dan to find out just how special the untapped perch fishing is.

Avoiding the carp