On the trail of monster perch - Dean Macey

When your luck is in and you’re on a roll, it seems a waste not to make hay while the sun shines.

So, after catching a lifetime's worth of massive chub in just 24 hours, I thought I would try my hand at my other long-awaited target, a 4lb-plus perch, before filming the first instalment of my new online video series, Dean's Diary.

My first session was good in some ways and bad in others. You see, when targeting such colossal creatures, there seems to be loads of stories flying around about the one that got away or the monster that gets seems yet never caught, and you could be forever chasing you tail if you don't pick your venues carefully.

So, when I lost a massive perch that was around the sort of size that I am after on my first visit, I was understandably gutted, yet pleased to know that my desired fish lived there.

My second visit, which was only a few days ago, was a little more successful. No monsters were seen or caught but three fish around the 2lb mark kept me on the edge of my seat throughout my short session and gagging to get back.

Knowing your quarry is also very important and, with perch, they are very light sensitive, so all my sessions thus far have been short afternoon stints. I don't doubt that big perch get caught right through the day, and I've had the odd one myself, but I would rather be there fishing as well as possible through the last few hours of daylight when I know they are feeding, thus giving me a much better chance of a result.

And if I am lucky enough to catch a second target fish in the same winter then I'm sure you'll all hear my screams across the UK before you read it here!