British perch record set to be smashed?

By Andy Stabler

A Bridlington father and son recently had the catch of their lives when they landed two huge perch – one just three ounces short of the British record.
Geoff Yelland, 57, could not believe his luck when fishing at Wansford Trout and Coarse Pond and he hooked into a 5lb 6oz specimen, just short of the record.
Not to be outdone, his son John, caught a whopper just short of 5lb at the same venue 13 days later, and both fish were witnessed and weighed on accurate scales.
Geoff, of Bempton Gardens, said: “I was supposed to be doing a fencing job for a neighbour, but it had been raining the day before and the ground was wet so I decided to go fishing, and I’m glad I did.

“It has always been my ambition to get a perch of 4lb but to be just three ounces short of the record is incredible.

“You can bet your life there’s a record perch in there and if not this year I am sure it will go eventually.

“It’s a great pond, well maintained with quality fish and I will certainly be going back for the record.
“I have also won fish of the week in Angler’s Mail. There were three above 5lb featured, but mine was the biggest and the other two came from the Great Ouse.”
Geoff, who caught the beauty last month on double red maggot fishing close to the margins in peg 28 on the pole, is treasurer of Bridlington’s Field Sports Fishing Club.
John, 35, of Marshall Avenue, also caught his 4lb 11oz fish in the margin and with the wind in his face he had already caught a carp of 8lb on maggot, and after his dad had given him a lob worm to add to a single red maggot he caught what he thought was another carp, only to land the large stripy.

These two fish smash the previous pond perch record of 4lb 2oz which was caught last year at Wansford fishery, which is run by Kevin Jeffrey and Carl Greenlaw.
Kevin told the Free Press: “It’s nice to know there are fish close to the record in there. But we have done a lot of work on the pond, and there are a lot of big fish in it.”
Although this area is not known for record-threatening fish, it just shows what is on your doorstep.
For more details on a pond that might yield the next record perch, contact Kevin on 01377 240329 or 07887662796.