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Redfin Perch Fishing
By Angus James
When my wife and myself decided to make the tree change and move down to Victoria, all the way from tropical North Queensland, I really started to get very excited as I would be moving back to my old stomping grounds and be able to fish the country I had explored as a young kid. I was stoked to begin making plans for a favourite species of fish that gave me so much joy as a young fella. Even though I was leaving behind cool species, such as jungle perch and mangrove jack, I was moving to the southern part of the country to tangle with the mighty redfin!
Growing up down this way, I still remember clear to this day the first fish I ever caught on a lure was a stunning 35cm redfin. I was so excited to land my first fish that I bolted all the way home to show off my prized catch to my family and friends. It was one of my favourite memories as a youngster and I still often get a similar feeling when setting the hooks on a fish today. That's why these fish have such a special place in my fishing. They gave me the spark at a very young age to be passionate angler, addicted to fishing!
English perch are actually an introduced species that were brought over to Victoria in the 1860s. It's fair to say they have adapted very well in the land down under. Although considered a noxious species, these stunning looking fish have gained a lot of respect from anglers over the years. They have created many great memories for young children, allowing them to catch their first ever fish and making long lasting memories of course for the diehard fishermen and fisherwomen that enjoy hunting down and targeting the XL models that are lurking around the waterways!
Redfin are the perfect species to introduce young kids to because, when juvenile, they will school up in big numbers and will be super aggressive towards most artificial presentations and bait offerings that are available. Often, catching cricket scores of fish will keep everyone entertained for hours. They will hit just about everything that is thrown at them, making for some exciting fishing. Even the little ones fight hard and can pull some line off the spool.
Not only do redfin look absolutely fantastic, with their vibrant red fins and dark bands that almost look artistically air brushed on, they are actually one of the best tasting freshwater fish that you can eat. Most locals call them an inland whiting because of their buttery white fillets that taste about as good as a fish can. Apart from looking and tasting amazing, English perch are a true champion when it comes to the lure game. Redfin perch can be targeted all year round on large variety of artificial presentations.
It pays to carry a wide selection of lures when hunting redfin. Using small soft plastic curl tails, such as the ZMan 2.5" GrubZ, and baitfish profiles, like the ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ is an ideal start in terms of what to flick around. Often to spice things up I will attach a TT Lures Jig Spinner to these lively tail active plastics to add flash and vibration and attract the fish's attention. During the summer months the ZMan 2.5" TRD CrawZ, rigged on a TT Lures NedlockZ jighead, is absolute redfin candy as they are the perfect yabby presentation. The NedlockZ encourages the claws on the TRD CrawZ to stand up when resting on the bottom, due the well-designed mushroom jighead design and the natural buoyancy of ZMan's Proprietary 10X Tough Elaztech material.
Now I love catching any size redfin but when you feel that big 40cm+ model hit your lure, it sure is a sweet, adrenalin filled moment! My favourite go-to presentation for hunting XL redfin is the TT Lures Vortex Spinnebait. I find this works so well because it is basically weedless, allowing me to work it through heavy cover and entice that big perch to strike. The flash and vibration creates a lot of movement in the water column, drawing in fish form far and wide.
When prospecting areas I will generally put in a few casts into the likely looking spots, often mixing up my retrieve speed as I'm doing so. Hunting the big ones can be challenging at times, however mixing things up until you crack the code is the way to go. I have caught good fish at all times of the day, however I have had most of my success finding the big ones in the low light conditions. Early morning, afternoon and on overcast days is when the big ones come out to hunt.
Gearing up for Redfin is all about finesse. I like using spin combos, with rods in the 1-3kg or 2-4kg range and reels around the 1000-2500 size. My favourite combo is an Okuma LRF spin rod, equipped with an Okuma Epixor XT reel. I load this up with Platypus braid around 6lb and run a 6lb-8lb Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader. This gives me the ability to cast my lures long and accurate, into the sweet spots. The braid also gives me direct contact with my presentations, so that I can feeling everything that's happening at the pointy end of the business.
My biggest English perch so far is 49cm and my goal for 2021 is to crack the magic 50cm mark. Big redfin hunting is an addiction and I can't wait to share it with you all when it happens!
Bring it on!
Angus