HOME »
freshwater »
redfin
» Redfin Perch Hunting
Redfin Perch Hunting
By Angus James
Excitement had been building all week as it was almost time to go fishing with my old man! With almost perfect conditions forecast, my game plan was to hit up one of my favourites lakes in Victoria in search of a few perch (redfin). The beautiful Lake Fyans is situated right at the foothills of the magnificent Grampians Mountains. I was bringing my dad along on the adventure, to have a red hot crack at getting him onto a PB redfin on lure! Feeling confident we ventured off.
We arrived at the boat ramp before first light and the morning was silent and calm, with only the sound of a magpie choir singing gently in the trees. After a successful stealthy boat launch, we slowly cruised up the little creek lined with gumtrees that eventually enters into the picturesque Lake Fyans.
As the sun started to rise and the fog slowly started to dissipate. I decided to push over to the far side of the lake. Not only was this section of the lake full of submerged timber, it also has a thick weed edge that would be the perfect place for a few perch (redfin) to be ambushing some breakfast! This area also looked very appealing to me because this was the first section of the lake that the sun would be shining on, creating that slightly warmer water temperature.
We deployed the electric motor and made our way into the perfect position. Wanting to work the bottom we had tied on the ZMan 2.5" TRD CrawZ, rigged on TT Lures NedlockZ jighead, the Ned Rig. These are the perfect presentation for redfin because they look just like a yabbie, especially with the Ned Rig configuration, which really brings them to life.
It wasn't long before I had my first bite. I almost said fish on, before the weight of the fish had disappeared. I had pulled the hook, however I was excited because I knew they were around. With both of us feeling we had made the right choice of spot, we kept prospecting the area and it wasn't long before I had set the hook into my first fish for the day, a nice healthy Redfin. After that they just kept coming... we had found them! I managed to catch a few really nice mid to high 30s specimens in-between the small ones. Dad was having plenty of fun catching them also, however he still hadn't managed to find that PB fish.
The sun was well and truly up and the sky was blue. Our hot bite period had stopped producing. It was almost time to make our way back home, when we decided to give it a few more casts at a little patch on the way back to the ramp. Being such a sunny day, I decided to hand dad a Mepps inline spinner. I chose this presentation because it would create a lot of shine through the water column, reflecting the bright sun.
He made a cast in between two submerged logs and as the Mepps inline spinner flashed its way through the middle BANG! The 6lb Platypus braid started peeling off the little Okuma Helios spinning reel and it was game on! We both knew he had a good one on. After an adrenalin filled fight we managed to get the fish in the boat. Mission complete, he had his PB redfin. It was 43cm of Lake Fyans English perch and he was stoked!
This was a great fishing trip, filled with fun, adventure and a PB to top it all off. Having a solid game plan and mixing things up by utilising different techniques throughout the day had produced the results. Can't wait to do it all again.
Fish On!