Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Sweetwater-Impoundments-Brackish » Urban Redfin

Urban Redfin

By Tomas McIntosh

In the weird and whacky world of 2021, for many COVID 19 is limiting our movements and time to get out on the water. In these times, fishing is a brilliant way to look after your mental health. When we are limited to local areas, bringing your eyes closer to home can find you some absolute goldmines. I would guarantee that every suburb in your local government area has a pond, tucked away in a location that you have driven past a hundred times without batting an eyelid. These ponds, even in the newest of estates, seem to somehow hold fish and good numbers at that too! In this article I will outline a number of strategies to target redfin, a species that seems to find its way into these southern ponds and can grow to some truly impressive sizes.

Finding A New Pond

Finding a new pond in your local area can be tricky and especially so in newly developed areas as satellite mapping may not be up to date. Doing some research, before going out exploring, can help maximise your limited amount of exercise time. Google Earth is a vital tool in doing this. Google Earth has the ability to switch to 'satellite view' and this will give you a birds eye view of your local area, where even the smallest patches of water will be visible.

What To Look For

When I get to the pond for the first time, initially I approach it slowly. I am observing the layout of the lake, looking for key features and areas that will be holding fish. One of the main things I am checking on is the formation of the land around the lake, looking for areas with steep edges that will continue into the water. These areas indicate deeper water and the zones that hold fish when all else fails. Other features I am looking for are weed patches, rock to mud transitions and snags/timber. All of these areas will hold fish for their own reasons.

Do What Others Wont

Some lakes in metropolitan areas see a lot of fishing pressure. In these scenarios, doing things with your plastics that others won't, can be the key to catching some giant fish. This means fishing those areas that others aren't/can't as its to snaggy. This may involve crawling under trees to present your lure in a really snaggy area. I guarantee that these areas see significantly less fishing pressure and hold some of the biggest fish in the lake.

Another great structure to fish is shopping trolleys! Weird right! However, these little suckers are one of the snaggiest structures in the lake. If you can get your lure to manoeuvre around a shopping trolley unimpeded, then you are a really high chance of finding something special. One of my favourite places to fish on any lake is around bridges, board walks and jetties. These structures provide a nice shadow on the water, with plenty of cover over the fish's heads.

Putting your ZMan into the deepest, darkest corner of this structure is one of the best feelings, especially when you get a bite in an area where you can't even see your lure. To be able to do this, you need to be able to skip cast and that requires serious practice. When it comes to putting your plastic into these spots, I suggest running it weedless. This will mean that even in the worse structures imaginable, you can generally walk your lure right over the top.

Mimic The Bait

Everybody has heard the saying, 'Match the Hatch'. While its origins were born in fly fishing, in lure fishing it means to select a lure that mimics what the fish in your system are eating. In any system there will be small baitfish and a ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ is the best lure for this situation. One of the major baits that redfin like to target are shrimp, especially around shallow water weed. I have found that the smaller ZMan 2" GrubZ can mimic a swimming shrimp perfectly and slow rolling them around weed pockets is a deadly technique.

Finally, my all-time favourite bait to throw for urban redfin is a bait that mimics a yabbie. Yabbies seem to find their way into every single system and fish LOVE eating them. To match these, I throw a number of different baits, with the ZMan 2.5" TRD CrawZ, 4" Turbo CrawZ and 3" Baby Goat the pick of the bunch. Each of these baits has caught BIG urban redfin in different situations. I prefer to smother yabbie styles baits in Blue Crab or Crawfish Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent, as a bite stimulant goes a long way, especially when the bite slows down.

Reaction Baits

When the sun is high and the water temperature starts to rise, reaction baits that can be slow rolled can be one of the best baits for targeting redfin. This may be using a TT Lures RevlockZ underspin style jighead or a Jig Spinner, attached for additional flash in the bright sun and especially in dirty water. Other baits that work well are small, compact ChatterBait options that can be worked slowly along the bottom or along weed edges. The ChatterBait blade is designed to deflect off structure and they can trigger big bites regularly.

Now It's Your Turn!

As the likelihood of lockdowns being a thing of the future, it's time to turn your eyes to your local ponds in search of some urban redfin, or other species relevant to your location. Redfin perch are a brilliant species to get kids into fishing as they are easily accessible and found in most small ponds in major southern cities. They are an opportunistic feeder, eagerly chasing down baits hopped along the bottom or swum through the midwater columns. Gear up with some ZMan plastics, TT Lures Jigheads and Pro-Cure scent and go out chasing these eye-catching fish. Fish on!

Cheers, Tomas

Gearing Up:

ZMan 2" GrubZ
ZMan 2.5" GrubZ
ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ
ZMan 2.5" TRD CrawZ
ZMan ChatterBait
TT Lures HeadlockZ Jigheads
TT Lures RevlockZ Jigheads
TT Lures Jig Spinners
Pro-Cure Blue Crab Super Gel Scent
Pro-Cure Crawfish Super Gel Scent