Albury/Wodonga

Springtime gold – the basics

ALBURY/WODONGA Connor Heir

October is here and the warmer days are quickly becoming more frequent. This causes water temperatures to rise, which is a key element in getting impoundments firing.

With now being a great time to be on the water, for this month I thought I’d put together a guide on how to get started on catching golden perch for anyone who may be new to the sport, or for anyone wanting to gain further NUMBER 1: BLADE

While blades can be used in rivers, they are more commonly used in impoundments. These lures work really well casting into the banks from boat, and can be used on foot also.

Most blades come rigged with a lure clip on the top of the lure, and you’ll notice a few different holes. These holes are for the clip to clip into, and each hole will give the lure slightly different vibrations in the water. Blades can also be jigged on the bottom, or retrieved vertically up alongside structure, such aren’t the best. Again, much like a blade they can be cast at banks from a boat, or land-based casting as well. These lures work really well just hopping them off the bottom; simply cast the lure out and let it sink to the bottom, lift your rod between 45° and 90°, let the lure sink again and retrieve the slack.

The make of soft vibe in the photo is a Jackall Transam 95. NUMBER 3:

LIPLESS CRANKBAIT

Lipless crankbaits are probably the most well-known lure type for golden perch. There are stacks of brands and styles on the market, and the one pictured is a Jackall TN60.

These lures can be cast the same as blades and soft vibes. The advantage to most lipless crankbaits is their internal rattle, which gets the fish’s attention. While a loud rattle isn’t always the best option, it can be exactly what the fish want. It’s all about playing around with lures to see what the fish prefer on the day. There are heaps of different sounding rattles out there, and you can also get lipless crankbaits that are silent. All styles definitely do have their purpose, and as you begin to fish more you’ll develop your own preferences. The Jackall TN60 range in the ‘Iyoken’ sound is my personal favourite. NUMBER 4: FOOTBALL JIG

These guys in my opinion are super underrated in the golden perch fishing world. These lures are really popular on bass in the USA, and there are so many different plastics/ teasers you can rig on them to make them more desirable.

Casting these lures can be hard to get used to; they don’t really have an action unless you properly work them. These lures come in handy in places where weed is thick on the bottom. A lot of brands that make these lures will include a weed hook guard on the front. The one in the image I have trimmed down, but it did come with one rigged. Often it is a wise choice to leave the weed guard on if you are fishing a place that is thick with weed, but sometimes the weed guard can reduce the hook-up rate, hence is why I have trimmed the one in the image.

You work football jigs in a similar way to the other lures mentioned, but try to keep them on the bottom as much as possible, putting in small twitches to imitate crustaceans.

Another similar lure to these is a chatterbait, which comes rigged with a metal bib to the front of the lure that gives it a vibrating action when retrieved.

The jig in the photo is a Molix Kento jig. NUMBER 5:

HARDBODY LURE

Out of the lot, the humble old hardbody lure is probably the easiest to use. Either cast or trolled, the action starts the second you start retrieving. You don’t really have to do a lot other than put in the occasional pause or dart.

Hardbody lures come in

You don’t always need a boat to catch golden perch. Spawning golden perch take to the banks, and often it only takes short casts to find them at this time of year.

knowledge on catching these awesome fish.

The first question that is often asked is: ‘Where can I go to catch a golden perch?’ To answer that question, we are pretty spoiled for choice living in the Albury/Wodonga area for locations to go target golden perch. Both Lake Hume, and the Murray River below Lake Hume are good starting points to target this species. These fish can be found anywhere throughout Lake Hume, and in the river as well. There are elements to look out for, both in Lake Hume and the river, which I will go into more detail further on.

The second question that is often asked is ‘what tackle do I need?’ This is a super important question, because the right gear can often be the key to getting these fish to bite. Golden perch can be super stubborn at times, and very finicky, so attention to detail and being prepared is quite important.

A spin reel combo is usually a good choice for anyone getting started. A light rod with a 2500-sized spin reel is a good all-round choice.

For fishing line, I’d recommend 8lb braid with a 10lb leader if you’re just starting out. True, you can definitely go lighter or heavier if you feel more confident, but generally 8-10lb is a great starting point.

Now comes lure choice. For many anglers, this is where the fun starts! as trees. Blades can often be a really good lure choice when fish are finicky.

The make of blade in the photo on this page is an Ecogear ZX35.

NUMBER 2: SOFT VIBE

This lure style is probably my favourite to cast in the impoundments. They’re super easy to use, and there are heaps of different brands on the market. I don’t really have a favourite brand for these lures, but as a personal preference I do like anything that is around 20g in weight. These lures sink quickly, and are easy to cast even when wind conditions a huge range of brands and sizes. During cod season closure, I’d recommend not using any hardbody lures over 65-70mm in length, to avoid catching a cod.

Hardbody lures are such a good lure to use, especially in rivers because of their snag resistance. If you hit a snag with a hardbody, simply give it a pause, allowing the lure to float up, then keep retrieving.

These lures are commonly used on the troll in impoundments, and this technique has been used for decades, still to this day being a very effective technique. Many anglers will troll hardbody lures until they come across a school of golden perch, and then once the school is found they will begin casting other lures.

The hardbody in the photo is a Kuttafurra Mudhoney (65mm).

NUMBER 6: SOFT PLASTIC

Rigged on a jighead, soft plastics are a very effective lure to use on golden perch when they are schooled up on structure, in particular trees. The technique is so simple: pull up at a tree, let the lure sink to the bottom, and slowly vertically retrieve the lure up alongside the tree. This technique is easy to do, and it’s a really popular one to get kids involved with. The hit you get is awesome, and it’s a really cheap way of fishing. It’s not always the most exciting technique as it can get repetitive, but it works very well.

The soft plastic pictured is a ZMan 3” Curl Tail Grub rigged on a 1/4oz Berkley Dam Buster jighead. NUMBER 7: BEETLE SPIN

Beetle spins are a super popular lure for bass fishers, but they can also be very effective on golden perch. You can fish these vertically like a standard plastic rigged on a jighead, or you can fish these like you would a spinnerbait. Cast it at a bank, let it sink and just slowly retrieve it. Sometimes that little added bit of flash can really turn the fishing on. You are able to find beetle spin clips from most good tackle stores.

The brand of beetle spin in the photo is unknown.

FINDING THE FISH

Now with having all the gear sorted, you need to know what to look for. To keep it simple, just look for any life in the water. If there are baitfish around, that’s usually a really good starting point.

Depth also plays a huge part in fishing for these fish. A lot of the time they aren’t sitting on the bottom, so it pays to vary your retrieve rate. In rivers, looking for eddies is a great place to find golden perch. They will position themselves in the current in search of food.

The biggest hint with fishing for golden perch is to continue moving until you find a school of them. They will often stack up in random areas, so don’t be afraid to cast everywhere. They can be very surprising fish! Time spent on the water really helps. The more time and effort you put in, the greater your chances of being rewarded.

Again, I will mention that during the cod season closure, it’s important to reduce your chance of catching a cod. Please stick to smaller gear, and don’t fish spots that are likely to hold cod. If a by-catch of a cod is caught, if possible try to keep it in the water and remove the hooks for a safe release.

Best of luck, and tight lines!

The author’s top lure choices for golden perch.

A Lake Hume golden perch taken while fishing trees vertically with a soft plastic rigged with a beetle spin.