Spring is always a time of plenty. Plenty of warm weather, plenty of grass to cut and with the rising water temperature, plenty of fish to catch.

Golden perch have been very active in the Murray River on bait and with most catchments still close to full, the river continues to run high.

Anglers fishing scrub worms and small yabbies in the backwaters out of the main flow are catching good numbers of perch.

These fish must have had a very successful breed somewhere in the last season or so because the undersized models getting caught are tenfold those of size.

For all that’s been lost, it seems the golden perch recruitment has been very successful and we can look forward to excellent angling for this species over the next few seasons.

Carp, too, are about in huge numbers and the humble eel-tailed catfish seems to be making a bit of a comeback, with numerous reports in most areas.

Lure fishing has been a little slow along the Murray but with high, dirty water that’s only to be expected.

Once the river starts to settle and drop, the lure fishing will improve and anglers casting vibes and other golden perch presentations will be in the hunt.

Until then, drowning a few worms in the shade of a giant rivergum should see you right for plenty of action and perhaps a feed.

Back upstream around Swan Hill, the Little Murray has also been fishing well for golden perch with fish to 2kg and more mixed with a few carp and redfin.

Anglers are also doing well along the Murray in this area with several good reports of golden perch caught on scrub worms.

It’s good to hear of fish being caught locally after the blackwater and the rumoured catch and release of several out-of-season cod on bait are encouraging signs indeed for the coming season.

In the Kerang Lake system, anglers are cashing in on a tremendous explosion of redfin in the wake of the floods. Blades are the new fad for these fish as diehard spinner fanatics accept these new-fangled lures as the undisputed king of the lakes.

On a recent trip to Lake Boga we saw almost a fish a cast on the small blades as the redfin queued en masse. We landed upwards of 60 in a few short hours and the gold X-Ray 40 was the standout model.

Golden perch, too, are snapping them up and when things are a little slower, a lightly weighted soft plastic is hard to beat.

Bait fishers are doing very well on worms, shrimp, small yabbies and whitebait.

Remember, if you are fishing the lakes or the Little Murray you will require a Victorian fishing permit. In the Murray River itself you will require a NSW permit, both of which can be obtained at Swan Hill or Kerang at the local tackle shops, as can the best up-to-date info.

Remembering that the river and lake flows can change daily, it’s good to have on-the-spot information because what was hot one week can be cold the next.

But there is always one thing you can be sure of with Spring fishing and that is that with so many options close by, the bite is bound to be warm somewhere.