With footy season over for another year there are no excuses not to get out onto the water and chase golden perch around Shepparton.

September was a good month in regards to the goldens, with reports of good-sized specimens being caught in both the Goulburn and Broken rivers. This is great because over the past three years they have been very patchy. I think this spring will be one of the best for a long time.

Bait fishing with smaller yabbies or big scrubworms has been a very effective technique throughout September, and with the water warming up week by week this method of fishing will be even more successful in October and November.

Kialla Lakes has been very quiet. I have only caught a couple of fish there lately, which is not normal for the lake. I’m sure with some warmer weather it should start to fire again in October.

The water will be warming up and shrimp will be starting to move, which means get your nets in because live shrimp are dynamite bait for goldens over spring.

The Broken River has got some great banks to throw a shrimp net in for a hour or two, but make sure you only take enough for a day’s fishing – no need to be greedy.

Sitting on a bank half asleep bait fishing is not for everyone though. Fishing from the bank with lures is also a fine way to land some nice golden perch. I tend to go for spinnerbaits off the bank as they are very hard to get snagged. It can be a very expensive day if you loose three or four lures.

The Broken River between the Archer Street Bridge and the Melbourne Road Bridge is easy to access and there are plenty of logs and weedy banks to cast at.

If you are fishing out of a boat in the Goulburn River, try downstream of the boat ramp and troll small Codgers in a dark colour. If casting and retrieving I would go straight for a Jackal lure. They are not the cheapest lures on the shelf but they work really well. Bassman Mumblers are a very good lure to use too.

Get out fishing as it’s going to be a ripper of a month!