Not too many native fish fans get overly excited when September rolls around; it signifies the closing of the Murray cod season and for many fishos the gear will be put away until Summer comes around.

But September also marks the start to the unofficial golden perch season and with yellas starting to show here and there over the past few weeks, we are on track for a good start to Spring.

Keep in mind that when targeting early season goldens you need to make adjustments to your technique and take a more finesse approach. Think trout and bream techniques as opposed to the Murray cod techniques we have become so used over the Winter.

Small hardbodies, soft plastics and compact, low-profile spinnerbaits in natural or dark colours are the standouts early in the yella season. Remember fish them slowly and tight to structure.

Many anglers overlook the importance of water temperature when chasing goldens in rivers and impoundments. Keep an eye on your sounder and search out the areas where the water is warmer; even 1°-2° can be the difference between active and shut-down fish.

Lake Eucumbene has been up and down over the past month and has disappointed quite a few anglers.

That isn’t to say that fish weren’t being caught; it just wasn’t as easy as it had been for the past two years.

But things have started to pick up over the past week or so and those who are persistent and have a variety of options up their sleeves are the ones who are experiencing success.

Things will pick as we move deeper into September.

Spring is by far the most productive season on Lake Eucumbene, so expect big things in the coming months.

Those fish that have been caught have mainly come from shore-based methods, with bait fishing the big standout. Scrub worms have been the most consistent producers, with browns well and truly outnumbering the rainbows.

This lack of rainbows has meant that PowerBait has not been performing with its usual zing, but we can expect this to change as the water starts to warm and the rainbows begin to feed heavily.

Soft plastics fished slowly along the bottom have been the best lures.

This method can be done most effectively from the shore and it’s a simple matter of slowly twitching your plastic along the bed of the lake.

Make sure you let the lure sit motionless on the bottom for a good 3-5 seconds before each twitch.

Black and gold paddletail plastics are great for this form of fishing.

Keep in mind that the fish are there to be caught, but you need to adapt to the conditions you’re presented with each day and when things aren’t working, make a change in technique or location.

It’s always good practice to have a few new techniques that you can implement when the going gets tough.

I have found that most of the techniques that are used in the bream tournament circuit fit in nicely with our freshwater salmonids.

With only a month left until the rivers and streams reopen, and with the snow season all but over, September is a pretty quiet month in most towns of the Snowy Mountains and it sets the scene for some quality, uninterrupted fishing sessions.