Around the Mildura region the fishing has been red hot. Golden perch have been providing much enjoyment for local anglers, especially lure fishers around the region.

The golden perch seem to be schooling up in large schools of 30-40 fish around solid old structure usually found submerged at this time of the year. Golden perch have been going into feeding frenzies in these areas with reports of triple hook-ups on lures being cast into likely looking spots with the correct retrieval technique for the day.

The hardest part about these areas is finding the fish. Then it’s staying on the spot and in the hit zone while your lure is in the water. Anglers have found these areas and managed to situate the boat in the correct location, so every cast that hits the timber has produced solid numbers of golden perch and fish every single cast for short half-hour bursts. Many anglers started using extremely light gear to catch these fish on lures, which made it challenging to pull them away from timber. This is extremely good fun and rewarding.

Local angler Gareth Collinson was interviewed about the current fishing situation and he said, “Jackall TN60 and 70s have seemed to have work the best with a very slow retrieve to nearly the point where you can not reel any slower. Hit the snag every cast and you will be smashed by a hungry golden perch.”

Gareth Collinson tried many varieties of lures on large timber. If trolling was more your thing than casting, small Oar-Gees are also a favourite for the golden perch. It’s definitely worth packing up the boat and heading out for a cast to get your rod bent.