Golden perch have been providing tight lines for many local anglers targeting them. Recent catches along the Murray River around the Mildura region have proven that there has been no slowing up for golden perch fishing leading into the cooler months.

Both lure and bait fishers have been keeping busy on the water recently tackling good numbers of solid golden perch in a session. This is a good sign and has proven that the species weren’t affected as severely as the Murray Cod throughout the natural black water event. Going out for a troll or cast for a couple hours before dark and picking up three or four solid perch in a couple hours would not be unusual to hear at present.

The areas that consist of snags, rocks, clay banks, uneven bottom and structure will be the areas to target most. Both casting and trolling have been very productive in these areas using a 50-80mm range of hardbodies will work a treat on golden perch. Casting and retrieving can also be a very productive method to put you onto a golden perch.

Cast around snaggy and rocky areas where you can bounce your lures off submerged timber and reefs where the perch will be sitting ready to pounce. Using your depth sounder to find the areas will become very useful and once you have found a good stretch of overlaying timber or rocky reefs, even if it is only 50-100m, troll it several times. This should entice a hit. If not, move to the next stretch to work it.

Sometimes you can pick a good trolling run by looking at the bank and trying to visualise how the bank continues to go under the water. Look for banks that are steep, rocky and snaggy for a good start. Though that might sound easy, sometimes it’s hard to find a good run. It can be hard to predict what is underneath.

Running a good depth sounder over areas that tickle your fancy will soon let you know if it is fishable or not. Purely using a depth sounder to find submerged logs and casting at these produced these solid fish in less than an hour.

With plenty of fish being caught, don’t let the cold weather keep you off the water.