The weather around Tamworth has been warming up a little but the last time I was able to wet a line, it was still a bit cool and the fish were a bit quiet.

They weren't really keen on the lures but were much more fond of worms. The golden perch were a bit hard to entice but I certainly got plenty of follow-ups on the lures.

When the weather is cooler, which it still can be at times this month, I like to use a different type of retrieve.

I crank the lure down to its working depth, then stop it for around three seconds. Then I give my rod a few twitches and retrieve the lure for a few metres, stop and twitch again and so on.

I have found that his retrieve works when the fish are not as active. When they are not as aggressive, goldens are notorious for following the lure quite a distance.

When you pause the lure, the fish get really close and when the lure twitches they think their prey is going to take off so their natural instinct is to bite.

Over the past few months we have had a few nice showers that have lifted the water levels.

When there has been a bit of a fresh in the river I like to target just above and below the rapids because when the river is rising the fish like to swim upstream and this usually makes them tired and hungry.

I went fishing the other day and I targeted the rapids for some nice golden yellowbelly. I was using a Live Fibre rod and a TiCA reel and my lures were the Hydro Bug and Bassman spinnerbaits in custom colours.

It was about lunchtime and I was flicking some lures around. I hadn't had much success in the morning, only a few follows and bumps. so I tried the slow twitching technique and within a few casts I landed a nice fat yellow belly.

I used this technique quite a bit that day and on most attempts got at least a bump or a follow. If you are having a quiet time of it I recommend this technique.

The author with a very fat golden perch caught on a Hydro Bug.