The weather of the Mildura region in Spring time truly is wonderful.

The temperatures are just right for any outdoor activity. It is however a bit of a windy city over spring and we all know the wind is the angler’s foe! That said, the region and the Murray river offer endless opportunities. Even on the worst of days it’s not too hard to find a sheltered spot to soak a bait of cast or troll a lure on the Murray River.

As expected, the local ‘golden run’ has commenced. There have been some excellent captures of quality fish, however due to fluctuating water levels and an unfortunate cold snap of weather we’re yet to see the best of them. It will come however, then look out!

Without doubt I’m a creature of habit. Despite the aforementioned endless fishing opportunities of the region I continually find myself back around Curlwaa, fishing around the Abbottsford Bridge.

In my most recent outing Wade Vincent and I had a cracking afternoon in fairly trying (windy) conditions. Trolling along the high banks, a fish of different nature took a liking to a Custom Crafted Hammerhead in my favourite purple tones. I was very surprised to land a nice little silver perch which being totally protected was duly released.

Later in the afternoon Wade took another on a worm bait, which suggests to me that they may not be as thin on the ground as once thought. Wade tells me that at times they really are quite prevalent through the region. Maybe a re-think of the total closed species is in order.

We finished that outing with a three species total, three golden perch, two silvers and two carp, which will be handy bait for the shrimp nets. All except the first silver were taken on night crawler worm baits and we finished the day quite satisfied.

I love all styles of lure fishing but also thoroughly enjoy the grass roots art of enticing a fish to a nicely presented bait. Even when trolling there’s a fair bit of activity involved with lure fishing. Sometimes it’s lovely just to kick back and let the fish come to me!

Below the Wentworth Weir has proven to be a very popular and productive spot in recent times. Anglers are taking excellent numbers of golden perch casting and retrieving lures, as is the norm at this time of year. The big movers in lure circles at the moment are the blades, such as the TT’s and Koolabungs.

Alan from Mildura’s Got One can’t keep them on the wall at the moment. Could this see the end of the bibless rattling lure’s rule on fishing? Who knows, but the blades in ½ oz sizes are working a treat for the local golden perch, either jigged vertically or cast and retrieved or jigged back to the angler.

A fair bit further downstream, I have reports of excellent numbers of perch being taken in the Frenchmans Creek area. It’s a lengthy drive for a bag limit of only 5 perch, but there’s a lot of fun for the catch and release anglers, with a fish or two at the end of the day (if desired) a bonus. Similarly, cast and retrieved rattlers or blades seem to be taking most of the fish, however anglers retrieving spinnerbaits or hard bodied lures are taking fish as well.

The Apex Park area of the Murray Rive remains a great destination for visiting and local anglers. Trolling the banks with lures such as the 60mm Oargee, little Codger and small Custom Crafted Lures are producing great perch. I find purple hard to beat colour-wise, but greens and yellows are also productive. With the clarity remaining in the water, metallics too would be well worth a try. Bait anglers using shrimp, worms or yabbies are also taking some good quality golden perch.

Local angler Sam Murdoch has been having a great time fishing the Nangiloc and Colignan regions lately, with some great perch captures. Sam has been casting and retrieving both the blades and Jackall rattlers and tangling with golden perch to a creditable 2kg in weight.

I envisage the perch season for the Mildura region will have consolidated and be in full swing by the time you read this. My sounder is reading about 18C so there’s still plenty of room for the water temperature to move upwards. The local weirs will be the reliable spots for catching a golden perch by casting and retrieving lures. They do however become quite congested at these times, the anglers seemingly almost as prolific as the fish!

If you’d rather avoid the crowds I suggest you push either up or downstream from the weirs, there’s stacks of opportunity around Mildura, dare I say it, a fish on every snag.

I’m very happy to get your feedback. Please email me at --e-mail address hidden-- with ‘fishing’ in the title, if you’d like to submit a report or a digital photograph of your capture. I’m also happy to field any fishing related enquiries you may have, send ‘em through and I’ll do my best!