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Canberra is starting to warm up, about bloody time...
I have been itching to hit one of my favourite Golden Perch spots for weeks, a break in the weather found me launching the Impoundment proper. In the warmer months weed growth can be problematic when using my favourite trolling techniques but early spring offers an opportunity to avoid the closed season Murray Cod and target Yellowbelly. Water temps still a little fridget for multiple action but with massive surface busts early (Murray Cod) my heart was set a flutter, only one way to avoid these Goodoo here and thats to downsize lure size and stay in the upper water column.
Overcast conditions with sprinkling rain saw the barometer drop, not an ideal native fishing scenario. Skirting the beds in super shallow areas was deemed the correct approach but avoiding the fouling weed proved difficult. Lures like shallow Chubbies, Wee Wops and tiny R2S Baby Cranks usually come up trumps in anything under 2.5m with deep Chubbies, small AC Invaders and Baby Extractors deployed in depths over 3m. Golden Perch are easily my favourite fish to target, sometimes it can take a huge effort to find one but covering large amounts of water is usually my saving grace.
I switched to a Viking 40mm Crank Minnow which floats, deep dives and has a sonic rattle. Trolled perfectly around the 2m mark and as it pulled free of the first weed bed foul it was smashed by a large Golden. Easy to tell the species from the immediate head shakes but unfortunately on the third tug the hooks pulled. Kept covering the area before moving towards more familiar trolling lanes and deeper water. After an hour or two I decided to call it quits, last arcing turn before the run to the car brought some light to a rather dark day. A small Golden scoffed my Ayu Chubby, couple of photos and it released well.
My first Golden of spring and I avoided the Cod (Open season December 1st).
