With late spring and early summer being the prime time to head out on the lakes after golden perch, I took my annual trip up to Lake Eildon in Northeast Victoria. This fishery is nothing short of sensational and there are plenty of quality fish available (the result of ongoing stocking of native fish by Fisheries Victoria over the past two decades). Additionally the lake will also be receiveing 1 million cod fingerlings over the next 3 years, so the future looks pretty bright.
With some fine weather we spent most of our time fishing the edges from a boat and although the fishing was slow, the fish we saw were awesome and I spent most of the couple of days casting Rapala X-Rap Shads and Clackin’ Raps.
If you haven’t tried casting minnow lures for goldens before, then I suggest something like an X-Rap Shad in the 6 or 8cm size, with the Perch pattern being my preferred choice. These suspending lures are ideal for chasing goldens as you can swim them down amongst the sunken logs, or along the rockwalls; just let them sit there and give the often lazy “yellow submarines” plenty of time to look at them. These lures also have a rattle which I prefer when fishing natives for added attraction. With the unique water clarity conditions in the lake at the moment you can watch as the monsters rise from the depths to look at your lure. To stir the fish into strike try combinations of pausing and twitching to get their attention.
This year’s trip was by no means easy as we saw plenty of big fish, but very few would hit the lures. The reward though was some of the best sight fishing to golden perch you’ll ever find anywhere on the mainland, and it makes the ones you land that little bit more special!
Regards,
Scott Gray
Co-Host, Adventure Bound TV
