Local fishing guru Rob Paxevanos recommends redfin as a great table fish.
IT was just a week or two ago I was up until midnight cleaning a massive bag of redfin. These are a great table fish.
But, being a noxious introduced species that breed like rabbits, there is no bag limit in most states…and that’s where the problem lies – you can end up with hours of cleaning work after your day out.
Funnily enough on the next two visits to the local lakes around Canberra a short session off the bank produced zip.
A friend and I were laughing at the contrast...you would’ve bet on at least a few redfin. We blamed the cold miserable conditions and the shorter session that made it harder to locate the school.
Then over the weekend just passed, I got to go to Bathurst to watch my 12-year old daughter’s team play soccer.
A sensational event and it was great to be able to watch sport played like it should be…ie seeing players with natural talent and love of a game.
I’d much prefer that these days than a televised professional sport where we’ve been led to wonder if some of the sporting talent is actually chemistry talent.
Of course I couldn’t resist slipping out for a fish in between games so one of the dads and I checked out Ben Chiffley Dam. It was my first visit there, and what a scenic spot…especially thanks to recent rains that greened the hills.
From inside the car I was pumped, most keen anglers feel the same when seeing new water for the first time…it’s like an all new toy shop to explore.
The time of the evening was perfect, but upon stepping out of the car the mood dropped…it was cold windy beanie weather, not good for the golden perch I was after.
It turned into a 30 minute lure washing session with a few laughs as to why we were even there!
The next day the conditions were the same, and again we only had a very short time in which to fish. As such, we decided beforehand our chances were slim and the pressure was relieved further…the mood was great.
I had a swag of new lures to run through the water and check their action, while my mate stuck at practicing casting and the retrieving floating diving lures; a common technique for golden perch.
He got pretty good at it and deserved a fish…but was pumped just to learn the drill and take in the scenery.
If we had half a day and maybe the hobie to cover some water on the troll our chances of finding a few goldens or a school of redfin would’ve increased exponentially. But we still had a great time seeing a new place.
There are still plenty of fish in the freezer, and it was particularly nice to come home without having loads of fish to clean. I guess that’s why they call it catching ‘sweet’ stuff all.
See you on the water.