Estuary Perch

[little G]

hey raiders,

i was wondering whether there are any estuary perch in sydney and which river stystems?

ive always wanted to catch an estuary perch but i dont know if i have the right tackle, lures, line or boat for the job so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

thanks little G

[Michael Hatte]

Georges River is a pretty good area to start, Woranora and upper reachers of the system is where you going to find them.

Any light Flick stick, 2-4kg is great, 1000-2000 series reel, 4-6lb braid with 8lb leader. You can go much lower on the braid and leader but you will catch bream, flathead and Jew all in the same areas you will find the ep's so you may aswell cover yourself if you do hook something big.

Lure choice - Cant really go past small blades, Stike pro cyber vibes 3.5g are my pick.

Areas- Deep holes, rocky shorelines, bridges

Boat choice- One of those 50k+ bass/bream fishing boats!!!!!

Just kidding mate, anything that floats will have you into the action.

Plenty of guys on this site target them so there should be plenty of info for you.

Hope it helps

Mick

[Langa]

I've been catching a few lately on surface lures, mainly pencils but a couple on Bubble Pop poppers. I've been fishing Bobbin Head, Apple Tree Bay and Bayview on Pittwater. Late afternoon and early evening seem to be good times.

I'm landbased and as Bloopin says rock walls and bridges are good holding ground.

I use a 1000 series reel with 4lb braid and 6lb leader on a 5'6" 4kg rod.

They are an aggresive fish and strike with explosive force sometimes 2 or 3 or more times, great fun to catch.

I always release any I catch.

Good luck and cheers,

Langa

[Catchin Jack]

You'll find some nice EP's up the Woronora River, you can try either side of the old Woronora Bridge if land based, you'll get them on a run in tide, southern end of bridge usually best results and use vibes or shallow divers.

I've always had good fortune targeting them up the river.

[Matt]

Without trying to give away spots etc but the old EP is found in all the Sydney Waterways (except the Cooks, never managed one in there). There are healthy populations in Georges System and the Hawkesbury and a sometimes erratic population in the Parramatta system. One of my best EP's came out of the Parra during a tournament, unfortunately because it was an EP during a Brims comp it got cursed at!

Cheers

Windy

[pburton]

It has taken me a few years and I am pretty new to reliably hooking EPs so i am no expert.

I use light bream gear, 2-4lb braid with 4-6lb leaders and

pretty much stick to plastics. I have used blades a bit but

without much success(a lot of weed in the system I fish and trebbles love it).

I like fishing very light or weight less plastics because they hang in the strike zone longer.

Use the lightest heads and prawn, wriggler, bugs or flick bait patterns all work. Look in deep corners

with steep banks, cast in close and hop it down the bank. EP Rule 1 ....slow everything right down.

Be paitent and let it get to the bottom but watch for a hit on the drop.

Make a slow lift, a little faster and jerkier for flick

baits and keep the rod tip up while the plastic sinks to the bottom again, if it makes

it that far cause this is where i usually get the strikes.

EPs will move around the system alot and like the brakish water in summer but be further

down into the saltwater in winter and early spring to spawn.

Hope this helps you release plenty of these fantastic fish and get smoked by a few as well...