REDFIN - fun, fresh air and a well earned break

[mrsswordfisherman]

@swordfisherman and I have had a tough year with several deaths in the family and lots of hurdles to jump over due to pandemic restrictions. We were able to get our daughter and family here finally from UK. For 6 weeks we have hosted them and had the opportunity to meet and get to know our 18 month old granddaughter, my first g'child. It was a fabulous time. 

It was time to organise a break away and we chose to go south. 

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DATE February 2022

LOCATION Lake Hume Victoria/NSW border

Lake Hume is estimated to hold approximately six times the volume of water in Sydney Harbour. The small towns of Tallangatta, Bonegilla and Bellbridge are located on the shores of Lake Hume. The reservoir is often referred to as the Hume Weir, only named Lake Hume in the mid-1980s.

The lake is stocked with fish. Most of these are introduced species - carp, redfin and trout though to native species such as Golden Perch and Murray Cod can also be found. The fishing varies from year to year. It is also popular for water skiing, and several holiday resorts catering for anglers and skiers are dotted around the upper reaches of the lake. An annual Canoe Marathon race, the 'Frank Harrison Classic' is run on the river beginning below the dam each February and attracts competitors.

WEATHER  I had a look on our Deckee boating app and found the current conditions. @Mike McKiernan and the team have done a great job building this. I located Ebden (auto location) see attached pics of the current conditions including relative humidity, wind, temperature, air pressure, rain (chance of), swell, tides, moon phases and outlook for the week. Raiders make sure you get this goldmine of info onto your smartphones, tablets and laptops.

 

WATER CONDITION  It is a little murky but not to bad for a dam. The temperature ranged from 26 to 27.5 degrees 

The lake is at capacity - full

OUR MISSION to catch Redfin and Murray Cod 

Maps from Deckee app

 

THE JUICY DETAILS    🎣🎣🎣Fishing Report 🐟🐟🐟🐟

 

The weather predictions have been spot on for outdoor pursuits 🕶🌞☀️🧴

We arrived at the caravan park and parked up on a fantastic site right on the lake with an ensuite. Swordie straight away used the boat loader to remove the tinny from the top of the car. Straight into the lake and ready to go fishing. It was just a few steps from our site!

 

 

 

 

Such a long way to walk from boat to site 

 

The first 2 days we spent a lot of time out on the water trolling around looking for fish. We used a paternoster rig, hard body on the bottom and a soft plastic on the top. We only found tiny Redfin. 

 

 

 

 

The lake is very large with many bridges and possible fish holding areas. We researched online to see what sort of lures and rigs were needed. Stewy has been making his own soft plastics (check out the post in The Bar) and we were keen to try some of the radical colours out. The lumo green with glitter turned out to be a winner. 

 

 

Armed with everything we decided to take a look around at different areas of the lake. The Deckee App helped us find some popular fishing spots that we were told about. We trolled for a while until we came upon some structure, lots of trees that were submerged. These trees proved to be a bonanza for us.

 

 

I was very bored with trolling grrrrrr. Just dragging a #@$@ lure through the water as we motored slowly along in hopes of catching a fish was not my idea of fishing. My arm was tired from lifting the rod up in the air when we went through shallows and my eyes and head were sore from sniffing the two stroke fumes!!!

 

I said to Stewy “let’s head for those trees out there NOW”. Like Tarzan he said "yes Jane" and headed for the submerged trees.

 

We dropped our 1/8th jigheads loaded up with Stewy's lumo green curly tail soft plastics spiked with X Factor in 22 ft of water right next to the tree. 

WHACK WHACK double hook up! Two fish of 30cm plus into the keep net.

Woohoo they are on and we had hit the jackpot. We caught over 60 fish in 2 hours and kept 18 for the plate.

We had double hookups and clapped and hoorayed at the personal bests including my PB!

 

 

 

 

I caught my first Redfin, another species ticked off ✅ My PB is 33cm which is a very respectable size.

The redfin were quite tasty and nice to eat.

What a great few days fishing.

 

This is what other anglers were thinking I am sure 

 

Here are some random shots and a look at the resort pool here! We thought we were in Bali again!! 

 

 

 

 

The ensuite made a good rod locker of course  

 

THE SCIENTIFIC DETAIL

Targeted Species - Redfin Perch

 

Description & biology

Description: Redfin perch belong to the family Percidae. They can be recognised by the following features:

• a deep body and a slightly forked tail;
• two distinctly separate dorsal fins, the first with 12-17 strong spines and a distinct black blotch at the rear;
• a pattern of five or more broad black vertical bands across the back, tapering on the sides (more prominent in younger fish);
• bright reddish-orange pelvic and anal fins and tail.

The body colour varies from olive green to grey on the back, fading to greenish or silvery on the sides and whitish on the belly. While Redfin perch can reportedly grow to 60 cm in length and around 4.8 kg in weight, specimens in NSW are mostly smaller, with 95% of fish less than 230 mm and 200 grams..

Habitat: Redfin perch live in a wide variety of habitats, but prefer still or slow-flowing waters such as lakes, dams, billabongs, swamps and slower moving streams and rivers. They prefer areas with good shelter such as snags (submerged dead wood and trees), vegetation or rocks, but have also been caught in open water.

Feeding: Redfin perch are carnivorous and feed on a wide variety of foods ranging from small invertebrates (such as crustaceans, worms, molluscs and insect larvae) to fish. They are known to hunt fish either solitarily (by ambushing or stalking their prey) or in organised groups. In groups, they herd shoals of small fish until encircled or pinned against the bank; a few of the redfin then chase into the shoal while the majority hold position and prey on fleeing fish. Schools of Redfin perch also use a similar method known as “beating”, where they flush out insects and small fish from weed beds or other shelter into open water, where they become easy prey for waiting Redfin perch. Such methods give them a reputation as voracious predators.

Reproduction: Redfin perch spawn in late winter and spring, when they lay several hundred thousand eggs in a gelatinous ribbon amongst aquatic vegetation, submerged logs or other sheltered areas. The egg mass is unpalatable to most other fish and is hence generally protected from predation. The eggs develop and hatch in about a week, and the young fish school to help avoid predation. Redfin perch usually take 2-6 years to reach sexual maturity, but some have been found to be reproductively mature at 1 year of age.

Cheers all and hope you enjoyed this report

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mrsswordfisherman]

Thanks for reading raiders 

[Isaac Ct]

Great report Mrsswordie!! Sounds like a heap of fun!

Well done on your first redfin as well.

[Little_Flatty]

Hey Donna, Good to see you and Stewy are eating well down there! Also really happy to hear that you finally got to see your daughter and her family and meet your grand daughter for the first time! The pandemic has been testing for you both, for sure.

Oddly enough, being a city slicker,  I've never caught a redfin! I think they will be a great family target when we get the chance to fish the fresh.

[frankS]

Donna and Stewey . Great to see you both out and about and having a good time, the resort looks like a comfortable place to relax for a while. I'm glad you finally got to see your Granddaughter ( distance is a pain that sometimes is heart breaking ) and when you finally get together the rewards are heart warming.

Thanks for the very informative info about the Redfin. They are a very tasty little fish and probably the best thing that has been imported to our waterways ( maybe equal to taste to trout in my opinion ) . When you find a batch of them it's not hard to gather a decent feed.

Great photos and a fantastic read.

Enjoy the rest of your break and more reports as you go please.

Frank

[Yowie]

Excellent report there Donna - will probably have to thank Stewie as well. Very detailed info., and a good catch of reds is the result.

Looks like a great location, park facilities, fishing spots.

Would some of those fishing spots be within easy reach by a kayak if I was to head down that way? (my paddling prowess is not like it used to be)

[Larkin]

Nice haul of Redfin 👍

Looks like a relaxing spot - always good to get out of the city for a while.
 

[dirvin21]

Some nice reddies there Donna

[mrsswordfisherman]

9 minutes ago, Yowie said:

Excellent report there Donna - will probably have to thank Stewie as well. Very detailed info., and a good catch of reds is the result.

Looks like a great location, park facilities, fishing spots.

Would some of those fishing spots be within easy reach by a kayak if I was to head down that way? (my paddling prowess is not like it used to be)

Yes plenty of kayak fishos here too. 
There are heaps of boat ramps, reserves and picnic spots here. There are also really nice free camps with amenities blocks and their own ramps.

We are out for a morning session now and fishing is good. 

I will take some more pics. 
 

[Rebel]

Great report and Super photos.

Congrats on the Gran Daughter.

Well done.

[frankS]

Looks to be a little turbulent, lakes can get very nasty very quickly with the wrong wind.

Be careful.

Frank 

[mrsswordfisherman]

1 hour ago, frankS said:

Looks to be a little turbulent, lakes can get very nasty very quickly with the wrong wind.

Be careful.

Frank 

Good point. We always check conditions and we wore our lifejackets this morning. 
We are very used to lake fishing and raced a big wind gust at Glenbawn many years ago. 

The 355 Quintrex Traveller handles the chop nicely. The cappy is a very good driver  @frankS

[Basswhisperer]

Great report 

[Scratchie]

Now that a report! Nice work swordies. Keep on enjoying yourselves 🤙

cheers scratchie!!!

[Restyle]

Deadly photos and a amazing trip, cheers for the write up and sharing 

[masterfisho7]

that,s one top report love all the photos well done

[big Neil]

I have to admit to not understanding why more "Coastal dwellers" won't come inland to see Australia. Almost as if there's a belief that they will drop into a great abyss if they cross the Great Divide. 

Anyway you guys have certainly put that myth to bed with your great write up and pictures. Wonderful weather, great fishing, fantastic facilities (yes we even have running water and flushing toilets nowadays).

I'm so glad that you are both having a lovely time, as you say, it's been particularly hard recently. You deserve all the good fortune you can handle, so lap it up.

Maybe a few others may be tempted to see what lies beyond! Who knows?

 

bn

[big Neil]

21 hours ago, Larkin said:

Nice haul of Redfin 👍

Looks like a relaxing spot - always good to get out of the city for a while.
 

Yep, a LONG WHILE.

Okay, settle down you city slickers. I'm only partly kidding. 

Each to their own!

bn

[big Neil]

18 hours ago, frankS said:

Looks to be a little turbulent, lakes can get very nasty very quickly with the wrong wind.

Be careful.

Frank 

As we found out at Burrinjuck Frank. Ggrrr!

bn

[Pickles]

Great report Donna and Stewy, very detailed info to help others heading that way (as always). It was wonderful you could spend some time with your grandaughter - family and fishing are two joys in life.

[LuckyFil]

Thanks for that very informative report Donna.

Sorry to hear you've had a bad year (like many others I guess) but great you were able to finally see your grand daughter at last! And have a trip out of the city to such a good spot.

I love the way you describe your decision to stop trolling and used your fishing instincts to head for the submerged trees that ended up being the honey hole - wow over 60 fish is bloody fantastic!

Happy days

Fil

[tyrone07]

This is one of the best reports I've seen to date on Fishraider sensational 👌

[Sea Ranger]

Great report Mrs Swordie,  I am deathly allergic to Redfin but I’m still envious of the trip.

 

 

[jenno64]

Fantastic report Donna

that is a finely detailed guided fishing brochure with food, accommodation and everything else included! 
Glad you and Stewy had a great trip!

[Yorkster]

What a fantastic report !