With the temperature on the rise, anglers can expect to see fish activity begin to increase in the shallower bodies of water first. It’s always handy to know where fish are most likely to be found and warm water is a draw card for many and most species. Over the coming weeks the shallow lakes, dams, channels and backwaters will lift in temperature and kick start the spring bite that sees redfin at the head of the pack.

Lake Charm between Swan Hill and Kerang is a prime location, as is Lake Cullulleraine on the Sturt Highway between Mildura and Renmark. Both these lakes are reasonably shallow and generally fish well during the spring months. Early morning and evening are the prime times to target redfin but when they are in the mood they will feed all day long. On the flip side though, like all fish when the redfin decide to shut down they can be quite frustrating.

Redfin will eat a variety of baits, these include small fish, shrimp, yabbies and worms. At times they are a veracious predator that will go as far as to wilfully cannibalize their own kind. There is not much these fish won’t eat. My favourite way to target redfin would have to be using lures. In the old days the ondex spinner was king of the pond and while they still work, new lures are more in vogue with today’s anglers. Soft plastics have held the mantel in recent years and redfin seem to love them. Of recent times though, a  range of finesse styled lures have began to filter through and find favour amongst fishos and redfin alike. The new Koolabung blades are proving deadly as are a range of Micro mumblers and compact spinnerbaits from Bassman. Small in size, they need to be fished on light spin tackle. The blades work best on a lift, drop styled retrieve trying to keep the lure just above the structure and weed. They can also be worked on a slow straight retrieve. The micro mumblers can be worked in similar fashion while the compact spinnerbaits do best on a slow straight retrieve. Redfin will respond differently at different times, so it pays to mix it up and try a range of lures and retrieves to see what works best at the time. These new lure styles and techniques will work equally well on golden perch when the river begins to fire in the coming month or so.  Until then though, anglers will do better to hunt the warm shallows and cash in on a feed of redfin as these feisty fish come on the chew.