Winter might not be quite over yet, but anglers will already be getting itchy feet as they anticipate the warmer conditions and better fishing ahead. The weather will be starting to improve this month, which is great for fish and anglers alike, but it won’t be warm enough for the skiers just yet, so anglers should get the lakes to themselves. This transition from winter to spring can really get some fish species fired up, so it pays to make the most of it while you can.

Trout have been a main target over the last couple of months and will also be active this month, but there are plenty of other fish species now starting to really fire to give anglers alternatives.

The redfin fishing is normally sensational at this time of the year and they are often overlooked as anglers are generally either trying to get their last Murray cod fix before the season closes at the end of the month, or are still targeting trout.

Redfin can be caught in huge numbers at times, and some very large specimens are encountered at Blowering Dam at this time of year. Just like the rest of winter, these fish are best targeted vertically with lures, jigs or bait. The fish are normally still sitting fairly deep, anywhere from 7-20m down, but once a school is located it is quite easy to entice them with any vertically presented bait or lure. Just remember to keep it moving and you’ll fill your esky before you know it.

Most people think that September is the beginning of the golden perch season, but this is certainly not the case. More often than not, the goldens have been going off for over a month before anglers really start to focus their efforts on them. I dare say it is mostly because they are still chasing Murray cod before the closure, which is fair enough, but these anglers are missing out on some of the best golden perch fishing to be had for the entire year.

Sure they are still biting in September, but it might surprise some people to hear that it is often even better in August — most years. I say most years, as this is not always the case; in a really cold year they might not start firing until the very end of August, but on a good year you will find these fish going nuts from the beginning of the month.

The goldens in late winter and early spring will move right up into the edges of the lakes or sit up in the very tops of any standing trees. They do this to warm themselves, but also to start feeding up on the smorgasbord of food that starts flooding into and onto the lakes at this time of the year. Insect life is really starting to pick up and this alone warrants moving around the edges and mopping them up, but the frogs start to get very active and they are on top of the golden perch’s diet list from now on, all the way through the spring months. As well as this, the baby fish from the winter spawn run are stacked around the edges, so it is easy to see why these fish start congregating around the lake margins.

These goldens are best targeted by repeat casting with lures, and it is very hard to beat small 50-70mm lipless crankbaits. Casting from a boat, especially around the tops of trees that you can’t reach without a boat, works sensationally at this time of the year and quite often it is possible to see your fish before you even cast to it. Watching a fish turn and then follow and inhale your lure is about as good as it gets when it comes to golden perch fishing.

Alternatively, casting from the bank with these same lures will see you rewarded more often then not. Just keep casting and moving along the bank in between casts until you come across some active fish. Remember that at this time of year the fish will be often schooled up, so if you do catch a fish or get a follow, it pays to stick to that area for a little while longer in case the fish has a few friends around.

Those that aren’t targeting redfin or golden perch at Blowering Dam this month will more than likely be getting their last Murray cod fix before the official close of the season at the end of the month.

Although the majority of Blowering Dam’s Murray cod anglers prefer to target them at night at this time of year, the middle of the day can also be just as productive.

The reason for this is that the air and water temperatures are at their highest in the middle to later part of the day and the cod’s metabolism will also be at its highest at this time, which means the normally nocturnal Blowering cod will feed, and sometimes aggressively, during the middle of the day.

This all changes once it warms up through the summer months and the water and air temperatures go above their comfort zone. Once this happens, it is too hot during the day and they then prefer to wait until the middle parts of the night to feed up when the water and air temperatures are closest to their liking.

As you can see, it is not just Murray cod and trout that are worth targeting this month. The redfin fishing should be good and, as I said earlier, the golden perch fishing can often be the best you’re going to experience all year, so if you have never targeted golden perch at this time before, it might pay to give it a go.