Wherever you are reading this from chances are there is a lake or river near you with hungry fish! Spring is the time when the activity starts to bloom and the fishing is red hot, especially on Golden Perch.

In this edition of ‘GoFishing with Rhys’ I wanted to talk about how to find fish as this is a massive key to catch more when your out on the water… and these could be very handy come April next year.

STRUCTURE

First rule of thumb is to search for structure! When it comes to native fish you cannot beat any form of cover; fallen snags and logs, standing trees, willows, reedy edges, deep holes and sections, shaded areas and steep banks. If you are fishing in a dam look for; rocky banks, creek beds and bays, manmade structures, standing trees and fallen logs.

This is the safest bet because where there is structure there will be fish. If your fishing in a river, definitely follow the structure.

What about a dam or lake? This is where you need to look a little further than structure.

USING YOUR SOUNDER

Having and using a good quality sounder is a big game changer and will put you ahead of other anglers. But more importantly is using them correctly and to your advantage.

First of all I want to touch on the detail that new sounders show and they help you to identify not only fish but the structure below the water. I have been using a sounder with side imaging for a while now and to say it makes a massive difference… is actually an understatement!

It makes a WORLD of difference in my fishing. What I love is how I can be fishing an area and see what the structure is like either side of where I’m fishing. I can see where the rocky point runs down the bank in the dam and exactly where I need to cast my lure. Or even when it comes to finding big fallen logs either side of my boat.

The biggest advantage is it helps me to locate our target… the fish! When fishing in lakes and dams, having a sounder that can help you pinpoint that there is a school of Golden Perch and this helps take out all the guess work. I can spot fish say 15m to my right, cast o them and then I know I’m in the right spot and fishing where the fish are.

NO SOUNDER. NO WORRIES.

Sounders are expensive and I fished for a long time without the new advanced technology, and I’m here to say you can still catch quality fish without one. How do you do it… I’m going to share.

Target the windy areas

I know fishing in the wind is painful sometimes, but its actually makes the fish feed and this is ever so true for Goldens in lakes. At this time of year what you want to do is follow the wind and fish on banks where the wind is pushing. This wind pushed the food to this side but also stirs up the edge of the water and dislodges food, therefore you’ll be in for a good chance of fishing feeding fish.

Dirty water

Along with wind comes dirty water as its common for these banks to build up a discoloration from the wind. The dirtier the water, the more food and also the more confident the fish are. When fishing lakes like Blowering and Eildon this is one of my go to places to fish throughout October and November. This rule also goes for cod as well.