Welcome to the Redfin Fishing Guide Victoria. Redfin “English Perch” is an introduced species brought in from Europe in the 1860s. They have thrived in our environment and can be found in most rivers and lakes around Victoria. Many consider redfin to be a noxious pest, however, we simply love them. They’re a great bread-and-butter species. They can be caught on both lures and bait, they look amazing with characteristic red fins and green and black stripes. Overall an underrated table fish with a lovely sweet taste and a great species to introduce kids to fishing.
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Redfin Facts & Catch Limits
- Their scientific name is Perca fluviatilis.
- There is no size limit for Redfin.
- Redfin school up in big numbers.
- The most common catches are between 25cm and 40cm. They can grow over 50cm, which is considered a magical mark for anglers.
- There are no bag limits, and the VIC DEPI would encourage you not to release redfin to encourage other species like Trout and native species such as Golden Perch to flourish.
Best time to catch Redfin ( Seasons )
In Victoria, Redfin can be caught most of the year. However, they are more active in warmer months ideally between Summer and Autumn. They are often best targeted at Dawn/Dusk. In the warmer months, you catch them in volumes in cooler months you won’t catch as many but they tend to be bigger size catches.
Watch the video below on how to catch big redfin
How to catch Redfin
When targeting Reddies on soft plastics and lures we recommend a light 1-3, 2-4 or 2-5 kilo spin rod around 7 feet in length. Coupled with a light 2000 or 2500 size reel, spooled with 6 to 10 lb line and leader. When bait fishing use a 2-4 or 3-5 kilo rod around 7 feet in length. Coupled with a 2500-3000 size reel. Then a paternoster rig with a small sinker at the bottom and a couple of scrub worms.
Redfin is a nice eating freshwater fish with sweet flesh. Simple to prepare and can make a great meal without needing to add a lot of extra ingredients. Their skin and scales can be challenging to fillet, but it’s well worth the effort. Redfin has sharp spines on the dorsal fins these are referred to as gill rakers. Redfin breed in large numbers so keeps moving around until you start getting bites. It’s worth noting that redfin is generally more active in the warmer months, however, some of the big ones can be caught during winter. They’re great to target in the first hours of sunlight and the last hours of sundown, or on overcast days.
Watch our detailed video guide on our top 10 redfin lures below
Rod, Reel and Line to catch Redfin ( English Perch )
When targeting freshwater species such as redfin we recommend fishing with a light spinning outfit. This will make the experience more enjoyable and improve your catch rates. We suggest a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo fishing rod, coupled with a 2000, 2500 or 3000 size reel. Spooled with a decent quality braid between 6-10 pounds and finished with one-rod length of equivalent fluorocarbon leader.
Best Baits to Catch Redfin
Our best bait recommendations include scrub worms, minnows and yabbies. The are several ways to present baits either a running sinker rig or a paternoster rig. The rig choice will be dependent on where you are fishing, the casting distance required and the conditions such as tidal strength. Where possible fish with as little weight. When land-based you may need a heavy sinker to cast out as far as you can.
- Scrub worms
- Powerbait
- Yabbies
- Mudeye
- maggots
- live minnows
Best Soft Plastics to Catch Redfin ( English Perch )
A great starting point might be a brightly coloured soft plastic curly tail on a 1/8 – 1/12 jig head. Cast the plastic and let it sink to the bottom. Redfin will often strike a lure as it’s floating down to the bottom. Wait a few seconds then lift and retrieve then stop again allowing the plastic to hit the bottom. Alternatively, a slow constant slow roll keeps the lure close to the bottom. Cast in one area for a few minutes if you don’t get any bites then move on. Keep doing this until you start getting some bites. Mix up colours and lure styles if the bite goes quiet. Some days bright colours work great the next day natural colours. For jig head selection it’s a good idea to have multiple weights and sizes with you. This way you can adjust based on the current strength and weather conditions. We generally would have a 1/4, 1/6, 1/8, and & 1/12 jig head in a 2/0 and 3/0 size. Take your time when rigging and make sure the plastic is on straight, this improves the plastic action.
- Strike Tiger curl tails
- Zman 3 inch MinnowZ
- Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5 inch grub
- Berkley powerbait grub
- Gulp 3 inch minnow
- Zman 2.5 inch grubZ
- Zman Slim SwimZ
- Dawia Bait Junkie paddle tail minnow
- Kietech swim impact fat
- Squidges biotough grub
- Kietech flapper grub
Best Lures to Catch Redfin ( English Perch )
Read our detailed guide on the Best lures to catch redfin. These predatory fish are not too fussy and will have a go at most lures. Good options include soft plastics, spinners, blades and hard bodies. Cast the plastic and let it sink to the bottom. Redfin will often strike a lure as it’s floating down to the bottom. Wait a few seconds then lift and retrieve then stop again allowing the plastic to hit the bottom. Alternatively, a slow constant slow roll keeps the lure close to the bottom. Cast in one area for a few minutes if you don’t get any bites then move on. Keep doing this until you start getting some bites. Mix up colours and lure styles if the bite goes quiet. Some days bright colours work great the next day natural colours.
- Bluefox spinners
- Daiwa DR joint minnows
- Savage Gear 3D Prey minnow
- Daiwa Presso minnows
- Tasmanian Devil Blade
- Bullet lures 5-0 minnow
- Bassman spinner bait
- Bullet lures 3cm lure
- strike tiger nymph
- Nories Wasabi spoon
- Rapala countdown floating minnow
- Pontoon 21 paco spoon
- Daiwa Double Clutch
- Tasmanian Devil lure
- Celta Classic Spinners
- Zerek fish trap
- eco gear ZX40
- Savage Gear Fathead crank shallow diving
- Squidges biotough grub
- stump jumpers S3
- Samaki Vibelicious
- ecogear sx40
- Rapala Countdown Minnow
Best trolling lures to catch Redfin ( English Perch )
Trolling from a boat or kayak is a really effective technique when targeting all perch species. being able to cover great distances with a bibbed lure always working in the water here are some of our favoutire tolling lures.
- stump jumpers S3
- Daiwa Double Clutch
- Jackall Chubbies mid/deep diving
- Duo Realis Ryuki Spearhead
- Rapala Jack Deep
- Old mate lures
- RMG Poltergeist 50
Why not listen to the Australian Lure Fishing Podcast featuring Alan from FishingMad on how to catch redfin with lures.
Best Rigs to catch Redfin
Our rig recommendations when bait fishing would include a running sinker rig or paternoster rig as shown in the images below. Please note we have detailed step-by-step video guides in our member’s area on how to create these rigs.
Simple running sinker
Thread a small running sinker through the mainline shown in blue. Tie a small barrel swivel to the end allowing the sinker to run up the mainline freely. On the other end of the swivel add 50cm of fluorocarbon leader ( shown in grey ). Finished with a small long shank hook.
Paternoster Rig
Tie your mainline to a barrel swivel. Create 2 loop knots and thread a hook over each loop knot allowing you to run multiple baits. At the end attach a sinker again threaded on via a loop knot.
Best fishing locations to catch redfin in Victoria
- Lake Eppalock
- Wurdi Buloc
- Lake Fyans
- Lake Wendouree
- Daylesford
- Lake Hume
- Lake Eildon
- Casey Fields
- Devilbend Reservoir
- Barkers Creek Reservoir
- Bostock Reservoir
- Cairn Curran Reservoir
- Werribee River
- Lake Daylesford
- Barwon River
- Rocklands Reservoir
- Waranga Basin
- Lake Purrumbete
- Loddon River
- Jubilee Lake
- Lake Nagambie
- Lake Wendouree
- Melton Reservoir
- Lake Victoria
- Pykes Creek
- Murray River
- Spavin Lake
- Lake Lonsdale
You can obtain a free Victorian recreational fishing guide from the Victorian Fisheries Authorities
Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All other images and videos shown on the Redfin Fishing Guide Victoria are Fishing Mad originals. Thank you for reading the Redfin Fishing Guide Victoria. If you feel this guide is missing key information or needs any corrections. Then please let us know by emailing our team at enquiries@fishingmad.com.au with specific details in the email. Thank you
