Australian coarse fish

[WickerDave]

Another link http://www.sportsfish.net.au/fishing/fish-...er/red-fin.html has "to at least 9 kg" and "All redfin caught should be killed, as they are regarded as something of a pest in our waters. On no account should live redfin be transported from one area to another." Perhaps the Aussies need a "how to kill a perch humanely" thread !

[dogfish]

Well, Vagabond has shown pretty conclusively that the Aussie record is actually less than here. Shame, I can't castigate you catchers of 4lb perch as 'minnow hunters'. Nevertheless 'redfins mostly range from 1.25 to 4.5 lbs' sounds quite good to me!

 

I have, in front of me, a picture of a Redfin perch weighing 5lbs. 4oz.

 

It is in a book called 'How to fish South Australia' By Shane Mensforth and Greg Irving.

 

This book gives the official state (south Australia) record as 5lbs.12oz. caught in 1981.

 

Cahal

[dogfish]

Have a look here:

 

http://www.fishnet.com.au/default.aspx?id=226&PicId=5078

 

Cahal

[gozzer]

Another link http://www.sportsfish.net.au/fishing/fish-...er/red-fin.html has "to at least 9 kg" and "All redfin caught should be killed, as they are regarded as something of a pest in our waters. On no account should live redfin be transported from one area to another." Perhaps the Aussies need a "how to kill a perch humanely" thread !

 

 

Just been on that site, some good reading in the forums.

[Vagabond]

Vagabond has shown pretty conclusively that the Aussie record is actually less than here.

 

Well, actually, he hasn't - just that the ANSA record (as shown on their site) is

 

I am not too surprised that a bit of digging (well done chaps - that's what the net is for) brings up some perch a few ounces heavier than that. Any advance on Dogfish's 5-12?

 

What I AM looking for is fish in a different class entirely - the 5kg to 10 kg perch that author after author keeps referring to - without a shred of hard evidence! Wicker Dave's reference is but the latest in many such claims.

 

If someone can find a picture of an undisputed British perch caught in Australia that looks anywhere near 22 lb (10kg) I won't promise to eat my hat, but I will promise humble penitence for my doubts (and will book some perch fishing on my next visit to Oz )

[dogfish]

I have a lot of Australian fishing books as I am going to live there in the near future.

 

They nearly all mention giant redfin but I am not really sure how accurate some of the weights mentioned are.

 

I suspect that it is 'folklore' or it could simply have been an anomaly that there were massive rates of growth when the fish were first introduced.

 

In many Australian waters they are now overpopulated and the average size is not big. That would not have been the case 100 years ago or so.

 

Cahal

[Vagabond]

I have a lot of Australian fishing books as I am going to live there in the near future.

 

May I ask where?

 

There is some fantastic fishing to be had in most places (except the dry centre )

[dogfish]

My son lives in Adelaide so that seems a logical place to go.

 

However I also fancy living on the far north NSW coast for a while.

 

Depends on whether I decide to retire or carry on working for a while.

 

The fishing is better in NSW for all round sport but there is some reasonable fishing for big Snapper in the gulf, Carp etc in the rivers around Adelaide and good shark and Ray fishing all over.

 

I'll have to make my mind up soon.

 

Cahal

Edited March 8, 2006 by dogfish

[Bobj]

G'day all, just introducing myself, Bobj, from Mackay, Qld and would like to wade into this bunfight.

Good to see Newt and Vagabond again.

You still living in north, south, east, west central Carolina, Newt?

Right, chevin put me on to this forum; he stayed with me for 2 weeks.....and brought the rain with him, which was much appreciated.

Now, in Australia, the perca are called redfin and, according to Dr Gerald R Allen, grow to 10.4 kg. I have caught several over 5 lbs, a young friend of mine has caught a few over 6 lbs and lost one to a murray cod that he believed was upward of 9 lbs. The cod was in the 40 lb class. These fish were from his property near Glen Innes, NSW on the Severn River.

To dogfish, when you come to Australia, move up to northern NSW; it has bass, redfin, yellowbelly, murray cod, trout, silver perch (bidyanus bidyanus), carp, and a few hours drive to barramundi waters. There are also big snapper off shore.

[Newt]

Hi Bobj. Still in NC for another couple of years then we plan to move to Mississippi (the state) near the Mississippi (the river) and far enough north to avoid the hurricanes. Great fishing there so we are really looking forward to the move.

 

Our plan right now is to sell the house and buy a large 5th wheel trailer. Leave it on a lot near a good lake but just a matter of hooking trailer to truck and heading off if we want a change of scenery for a while.

 

I really gotta say the idea of a 22lb Perca style perch strikes me as less probable than Yeti or Big Foot or the Loch Ness monster. Possible but highly unlikely.