Luring Estuary Perch by Wayne Friebe

Estuary perch are a great sportfish, but many of their behavioural characteristics have kept them away from the catch bags of most estuary baitfishers. And those that were taken were often confused with their close relative, the Australian bass.

Lure anglers are the real winners when it comes to chasing perch, and many (like me) are completely hooked.

Macquaria colonorum are found in coastal flowing rivers and estuaries right along Victoria's coastline. They can be particularly prolific in some of the larger river systems, especially those that experience periods of high salinity.

Most angling methods in the past have not allowed anglers to tangle with estuary perch, mainly because their offerings were made in the wrong areas. Considering that perch and bream inhabit very similar areas, this is even more amazing.

The popularity of lure fishing has brought perch back to the angling table because anglers are now specifically targeting areas where they live. Estuary perch can be very aggressive predators, and it's this characteristic in particular that makes them such an exciting target...