Episode 412: Canberra Redfin With Ganesh Suppiah

Ganesh’s Top Tips For Canberra Redfin

• The bigger waterways such as Lake Burley Griffin, Lake Jinderra and Googong Dam can fish well, but Ganesh finds a myriad of small waterways and ponds scattered around the greater Canberra area that hold fish – and often the better-quality fish come from the smaller waterways.
• Try to understand what redfin are doing and what they are feeding on at various times of year. Use the stomach contents to help find out what the main food items are.
• Don’t cycle through your lures too fast. Put a decent number of casts into a piece of structure and try lots of different retrieves before switching lures.
• During the spring as the water warms, redfin move to the weed edges to feed and condition up, so casting across the transition zones where weeds taper into deeper water is effective.
• Warmer days, even during the winter months, where the water temp can come up a degree or two, tend to fish well for small numbers of better-quality fish. Cloudy days with a little breeze are good, especially in areas with crystal clear water.

Ganesh’s Tackle For Canberra Redfin Fishing

• A 1-4 or 2-4 kg spin rod paired with a 1000-2500 size reel, 4-6lb braid with 6 lb leader. Leader can be sized up to 8 or 10lb when fishing areas with heavier structure or when there is a chance of a big yellowbelly or a cod taking a lure intended for redfin.

Ganesh’s Tackle For Canberra Redfin Fishing

• A ZMan Grub or ZMan Slim Swimz soft plastic lure in 2.5” and up to 3” is a good option for redfin in pearl white, myrtle oil or pink. A 1/6 to ¼ jig head is commonly used from the kayak, but a 1/12oz jig can be very useful in very shallow water. Ganesh likes to fish these through areas such as weed lines, timber, concrete walls and the like when the water is relatively clear. A double hop followed by allowing the lure to sink back down is a common retrieve. Redfin often grab the lure as it sinks back down.
• Metal blades such as the Strike Pro Cyber Vibe in 35mm size are great for covering a lot of water and prospecting for fish. These lures are fished with a slow roll or a lift and drop and again the redfin often take the lure on the drop.
• Small crankbaits such as the Prolure F36 in natural colours work well on redfin, as do dark and even black lures if the water is stained. These are great options for dirty water fishing and can be fished with a combination of medium to slow rolling, twitching and occasional pauses. Keep cycling throu8gh different retrieves, sometimes once you find a retrieve that works it will pick up fish anywhere on that day.
• Dropshotting is an underutilised technique for redfin fishing and essentially involves a partenoster rig with a 1/8 or 1/16 ounce dropshot sinker at the bottom and a hook above coming off a dropper. Ganesh likes to use a Gamakatsu octopus hook in size 1 to 4 and threads his soft plastic onto the hook from the head. The idea is to use plastics that float, so the lure suspends, allowing the angler to fish the lure just above weed and structure.