Episode 436: Ingham Jungle Perch With Kyle Wright

Kyle’s Top Tips For Jungle Perch Fishing

• Stealth is very important when jungle perch fishing because you’re targeting very alert fish in very shallow, often crystal clear water.
• They can be found in any creek or river system in the Ingham to Hinchinbrook area that has reasonably clear water, good flow, a bit of structure in the form of timber, boulders or deeper pools and uninterrupted connectivity to the estuary.
• It’s not a bad strategy to map a creek out using Google Earth or Queensland globe before leaving home and try and get into the upper reaches as much as you can. During the drier months, stick with the larger creeks that have decent flow and hold bigger numbers of fish.
• Jungle perch are a year-round species, but tend to bite especially well early in the wet season when there has been a little bit of rain and the water level is receding slightly and clearing after a minor flush.
• You’ll generally only get a few casts in a pool before the fish are either caught or spooked, so be prepared to do a lot of walking and cover a lot of ground. Also be prepared that it may be necessary to swim from time to time (though not in the lower reaches where crocodiles may be a factor).
• Overcast days are generally welcome because it’s physically demanding fishing that is made harder by hot conditions. Avoid the rocky country when the weather has been wet as it’s easy to slip and injure yourself and you’ll be a long way from help.
• If the fishing is tough, that’s one of the few times when Kyle will size down his lures. Failing that, the only option is to trek further into the bush until you reach places where fewer people get to and fish have seen very few lures.

Kyle’s Jungle Perch Fishing Tackle

• A fast action 6’8” to 7’, 2-4kg rod will cast some of the bigger lures that help to find the larger JP’s. A 2000-2500 size ABU Garcia Revo ALX, loaded with 10lb 8-9 strand braid and a 12-14lb leader is the perfect match to the rod.
• You’re going remote, so don’t forget to take a small personal locator beacon, first aid kit and snake bite bandages. Lightweight sandals with good grip are essential for wading creeks, climbing boulders etc. A waterproof backpack is also important.

Kyle’s Top Lures For Catching Jungle Perch

• The 4” Berkley Hollowbelly Powerbait with a silver or gold medium size Colorado style Jigspin head is a great option. A lure of this size will help reduce the number of smaller fish caught, though even small JP’s are capable of inhaling these lures. This is a very versatile lure that can be cast to the top of deep pools and can even be cast to the very top of rapids and worked back through. Work the lure on a slow roll just fast enough to keep the blade spinning.
• An 85mm Berkley Pro-Tec Slurp is a great topwater option, especially with JP’s being such a surface feeding species. Kyle will usually switch to this lure when the soft plastics aren’t getting results, especially through still pools where the walk the dog retrieve works well, either on a constant retrieve or occasionally with intermittent pauses.
• The 100mm Berkley Shimmer Shrimp is a lure that Kyle had the opportunity to test in the early phases. It’s a soft vibe in the form of a prawn that has a strong vibration on the lift and nice tail action on the drop. JP’s love to eat the cherabins that are prolific in wet tropics rivers and this lure is a good imitation of that food source. Let it sink to the bottom then slowly lift and allow to sink, picking up the slack line with the reel as it does so.