Yellowbelly

 

The Yellowbelly are also known as GOLDEN PERCH or CALLOP.

This is now becoming one of our most prolific freshwater native

Fish. It can be found in our inland waterways of Vic.,Nsw,Qld. And S.a.

The Yellowbelly will grow to sizes of 20lb but is more commmon to be in the range of 2-6 lb. The fish are a prolific breeder but are also stocked by the fisheries with amounts of 50,000 fingerling being put into a lake at any one time.

The best times to fish for Yellowbelly are at dawn and then again on dusk or if the level of the lake or river is rising.

 

The best baits for Yellowbelly are worms, shrimps and yabbies. These are fished on a running sinker rig on the bottom amongst the trees and rocks.

Other methods are to troll lures or cast lures.

Lures such as Jackalls, StumpJumpers,and Spinnerbaits work well.

Casting these lures or trolling these lures near rocky banks or in the trees will often get a strike.

Green and yellow, gold or purple lures are a good starting point to have a go at these native fish.

 

Takle to use is a light to medium weight threadline line rod with line of about 3-6kg .

Baitcasting rods and reels with braid line are excellent for casting lures into the snags to lure the fish out.

The yellowbelly are a hard fighting fish, and when you get a bigger one it will test out your gear.

 

The Yellowbelly are said to be a bit fatty but are quite good to eat cooked in the oven or on the bbq.