This was the last thing that I expected to catch while fishing in the Ovens River. I have been fishing in the Ovens River for 4 decades and have seen a lot of things come and go, and seen a lot of changes to the fishing. During the 1980s the Ovens River was an absolute redfin fishing hot spot. The river was teaming with redfin, otherwise known as English perch and it was not uncommon to catch 10 or a dozen nice redfin in a single afternoon.
During the 1990s fisheries stocked the Ovens River heavily with yellowbelly (Golden perch) which seemed to create a rapid decline in the number of redfin
By the end of the 1990s yellowbelly stockings had discontinued in the Ovens River and trout cod stocking began under the trout cod recovery program which lasted several years.
With all of these native fish being stocked into the Ovens River, the redfin population was decimated to the point that they have become as rare as hens teeth.
So rare in fact that I can only remember catching 1 single redfin in the last 20 years and that was about 8 or 9 years ago on a cast lure.
This redfin was the last thing that I expected to catch in the Ovens River in Wangaratta. To be honest, I would have been less surporised if I had of caught a rainbow trout!
I suspect that this redfin may have been washed into the Ovens River from a nearby creek, lagoon or dam in recent rain events and no doubt it was only a matter of time before a Murray cod or a trout cod found it....and ate it!
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