Snagging a Pearl Perch

To share a few tips so you can get out there and have a crack yourself, Scotty is also reached out to his mate, Andy Gunn, store manger of BCF, Kawana.

First thing to remember when reeling in a pearlie is that their nickname is bucket mouth. These things have massive wide mouths! When you hook one and start bringing them back to the boat, their mouths open and its like pulling a bucket out of the water. This creates a lot of drag, and the hook forms a whole in the soft part of their mouth where it is stuck. If you let pressure off the line, the hook will slip, and the fish will get away. Always keep pressure on the line.

As Scotty mentions, you don’t need to get too technical with the gear. BFC have a paternoster rigs set up and ready to go. One of the biggest tips offered, is that pearl perch prefer deep water. Scotty suggests looking for an area 50 – 110 metres deep where there’s weed wire. It can be hard to find on a sounder but generally where there’s plenty of bait, there’s weed wire.

Scotty and Gunny both confess to seeing plastic lures out fish bait on a boat, especially the soft plastic lures with the long tail. You can not only flick your mate on the boat, but catch plenty of fish with those.

Gunny also suggests if you want something really effective at catching pearlies, get a hold of a Vexed Bottom Meat Lure. The three hook connection will keep pearl perch nice and tight on the line when bringing them in.

Get prepped now at your local BCF and score yourself a nice big pearlie!