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Bite Compass
Freshwater

Redfin Perch

Perca fluviatilis

Introduced freshwater pest, declared in WA — must not be returned alive to water. Established in the south-west's dams and rivers including Wellington Dam, Waroona Dam and the Avon River, where it preys on native galaxiids, juvenile marron and trout fry. Despite the pest status, eats well and pulls hard for its size on light gear.

Size
Up to 3kg, commonly 250–500g
Peak season
Year-round (cooler-month peak)
Minimum size (WA)
No minimum size
Bag limit (WA)
No bag limit (declared pest)

Overview

Redfin perch are a European freshwater predator first introduced to WA in 1903 and now widespread through the south-west's dams, weirs and slow river reaches. They're a declared pest under WA biosecurity rules — voracious on small native fish, marron and stocked trout fingerlings, and not to be returned alive to the water under any circumstances. Wellington Dam, Waroona Dam, Drakesbrook Weir and the Avon River are the productive waters, and a South-West Freshwater Angling Licence is required to fish for them. Anglers fish redfin both as a pest-control exercise and for the table; the flesh is among the best of any introduced freshwater fish in Australia.

Identification

Also known as Redfin, reddies, English perch, European perch

Deep-bodied and slab-sided, olive to bronze-green with five to eight dark vertical bars down the flanks and bright orange-red pelvic, anal and tail fins. Two dorsal fins, the front one spiny with a dark blotch at the back, and rough scales that will take skin off your hand. Older fish develop a pronounced humped back. Nothing else in WA fresh water looks like it: trout are streamlined, spotted rather than barred, and carry an adipose fin; black bream have neither the bars nor the red fins and are estuarine anyway. Small ones are reddies. Mind the gill covers — they are sharp.

How to Catch

Best Baits

Worms, scrubworms, small yabbies, prawn, fresh mullet strip

Lures

Small soft plastics (2–3" curl-tail or paddle-tail) on 1/8–1/4oz jigheads, small spinners (Celta, Mepps), small hardbody minnows, soft vibes

Rigs

Light spin gear — 6–10lb braid or 4–6lb mono, 8–12lb fluorocarbon leader. Running sinker rig with a size 1–2 hook for bait, or a single jighead for plastics. Redfin school heavily, so when you find one there are usually more in the same spot.

Technique

Cast small plastics or spinners along weed edges, drowned timber and submerged points, and work them slowly with a lift-and-drop retrieve. Trolling small hardbodies behind a kayak across dam edges produces well in summer. From the bank, fish baits on the bottom near structure on light gear. When you hook one, work the area thoroughly — they hold in tight schools.

Best Time

Active year-round in WA's south-west, with autumn and spring producing the best of it as water temperatures sit in the 14–20°C range. Mid-summer fish hold deeper. First and last light are most productive on the dams, but daytime fishing is fine in cooler weather.

Size & Growth

Commonly 250–500g and 20–30cm. A kilo fish is a good one, and 2kg-plus is a genuine south-west trophy that most anglers never see. The honest complication is stunting: redfin breed prolifically and in crowded water an entire population will sit at 15–20cm indefinitely, so numbers and size run in opposite directions. Wellington Dam holds the better average size because it has the depth and the forage to support it. They live around eight to ten years, mature early, and a single female lays an enormous ribbon of eggs, which is exactly why they became a problem.

Diet & Habitat

Voracious and indiscriminate — small native fish, galaxiids, juvenile marron and gilgies, stocked trout fingerlings, insect larvae, yabbies, and their own young when nothing else is going. They school hard along weed edges, drowned timber, rocky points and submerged inflows, dropping into deeper water through summer. The productive WA waters are Wellington Dam, Waroona Dam, Drakesbrook Weir, Harvey Dam and the slower reaches of the Avon, Collie and Blackwood. They are a declared pest in WA and must not be returned to the water alive — plan on keeping everything you catch.

WA Size & Bag Limits

Minimum size No minimum size
Bag limit No bag limit (declared pest)
Counts toward A declared freshwater pest — DPIRD advises they are not returned to the water and are humanely euthanased, with dead fish binned rather than left on the bank. A South-West Freshwater Angling Licence is required.

No bag limit and no minimum size — redfin perch are a declared freshwater pest. DPIRD recommends they are not returned to the water and are humanely euthanased, with dead fish disposed of in a bin rather than left on the bank. A South-West Freshwater Angling Licence is required to fish for them.

Last checked . Limits change — confirm with DPIRD before you fish.

Eating Quality

Yes — and they are arguably the best-eating introduced freshwater fish in Australia, which is an awkward fact for a declared pest. Firm white fillets, mild and clean, with none of the muddy taint that spoils warm-water natives, provided the fish come out of open dam water rather than a stagnant backwater. Skin-on pan-fried in butter, or crumbed and shallow-fried, both suit the fillet size. They are fiddly to clean — the scales are rough and the spines are sharp, so a fillet knife and a firm grip behind the head beat trying to scale them. Small fish are barely worth the effort; anything over about 25cm gives a usable fillet. Iced down on capture they hold quality for several days and freeze better than most freshwater fish, which suits a species you are not allowed to put back anyway.

Where to Catch Redfin Perch

Avon River (Toodyay) Big Brook Dam (Pemberton) Glen Mervyn Dam (Collie) Harvey Dam Logue Brook Dam (Lake Brockman) Pemberton / Donnelly River Waroona Dam / Drakesbrook Weir Wellington Dam (Collie)

Guides Featuring Redfin Perch

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