Thread: Rudd, perch and cat fish in the Auckland waikato area

Been thinking of things to do in between spooking deer.

Seems like these fish are easy to catch and not bad to eat.

Anyone had much luck with them.

What sort of gear do you use?

Thoughts in general would be appreciated

Rudd are not considered good to eat, at least not in the western world. Perch can be good depending on their environment, clear water, koura-fed etc. Don't know about catfish. You won't go far wrong targeting perch with the same techniques used for trout, e.g. spinners, rapalas, large streamer flies. If all else fails, a big worm under a float will usually get you a fish (if legal where you plan to fish).

Originally Posted by MB

Rudd are not considered good to eat, at least not in the western world. Perch can be good depending on their environment, clear water, koura-fed etc. Don't know about catfish. You won't go far wrong targeting perch with the same techniques used for trout, e.g. spinners, rapalas, large streamer flies. If all else fails, a big worm under a float will usually get you a fish (if legal where you plan to fish).

I have tried spinners on trout. Good fun. Never caught any thing.

Originally Posted by berg243

try using softbaits with a tail that flutters and retrieve it slower than what you would for trout and if you use the weedless jig heads bounce it slowly along the bottom .

Thanks. I'll have to find a spot and give it a go

The bow hunters hunt the lakes in the north west waikato, I don't know what fish they target...but hey...cheap sport to get into, a piece of bamboo, string and something straight for an arrow.

Trout spinning gear (small veltic) in Lake Ototoa up South Head is good for a perch and they taste fine

Please excuse a sentimental perch story or three, to pass the time (night off you see).

So NZ perch are a European species obviously, one that I grew up targeting from the age of around four through my teens. I could walk out of our place where I grew up in Sussex, with a short rod and simple reel and some homegrown worms, and be 90% sure I‘d catch a perch. As I got older I grew tired of the tiddlers and decided to target the big boys (probably girls actually). And I got pretty damn good at it.

One word: livebait.

We would go to the shallow riffles upstream, with small handheld nets & a bucket, and catch stone loach and bullheads. These would be suspended on a small treble hook under a reasonably stout float, with one swanshot weight to keep the livebait down if it was feeling a bit poorly.

If there was a large perch in the swim that I was fishing, the average time from cast to strike was about 30 seconds. The large redfin perch is a voracious feeder and if it’s there, it will eat.

When the fish struck it was imperative to get it into the centre of the channel as quickly as possible, because if they got into the reeds you were done for. These were narrow and relatively shallow little rivers, sometimes not much more than 10 or 12 feet across and maybe 4 feet deep, though the deeper pools tended to be just enough for us young ‘uns to be able to build a rope swing in the summer.

We would use light tackle because that’s really all we knew, and the sport was fantastic. Losing a good fish was almost as bad as losing the FA Cup final to Man Utd. It really hurt.

I remember one day way back when, my dad had given me a strict time that I needed to be home for some reason or other. Which I completely ignored of course. He came looking for me with steam blowing out of his ears, there he was roaring over to grab me by the scruff of the neck. At that very moment my livebait was hit by a properly big perch, Dad saw the rod bend and I did my best and caught a really good fish. Situation defused...

One time around ‘82 I guess, I ran out of live bait and decided to use a Wrigleys gum wrapper as a lure. It was summer and the water was crystal clear. I watched the paper on the hook, willing it to stay on as I slowly retrieved it, suddenly it was snatched out of sight and my rod took a massive hit. Ten minutes later I landed a reasonable sized pike, which to this day is one of my favourite fishing memories. What the pike was doing in such a small river I will never know. But I caught it. In front of my mates. Legend.

Sadly there is a sting in the tail to this story. Last July I took my family back to England to see the folks and where I grew up, first time I had been back for 14 years. The day we arrived, completely jetlagged and freaked out, it felt like a good excuse to go for a walk down to the river and show my boys where I played for many years at their age. I was truly gutted to discover that the area had been largely developed on the other side of the river - where before there was nothing but farmland and woods - the river was silted up and hardly flowing - stagnant almost in places. I took my two boys to some of my favourite fishing holes... dead as. Full of crap and weed and no life in sight.

Over the years there is an expression that I have come to trust: never go back, you’ll be disappointed.

If you break your own rules, you should know what to expect. I was gutted. Oh well.

Originally Posted by DavidGunn

The bow hunters hunt the lakes in the north west waikato, I don't know what fish they target...but hey...cheap sport to get into, a piece of bamboo, string and something straight for an arrow.

shitty Koi Carp

Originally Posted by Russian 22.

Been thinking of things to do in between spooking deer.

Seems like these fish are easy to catch and not bad to eat.

Anyone had much luck with them.

What sort of gear do you use?

Thoughts in general would be appreciated

Lake POO Puke on the north shore has all of the above. used to fish there before i could drive to trout fishing.

Rudd are abundant in most of the Waikato hydro lakes, used to catch them as a kid with a bit of bread under a float. They’re also in Lake Rotoroa (Hamilton Lake), as are perch and catfish. Can’t say I’ve tried eating them though...

There’s also heaps of carp about, especially in the Waikato itself. You can often see them from the banks.


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Great story's Flyblown, thanks for that !

Sad but true on the going back !!

Rudd is awesome Snapper bait. Carp is better if you can get them. Both are cheap and free.

Originally Posted by Trigger

Rudd is awesome Snapper bait. Carp is better if you can get them. Both are cheap and free.

Re. the carp for snapper bait - have you used it successfully? I remember we speared a large carp and salted it down once, that stuff was legendary in it's ability to go a whole fishing trip without a fish ever touching it. But entirely possible we had the preparation wrong.

Originally Posted by PaulNZ

Re. the carp for snapper bait - have you used it successfully? I remember we speared a large carp and salted it down once, that stuff was legendary in it's ability to go a whole fishing trip without a fish ever touching it. But entirely possible we had the preparation wrong.

Probably bringing this thread off course. I use the Rudd as cut chunks and carp as a straight fillet. No salting or additives. Did the bizo for me in the centre of Waitemata harbour. Could I have used traditional baits? Sure. But this was free to me, straight from Takapuna lake. I found Rudd to be easier to catch since they were more prolific.

Originally Posted by Forestry

Trout spinning gear (small veltic) in Lake Ototoa up South Head is good for a perch and they taste fine

I will have a look at that thanks.

Originally Posted by 300CALMAN

Lake POO Puke on the north shore has all of the above. used to fish there before i could drive to trout fishing.

Water quality puts me right off.

A few years ago it was really nice. Now it's mostly duck and geese shit as opposed to water.

Originally Posted by tanqueray

Rudd are abundant in most of the Waikato hydro lakes, used to catch them as a kid with a bit of bread under a float. They’re also in Lake Rotoroa (Hamilton Lake), as are perch and catfish. Can’t say I’ve tried eating them though...

There’s also heaps of carp about, especially in the Waikato itself. You can often see them from the banks.


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Do you need specific permits for the hydro lakes?