An Aussie Yellow Belly fish.

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Free Christian

Puritan Board Sophomore
Hey fellow fisherman. Thought id share this catch I made yesterday, an Aussie native fish a Yellow Belly. Weighs 2 kg, gave a fantastic fight too, at first I thought id hooked a big trout. Caught it on a soft plastic white minnow. Having it for tea tonight, baked in the oven.
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Nice catch! Nothing like having food taken straight from the river/bay straight to the table. enjoy!
 
Thanks guys. Mathew, I was fishing in the Loddon river just below the spillway at Cairn Curran. I was really going after Redfin, English Perch, but this one nailed the lure unexpectedly. These Yellowbelly, Godlen Perch, amaze me how God equipped them for the harsh Aussie environments they can live in. They have layers of fat which are stored between the flesh segments, backbone ridge and a thin layer between the flesh and the skin. They sure are equipped to live through the leaner times and drought when they would lay doggo in the remaining pools of water waiting for the water to return. They have been known to travel 1000km through river systems to flooded areas to spawn. Certainly are a testament to a wise creator. Over the size of this one the fat layers become almost 50% fat to 50% flesh and don't cook as well and the taste which is really nice but delicate becomes lost a bit due to that. This one was nice eating but if I caught a bigger one I would let it go. I once caught one twice this size and didn't know about the fat layers, it was passable to eat but I wouldn't eat one again that size.
 
Brett, I will have to go exploring that area some time. There doesn't seem to be much to catch around our area.
 
Ahh, good to hear you are a fellow fisherman Mathew. I would be more than happy to show you the spots I go and give you the tour. Tullaroop res which is just 20 minutes from my home should be good for redfin and trout in a few weeks time. April onwards is usually good. The redfin spawn then and come in close from out deeper in the lakes. Ill be seeing you though this Sunday, finally. Looking forward to seeing you and Mr's Turnbull :)
 
That looks like a cross between a brim and a bass....A brim and a bass are two species we have here in Florida. The brim get no larger than maybe a pound and the bass get between 6-12 lbs on average. Also is it not interesting that frish gets less tasty the fatter it gets where beef taste better....and this is not just an opinion. :cool:
 
Brett, Throwing a line out while my mind goes on a journey might not be worthy of the name "fishing." :)

But it would be great to throw a line out with you one day. I'm sure you could teach me a thing or two. We look forward to seeing you soon.
 
Hi Earl. I saw a show once where the guys were catching large mouth bass, a 12lb'er would be a good fight I bet. The fat in the Yellowbelly is sort of almost neutral in taste, very very light flavour. So the more of it there is it seems to make the flesh less noticeable. When cooked the fat is like jelly.
Ha ha Mathew, your not alone, my mind is somewhere else all the time, whether im fishing or almost anything else iv come to be able to engage a sort of auto pilot that kicks manual back in when something actually happens :lol:
 
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