- Macquaria colonorum
Overview[]
A close relative of the Australian Bass, and the Bream, the Estuary perch or Macquaria colonorum, also commonly known as "EP" for short, is a hard fighting fish found usually in the mid to upper reaches of southern Australian estuaries.
This is from the DPI website
Estuary perch is a relatively common fish that inhabits coastal rivers and lakes throughout NSW from the Richomd River in the North to the Murray River in SA, and South to the Arthur and Ansons Rivers, Tasmania. The species is fast becoming an icon species for estuary sport-fishers using artificial lures and flies. Many fish are released following capture. Very little is known about the biology and ecology of estuary perch, although there may be some parallels with Australian bass. Estuary perch can grow to 10 kg and 75 cm in length and they appear to spawn in the lower reaches of rivers in winter and spring. However, their ecological requirements and life history characteristics, including reproductive biology, size, age and location of spawning, juvenile and adult habitat associations and age and growth rate are all unknown.
They are very similar to Bass and as it has been discovered the two species (M. colonorum and M. novemaculeata) can interbred, and apparently occurs frequently in the wild. They also inhabit similar areas, although where Bass are mainly fresh with a bit of salt, Estuary Perch are more salt with a bit of fresh if that makes sense. It has also been noted that the two species can be caught side by side in the same areas, especially during Autumn and Winter when Bass migrate downstream to spawn in the lower reaches of rivers.
Tackle[]
Tackle used to target EP's usually include Bream and Bass style rods around 2-4kg range and 1500-2000 spinning reels. Small softplastic grubs, shads and stickbaits work well along the bottom and against structure. Hardbody lures such as Ecogear SX40's also work well when trolled or cast/retrieved slowly in amongst snags and drop-offs.