THE WINDI WIZ – JOSH KOPP

Josh Kopp was kind enough to sit down with TG and share some information on the set-ups he runs, favourite lures and where to fish them and a few tournament tips along the way. 

Thanks Legend.

1. Biggest Windamere yella?

642mm on a chartreuse 60mm Jackall Mask Vibe one of my first trips over there

2. Biggest Windamere bag for a day?

It would be around the 60 fish. That was in the AYC this year on the Saturday, it was insane!!

3. What setups do you run? i.e rod, reel, braid and leader

4. If you had to catch a yella at Windamere and only had 15mins what bait and colour would you throw?

Easy mate, Jackall Transam 95 in Ghost black red belly colour. CAN NOT MISS. 

5. What are your top three baits and colours?

Blade:Ecogear ZX40 blade – The dark knight 416
Vibe: Jackall Transam – Ghost black red belly
Plastic:Berkley gulp 3” minnow grub or Prolure yabbie (Mud green) on a ¼ oz Bassman jig head

6. Where do you fish each bait? I.e What do you look for in a spot for each bait

Blades/Plastics: Grassy points and slower sloping banks early season as the fish push up tight to the edges, Great early season tactic when the fish are chasing the warmer water.

Vibes: Masks and Transams around the deeper banks when the sun is higher and the water warms up and they will commit to a bigger profile lure like the 95mm Transam. This is my favourite technique for big fish.

Plastics: Vertical timber when the bite is shut down like winter or late summer, it’s a great tactic to fill a bag in a tournament but the average size is a lot small then the fish on the edges.

7. What’s the best tip you could give anyone fishing Windamere for the first time?

There is fish on every bank! The water was clear a few weeks ago and it blew me away actually how many Goldens are along most of the banks. Fish blades, soft vibes and LCBs on points and along the banks. keep in contact with the bottom, use some small lifts to fish the lure back in your retrieve and give your lure plenty of pauses. Don’t be scared to mix it up a little too with some more aggressive shakes and bigger lifts.

8. How can anglers up their edge bite game at Windamere?

Sounders have changed the game dramatically in the last decade, if you can learn to use a good quality sounder with side scan and down scan you will be able to locate the fish and target a specific depth or area. This will increase your catch rates. The fish move in and out of varied depths throughout the day so use your sounder to find the depths the fish may be at. It also helps if you have two guys in the boat fishing different depths and styles of lures to help you work out a pattern.

9. Do you use your sounder much, if so, to do what?

My eyes are generally glued to the sounder. If I am scanning searching for fish like in a tournament pre-fish situation or looking at new areas I will be looking for a depth the fish are sitting and try and find a pattern so I can target that depth. I use side scan a lot when searching for submerged timber and then down scan to look at the fish holding on that timber. When I am casting off the front deck I will have the front sounder on looking for fish that are coming through on the sonar along the bank.

10. When is the best time to fish Windamere?

I love Windamere early season, the start of September before it gets to much pressure and the fish start to push to the edges, the are hungry after a long winter and are out actively feeding. This is when I have caught multiple 600+ in a session.

11. Do you experience better bite windows at certain times of the day at Windamere?

I find that you can catch fish at any time of the day, you may just have to adjust your target depths during the middle of the day as the weather warms up. You can’t beat an early morning at Windamere just as the sun is coming over the hills.

USEFUL LINKS

• JOSH’S RODS
• JOSH’S REELS
• JOSH’S LEADER