It’s winter. It’s cold. The trout streams are closed, the ski fields are open and there is nothing better to do that curl up in front of the fire with a nice glass of something warming and hibernate until the spring. Right? It’s only a couple of months to go … What if I told you the last few weeks…
Category: Native
A few days fishing on the Murrumbidgee
Graz and I recently spent a few days fishing the Murrumbidgee west of Narrandera. It was a great chance to catch up with Grazza, who has spent the last year on the sunny shores and tropical mountains of Hawaii. We arrived fairly late after a decent 3.5 hour drive from Canberra. We only had a few km of dirt roads…
What is the future of the Howqua river?
I spent last weekend camping on the Howqua river at Sheepyards flat. It wasn’t a fishing trip. It was a camping, hanging by the river, hanging out with the kids, making new friends trip. The days were filled with swimming, throwing stones into the river, watching horses, grilling meats over an open fire, drinking cold mid-strength beer during the day…
Kayak bassin’
The plan was to chase kingfish, however once we were out of bed it became immediately obvious we wouldn’t be heading out to sea as the wind was howling, whitecaps peppering twofold bay. Time for plan B(ass), which we developed over coffee and google maps. After toying with the idea of an epic 15km car drop in order to fish…
Finally…a legitimate winter cod
I drafted this post in late winter but for some reason didn’t get around to posting it. Anyway, thanks for reading 🙂 ___ It’s always good when a plan comes together. Over the last year or so, I’ve been lucky to tangle with three sizeable Murray Cod (and a few slightly smaller, but very satisfying ones). Big cod are undoubtedly…
Carp herpes virus: risks and rewards
The fishing media is currently awash with articles about ‘carpageddon‘ and wild claims from all sides. In this post, we want to answer a few of the questions that have been raised about the release of the virus and the potential habitat and ecosystems benefits that may occur, but also some of the risks of the release. What is it? …
Lake Burley Griffin – best fishing spots and techniques
One of the great things about living Canberra is the access to some great fishing opportunities. We are lucky enough to have the coast and the mountains within a few hours’ drive, providing nearly endless fishing options. However, it’s the lakes and rivers close to home that make it a truly great spot for anglers, both casual and avid. Lake…
Match the hatch – surface lures for Murray Cod
I cast my big jointed surface lure to edge of the river and it landed with a distinct SPLOOSH. Within a couple of seconds there was a second SPLOOSH. A water dragon had left its sunny rock and plunged into the water nearby. It raced over to the lure and started to give chase as the lure blipped and blooped…
Why Mulloway fishermen should care about freshwater inflows.
I’ve written before about how important great habitat is if we want great fisheries. I strongly believe that as fishers, being custodians for the environments we spend so much time enjoying is vital. One area that is sometimes overlooked is the importance of freshwater inflows for the health and vitality of our estuary fisheries. This is especially important on regulated…
Catch and release is great but… its means nothing if we don’t have habitat
It is truly great to see large portions of the recreational fishing community really getting behind catch and release… From the early days of Rex Hunt kissing fish and letting them go while chanting yibbida-yibbida to the continued support of the movement by fishing personalities since, guys like Steve Starling, Bushy, Rod Paxevanous and the like, the catch and release…
Bidgee Cod on surface lures – video
We were lucky enough to sneak in a Murray Cod session just before Christmas. Lee, Curto and I made our way down to the Murrumbidgee River armed with half a dozen spinnerbaits and crankbaits. But it was the prospect of throwing the big surface lures in the bottom of the tackle box that had us really excited. The 110mm jointed…
Totally addicted to bass
I need to start this post by admitting that until last Friday, I’d never caught an Australian bass. I’ve only had two sessions previously and came up blank both times. After a cracking little weekend at the south coast with Graz, I’m regretting all those times I’ve driven straight over bass rivers en route to the ‘greener’ pastures of the…