An ongoing topic of discussion in fishing circles, at least around the south-eastern Australian region, is the trout vs natives debate. It’s been raging for years — some might even say centuries — so we thought it about time to chip in and throw the proverbial two cents into the fray. Trout aficionados, with whom we often empathise via a…
Tag: murray cod
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…
Catch and release: a little perspective goes a long way
The catch and release movement has grown considerably over the last few decades. Initiative like #keepemwet and others have done incredibly well at building strong support for catch and release in some parts of the fishing community. Social media has helped spread the message, driving a strong commitment to catch and release amongst many angling communities. Which is great! The fishing…
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? …
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…
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…
Murray cod closed season: let them breed in peace
Its the murray cod closed season at the moment. It also happens to be prime golden perch season. These two can often conflict given that unlike the trout season where rivers are totally closed to fishing, cod rivers are still open to other forms of fishing. While most people try to do the right thing, various aspects of murray cod…
To cod or not to cod?
In this post I wanted to ask the question (as much for myself as for anyone else): ‘to cod or not to cod?’ Part of this relates to my lack of success last season. It went something like this: Around 15 predominantly topwater sessions totalling roughly 24 hours of cod-targeting. Most of this was spent on my local stretch of…
A deeper look at “wild” places (and is stocking threatened native fish outside their range a good idea?)
By complete coincidence, me and Graz unknowingly both wrote drafts about a similar topic. You can read Graz’s piece about the “Natural trout stream paradox” here. This piece touches on similar topics, however its not about trout and takes a far broader brush to the issue (and is way longer- if you want punchy read Graz’s piece). Conservation strategies,…
Native fish stockings: successes, failures and the future
A little while ago I looked at the effectiveness of trout stockings. One of the things that the research makes clear in the case of trout, is that in many circumstances, stockings are not effective. In fact, under some conditions, they can actually be counterproductive. Rather than helping grow fish stocks, they can significantly hurt stocks, leading to fisheries that…
The best fishing spots in and around Canberra
Canberra anglers are blessed with access to a variety of environments, target species and fishing opportunities. When assessing the best fishing spots around Canberra, the most important consideration is the species you want to target and the technique you want to employ. There are some spots in which you can target multiple species, but generally, the species you want to…
Murray Cod – king of the river, king of the night
Persistence is the first word that comes to mind when people talk about Murray cod fishing in 2015. The ‘glory’ days (I use the term loosely) of catching a dozen big cod in an afternoon are a distant memory. But there is a group of diehard anglers who will go to any lengths to tangle with the local Murray Cod…