big Neil

What sort of gear do you use to fish for the larger Kingies Stewy? bn

Nice one Bruce. Good to see that you didn't get many Carp. Similar situation in the Murrumbidgee River...it may be that there are really good stocks of Cod and they may be helping keep the Carp numbers down. I reckon that the Cod in the picture featured in wcurralls post is a hybrid (cross between a Murray Cod and a Trout Cod). Nice haul from your trip to Culburra too. What's the dark fish on the front right of your picture? Cheers, bn

Bit of a tonic reading your report Ryder. Having been fortunate to experience the finer art of Blackfishing with yours truly, I can FEEL the inner excitement of your report. Even finding the net torn and some fish escaped, would only be a slight hiccup in the days excitement. Thanks for sharing it mate. bn

There are some things which you would like to do and then there's things which you need to do. Sharing their proud moments fall into the latter category Jeff. Of course you already knew that...fishing will still be there tomorrow and for many days to come. Good luck when you get out on the water. Cheers, bn

That's a heartbreaking story Jon. There are some bastards around that's for sure. I don't know how the owner could be so callous. I don't know you real well Jon but I believe that you'll get this "vessel" on the water and continue spending many hours with your family, doing what you guys do best. Bite the bullet mate and make it work for you. Maybe you could do some before and after process as you get her seaworthy. No doubt we'll see plenty of reports once you are back in business. Good luck mate, bn

Preferred cheese is either Mozzarella or Colby. They are softer and don't break up like Cheddar when you put the hook in. The white flashes are natural on the Cod's fins (both Murray Cod and Trout Cod). Cheers, bn

After all the lovely rain which we have had I decided on another trip to the river at Narrandera. Nobody else there (again) and there was a nice bit of water coming down. Had the boat in the water about 8am and headed upstream for a change. I ran aground after about 200 metres and decided to head downstream to my usual haunts. I had dead shrimps on a paternoster rig and cubes of cheese on the sinker at the hook rig. The fish were coming in at a steady pace, often both rods going off at the same,,,all Murray Cod to about 53 cms. I managed a rather large Carp on the shrimps then started to use live shrimps, which I had caught. I caught a Silver Perch of about 47 cms on a huge cheese bait. From my experiences it is very unusual to catch them on cheese and in that part of the river. It was in excellent condition so is obviously managing to find ample food as it competes with the Murray Cod and Trout Cod. I left about midday and headed home to wash the boat. Ended up with more than a dozen Murray Cod, one Carp and one Silver perch. As always it was a lovely day to be on the river. Unable to upload pics??? will try in a separate post. Cheers, bn

Another great rod to add to your arsenal Ryder. Blackfish beware, he's coming to get you!. bn

OOPS! Looks like the floor mats might be a bit damp. Hope the occupants were alright though. Cheers for the human interest videos mate. bn

Hi kc. With 3 levels of Government in Australia ( Federal, State /Territory, Local) it would be reasonable to assume that we would be better served by our politicians, and we should be. However many of them seem to forget that they are there to serve the people of Australia and are too self interested to be effective. Having said that I still believe that we live in the best country in the world and we have a lot to be grateful for. Maybe one day we will be able to control the weather, who knows? Cheers, bn

Get the rods out Anthony, there's probably Carp in there! bn

Hey guys thanks for all the replies. We have had a bit more steady drizzle and the region is nice and wet. Only surface wet though as we haven't had any penetrating rainfall that will reach the soils substructure. Still every bit helps. As I keep saying "hope it's falling in the dam catchment areas". Lots of good commentary on what could be done and all of it IS ACHIEVABLE. Whether it's viable is another thing! Where I live used to be a major food bowl and we not only supplied the local market but also exported product all around the world. Some years back the MIA produced 1.8 million tonnes of rice in a season (one of the world's staple foods). Mainly thanks to the Murray Darling Basin Plan the region will produce less than 80,000 tonnes this year. Okay Parliamentary representatives can't make it rain and if they could we would (most likely) miss out anyway. Politics is a numbers game and inland areas will always be disadvantaged because of the "insignificant population factors" which come in to play. That's not me whingeing, that's reality! I love where I live but it is very sad seeing towns dying because they aren't getting enough water to achieve their potential. Life is what it is and Australia certainly has unique statistical values, not the least is that we share a MASSIVE country with an overall population of less than 25 million. We also inhabit a continent which is notoriously dry, most of the time. Cheers, bn

Thanks for sharing your joint posts guys. Always great to see folks having fun and success on the water. Seems that your plan for the day worked to perfection. Cheers, bn

That's the last thing that you need Baz...not being able to get out fishing. You don't go often enough as it is mate. You know what they say? USE IT OR LOSE IT! Hope you get all the problems ironed out without too much hassle. bn

There's levels of keenness Niall and I rate you AA+. As you rightly point out, once you're wet you're wet. A hot shower at home and life's back to normal...plus some good fishing experiences. Keep up the good work. bn

According to the news NSW is copping heavy rain and potential flooding. Even we got a tablespoon full. Seriously though I hope that there is MINIMAL damage to the already suffering coastal areas and that ALL THE CATCHMENT AREAS reap the benefits of these falls. It is desperately needed everywhere. Keep safe everyone, bn

Welcome to the forum Jbrace. I'm no Bream expert but can add a few words in reply. Firstly big Bream are probably more than 20 years old. They don't get to be that old by being stupid and if you can outsmart them at that size then you'll do alright in the comp which you're entering. I can only encourage you to be adventurous and keep thinking outside the box if you want to become more adept at what you do. Good luck in the Comp. bn

I've been hitting the Murrumbidgee quite frequently during the past few weeks and the fishing has been pretty good throughout. I used to be able to go online and find information on water levels at various points of the river, then make plans to fish the best options. HOWEVER, I can no longer access such information as no statistics are being provided. Been like that for months too. I went out yesterday to Narrandera and was able to head downstream about a kilometre, too shallow to head upstream though. My local spot 4 days ago saw me run aground at a place which is usually low but passable. You might imagine that the bottom of the river would be VERY SOFT MUD but I was surprised to find it as firm as concrete. One thing that became apparent from fishing several different places within a few days is that the Trout Cod are much more prolific in some areas than the Murray Cod and that they are breeding pretty well, as are the Murray Cod. Plenty of small ones aggressively taking the bait too. I had some Bardi grubs and these were absolutely hammered... Apparently there is rain on the way but we have had very little recently. Cheers, bn

Thanks for sharing your joint experience guys, I enjoyed reading it. Looks like your end result was the payoff for tolerating the ignorant behaviour of some others in the vicinity. It's one of the downsides of modern society that many have elevated their importance above that of fellow anglers. Courtesy and respect seem to be sadly lacking from some people these days. Job well done. Cheers, bn

Hope she doesn't see this report mate or you and your wife are in trouble LOL. Actually real good that you turned up when you did... Cheers, bn

They reckon a change is as good as a rest! Always great to try something out of the norm that pays dividends too. Sounds like you all had some fun on the water. Love reports like that. Aren't Jewfish beautiful? Cheers, bn

Good result Kiwibrown and no doubt you'll be itching to try for a repeat performance. Hope somebody tells you the best way to present the pilchards so that they stay alive long enough to entice a kingie. Good luck buddy. bn

Good to see your report Stewy & Co. Be great to tackle some of those. Still on the wish list which I keep adding to. Top pics too. Cheers, bn

LOL some good ones there noelm. Why keep a dog and bark yourself? The grass is always greener (not in Australia). Post some more if you think of them. Cheers, bn