'bidgee update

[big Neil]

Happy days to all from the deep south. Mid January and well into the Cod season so I thought an update might be of interest to Fishraiders.

Plenty of fish around and they are probably a little bit timid still. We usually get an invasion of visiting anglers here over the Christmas /New Year period and the fish get somewhat "hammered". To that end they can be a bit more difficult to catch.

BAIT FISHING. This has been producing lots of Murray Cod with the odd few Trout Cod and Yellowbelly thrown in. Interestingly VERY FEW CARP have been caught. The usual baits of shrimp, worms, cheese and chicken strips all claiming results at different times. Probably the biggest factor in catch rates has been the water levels and flow rate. It's been VERY HOT and so the impact of cold water straight from the dams has been minimal. As usual at this time of year the water levels are up and down like a yoyo. The fish are biting one minute then switching off the next, so patience is a must. During a typical 6 hr session the fish will be biting and shutting down several times. The only advice really would be to put the time in and vary the bait regularly. Bit of an oddity is that the few fish taken for a feed have had stomachs full of yabbies, yet none have been caught on yabbies in 6 weeks of bait fishing. Maybe the Cod are targeting the yabbies in the dark hours??? More research required.

Probably caught over 50 Cod so far yet only a few over the minimum 55cms. Still great to know that they are around in numbers, bears well for the future.

LURE FISHING. This is always a limited option at this time of year because of the fast currents running between the weirs. Still worth a try though. Went out for 2 hrs last evening and only got the one fish...still that's reward itself when the conditions are extremely difficult. It can be very frustrating to nip in between the snags where you KNOW the fish are holding, put in hundreds of deadly accurate casts and have little to show for it. Still that's fishing for Murray Cod. Till next time...tight lines, bn

[frankS]

Great report Neil and thanks for sharing, no carp is good news and only 1 fish in 2 hours sounds OK to me.

Frank

[mrsswordfisherman]

An excellent read thanks Neil.

[Blackfish]

Thanks Neil for such a great report.

Alwsys love reading about that part of the country.

[rickmarlin62]

hey neil..glad your getin a few buddy...no carp is a blessing....hope you get a few more legals.....my river is at half its normal height so im not bothering goin there yet...rick

[big Neil]

31 minutes ago, rickmarlin62 said:

hey neil..glad your getin a few buddy...no carp is a blessing....hope you get a few more legals.....my river is at half its normal height so im not bothering goin there yet...rick

Cheers Rick. Enjoying it while there's enough water. LOL bn

[Omally]

Yep waiting for all the holiday makers to leave wyangala then hit it hard got some nice ac invaders I wanna try, trailers all fixed up ready for action ... Nice report Neil and  I think my first cod might be dedicated to ya mate hahaha gathering alot of good info out of your Murray cod posts.. Cheers

[big Neil]

12 hours ago, Omally said:

Yep waiting for all the holiday makers to leave wyangala then hit it hard got some nice ac invaders I wanna try, trailers all fixed up ready for action ... Nice report Neil and  I think my first cod might be dedicated to ya mate hahaha gathering alot of good info out of your Murray cod posts.. Cheers

Haha Omally. You're on the Lachlan River aren't you? Plenty of good Cod and Yellas in there mate and Summer is defo the best time to get among them. What size boat have you got? Anyway good luck catching your first Cod...and if it proves to be TOO TRICKY, pop down here and I'll put you on to some. Good luck. bn

[Omally]

Yeah on the lachlan big fella but it's irrigation season and it's flowing real hard from wyangala to Forbes anyway. They caught a 70 pound cod at Gooloogong 2 years ago but was right before cod season ended and possibly the end of the irrigation season I'm guessing to so yeah definitely in there .. I have a 455 freedomsport ( a decent size but still small enough to drag around by myself ... Thanks for the offer mate really appreciate it I'm keen as .. Umm yeah not used to freshwater fishing really but I did used to love bassin in the nepean River... 

[fragmeister]

Great read!  Thanks Neil.

 

Cheers

Jim

[big Neil]

7 hours ago, Omally said:

Yeah on the lachlan big fella but it's irrigation season and it's flowing real hard from wyangala to Forbes anyway. They caught a 70 pound cod at Gooloogong 2 years ago but was right before cod season ended and possibly the end of the irrigation season I'm guessing to so yeah definitely in there .. I have a 455 freedomsport ( a decent size but still small enough to drag around by myself ... Thanks for the offer mate really appreciate it I'm keen as .. Umm yeah not used to freshwater fishing really but I did used to love bassin in the nepean River... 

If you want to catch ur first Cod in the Lachlan, here's what to do. GO NOW while the water is flowing. Leave the boat at home if you want. Use a 4=8 kg rod loaded with 20 - 30 lb mono. Size 2 ball or bean sinker running down to a 3/0 or 4/0 hook loaded with a couple of pieces of colby or mozzarela cheese (about 1 cm cubes). Cast into the current and let the bait drift round till it stops (edge of the current). Same again with rod #2 about 5 mtrs further downstream. Stay close to the rods as they are likely to take off when the Cod strikes.

There's heaps of Yellas in the Lachlan so while you're doing the above put a shrimp net, loaded with a handful of dog biscuits, in near the edge (out of the current). Tie it to the rod rest or a tree. When you get some shrimps hook 3 through the tail and use that on 1 rod. Doing this you're likely to catch either or both Cod and Yellas. Try it and let me know how you go. PS...you have to be patient, but you will catch something. Cheers, bn

[big Neil]

2 hours ago, fragmeister said:

Great read!  Thanks Neil.

 

Cheers

Jim

Cheers Jim, how u doin mate? Neil

[Omally]

46 minutes ago, big Neil said:

If you want to catch ur first Cod in the Lachlan, here's what to do. GO NOW while the water is flowing. Leave the boat at home if you want. Use a 4=8 kg rod loaded with 20 - 30 lb mono. Size 2 ball or bean sinker running down to a 3/0 or 4/0 hook loaded with a couple of pieces of colby or mozzarela cheese (about 1 cm cubes). Cast into the current and let the bait drift round till it stops (edge of the current). Same again with rod #2 about 5 mtrs further downstream. Stay close to the rods as they are likely to take off when the Cod strikes.

There's heaps of Yellas in the Lachlan so while you're doing the above put a shrimp net, loaded with a handful of dog biscuits, in near the edge (out of the current). Tie it to the rod rest or a tree. When you get some shrimps hook 3 through the tail and use that on 1 rod. Doing this you're likely to catch either or both Cod and Yellas. Try it and let me know how you go. PS...you have to be patient, but you will catch something. Cheers, bn

Yep awesome Neil just finished mowing the lawn I'm buggered... Yep I agree it's bound to happen like I'm doing everything right they reckon there a fish of a thousand casts ( unless ya lucky lol) I did catch a carp last time I went on cheese where I go on the lachlan it's only narrow no room for a boat but awesome for a kayak  like from wyangala to Forbes then at Forbes you can put in a boat,yeah anyway the places I go look so fishy and just text book cod just screaming it but nothing... Secretly I think it's my to young ones running around and stuff spooking them... Next time I go to the river I'm going alone armed with chicken  breast soaked in parmesan cheese and some tasty cubes coz that's what I got the carp on.... Was getting a Lil disenthused but never gonna give up I live so close so even just putting in short frequent sessions should come good.... I'll keep ya posted mate cheers 

[fragmeister]

On 13/01/2018 at 5:09 PM, big Neil said:

Cheers Jim, how u doin mate? Neil

Thanks for asking Neil...

I am doing ok...struggling a bit with work at the moment so I don't have any time for much else.

... but I have an exit strategy for semi retirement starting next year so if that all works out you may see a fishing report every couple of days from me! Woo Hoo!

Cheers

Jim

 

[big Neil]

On 1/20/2018 at 10:05 AM, fragmeister said:

Thanks for asking Neil...

I am doing ok...struggling a bit with work at the moment so I don't have any time for much else.

... but I have an exit strategy for semi retirement starting next year so if that all works out you may see a fishing report every couple of days from me! Woo Hoo!

Cheers

Jim

 

Great to hear Jim AND if that does happen this erstwhile retired angling person may need to join you. Good luck Jim, hope you get on top of the work situation and manage to fulfil your plans next year. Cheers, Neil.     ps been away for the weekend to Talbingo and had a visit to the Yarangobilly River. Looks very fishable and my host advised that the source of the Bidgee isn't too far from where I was. Something which I didn't really know...

[fragmeister]

Cheers to that Neil!