big Neil

Well done Bob. Don't recall seeing a post of you getting some decent Snapper from that area before. Seems the fishing is starting to improve at last. Am I right in thinking that you don't rate the eating quality of Snapper very high? Keep up the good work, bn

Well the first day of Cod season arrived and anticipation was very high. I hadn't even been to the river during the closed season but word was that it was running a banker. No surprise there with all the rain and storm activity during the last week of the closed season. Checked everything out and the motor responded well to the fresh fuel. The new COW pulled the boat like a beauty and I arrived at the ramp to find only 1 other vehicle. What was a surprise was the river level was the best I'd seen it in years, although the water was quite dirty. Headed off upstream, always do the first time I use the boat after a lengthy layoff. Didn't go far and sussed out a place where I have had success previously. NOTHING except for some new snags. Spent the first hour tackling up over and over again. My neighbours were heading to Wagga Wagga for the day so I rang them and provided a shopping list of tackle I was running low on. As usual, I had two rods each with a double paternoster rig (my American buddy calls it a hi/low setup). Only had 3 different baits to try so it was cheese and worms on 1 rod and cheese and chicken on the other. Only got 1 shrimp in the net, so I let it go. I moved spot to a place where it was even more snaggy and immediately started to get some interest. The first hook up got me in a snag and I had to break the line after about 10 mins of trying to muscle the fish out. Fish 1-0. Second bite got me snagged again and I was lucky to land a nice Cod of 62cms and part of a tree. A very healthy looking fish that I returned to fight another day. Next cast and I lost a really good fish to the same snag, which I could see about 15cms below the surface. Changed the rig and baited up with just chicken, this resulted in a 54cms Cod which the bigger one could have eaten. Passed the time of day with a few anglers who were headed further upstream. Only 1 had caught a fish and that was a Silver Perch. We agreed that we had never seen one in the area we were targeting and that it probably got here in last years flood. After about 4 hours I started working my way back to the ramp but thought I'd have a go for Silver Perch or Yellowbelly. I baited up with worms but only managed a few Carp which were duly knocked on the head. A busy weekend coming up and then my American buddy is visiting for the week so there will be more reports to follow...hopefully with a bit more success??? A few pics from the day... The trusty tinny... Cod #1 Cod #2 Massive Eucalypts have massive root systems... Our version of Bondi Beach... Great to be back on the water. bn

My wife and I loved cruising Noel. Great food, lots of choices and about 20 hrs a day entertainment. There are some beautiful places not too far from Oz. As you say the locals are lovely people who don't have a lot but are happy any way. bn

Good to see that you had a great time Noel. A good holiday is one where you come back wrecked and in need of another one...or a good rest at home. Cheers, bn

...and old ones too. bn

Good onya Mike for your very generous offer. bn

Good to see that you finally got out Bob. Been some fairly horrid wet weather recently but Cod season opens today and I'm all revved up to explore the river. Tight lines, bn

Love using my baitcaster outfits finesse casting lures into the snags. They are amazingly accurate once you get the hang of them. Good on you all for getting together to learn yet another technique. bn

A good little haul of different species Isaac Ct, well done. bn

Great result Larkin especially with all the rain about and the threat of more to come. Very thoughtful to give the spear fishers something to take home, good onya. bn

Fair dinkum Derek, you must have a fantastic memory or keep great records of your mentoring achievements. Looking through the list of people you have mentored I see a rather disappointing detail. Alas, the majority of the people you have mentored are no longer anywhere to be seen on Fishraider. Personally, I find that rather sad. No doubt that each would have gained some benefit from your tuition, but where are they now? I know it's their right to do as they please but, if I am being blunt about this observation, it is very disappointing that so many have reaped the benefits and bolted. All too often we see this happen...people take what they need but how many "pass it forward?" Maybe some have moved ahead with greater confidence and capability, maybe some have passed on their newly acquired skills/knowledge, but they have deserted this forum. To me, that's not good enough! I'm not going to leave this post on a negative note. There are others in the list above who are regular contributors to the forum. Buoyed by their positive experiences, they are out there having fun, and learning to be better anglers in the process.

Looks to be very well equipped whiskey299. Fitted out for cameras too. Good one. bn

Well done Donna and the moderators in recognising Derek's achievements over the years. I know that he will be thrilled to receive such esteemed awards. No doubt about him deserving such awards, he actually gets sufficient personal reward from seeing others benefit from his input. To have the Fishraider community acknowledge his value is icing on the cake. I trust he will continue to develop newbies and more experienced anglers in the years to come. Good onya Derek. bn

Welcome to the forum Jack. Don't be afraid to ask for advice if you need a little help. Fishing is a journey, yours has been going for a short time. Plenty of smart anglers on here and there's not many species that haven't been caught by them. This forum has lots of help available so just ask away. Good luck with your journey, post the results, that's what keeps the forum ticking over. Cheers, bn

Better than the New Year Honours list, these awards have real significance. Congratulations to all the very worthy recipients for your efforts to help fellow members with their fishing. We can all learn from others and the willingness to help cannot be understated. Good onya, keep it up. bn

May I offer my congratulations to all the new GOLD MEMBER recipients. I trust that you will all continue to contribute to the site for the betterment of us all. The biggest benefit to being on this forum is that there is such a wealth of brilliant members who all share the same passion... fishing. The site continues to go from strength to strength as we all teach and learn from each other. Of course, this doesn't happen by magic, not even by AI. It happens because we have an amazing group of admin and moderators who work behind the scenes to keep Fishraider at the forefront of fishing forums. I thank them and the members for their efforts and look forward to it continuing. bn

Thanks Donna and Mike for putting your considered viewpoints forward. I really am a fossil when it comes to technology and related subject matter. I have little understanding of many things and AI would be near the top of the list. What this means is that one forms one's own opinions on such subjects. I have no interest in trying to comprehend the subject, but I am intelligent enough to know that you guys have a well-informed opinion on its value to humankind. I respect that and trust that the many benefits of using AI will far outweigh the negative concerns. Cheers, bn

You're obviously an experienced angler Jason, yet you still learn from new experiences. Good luck with the future assault on the Bream and Flathead. I'm sure it will be successful. Meantime, I'm enjoying reading your posts. Tight lines. bn

Thanks for going to the trouble of explaining the nuances, Mike. So what I gather from your explanation is that the AI version often lacks a human perspective...pretty much what it is, although there has to be a human behind it somewhere, even if it was way back in the development stage. Looking to the future, I can see little need for schools to teach educational subjects. One can find all the answers on Google. Maybe there will be a need for similar institutions to bring youngsters up to speed on social skills? The one thing that concerns me is the de-humanising of the human race, and all within a couple of generations. Hope I'm wrong, time will tell. bn

Hi Just James. This topic gets a fair bit of posts, which is good because it shows that we may have a preference but often have success with something vastly different. You probably know that I use lures a lot chasing Cod and Yellowbelly. Have used other lures for bread and butter marine creatures too. I have preference for certain colours but really I think this just allows me to have confidence in what I'm doing and therefore the results are generally better. However, I firmly believe that colour has only a small impact on catching fish. The correct action of the lure is what gets their interest. In deep water colours fade to grey as per the light spectrum. The first to go is red, at about 5 metres (it becomes grey). Good anglers are always prepared to try different things, in my opinion. I also think that fish can become alert to excessive exposure to fishing practices, so always a good idea to change things up every so often. Good topic mate. bn

How does one recognise an AI report Donna? bn

Good idea, we all need more laughter. bn

So glad that I have lived the last 7.6 decades as I can't even imagine what the world will be like in the next 7.6 decades. Actually, just mentioning the scenario has got my head spinning. Time for a lie down methinks. bn

Welcome to the forum seies and thanks for your first post. A lovely looking fish the Red Mowie. Will look forward to seeing more posts from you down the track. Cheers, bn

Interesting concept to consider: Is AI going to provide more benefit to humankind or continue to be an enigma, capable of serious concern? I know one thing. If I were having a peaceful fish on Sydney Harbour and witnessed any of the above depictions... I wouldn't want to be a fish. bn