big Neil

I will be fishing Tuross Lake next Tue, Wed, Thurs using soft plastics,etc if anybody is interested in a day in the tinnie, pm me. Neil.

Sure beats freezing in Bathurst, well done. Neil.

U may want to consider 25 hp if ur going outside 2 miles. Good luck with ur search. Neil.

Well done Luc...quality fish. Neil.

They taste ok, tho not as good as flatties and whiting. Neil.

Hi everyone, truth is that "they" will manipulate the results of any survey to suit any perceived end result they want. It's called having a political agenda and is a waste of taxpayers money, no matter how it's carried out. Don't forget folks that not everybody who fishes takes the maximum bag limit of a species when they fish and therefore bag and size limits must be considered by" average". With regard to Marine Parks ,I would imagine they are there to reduce a perceived overall impact on certain fish species and therefore, if a survey was seen to support shortage of said species,' they' would look justified in creating more Marine parks. Like many other things in life there needs to be a balance between sustainability and the real needs for recreational value to millions of amateur fishos who. incidentally, put millions of dollars into the economy to support their sport.

Hi Bassboy. Northern pike are a brilliantly camouflaged predator which feed on small freshwater fish and even smaller pike. There's a heap of info on youtube regarding lure and bait fishing for them. U will need rod and reel which can handle 30 lb lines. Used to catch these in the rivers of England (when I lived there) and they hit like a train and put up a good fight. Enjoy looking at the youtube footage and u'll be drooling by the time u head off. Good luck, Neil.

Stu, gr8 advice from a legend (Hodgey)...good luck, Neil.

Good luck Roberta. Look fwd to seeing ur reports again real soon, Big Neil.

Hi whatawag, the gas cylinder in ur manual pfd is CO2 and as such the cylinder will be stamped with its manufacture date. These pressure cylinders must be either pressure tested or replaced after 10 years. It is cheaper to replace them. You may inspect them yourself by checking the weight on an accurate set of kitchen scales. The cylinder will have an empty and full weight stamped on it too. If the cylinder is full it can be put back on the pfd , otherwise it will need replacing with a new one. Unless the date on yours is closer to 10 years I don't think you should worry about it. Cheers Neil.

Just returned from a disastrous trip to South Oz, where the wind was 30knt+ and saw the cancellation of our Mon, Tue charters. Wed wasn't much better but we went out then had to come back into safer waters to try our luck. Appears that trawlers may have been thru as all we scored was a few snook and a few cuttlefish. Thurs we went out and had a few hrs bottom bashing for about 8 decent snapper, 2 big KGW , 5 nannygai and on the way back in a Tuna of 17kg. Beach fishing saw a few Salmon and sand crabs captured and we scored a few squid, garfish and Australian Herring (aka Tommy Ruff). All in all a lot of hard work for little return, but that's fishing. Neil.

Ok Oz brett first. I think the key has been that we've had flooding and the fish have had a good breeding season....followed by big discharges of water down the Bidgee and Murray. These factors stimulate the Cod to feeding. I don't do much lure fishing but block cheddar cheese cut into cubes is the only bait to use. Let me know if u r going to try the 'Bidgee after ur Murray River trip and we may be able to arrange a trip down the river at Leeton, together. Pomey git, I don't have any secrets and can tell u how to catch Cod in running water. Cod are fairly lazy and therefore hang around in the "slack water" adjacent to the running water which carries the food downstream. They also occupy structure and will sit almost motionless waiting for some unsuspecting food source to come by... then they pounce at incredible speed. The tackle needed is a sinker which is light enough to get the bait to the bottom but also drift into the slack water after being cast into the running water...like magic the bait ends up where the fish are. I would suggest that spinnerbaits would be a good option for u in LBG or non running water. Geoff (Centrepin)... if u ever find urself heading this way send me a pm and u can join me in the hunt. Summer is best and the hotter the better. This year is exceptional and who knows if it will be the same down the track??? Murray Cod are a beautiful fish and often smash baits really hard. General info.... the rig I use is a paternoster with 2 hooks and a smallish bean sinker below. 12 to 20 lb mono running back up to braid. Generally the Cod don't go for massive runs so the mono can be used entirely in the capture. I vary between a shrimp on top and cube of cheese on the lower hook to cube cheese on both hooks. IF the fish are timid biting I generally put a smaller hook on the bottom (more hidden). Invariably the bottom bait is the one to get smashed tho the other one is valuable should u get baited. There u have it... not too difficult and gr8 fun catching these beautiful freshwater fish...which incidentally are good eating. Big Neil.

Just a quick report from the Murrumbidgee. I've been fishing quite a lot recently and the river is alive with Murray Cod. Went yesterday and the water level was almost a metre lower than the previous visit...not usually a good sign. Anyway I moved around a fair bit and managed 1x silver perch and 20x Murray Cod. All were small, varying between 15 and 56 cms...oh and 1x Trout Cod. All returned to the water to get bigger. By the way if any fishraiders are looking to go in the Bidgee Classic...I think you will catch plenty this year. Good luck. Off to South Oz for a week for an appointment with some big snapper and some tuna...yippee. Big Neil.

Gr8 report, gr8 catch. Well done. Neil.

Hey Roberta, hope that whatever ur procedure u can get back to what u love to do...and provide the rest of us with some more inspirational stories. Good luck, Neil.

Gutters are deep(er) channels that exist in the area where the waves are breaking. U can usually spot the shallow water because the waves will be forced up...creating a wave. The water above a gutter won't do this so it appears as a "less wave " area. They are often close to the waters edge, depending on the high /low tide. Make sure u use berley too as that attracts fish to where ur fishing. Hope this helps. Neil.

Today was forecast in the 40s so I arranged to get some shrimps early. The shrimps have been a bit scarce lately so I was pleasantly surprised to get about 50 to accompany the cheese which I use for bait. Headed off to the river and started to get the boat ready. The strap that holds the boat to the trailer had broken but I managed to salvage the end bits which had (miraculously) survived the bumpy trip to the ramp. Headed upstream and tried cheese and shrimp on the paternoster rig. Initially fishing was slow but I managed a few small Murray Cod between 35 and 50cms by moving round a bit. By 11am the sun had some real bite in it so I sought the shade of the huge redgums which adorn the banks of the river. There was a lot of skiers out and I persisted until it dawned on me that i hadn't caught anything on the shrimp. I replaced the water in the bucket to keep the little critters alive and started using the cheese (which was rapidly melting) on both hooks. Worked the trick though and the fish started coming in regularly. Both rods went off together twice with 2 cod and a cod and carp coming to the boat. I then had a mishap with the biggest Cod 56cms coming to the side of the tinny. He was only lighly hooked so I reached for the lip grips and gripped his bottom lip...suddenly he lurched and swam away with the lip grip firmly attached to his bottom jaw. Pretty stupid of me when I had the landing net ready for action. Hope he can work himself loose of them. The sun got too much to bear so I left them still biting and headed back to the ramp. Total for the day 1 Carp and 10 Murray Cod...all caught on cheese. Put the shrimp in the freezer for another day. Big Neil.

Hi Mini Mistro, they sure are great fun to catch, especially on the gear you're using... Neil.

Shakeel, Challenge the fine but get yourself a new self inflating pfd which you can feel comfortable fishing in...then wear it. Neil.

G'day Pomey git, gr8 to see u got among them at LBG. U have a good fishery right on ur doorstep there.. Keep practicing and u will be the expert with the redfin, which incidentally ,make good eating. Keep us all posted on how u go mate...Big Neil.

Well said Mrs. Swordy...Big Neil.

Or maybe we should allow for the fact that this is a fishing forum. Whilst some of the older members may prefer to read well punctuated posts, we should also acknowledge that Australia is a vast congregation of multiculturalism. Let us enjoy reading the fishing exploits of our members. After all, many of our newspapers are poorly written (by supposedly well educated journalists). I do take the point, but don't think it's overly important in this particular forum. Neil.

Certainly some type of Morwong.

Hi Fabian, horses for courses really. Skill and knowledge definitely account for much success but the tools need to be appropriate to the targeted species and technique. A classic example would be the advent of specific rods, reels and lines for casting soft plastics all day long. The newest gear is made to help the angler catch the targeted species. Outside of that we all have to live within budgets and that's where the fun comes in...seeing what is affordable that will suit our needs. There's definitely a lot of hype out there but most people can catch fish with basic gear.However I wouldn't try catching kingies with an el cheapo rod and reel...some fish warrant better quality gear that can last the distance. Cheers, Neil.

Thanx for the input everyone.