Hodgey

What a great waterway! The water looks superb, so it's no surprise that it is inhabited by some entertaining fish. The photo of the bass being released in the water is a gem, and shows a stark difference to the water quality we're experiencing here. Another crackin' report and series of photos Roberta! Cheers Ian

Many Happy Returns, fellas. Have a great day! Cheers Hodgey

This is Slinky's quote regarding records: With the increased number of record claims recently, there have been a few questions around size estimates. The Fishraider records section is first and foremost, meant to be a fun recognition of member's memorable captures... it's not for sheep-stations. So we've always been open to submissions with estimated sizes rather than enforcing a 'tape measure or registered scales' approach. Mostly, the submissions have been awarded records although a few possibly optimistic ones have been turned down. For any fish submitted, estimates will only be accepted as long as the photo is taken alongside something to help with a length comparison (fishing rod, esky or with big fish... your body). Extremely large fish will still be accepted based on weight. BUT Where sizes are close, precedence will be given to fish on some form of measure. E.G. A measured 30cm record fish will not be knocked off by a fish with an estimated length of 32cm!! Yes, I know... there will be a grey area in the middle when a big fish with an estimated length will get a record over an obviously smaller measured fish. All I can say is that the judges decision (moderators and admin) is final and put those sheep-stations out of your mind. Cheers, Slinky There's enough game fishos on here to establish the veracity of the weight given for a released Marlin mate. Good luck with your Charter. I hope you give the records a nudge! Cheers Hodgey

G'day all Please respond to matjaksco's request via Pm Cheers Hodgey

Terrific bass, Joco! That's a great PB. They fight well above their weight at that length and are great fun on the light gear. Nice work, Mick Cheers Hodgey

Shotgun a seat on your next trip! Beautiful rig mate Skip

No worries mate. Thanks for letting us know. Enjoy the family's festivities! Cheers Hodgey

:074: :074: That's a classic!

This should point you in the right direction mate: Stradic servicing Cheers Hodgey

No wonder you keep using those bloody turtleback worms, Rob! Looks like a great session. Dad must be stoked pulling off that netting job in the dark ... good on him Cheers Hodgey

1st place goes to Croydon for his 125kg Striped Marlin taken on a live slimy

What an amazing photo! Awesome, mate Cheers Hodgey

Many Happy Returns to all the Raiders celebrating their birthdays today! Have a terrific day everyone Cheers Hodgey

Well done fellas Hodgey

Raiders. Hope you had a great day! Cheers Hodgey

This might help, mate: Fishing for mullet

Sweeeet. No stopping you now, Stewy! Skip

Raiders. Have a terrific day! Cheers Hodgey

HAPPY 21st mate! Hope you have a memorable day Cheers Hodgey

What a herculean effort! That's a lot of time spent on the water Roberta. No wonder you were enjoying a little down time Congrats on your well-deserved prizes Terrific report as always, and accompanied by some great photos. Cheers Ian

G’day Raiders I thought I would report on my first visit to Burrinjuck Dam. We arrived at approx. 4:30 Friday afternoon, unhooked the tinny at our cabin, and went for a recce. The boat ramp was a short drive from our accommodation, and we discovered a nice stretch of bank that afforded us the opportunity for a land-based flick before dark, so we wandered back to the cabin, rigged up a rod each and headed back to ‘The Oval’. Casting spinner baits and surface lures at sunset was our first opportunity to catch our breath after the 4.5 hour drive and to soak up our surrounds. Burrinjuck Dam offers some amazing scenery, from broad expanses of water to towering cliff faces and cavernous ravines. Clay banks, rocky ledges, standing and submerged timber, overhanging willows … this place offered it all. Our initial foray was unsuccessful, but we returned to our cabin eager to explore the next day. I had heard that a high percentage of Burrinjuck Dam fish fall to either trolled lures or bait, and this fact was confirmed to us by the proprietors of the resort’s convenience store. Neither of these activities is particularly appealing to me, but I received some encouraging information prior to our departure from Fishraider member iMick that suggested my preferred style of fishing (cast-and-retrieve) was a viable option. Mick’s suggestions regarding lure choice and locations proved invaluable. Saturday morning saw us launching at the very respectable hour of 7:15. Conditions were overcast with no real threat of rain but there was the chance ‘it might get a bit blowy’. We had previously decided to adopt Mick’s suggestion of having a quick look at Carroll Creek but an abundance of trolling boats and anchored bait fishos put an end to that pretty quickly. We sped across the basin and explored around Wade Island. The trees standing in the water here were lush and green, suggesting that they were surrounded by new water provided by the floods. I suggested to my nephew that we head back out into the main waterway and explore the ‘Bidgee. We motored out from the lee of the island and were greeted with some bumpy swell. A quick trip found us entering the river mouth and we started to search for a sheltered bay to commence fishing in earnest. The first bay we tried had a couple of dead trees standing off a very deep dropoff. Conditions were still pretty tough so we set off again. The next little ‘bay’ proved to be ideal. It developed into a narrow tributary that meandered behind a steep rocky spur which offered complete shelter from the wind. Aged timber standing in deep water, undercut banks and rocky shallows … this is what I had been looking for. We drifted through the timber, searching with spinner baits and blades. I cast at the head of a dead tree, which had created a deep hole in front of a rocky bar. Two turns of the abu’s handle and the purple spinner bait is hammered. After a brief but lively tussle, 44cm of Burrinjuck yella slid into the net. The monkey was off our back! The rest of the morning was relatively uneventful, apart from hoards of little redfin molesting spinner baits. We decided to call it quits for the morning and headed back to camp for a bite to eat. The water had begun to really chop up after lunch, but once again the water following the shoreline was relatively calm so we utilised this to head back up to our little slice of paradise. A half a dozen casts later and the tip of the Daiwa Advantage is bouncing erratically as a reddie roughly 25cm swims to the surface, with the purple spinner bait firmly lodged in his mouth ... accompanied by more than a dozen of his mates! Mark drops his vibe behind them and he’s on as well. A short time later I hear: “ Cod … Cod…COD!” Mark had coaxed a very nice cod from the base of a sunken log with his vibe, and the cheeky b@stard had followed it all the way back to the boat. No matter what Mark did he couldn’t convince the cod the strike, and with almost contemptible disinterest the cod turned tail and disappeared into the murky depths. No amount of follow-up casts or colourful language could coax that fish back again! The most entertaining part of the weekend came a short time later. Mark’s vibe had fallen foul of some sunken timber and was resisting all attempts to free it. I have a length of broom handle I keep on board to push lures off snags, so I lie on my guts in the tinny, bash bejejus outta this underwater structure trying to free the vibe. The boat’s bashing the log, I’m cursing 25lb line that won’t break; it’s pandemonium. Amongst all the noise and thrashing water, a HUGE yella materialises from under the log within 2 feet of my head! Mark cries “Holy sh!t” and swipes at the inquisitive fish with his landing net, narrowly missing my head, the fish and the log. My ribs are still tender from laughing so bloody hard! We spent the next couple of hours cruising around the bay and searching of our elusive Murray Cod but it was not to be this time. I did find an Oar-Gee floating beside the bank though! By now the wind was howling and it was time to make a very wet trip back to the boat ramp. Sadly, the winds were even worse Sunday morning, and the sight of 5-6m boats getting pounded on the basin was enough to dissuade us from even launching. Our trip was indeed over. Weather aside, I had a fantastic time. I saw some great scenery, caught a couple of fish and had a lot of laughs with Mark. I have no doubt our trip would have been more productive if the weather had been kinder. We’re already planning our return trip in winter. My thanks to Mick for his advice, and to Mark for a memorable weekend! Cheers Hodgey

The use of live bait is still governed by the 'legal size limit' rules. If a bass is too small to keep, it is too small to use as bait. This is a very important issue that tends to get overlooked by some fishos, especially when using tailor for live bait. It is illegal to have undersized fish in your possession, whether it be for bait or otherwise. Legal size limits can be found here: Bag and size limits Grab a handful of small blades, ondex or celta spinners, or sx40's and have a crack at the redfin that way Cheers Hodgey

fellas! I hope you have a terrific day. Cheers Hodgey

Happy Birthday mate. Have a terrific day! Cheers Hodgey

A clydesdale, Ray! Good on ya, old fella Cheers Ian