big Neil Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 (edited) I took the tinnie for a run to Narrandera, nobody else at the boat ramp. Headed a long way upstream taking note of all the new snags, trees down, and altered sandbanks. Within 5 mins I tried a likely spot and the first cast hooked a small Murray Cod followed by a few more. Nothing sizeable but good fun. All caught on cheese, nothing took the garlic chicken or sheep liver. The bite stopped as quickly as it started so I moved to another place that was new to me. Nothing big here, either...a couple of feisty Murray Cod / Trout Cod hybrids. Moved to one final place and got a few more Trout Cod hybrids. The river is incredibly snaggy since the floods and I lost a heap of hooks and sinkers...pretty much every cast where I didn't hook a fish. It was a really hot morning and by 11am the sun was difficult to avoid. I fished through till about 12.15pm and headed back to the ramp, making mental notes of all the likely spots to try on my next visit One of the Trout Cod hybrids had a fresh Yabbie in its mouth as well as the cheese which I offered it. Trout Cod /Murray Cod hybrid As above Murray Cod Some of the new snags to fish I ended up with 4 Murray Cod and 4 Trout Cod/ Murray Cod hybrids, all under 50cms. Trip to the tackle store to replenish supplies required before the next trip to the river. Cheers, bn Edited February 10, 2023 by big Neil 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackfish Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 Another excellent visual report there BN ............. Quote "Nobody else at the boat ramp" we just dream of that up here Neil 😀 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R E G I C Y C L E Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 Great report, and some healthy looking fish. It's interesting to see so many hybrids. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoods Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 Thanks for the report BN. A change in location results in a few fish. Well done. Looking forward to your visit up this way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 What a great report Neil! Cheese and yabbies...what a conniseur! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 BN, do you feel that cheese is the gun bait for Cod? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted February 10, 2023 Author Share Posted February 10, 2023 1 hour ago, bessell1955 said: BN, do you feel that cheese is the gun bait for Cod? Most days yes, but they do have days when only live baits seem to work (shrimps, yabbies, worms, bardi grubs). Bardi grubs are the absolute best bait for Cod, but they are hard to get. bn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankS Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 Neil. have you tried the Bardi Grub lure I sent you yet ?. Great to see you getting out and enjoying your fishing, great photos as always. Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted February 10, 2023 Author Share Posted February 10, 2023 7 minutes ago, frankS said: Neil. have you tried the Bardi Grub lure I sent you yet ?. Great to see you getting out and enjoying your fishing, great photos as always. Frank Haven't done any serious lure fishing Frank, as the river is running too hard for me to handle lure fishing in the boat, on my own. I'm quite happy to enjoy the serenity of the river whilst drowning some bait these days. The winter may present an opportunity if the river drops quite a bit and there's no irrigation water being flushed through. Hope that you and Val are both well. I will catch up next time I'm in Sydney. Cheers, Neil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunc333 Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 wow looks like they need to remove some of those snags (great pics Neil) guessing it would be a huge job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Posted February 11, 2023 Share Posted February 11, 2023 Super report. Top photos. Australian bush is great. Cheers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsswordfisherman Posted February 11, 2023 Share Posted February 11, 2023 Good on you BN - very snaggy there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted February 11, 2023 Author Share Posted February 11, 2023 5 hours ago, mrsswordfisherman said: Good on you BN - very snaggy there! The floods from last year have provided a massive change to fishing the Murrumbidgee where I fish. Not only have the native species enjoyed an excellent breeding season, but they have had plenty of food too. The additional snags will provide extra shelter for the increased populations of native species. The downside is the boost to Carp populations. Cheers, bn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted February 11, 2023 Author Share Posted February 11, 2023 9 hours ago, dunc333 said: wow looks like they need to remove some of those snags (great pics Neil) guessing it would be a huge job Hi, dunc 333. They will only remove the snags from the allocated ski area of the river. The remainder will provide new real estate for the increased number of native species. Great that we had the year-long floods, although at the time it was really frustrating being unable to fish the river. bn 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted February 11, 2023 Share Posted February 11, 2023 Thanks BN for advice about bait for Cod. I see that you have been asked about a Bardi Grub lure but the current is still to strong. Hopefully the level will drop and you can give the lure a go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsswordfisherman Posted February 12, 2023 Share Posted February 12, 2023 15 hours ago, big Neil said: The floods from last year have provided a massive change to fishing the Murrumbidgee where I fish. Not only have the native species enjoyed an excellent breeding season, but they have had plenty of food too. The additional snags will provide extra shelter for the increased populations of native species. The downside is the boost to Carp populations. Cheers, bn We have caught a few Murray Cod here at Lake Mulwala. Lake Hume was no go at all - lots of problems there. Will report later. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted February 12, 2023 Share Posted February 12, 2023 A good day to be had, b.n. I have fished from the bank on occasions into snaggy areas like the pics, in different locations, only to hook up snag fish. 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_55 Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 @big Neil can you advise how you rig the line when fishing in timber like that with bait is it a paternoster with breakaway sinker looks like a great day and some nice fish caught Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted February 15, 2023 Author Share Posted February 15, 2023 1 hour ago, chris_55 said: @big Neil can you advise how you rig the line when fishing in timber like that with bait is it a paternoster with breakaway sinker looks like a great day and some nice fish caught Hi Chris. Several different rigs I use. I often start a bait fishing session with 2 rods each with double paternoster rigs. This allows for putting 4 different baits on, Murray Cod can be fussy at times so it helps to ascertain what they are feeding on and (more importantly) what they are not eating. Baits I try could be cheese, shrimps, yabbies, worms, cabanossi, chicken, bardi grubs. Pretty much have to expect tackle losses when fishing heavily snagged areas. That's where the fish are though. Hope this is helpful bn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houdini Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 Hey BN what would you say distinguishes them as hybrid? They just look like straight old trout cod from here. Do you think there are that many hybrids outnumbering the trout cod? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houdini Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted February 17, 2023 Author Share Posted February 17, 2023 Good question Houdini and one which can be easily answered. The differences between Murray Cod and Trout Cod (aka Blue-nose Cod) are clearly spelled out in the "HOW TO SPOT THE DIFFERENCE" chart which you have provided. True Trout Cod have a spotted pattern and are much greyer than Murray Cod The hybrid have the spotted pattern but are still greenish on their backs. They still have the black line through their eyes and the top lip overlaps the bottom one. Murray Cod Trout Cod Hybrid You will see from the above photos that the Hybrid has spots like a Trout Cod but still maintains the greener colouring of the Murray Cod. Hope this is helpful, if you have any queries please ask away. bn 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 Late to the post but VERY Nicely done BN ... from the fishing, the report and the explanations.. 👍 Cheers Zoran 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted February 17, 2023 Author Share Posted February 17, 2023 On 2/16/2023 at 1:54 PM, Houdini said: Hey BN what would you say distinguishes them as hybrid? They just look like straight old trout cod from here. Do you think there are that many hybrids outnumbering the trout cod? Sorry Houdini, I didn't answer the other part of your question. Where I fish (mostly) Trout Cod used to be stocked by Fisheries at Narrandera. They are still classed as "endangered" but are recovering very well. It will probably be quite some time till they are taken off the endangered list, but they are breeding naturally, with their own species AND with Murray Cod. If you look at the bottom picture in the post above (2/2/16), that fish is a hybrid. It has a mottled pattern that resembles dots and its colour is pale green. It has the black line through its eye as well. Just like humans who have children from different colour backgrounds, there is no single definitive result. bn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 A top report Neil - sounds like a really good day at a new spot. How good is it when you’re the only boat at the ramp. Some of those cod look very solid fish mate - Kingies been pretty variable so far - hoping for a a late run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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