big Neil Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 I spent the morning in the studio, then decided to go check the river out. As per usual, I took the rods along and a bit of bait. The river was running flat out, indicative of the massive amounts of water being released from the dams that feed it. With the dams being nearly full and more rain predicted there's little choice but to send millions of megalitres down the system and out to sea South of Adelaide. I managed to find a bit of a back eddy on the inside of the bend and set up 2 rods with paternoster rigs. One was baited with cheese and the other with worms. Barely 5 minutes in and a bite on the rod with the worms, quickly converted into a nice, healthy Yellowbelly of 38 cm. A good start and I fancied getting onto a few more. However, that was the only fishy bite that I got. For the next 2 hrs I was plagued by Murray Crayfish which kept stripping my baits. Easy to tell when they move in as the rod tip gradually pulls downward, while they scoff your bait. Where my rods are was about 10mtrs underwater early this year. The bait-stealing culprit... These critters are extremely good eating, however, they are a protected species where I fish. Thanks for reading. Hopefully the rain will stop soon and it will be worth putting the boat in. bn 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 A nice day on the river, pesky bait stealers (would be good tucker, but no go) Did you keep the yellow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Ct Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 Well done BN, nice yella. Good to see the river producing fish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 3 hours ago, Yowie said: A nice day on the river, pesky bait stealers (would be good tucker, but no go) Did you keep the yellow? No, let it go again for another day. bn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 Love it Neil, nothing like an hour or few on the river bank to while away the time. I think I must add a fish out of the Murray system to my bucket list one day. Would the X-rays still get your bait if you suspended it above the bottom? I recall some anglers used to put a small cork above their trace to avoid sand crabs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackfish Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 Good that you got out Neil and gave it a go, certainly not a bad way to spend a couple of hours on the river and in the bush. Looks very relaxing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 1 hour ago, Little_Flatty said: Love it Neil, nothing like an hour or few on the river bank to while away the time. I think I must add a fish out of the Murray system to my bucket list one day. Would the X-rays still get your bait if you suspended it above the bottom? I recall some anglers used to put a small cork above their trace to avoid sand crabs. It's a balancing act Mike. You can fish higher in the water column to avoid them, but risk no Cod or Yella bites. Some of these Crayfish are quite big and could easily reach a few feet off the bottom. I long for the day when they cease to be protected species where I fish as they are excellent on the plate. Great to just get out as we have had a lot of "nuisance value" shower activity in the past few weeks Enough already, LOL. bn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 Well it may have been a quickie but I bet it was satisfying !! I guess no way of avoiding the crays - that little eddy you found would have been a sanctuary for many critters. cheers Zoran 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 12 minutes ago, Blackfish said: Good that you got out Neil and gave it a go, certainly not a bad way to spend a couple of hours on the river and in the bush. Looks very relaxing. It's home away from home for me. I just love it and some of the Eucalypts are in bloom too. Very nice to see the different blooms from one of Australia's formidable surviving fauna. bn 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Posted July 8, 2023 Share Posted July 8, 2023 Great report. Top day on the river. Half your luck. Well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kantong Posted July 10, 2023 Share Posted July 10, 2023 A nice way to spend the time and good work on the catch. What kind of cheese were you using? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted July 10, 2023 Author Share Posted July 10, 2023 1 hour ago, kantong said: A nice way to spend the time and good work on the catch. What kind of cheese were you using? I like to use Colby (from Aldi) as it is less brittle than the tasty varieties...fishing for Cod. The Yella was caught on worms. bn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paikea Posted July 10, 2023 Share Posted July 10, 2023 Hiyah Neil Love the juxtaposition of the bottle of (SA, I assume) Red in the background to the flowering gum. My wife got some bottle brush that was blooming in the garden of our shack at Burrill Lake and put them in a vase. They looked great, we are going down there again on Wednesday (to continue pimping my boat) and hope that they will still be aok. Oh, and the birds just love them. BTW, what river where you fishing in? I spent 3 years living in North Adelaide in 81-84 working on the Santos liquids project , saw a lot of the desert at Moonba plus the area at Port Bonython where the end product (LPG) was shipped out. Magic country, some of the best years of my life. Cheers Paikea (Hank) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted July 10, 2023 Author Share Posted July 10, 2023 11 hours ago, Paikea said: Hiyah Neil Love the juxtaposition of the bottle of (SA, I assume) Red in the background to the flowering gum. My wife got some bottle brush that was blooming in the garden of our shack at Burrill Lake and put them in a vase. They looked great, we are going down there again on Wednesday (to continue pimping my boat) and hope that they will still be aok. Oh, and the birds just love them. BTW, what river where you fishing in? I spent 3 years living in North Adelaide in 81-84 working on the Santos liquids project , saw a lot of the desert at Moonba plus the area at Port Bonython where the end product (LPG) was shipped out. Magic country, some of the best years of my life. Cheers Paikea (Hank) Hi Hank. Thanks for your reply and also your post re tweaking your boat. I am enjoying following that. I fish the Murrumbidgee River from upstream of Narrandera to downstream of Darlington Point. There are 5 concrete ramps and 2 weirs in that area. So lots of water to choose to fish. It's an irrigation area for the MIA so water levels continually change, often almost no water, and sometimes floods. I love this part of the world, especially a shady spot on a hot Summer's day waiting for a Murray Cod to grab the bait. Listening to and watching nature is very relaxing too... The wine is a local Durif from Berton Vineyards and is very drinkable. Cheers, bn 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belligero Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 The title of this post gave me a chuckle lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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