Fishing the Murrumbidgee River video (experimental)

[big Neil]

Experimental:

While sorting out some files on the PC I came across this old video that I created many moons ago. It may be of interest to people who have never fished an inland river system or wondered where the water for irrigation farming comes from.

The water for irrigating the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) comes from the Great Divide mountain range via 2 storage dams...Burrinjuck Dam and Blowering Dam. The Murrumbidgee River flows Westerly from there and feeds a series of man-made irrigation channels which in turn feed the farmland of the MIA. The Bidgee, as it is commonly known flows into the Murray River near to Wentworth and ends up supplying water to Victoria and South Australia.

Fish species found in the system include Murray Cod, Trout Cod, Golden and Silver Perch, and Redfin. Carp are also present in abundance. There are also freshwater shrimp, Yabbies and Murray Crayfish which are all part of the food chain.

Hope it is of interest to some of the Fishraider community.     bn

 

 

[frankS]

Neil. That would have to be the most entertaining 6 minutes I have experienced on this site.

Thanks for putting it together . Should be more like it. 

you sure d live in a beautiful place.

Wiradjuri Country , People of 3 rivers, home of many Lizards.

Frank

Edited March 5 by frankS

[Hill373737]

@big Neil that is a lovely piece of work mate, well done.

With a bit of luck I'll be down that way in May, will touch base once I finalise  details to see if we can organise a catch up.

cheers

Hilly

[mrsswordfisherman]

Nice work Neil. Looks very peaceful and mystical. 

 

[big Neil]

1 hour ago, Hill373737 said:

@big Neil that is a lovely piece of work mate, well done.

With a bit of luck I'll be down that way in May, will touch base once I finalise  details to see if we can organise a catch up.

cheers

Hilly

Don't book any accommodation, I have 4 spare bedrooms. Just let me know when.   bn

[big Neil]

1 hour ago, frankS said:

Neil. That would have to be the most entertaining 6 minutes I have experienced on this site.

Thanks for putting it together . Should be more like it. 

you sure d live in a beautiful place.

Wiradjuri Country , People of 3 rivers, home of many Lizards.

Frank

Thanks very much Frank. I love it here. Took me ages to do the "video" and I wasn't sure if it would work on here.  Neil

[wazatherfisherman]

Great video Neil and cool music choices

[Hill373737]

1 hour ago, big Neil said:

Don't book any accommodation, I have 4 spare bedrooms. Just let me know when.   bn

Thanks for the offer mate, we'll have the van in tow so should be OK for accommodation - we're just currently tossing up between a run along the Murray / Murrumbidgee in May or Darling River / Menindee / Broken Hill. If we do the latter, I'll get down your way later in the year as I'm keen to have a crack at a cod in my grandfathers old stomping ground, Balranald.

 

 

[Little_Flatty]

Nice one Neil. Wildly different scenery to what I fish!

[big Neil]

9 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Nice one Neil. Wildly different scenery to what I fish!

That's one of the things that I like about fishing...plenty of diverse locations to go to, each presenting its own challenges to the angler. Different views, wildlife, and target species.

bn

[linewetter]

I stumbled upon this thread tonight and man....watching your video reminds me of home where I came from in the US where we had an inland river near the city and I spent much time with friends and family there.  Some of the parts of the river look just like it.  Brought upon fleeting feelings of homesickness (the music was very fitting!).  Those sunsets in the beginning look killer - I can only imagine how nice it is to actually be there in person, just on the water and slowly feeling the bite of the sun subside as the sky becomes a deeper and deeper hue.  Great video put together.

[DrRaymondSnapper]

That brings back memories of growing up in the Pilliga and fishing the Namoi River. Especially the European Carp. Western NSW will always be home. Your video made me feel like moving back to the scrub. Such a great life in the bush. Thank you for the reminder.

Edited April 5 by DrRaymondSnapper

[big Neil]

5 hours ago, linewetter said:

I stumbled upon this thread tonight and man....watching your video reminds me of home where I came from in the US where we had an inland river near the city and I spent much time with friends and family there.  Some of the parts of the river look just like it.  Brought upon fleeting feelings of homesickness (the music was very fitting!).  Those sunsets in the beginning look killer - I can only imagine how nice it is to actually be there in person, just on the water and slowly feeling the bite of the sun subside as the sky becomes a deeper and deeper hue.  Great video put together.

Many thanks linewetter. I am an old person and it was a mammoth job learning how to compile a video with music...I am not very technology savvy. Anyway, I managed in the end. 

I am very pleased that it reminded you of your fishing in the USA. We are very fortunate to be living in a country with such diverse fishing opportunities. I like to fish saltwater but am most at home on my own doorstep fishing for native Australian freshwater species. The ambiance of being the only person on the river, at one with nature, is incredibly peaceful and relaxing. I love it.

Would you like to put some posts up about your USA fishing experiences? I'm sure there would be Fishraiders who would be interested in your experiences.

Cheers, bn

[big Neil]

4 hours ago, DrRaymondSnapper said:

That brings back memories of growing up in the Pilliga and fishing the Namoi River. Especially the European Carp. Western NSW will always be home. Your video made me feel like moving back to the scrub. Such a great life in the bush. Thank you for the reminder.

Thankyou Dr Raymond Snapper. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. As you say living in the scrub is a great place to be. I love it. I have fished the Namoi quite a lot, though not recently. Plenty of Carp but also lots of Yellas and Murray Cod. Great fishing when the water has a good flow in it. Much drier country than the Riverina, where I now live.

bn

[linewetter]

7 hours ago, big Neil said:

Many thanks linewetter. I am an old person and it was a mammoth job learning how to compile a video with music...I am not very technology savvy. Anyway, I managed in the end. 

I am very pleased that it reminded you of your fishing in the USA. We are very fortunate to be living in a country with such diverse fishing opportunities. I like to fish saltwater but am most at home on my own doorstep fishing for native Australian freshwater species. The ambiance of being the only person on the river, at one with nature, is incredibly peaceful and relaxing. I love it.

Would you like to put some posts up about your USA fishing experiences? I'm sure there would be Fishraiders who would be interested in your experiences.

Cheers, bn

I think I will do that after all. I didn’t fish much in the US but did have a couple outings while I was still there with some fond memories and at least one photo to show for it. Just have to dig it up from the archives now 

[DrRaymondSnapper]

On 4/6/2024 at 2:18 AM, big Neil said:

Thankyou Dr Raymond Snapper. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. As you say living in the scrub is a great place to be. I love it. I have fished the Namoi quite a lot, though not recently. Plenty of Carp but also lots of Yellas and Murray Cod. Great fishing when the water has a good flow in it. Much drier country than the Riverina, where I now live.

bn

Agree about the river flow. We used to catch a few Silver Perch and Yella but the carp were in plague proportions. We used to shoot the the big ones from the bank of the creeks on the property. We used to have great fun catching yabbies in the dams too but found that every flood spread the carp until they were in the dams as well. So much fun for a kid in those days. Except for the catheads and Noogoora burrs

[Ganguddy Goodoo]

Enjoyed this. I reckon an under appreciated part of the Australian landscape. Brings all that Australian literature I read as a kid to life. Camping next to an Australian river listening to the sound of the water and the wind in the Casuarinas is just special.

And Neil I think you are more technologically savvy than this gen xer.

[Hoods]

Hi Neil, a familiar lansdscape to both of us.

You do make me a bit homesick sometimes

Have you been told the story that the Murray Cod are born under a tree that has  a similar to the shape of of the lines shown on the gizzard (sorry thats a Bird term) stomach.

What about the storey from Benerambah Station where they tied a sheet of corrugated iron to a "set line" to replicate a big cod to fool a local fisho!!??

Will have to bring some saltwater fish for you when i'm back your way. In the meantime the Tax Man is running at 100% on the inshore reefs so no mackeral!!

Hoodz

 

 

[big Neil]

16 hours ago, Ganguddy Goodoo said:

Enjoyed this. I reckon an under appreciated part of the Australian landscape. Brings all that Australian literature I read as a kid to life. Camping next to an Australian river listening to the sound of the water and the wind in the Casuarinas is just special.

And Neil I think you are more technologically savvy than this gen xer.

Believe me, I'm not. Drives me nuts on a regular basis. Glad you enjoyed it...you and I know it's good for the soul. Cheers, bn

[big Neil]

13 hours ago, Hoods said:

Hi Neil, a familiar lansdscape to both of us.

You do make me a bit homesick sometimes

Have you been told the story that the Murray Cod are born under a tree that has  a similar to the shape of of the lines shown on the gizzard (sorry thats a Bird term) stomach.

What about the storey from Benerambah Station where they tied a sheet of corrugated iron to a "set line" to replicate a big cod to fool a local fisho!!??

Will have to bring some saltwater fish for you when i'm back your way. In the meantime the Tax Man is running at 100% on the inshore reefs so no mackeral!!

Hoodz

 

 

Great to hear from you mate. The bush is full of stories, all of them well worth listening to round the camp fire whilst quenching ones thirst.

Hope YOUR fishing starts to improve. Cheers mate, bn