poddy mullet
11-07-2009, 07:16 PM
The abundance of ribbon weed in our local waterway at present continues to present challenges for recreational anglers. Entangled boat props, near impossible access to favourite spots, and cast after cast that sees the lure fouled by an impenetrable ‘weed wall’ has had some local anglers hoping for a flood to flush the weed away.
However, the dense weed beds that have formed in the Macquarie are ensuring that fish have both somewhere to live and plenty of food to eat. The health of permanent freshwater rivers depends on a balance between nutrients entering and cycling through the system, the plants and algae that use those nutrients, the plankton and fish, and the top-level predators. If any of these elements are out of balance, then the system can degrade.
Freshly established weed beds may make the river harder to access and fish in some ways, but a simple change of angling tactics can reap serious sports fishing rewards.
Jason Walters and I fished the Macquarie River on a reserve close to Dubbo on Sunday afternoon, and cast spinnerbaits along weed bed edges and into fast flowing runs. It wasn’t long into the session when Jas gave a call from the pool below the hole I was fishing to let me know he was into a solid fish, and from the acute bend in his rod I could see that he was locked on to a serious fish.
Hoping to catch some big Murray Cod, we thought we had achieved what we set out to do until a speckled splash broke just metres from the bank, and we identified the fish on the end of Jason’s line as a Trout Cod. The fish weighed an estimated 10 pounds, with an estimated length of between 60 and 70 centimeters.
The penalties for being caught in possession of a Trout Cod are severe and it is totally illegal to fish for the species, but they are becoming a more and more regular bi-catch for those fishing for Golden Perch and Murray Cod on the Macquarie River in and around the Dubbo district.
Trout Cod have officially been known to grow to 16 kilograms, or 35.2 pounds, and are a highly aggressive fish with plenty of potential to become a self-sustaining freshwater sport fishing species. Local legends even speak of the species reaching a massive 30 kilograms, or 66 pounds, in the Dubbo region.
It is fantastic to see the species thriving in certain areas in the Macquarie River, and if all fishermen and women continue to respect the endangered status assigned to the species, it may not be long until we see Trout Cod population numbers soar to a level where they may be legally targeted by freshwater anglers.
If you happen to catch a fish you suspect of being a Trout Cod, but you are not quite sure, one way of telling for certain is by looking at the jaw area. A Trout Cod’s top jaw overhangs the bottom, whereas a Murray Cod has a larger bottom jaw which overshoots the top. Trout Cod must be released without harm immediately after being caught.
However, the dense weed beds that have formed in the Macquarie are ensuring that fish have both somewhere to live and plenty of food to eat. The health of permanent freshwater rivers depends on a balance between nutrients entering and cycling through the system, the plants and algae that use those nutrients, the plankton and fish, and the top-level predators. If any of these elements are out of balance, then the system can degrade.
Freshly established weed beds may make the river harder to access and fish in some ways, but a simple change of angling tactics can reap serious sports fishing rewards.
Jason Walters and I fished the Macquarie River on a reserve close to Dubbo on Sunday afternoon, and cast spinnerbaits along weed bed edges and into fast flowing runs. It wasn’t long into the session when Jas gave a call from the pool below the hole I was fishing to let me know he was into a solid fish, and from the acute bend in his rod I could see that he was locked on to a serious fish.
Hoping to catch some big Murray Cod, we thought we had achieved what we set out to do until a speckled splash broke just metres from the bank, and we identified the fish on the end of Jason’s line as a Trout Cod. The fish weighed an estimated 10 pounds, with an estimated length of between 60 and 70 centimeters.
The penalties for being caught in possession of a Trout Cod are severe and it is totally illegal to fish for the species, but they are becoming a more and more regular bi-catch for those fishing for Golden Perch and Murray Cod on the Macquarie River in and around the Dubbo district.
Trout Cod have officially been known to grow to 16 kilograms, or 35.2 pounds, and are a highly aggressive fish with plenty of potential to become a self-sustaining freshwater sport fishing species. Local legends even speak of the species reaching a massive 30 kilograms, or 66 pounds, in the Dubbo region.
It is fantastic to see the species thriving in certain areas in the Macquarie River, and if all fishermen and women continue to respect the endangered status assigned to the species, it may not be long until we see Trout Cod population numbers soar to a level where they may be legally targeted by freshwater anglers.
If you happen to catch a fish you suspect of being a Trout Cod, but you are not quite sure, one way of telling for certain is by looking at the jaw area. A Trout Cod’s top jaw overhangs the bottom, whereas a Murray Cod has a larger bottom jaw which overshoots the top. Trout Cod must be released without harm immediately after being caught.