The fishing has been quite good over the past month with golden perch on the chew in most waters.

Anglers fishing small yabbies and scrub worms around the snags have reported perch to 2kg-plus at Robinvale in the pool water.

Rumour has it a few cod have also been landed on bait so Robinvale might be a great option for the cod opening.

Carp have also been about in huge numbers, a constant catch and a reminder that these fish are here to stay.

On the Murray River at Wemen, good numbers of perch have been landed on bait and lures. Again, a few cod, some quite large, have also been caught and returned.

Seems the old green fish have made haste in the high rivers, travelling upstream to repopulate areas that have been quiet for a few seasons now.

The expected run of yabbies has been a little slow but with water temperatures steadily climbing, it shouldn’t be long now.

Anglers fishing the Darling River and Menindee Lakes have reported great catches of huge yabbies and say they have never seen it so good. Hopefully the local water of the Murray will fire in similar fashion.

The Wakool River around Stony Crossing has fished well for perch with anglers catching some to 3kg and more. Bait has been the most effective method but with water clarity improving, lures will soon start to produce.

It will be interesting to see how the cod go in this area over the coming months; it has been quiet in this area for a few seasons now.

The Kerang Lakes continue to produce redfin and perch on a variety of baits and lures.

Blades and soft plastics have proved quite popular, as have shallow-diving hardbodies.

Local whitebait and shrimp have been best fished under a slow drift or at anchor over some type of bottom variation.

All up, the angling has been good in most areas and should continue to improve.

Fluctuating river heights will govern the most productive locations and techniques along the Murray over coming weeks.

A quick rise or fall in river heights can turn fish on or off in a few short days. Sadly, it can also reveal an ugly legacy that many thought was well and truly gone

It seems old habits die hard and this was no more evident than when the Murray River dropped back into the banks at Wemen.

The Deliverance brigade were caught with their pants down. Off every second log hung a set line, some in mid-air as the river fell away in just a few short days.

Strategically pre set at water level height, they were now swinging in full view.

Thankfully the many lines we saw had no fish caught on them as they, too, would have been left high and dry.

After two decades fishing the Murray-Darling Basin it seems nothing much has changed.

It’s still a free-for-all for the possum-eaters and Fisheries officers are too few in the field to really have a significant impact on their number.

Fisheries do a great job but how the hell are they supposed to police a squillion different places at once?

Here’s an idea: Instead of impounding boats, cars and equipment from these scumbags and returning them after the fact, sell the whole bloody lot and then put it in the paper and spend the revenue received on fingerlings to replace those fish these thieves have stolen over the years.

Make it real – money speaks all languages, even redneck.