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Hot action on the cards
  |  First Published: February 2006



Warm weather and hot fishing is on the cards over the coming months for anglers on the Murray and adjoining rivers.

From Swan Hill to the South Australian border it’s all good news, with plenty of cod and golden perch on the chew.

The Murray at Swan Hill has started dropping. Once the river levels out, water clarity should begin to improve. This is, of course, good news for the lure buffs who have been patiently waiting.

The Niemur and Wakool rivers have been the pick of our local waters with good numbers of cod falling to bait anglers fishing grubs or yabbies around the snags.

Lake Charm continues its run of redfin with bags of 20 a session commonplace. The best baits have been shrimp and minnows.

The bigger fish are starting to come on with a few kicking around 1.4kg – great fun on light tackle and not bad chewing, either. Morning and evening have been the prime times to be on the water.

The Murrumbidgee at Hay is producing nice cod and goldens on lures and bait. Balranald has also been firing well, especially for golden perch. Anglers bobbing shrimp among the timber have in many cases landed their bag limit (five fish over the legal minimum of 30cm) before morning smoko.

Cod are still a little slow in this area but should improve over the coming weeks. The Murrumbidgee is a great fishery that only improves as the season rolls on.

Boundary Bend, on the Murray between Swan Hill and Robinvale, has produced a number of quality cod on grubs and yabbies. Several fish to 20kg and more have been reported.

While the majority of these bigger fish have fallen to setlines (springers), it’s refreshing to see real anglers among the action landing a few on rod and reel.

Robinvale has been a little slow but should improve over the coming month. It’s not all bad news in this area; some very nice golden perch to 3kg have been landed on bait.

From Wentworth to Lock 9 on the Murray the fishing for golden perch has been sensational on bait and lures. Cod, however, have been in short supply.

This section of river seems to fish better for cod late in the season. One method that has been productive for goldens is to drift along the river bobbing shrimp just off the bottom. This method would most probably work well with soft plastics too.

Fishing in all these areas should only improve over the coming month and with the rivers beginning to clear, there should be some very nice cod landed on lures. If you are visiting any of these destinations don’t forget the hat and sunscreen – our summer sun is very unforgiving, especially on the water.

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