MAKE THE MOST OUT OF THE DROUGHT

Growing up in the rural environment of Wagga Wagga, you become well versed in the weather and the impact it has on the community. For farmers to spend money it has to rain the right amount at the right time else their crops fail and they have no feed for their animals. When the farmers don’t have good seasons the whole community suffers as they take stock of their spending and wait until the season turns.

The Murrumbidgee River has a key function to provide water for one of Australia’s major food growing regions in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. For most of summer the flows are maintained well above normal to feed water downstream for agriculture. This high summer flow causes the river to become more turbid and cold, and the strong current reduces the number of fishable locations.

This season however is different. The drought conditions ended the irrigation season months earlier than usual and the Murrumbidgee as a result is warm, low, slow and clear. This is not good news for farmers but creates perfect conditions for lure fishing.

The shallow water is creating a roaring trade in propellers for the local marine retailers, as fisherman keep pushing further and further through sand, logs, rocks and other usually submerged objects that limit navigation. Nevertheless that next metre cod may be just around the next bend and a few dings in the prop is a small price to pay.

When the river drops to low levels it makes the fish a whole lot easier to find as many good fish holding structures are sitting high and dry on the bank. The fish move out as the water drops and take refuge in the deep holes.

These holes are relatively easy to find even without a sounder. The winding nature of the Murrumbidgee scours the outside of each bend creating a long deep hole adjacent to the outer bank and leaves a sandbar on the inside of the bend. Over hundreds of years the constant erosion of the outer bank undercuts the trees and they fall into the deep water creating perfect ambush structure for predators such as Murray cod, trout cod and golden perch.

To target fish on these snaggy bends, troll upstream (there is usually too much flow to troll downstream effectively) or to get the most out of each location, use your motor (electric or petrol) to hold you in the current as you cast at every conceivable structure around each bend.

The straighter sections of river also hold fish, but hungry fish congregate on the bends where flow focuses into a narrow area. A lazy eater such as a cod, finds a comfortable snag to rest on while he waits for some unsuspecting morsel to float past.

By using a mixture of trolling and casting for each section of river fished you can thoroughly cover the deep mid-stream sections by trolling and also the shallower bankside structure with casting. I like to work a section of river two or three times (more if I keep catching fish) before moving on to new river, but will usually come back and work it again several more times later in the day. Persistence is the key to freshwater success.

Autumn and early winter are the ideal time to fish the Murrumbidgee and if you want to put theory into practice check out my business at www.riverinasportfishing.com.

© Jamin Forbes April 2007