IN THE estuaries the lead-up to the high tide will suit anglers wishing to head up onto the flats and chase species like bream and flathead in the shallows.
Small poppers, shallow running minnows and plastics are all worth a try depending on the conditions.
On average, lures are just as effective as baits on flathead, but if you are fishing for bream, a fresh bait is an extremely more productive option, especially if you use all the new technology like graphite rods, braid lines, fluorocarbon leader, chemically sharpened hooks, electric motors, sounders and high end kayaks.
Simply cast ahead of the fish the same way you would with a lure, draw the bait into the bream’s view, and once the fish’s attention is drawn drop the bait to the bottom where the bream will swim over and eat it.
Your cast and presentation still needs to be good, and success is not 100 per cent guaranteed, but it’s certainly much more reliable than a lure if the bream are not aggressive on the day.
You can’t beat the smell flavour and texture of a fresh bait.
Good baits include a deheaded small green prawn, tuna strip, white bait, pilchard head, carp strip, nipper, worm or any other good bream bait.
You don’t need to sight fish to realise the benefits of this technique; it works in deeper water too, often straight behind boats that are having no luck on lures.
Use a suitable jig head instead of a plain hook and cover plenty of snags, racks, pylons or reefy areas.
You will soon see there are plenty more bream than lure fishing might indicate.
I guess I am trying to make it clear that bream are tricky to catch on lures; while I have been lucky enough to get cricket score catches of whoppers at times; six good ones is considered a red letter day on the more accessible waterways.
On bait I can easily catch a dozen big bream in the same time, even in heavily fished areas, if I ‘work’ hard at it and utilise all the modern technology.
That’s the facts: from there it really boils down to what technique individuals prefer.
If you’re a fish, irrigation pumps can suck.
The Murray Darling Basin Association is funding the creation of screening systems to save native fish from being drawn into irrigation pump canals.
The authority has commissioned the NSW Department of Primary Industries (now Industry & Investment NSW) to scope, install and assess innovative ways of retrofitting economical screens to selected pumping systems.
The project follows an authority funded study on the effects of irrigation practices on fish in the Murrumbidgee and Namoi Rivers and the Mulwala Canal system.
This study was the first to measure the extent of entrapment and stranding of native fish in irrigation offtakes.
It found that up to 200 fish a day were extracted though the pumps.
The project is part of the Authority’s Native Fish Strategy, which aims to rehabilitate native fish populations in the Basin back to 60 per cent of their estimated pre-European settlement levels, after 50 years of implementation.
The program has been in place since 2004 when experts estimated that levels were about 10 per cent of those pre-European settlement.
There is light at the end of the tunnel.
While this may sound like a daunting task, quite a few projects are helping to make a difference.
The annual MDBA Native Fish Forum held in Albury illustrated that progress made by a range of native fish rehabilitation projects and this year participants heard about award-winning scientific developments.
The Forum also highlighted a range of practical, on-ground activities including emergency responses to rescue six threatened species’ populations following drought and the Victorian bushfires last summer; the completion of most of the fishways under the “Sea to Hume Dam” initiative; resnagging priority sections of the Murray River and the establishment of 10 “demonstration reaches” across the Basin.
Help granted
In the meantime there are also some grants on offer that will help people to restore this once pristine river system.
Grants for community projects aimed at protecting and rehabilitating frontages and floodplain areas along the Victorian side of the Murray River are now available from the Mallee Catchment Management Authority.
The grants are part of the Frontage Management Grants Program (FMGP) component of the Murray River Frontage Action Plan.
Grants are available for works and activities aimed at improving river health, including fencing, erosion control, pest plant control, revegetation, track rationalisation, litter removal, disused pump site rehabilitation, recreation management and cultural heritage protection works.
To apply, or for more information, contact Ray de Groot at the Mallee Catchment Management Authority on 50514350; via mobile 0428313177; or by email at ray.de groot@dpi.vic.gov.au See you on the water
Rob Paxevanos
www.fishingaustralia. tv
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