Rochester and District Angling Club secretary Tom Reid has been chasing the fish around the district for a while now.
Tom thinks it is important to be in the right place at the right time for a catch.
The only thing is, sometimes, he still doesn’t know where and when that is.
“You just travel up and down the river until you find somewhere,” he said.
“You might try for 10 minutes in one spot and nothing happens, so you just keep moving along.
“I will sit out on the boat all day and if I don’t get a bite, so what? It doesn’t worry me.”
Tom finds that Murray cod likes fast-flowing water in areas with debris, whereas the yellow belly (golden perch) likes slower water.
Personally, Tom chases the red fin perch as they are good eating.
“I find fishing in fast-flowing water where they seem to like it better, with the water flowing around snags,” Tom said.
“But you will lose a lot of bait, and a lot of tackle.
“You can fish off the beach, but it is fairly snaggy and you snag quite a bit.
“I have caught cod off the beach, too.
“If they are within the correct size, I will keep them, bring them home, and have a feed.”
When asked what to do if you catch a carp, Tom said, “to bang it on the head,” as they are an invasive, widespread pest in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Tom’s recommendations to chase the fish are up at Mathoura on the Murray River and the Edward River.
According to the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, the legal size of the fish you can catch in any freshwater area of the state is 55 to 75cm, with a bag limit of two per day for Murray cod and 30cm with a bag limit of five for golden perch.
If you catch a threatened species of trout cod in the Murray River, it must be returned to the water alive.
From September to November, all fishing is prohibited in the Murray River and its tributaries between Yarrawonga Weir and the Tocumwal Rd Bridge to protect breeding populations.
The Murray River is in NSW, so even if you are standing on the shoreline in Victoria and throw in a line, you will require a NSW fishing licence.
For information on fishing in the Murray River and purchasing a recreational fishing licence, go to https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing
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