As the summer winds down, the fishing action around the grounds is certainly heating up.
There have been some massive catches in the Riverina over the last month and many impoundments are producing great results as well despite the heavy holiday traffic.
Many metre plus Cod have been caught and released this summer. And I would go out on a limb and say that it would have to be a record for the amount of the large Cod caught, photographed and released over a 12 month period across the state.
This continued size increase of our Murray Cod indicates that angler attitudes and responsible angling practices are having a huge impact on our fisheries and improving the experience and memories for all.
Matter of fact it is not just the Murray Cod. The Yella’s have kept the trend going with some of the largest Yellowbelly being landed that we have ever seen.
Once again, correct fish handling is so important when you do land that fish, especially if it is to be released back into the water.
Although our natives are tough it is extremely important not to hold or hang the fish by the jaw, always support the fish evenly across the body.
Kingfish escape at Port Stephens
THE big news over the last few weeks has been the escape of 20,000 Kingfish from farming nets at Providence Bay in Port Stephens.
Late January saw a massive storm damage the Kingfish farm allowing the piscatorial residents to simply hit the coast for some holiday action themselves.
At the time of writing 5000 fish had been relocated and returned to the nets with 15,000 still at large.
Going to need a lot of telephone posts to put the wanted signs up for that lot.
Fisheries have banned any fishing in the region and are patrolling the area until February 28.
The unintentional release of these Kingfish into the marine park has created quite a political and recreational storm about the suitability of this fish farm in the region.
But it should boost the numbers of the local Kingfish community for a while and hopefully not throw things too far out of balance in the short term.
Please keep sending in those well-handled fish photographs, we look forward to seeing what you are all up to.
Enjoy the great outdoors and your fishing.
If you have any questions, photos or reports from your area, drop Josh Smith and Jamie Condon a line at joshandjamiefishing@gmail.com.
Or you can visit www.joshandjamiefishing.com.au