North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

G'day ex SA fishos,
I will be spending ten days over Xmas 2012 on a houseboat at Murray Bridge. We also have access to a tinny. What would be the best to use for some local fish, lures or bait? I have some small Reidy's Lucifers, would they be any good?
All advice appreciated....

Any small, fat deeper diving lures chucked into snags along the shore will give you a good chance of a callop or maybe even a cod.
You can grab a cheap shrimp trap from the local tackle shop or servo, put an old meat bone in it and hang over the side of your houseboat - that should keep you supplied with bait. Put live on a hook above a lightly weighted ball sinker and toss into any snaggy areas and you're almost guaranteed of a few carp, and a good chance for a murray Powertail or a callop. Murray Powertail were protected last time I checked, although fishing at Paringa last summer we caught a heap of them.
Don't forget to grab a couple of yabby pots - any old meat or carp works fine as bait.
Have a good time - a houseboat on the Murray is one of the great Aussie holidays. The bonus is you can jump in to cool off!

That is an awesome holiday.

Yep, Murray Powertail are a protected species. Carp and Redfin are a declared noxious species and must not be returned to the water. Grab a shrimp pot - carp or meat will work in it but stink - an easier option is to use a small tin of cat food just cracked open in the pot, or a cake of unscented soap.

Carp will respond to bread, corn kernels, shrimps, tiger worms. Callop are pretty good eating and will take shrimp or tiger worms. Never tried a lure in that part of the river so can't comment.

It's not very exciting fishing most of the time - you are better off leaving the rod and reel in the cupboard and just utilising an esky.

I'll be at Renmark over Christmas/New Years......

G'day Fishfanatic , If you head upstream past mypolonga you'll start coming across cliffs, Wall-Flat, Caloote& Mannum is where you will find more natives & less europeans. Great for bait fishing, size 2 baitholder hooks with light sinker (depending on the flow) paternoster rig & have bottom hook below sinker. Opera house nets will get you shrimp & yabbies. just put cut up carp in there & gather bait whilst your tied up overnight. Shrimp will last in a small esky if you change water reguarly.. If you know anyone up in the hills or who has access to a dairy an hr in the runoff (poop) will get you premium tiger worms & save you a small fortune $4 - 6 a tub from the servo's with approx 50 worms( Only problem with that is usually the hook is fatter than the worms) I've never fished lures only bait, worms on top/ shrimp on bottom hook or you can do a cocktail..Nothing better than finding a willow on a deep cliff to tie the boat to, bait up & beer up.. If you get up to Bowhill there are some magnificent cliffs & BIG callop.. ( mate was there last friday) Lures do the job aswell.. there's a forum STRIKEHOOK.com. there's a category on the lower murray, a chap by the name of WEAVER is the callop king on lures he is a wealth of knowledge & enjoys helping others out.. Enjoy

little yabbies the best bait ...keeps most of the carp away.best to just buy a dozen

troll black stumpies if u want to hav a relaxing afternoon

pm me if u want indepth knowledge...i fish the area a fair bit

cheers bm

callop or golden perch have a similar form to barramundi. they obviously don't get as big and don't perform any aerial antics however they do love to smash a well presented lure. this sometimes surprises locals who tend to mostly bait fish. water clarity is they key to good lure fishing in the murray. we used to give the water an "elbow test" i.e. if you place your arm in the water up to your elbow and can still see your hand, your in with a better than average chance on lures. as has been mentioned black #2 stumpjumper is a good start. my personal favorite color for the murray is black body with a red head. the orgee plow is another great diving lure although it is a little bit snag prone. spinner baits and sinking rattlers (lake police) take fish. I found that adding a stinger hook and a soft plastic yabbie to a spinner bait gets more hits and more hook ups. the snags are key. if your not in the timber your not in the game!

enjoy your holiday!

hey fishfanatic,

Ii had a look at the murray on my way to Berri yesterday. it doesn't look like it will pass the elbow test. you might be able to see your fingertips at the first knuckle!

cr.p conditions for lure fishing so we're gonna drown a few worms and shrimps around the Lyrup area. hoping to have fresh callop for tea.

have you had any luck down river?

have you had any luck down river?

No flying down tomorrow..Thursday

I'll be at Renmark as of Wednesday next week - bring it on!!!!

Seeing how you're gonna be upstream of us can I please implore you not to pee in the river

sarrge wrote:I'll be at Renmark as of Wednesday next week - bring it on!!!!

Im new to the bridge. Whats the fishing like close to town?
Any good spots/tips?

Shane Doevy on here is the Murray man.

I fished there 30 years ago and caught a callop (yellowbelly) off the bank. Conditions have probably changed a little since

BenjNT13,
mate i fished the river at Renmark around christmas and it was full of carp - which was fine because we were looking for yabbie bait.

If you have boat fish the snags with small hooks using worms and shrimp as bait. We use around 15lb line with a sinker on the bottom and a hook 2-300 mm up. Drop the line straight down and gently lift and drop the hook - the yellow belly like live shrimps and the movement gets the attracted. I dont use two hooks as its more trouble if you are fishing amongst the snags. The can hit pretty hard and will go hard when caught - they will try to bury you int he snags and sometimes they win.. Willows and submerged snag where there is no wood visible but there is a snag on the bottom can also be good locations but you will need a good finder and electric motor helps - drifting over them on windless days is a great way to catch fish.

Yellowbelly like steep clay banks as well -especially if there is some structure to hold the bait.

If you fishing off the bank then you can run a couple of hooks but once again you run the risk of snags.

I havent fished MB but cant see it being any different to the rest of the murray so you will have to give it a try.

Yellowbelly and cod will take lures - i havent one much if that but there are guys around renmark who have great success using lures and cod are a possible and welcome potential by catch.

Good luck

Shane