Local fishers rejoiced when the calendar moved into December and the Murray cod fishing season reopened.
From the first day of the month and following the annual three-month breeding closure period, anglers can were again able to fish the iconic Murray cod.
Narrabri Fishing Club’s Jason Simpson welcomed the news.
“This is the time of year we all look forward to,” Mr Simpson said.
“We can now target the Murray cod with bigger lures and bigger rods.
“We also must release anything below or above 55 to 75 centimetres.”
The Narrabri Fishing Club is a regular re-stocker of our waterways and Jason was recently on hand to help release cod fingerlings into the river systems.
In addition to re-stocking the rivers, Narrabri Fishing Club is committed to improving the environment for native fish and plans to make a comeback with the annual Carp Muster in early March.
The Muster takes tonnes of the feral fish out of the waterways each year but couldn’t go ahead in 2020 and is still on hold in 2021 due to COVID-19 regulations.
“If we’re allowed to have it, we will do it, if the conditions allow us, too” said Jason.
“We’ll hope to have it on the first weekend of March.”
Meanwhile, the Murray cod season is open.
A daily bag limit of two per person is in place along with a total possession limit of four.
“These rules are in place to ensure sustainable populations into the future,” Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said, announcing the opening of the season.
“These are some of the best conditions we have seen in many years,” he added.
“We have seen recent inflows into our river systems, creating much healthier environments for our native fish species.”
Now that Murray cod have completed their breeding, fishing for this prized fish, in line with the general rules, can begin again.
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