Us Aussies are blessed with some of the world’s best fisheries from A-grade offshore action to gorgeous country landscapes.
A prime example are the skinny streams and rivers are Tenterfield over the border in New South Wales. It’s the perfect spot for Rainbow Trout and Murry Cod, as well as a little frosty camping!
CAMPING
Speaking of camping, you’ll need a few essentials, all available at your local BCF of course.
XTM Double Swag
Camp Chairs
Wanderer Portable Fire Pit
FISHING
Now onto the fishing, let’s talk Murry Cod on Tenterfield Creek. If you have ever fished for this species before, you’ll know you hike from spot to spot peppering each pool with casts.
It’s not just cod that live in these waters though Yellow Belly have a bit of a cult following in freshwater circles and are known to be super inquisitive as Scotty discovered when he snagged a little one after downsizing his lure.
“I haven’t caught a Yellow in over ten years,” he beamed. “I don’t care what size he is, he bent the rod, I’m happy.”
This type of fishing is all about snags and structure.
“The bases of targeting any fish is Australia is habitat,” said Harry Davy from Ozfish. “So it doesn’t matter if you’re in the salt or the fresh, always looking for structure and there’s plenty of it here.”
Ozfish have put many hours into the rehabilitation of these fish’s habitats which explains in part the success the boys had on their trip. You can check out Ozfish’s work here.
“It’s not just in the water, the banks play a really important role too which is what we call the riparian zone at Ozfish,” he explained. “So it’s all about the trees and the shrubs providing a food source.”
All these elements create the perfect recipe for a healthy waterway.
If you want to get even closer to the banks, why not try a kayak? BCF have an extensive Hobie range that will take your creek creeping to the next level.
Further south is a little town of Ebor where there’s something seriously impressive – the Ebor Dutton Trout Hatchery.
It’s one of two facilities in NSW that works to produce magnificent Rainbow Trout for anglers to target.
“Because we’re core funded and funded by licence money every single fish goes into a public waterway where the public can access,” explained Ebor Dutton Trout Hatchery’s Paul. “So we’ll stock impoundments all over NSW.”
“Any river cold water stream, the water can’t be above 24 degrees it’s got to be below that they love the colder the better.”
Trout are one species in Australia that have varied closed seasons depending on what state you’re in so best do your research if you’re hoping to snag a few.
This is to make sure they have time to regain stocks so there are plenty for us to catch in the future.
In terms of chasing trout, Scott and Ozfish’s Jono recommend a very simple basic rig.
“Light jighead because these fish are going to be feeding on nymphs, flies and other little insects so if you go too heavy it will look unnatural,” Jono said. “Really light line, light plastic small jighead, cast it in and as soon as it hits the water, you’re in gear, winding.”
It certainly worked for the boys!
COOKING
If you’re looking for a way to change up how you cook your fish, we recommend you give smoking a go.
Prymal have made it super easy with a 2 burner model. Just light the metho, get yourself some flavoured smoking dust and you’re good to go.
Rainbow Trout is a very popular fish to smoke, but for those who live on the coast, any of your offshore species will taste just as good.
If you’re someone who has spent a lot more time at the beach than the bush, we highly recommend this region.
What are you waiting for? Pack your bags and head for a bit of Northern New South Wales freshwater fun.
As the boys showed you the scenery is top notch and as for the fishing, it speaks for itself!
BCF should be stop number one on your list to kit out the cod tacklebox or grab a few of those trout candies like the boys did.
If you’re going to chase a few in the cooler months, you’re going to want to rug up so we recommend the MacPac range!
Head to your closest BCF to get yourself sorted
