THE traditional Easter camp is alive and well as a virtual city of tents and swags has appeared along the banks of the Murray River these past few days.
While many come for the scenery to sit and watch the mighty river roll by, others enjoy the ambience of the riverside campfire or the joy of just being in the bush.
Of course the chance to wet a line and land a feed of fish is high on the agenda for Good Friday lunch.
No angler I know wants to be outdone by a packet of fish fingers.
The good news is the fish have been running well along most of the Murray River with some great catches of both Murray cod and Golden perch.
With the water clarity as good as I’ve seen for several seasons it’s not surprising that many fish have been landed on lures.
Anglers fishing the Murray near Brooks Lane upstream of Swan Hill are catching cod on lures to 80cm.
Several large golden perch to 50cm have also been caught on baits of shrimp and worms.
There are still good numbers of shrimp in the river so a baited shrimp trap will keep you in a ready supply of fresh bait.
Other reports coming in have good numbers of perch at Robinvale in the pool water on both bait and lures.
A few smaller cod have also been caught in this area.
Below the Euston Weir through to Wemen, Hattah and beyond some very good Murray cod have been landed on lures and bait.
Tyson Smythe has landed several cod to 86cm over the past few weeks and a good number of golden perch.
As usual the carp are running hot on bait and while they are annoying to the serious fisho they are excellent fun for the junior anglers.
A tub of worms and a handful of shrimp will keep the kids entertained for hours, great holiday fun.
The Murray River at Red Cliffs, Mildura and Wentworth is producing some excellent catches of cod and perch on lures with several large Murray cod landed up around the 35kg mark.
These are ripping fish and so far they have all been returned to the river.
Catch and release is alive and well and those practicing it are well aware that fish of this calibre are too special to be caught just once.
Bait anglers are also landing a few, with grubs and cheese working best on the cod.
Fresh shrimp bobbed around the snags are producing some solid perch and a few catfish, the latter a protected species that must be returned to the river.
While you are up the river over the Easter period enjoying your break, take a moment to think on the Good Friday appeal and the kids that wish they were fishing and camping also.
It’s an angling tradition to cast a few coins into the river to appease the fish gods.
This year it might be better served by placing these same coins in one of the any tins that will be rattled by volunteers along the Murray River on Good Friday.
Have a great Easter and may you all land that one special fish of a lifetime.
