No change to funding format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Brian Dare

No change to funding format

Glenlyon Dam by BRIAN DARE

THE image accompanying this is of a letter I received, written by Dan McIntyre on behalf of the Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities, the Hon Mark Furner MP.

Have a read of the letter and then continue reading this…

Well, I guess you could say they are still not listening.

So folks, it’s clear to me that we will never see the $1.25 million goal for fish restocking in freshwater reached under the present funding format.

The water and stock reserve changes are close to being put through the house.

Will the following groups be advised as to when comments should cease on their ‘Last Say’?

Landcare Australia, the Conservation Council, bushwalkers, bird watchers, camera and photography clubs, horse riders, bicycle riders, bush campers and anglers who stock the rivers and streams will all be looking at a user-pays extra cost format by October this year.

More rain and the rivers run, it’s getting to the point where I will be putting my small canoe into mothballs and start to look at the 15-footer and electric motor on the dam.

Over the past 12 months, it’s been a case of strong water flows out west.

This being the case, a lot of angers arrive without first checking.

Any flow over 370 megalitres a day in our upper river reaches is dangerous when it comes to rapids.

Also playing the hero is not a good idea.

Put an extra-long lead on your craft and walk it up or downstream when fishing.

Back when we did our research trips in our river sections up in the high country, one trip forced us all to fish only downstream.

It was just too fast a flow to have a safe result and anchors were used to hold the craft in a steady casting format.

As for fishing the storages, well it’s a case of looking and fishing areas on the dams where small streams run into the main flow areas.

You will find all fish will grab a feed that flows down to them.

Try these areas and watch the results.

This season will be one to talk about for some time.

With the on-going rain, flows will give fish in the Murray Darling systems a possibility of coming back to previous 1970 conditions, with breeding season only three months away for 2022.