But are they still there?

According to keen anglers Peter Tidd, Graham Ellis, Julian McGregor and Ernie Hawkins fishing for native species has never been better, although the once-prolific redfin has all but disappeared.

Mr Ellis said fishing for native species had never been better in all the years he had been fishing.

Mr McGregor said when he first started fishing it was hard to catch a cod.

“All you could get was reddies,” he said.

“Now you can go out and catch up to five or six cod a trip.

“I believe native fish numbers are a lot healthier than they say.

“One time you used to use set lines because that was the only way to catch them. Now you can go out with a rod and catch a feed.”

Mr McGregor said the decision to impose a closed season for Murray cod had been a real positive for the species and anglers.

“The fish are there. The river is healthy,” he said.

Corowa Anglers’ Club president Peter Tidd said the de-snagging of the river had been huge mistake.

“Now, through the re-snagging program, they are fixing their mistakes,” he said.

Each of the anglers has had at least one memorable fish.

For Mr Tidd, his ambition was realised when he caught a 73lb (33kg) cod while spinning for yellowbelly in the Murray River below Yarrawonga in May.

Graham Ellis snared his monster 80lb (36.2kg) cod about 15 years ago while fishing near the West Corrugan irrigation scheme pump station downstream of Corowa.

Mr McGregor’s best cod was one of about 80lb (36kg) opposite the feed mill at Corowa 15 years ago.

For Ernie Hawkins, his best catch was just two years ago.

He was fishing a bardi grub near Corowa when he hooked and landed a 35lb (15.8kg) cod.

Corowa river property owner Chic Logie said the biggest cod he had seen was a 101lb (45.8kg) monster caught by Bob Herriot at Corowa.

Former Corowa councillor Bev McGregor had never caught a “monster” cod, but she had caught “plenty”.

She had been fishing with her son, Julian, and had hooked a cod of about 10kg soon after they started, but had “dropped” the fish at the back of the boat.

According to Mr McGregor that was the last time he took his mum fishing.

But Mrs McGregor has plenty of fishing stories, including the times she used to fish with a butcher from Hay.

“He would peel the yabby live, pour muscat over it, have a swig himself, and then cast the yabby into the river and he would always catch fish,” she said.

Mr Hawkins said it was not uncommon to find a golf ball in the stomach of a cod.

He had once caught a cod of about 5kg and when he gutted it, he found three golf balls inside.

“I had to stop and think about what I was drinking,” he said.

Mr McGregor said when there was a mice plague it was not unusual to find cod with mice in their gut.

He had heard of cod eating shags, while Mr Ellis had once caught a cod with a white plastic bottle in it.

In Mrs McGregor’s 10 years on the council she had tried, without success, to get a boat ramp built on the river at Corowa,

But she said there were many different authorities involved in the river’s operation and administration.

“One department does not know what the other is doing,” Mrs McGregor said.

Many myths and legends surround our most treasured fish

THE Murray-Darling system is home to more than 40 species of native fish.

But it is the Murray cod that is the most famous and most keenly sought.

The fish with the scientific name Maccullochella peelii peelii is also known by anglers as goodoo and green fish.

This icon of the Murray-Darling system was prolific throughout the system until the 1920s when commercial fishing data shows a significant decline.

Data also shows cod numbers again declined dramatically in the 1950s, due too excessive fishing, including commercial fishing, and habitat degradation.

In those halcyon days, cod of the magical 100 pounds — 45kg — were common and, according to the Murray-Darling Basin Commission the largest Murray cod recorded measured 183cm and weighed in at 113kg.

Although Murray cod remain abundant in parts of the Murray, the general decline in numbers across the Murray-Darling system and on particular stretches of the Murray, resulted in the species being listed as threatened in 2003.

The Murray cod is the stuff of legend.

According to Aboriginal mythology a huge Murray cod was responsible for forming the Murray river and all its fishes.

Over the years cod stories have included a fish so big that when it was caught in the Ovens River near Wangaratta, it had to be towed down to the junction with the Murray River so that it could be turned around.

Another involves the angler who, when asked how big his cod was, held his hands about a metre apart, which prompted a derisive response along the lines that a fish that long was not all that big, to which the angler replied: “That was between the eyes!”.

The Murray cod can still be caught in the Murray above Lake Hume, and in the lake itself.

In recent years it has returned in significant numbers between Albury and Yarrawonga, with Lake Mulwala now one of, if not Australia’s best cod fisheries.

Cod are prolific in the Murray River downstream to Barmah, while many large cod are still taken from the river way downstream of Mildura.

Cod, like all native fish, prefer deep holes with lots of snags, rocks, clay overhangs and overhanging vegetation.

They are a territorial fish that move upstream to spawn, but always return to, or close to, the same snag where they lived before spawning.

Fishing for Murray cod generally requires great patience, but expectation is a constant companion.

But when a cod decides it is time for a feed, look out.

They invariably bite with little or no warning and hit with incredible force.

Sometimes the fight is slow, heavy and of fairly short duration; while others simply refuse to give up, making repeated runs for the safety of a snag.

The Macquaria ambigua ambigua, the golden perch, runs a close second to the Murray cod as a favourite with anglers.

Also known as yellowbelly, callop and Murray perch, this delectable table fish also favours holes with plenty of snags.

They are a migratory fish, with research showing some adult fish moving more than 1000km upstream.

Trout cod, also known as blue-nose cod, is listed as a threatened species and must be released if caught.

They are prolific between Yarrawonga and Cobram.

Trout cod can grow up to 85cm and 16kg and are a great sport fish.

Silver perch, also known as black bream, silver bream and bidyan, was prolific in the Murray, but numbers declined dramatically after the 1940s and the fish is now listed as threatened.

Murray crayfish, like the Murray cod and other native fish species, have suffered from fishing pressures and declining habitat and water quality.

Shanty a bit of paradise by the river

RICHARD Howard has his own little patch of paradise perched on a bank high above part of the Murray River near Corowa.

And he is more than happy to share it with fishermen, bird watchers or anyone who simply wants to enjoy Australia’s greatest river.

Mr Howard has lived at The Shanty for 30 years.

The 3ha property was once part of Jillamatong, a large property between Corowa and Mulwala.

He has converted the original home into two holiday cottages and he lives in the original manager’s residence.

The cottages and the house sit above the Collendina lagoon, sometimes called Shanty lagoon, a large body of water fed by a creek that leaves the Murray River about 300m above the property.

Mr Howard said he loved people coming to see that part of the river.

He said his holiday cottages were low impact tourism.

“I want people to share my little bit of paradise and perhaps make a dollar at the same time,” he said.

Mr Howard, 67, said he had lived in the Corowa area all his life, and while he loved the river, he had never thought he would live beside it.

“I am a keen fisherman but I don’t catch a lot,” he said.

“I like to fish with a mate and I often fish up to three times a week.

“I fish for yellowbelly and cod and crays when the season is open, but they are getting scarce and smaller.

“The biggest cod I have caught was a 63 pounder (28.5kg) which I caught in the lagoon about 20 years ago.”

But the biggest cod capture had been involved with was a 91lb (41.2kg) fish he and two mates, Don Jackson and Roy Ellis, caught near Corowa 47 years ago.

“You will catch cod, with the odd big one and the better fishermen put the big ones back because they are breeders.”

Mr Howard said he was opposed to the decision to increase the minimum size for Murray cod to 60cm because it would make it harder for anglers to catch legal-sized fish and encourage people to do the wrong thing. There were less European carp in the river than there used to be.