Jim_Tait
02-05-2007, 02:09 PM
Recently undertook some more angling based survey work for Mary River Cod in the lowermost reaches of the Mary River. While we didn't find any MRCs we did encounter good numbers of bass, fork tailed catties (one of which tried to eat a 50 cm bass boatside!! - part of the reason I believe MRCs are thin on the ground) and also come across a large sooty - what it was doing in the Mary River is anybody's guess - I supposed it was a leftover from early rec fishery devlopment translocation /stockings or possibly a farm dam escapee - it hit and pullled hard down deep in the snags and I finally thought we had connected with a cod - but it wasn't to be.
One other observation was the apparent presence of a wasting disease, several bass we caught were nothing more than skeletons with skin wrapped around them. I could of put it down to poor genetic vigour in stocked fish, but we also observed it in a large catfish that was all head and no flesh in the same reach as the poorly conditioned bass. Couldn't have been lack of food as the river was full of prey species and productivity.
Also observed good numbers of Mary River Turtles and Lungfish including one that attacked the canoe after I gave it a prod with the paddle - bit of excitment for my young assistant Tyron who is now committed to replicating the Mary River species assemblage in a large fish tank (don't fancy his chances)!!
One other observation was the apparent presence of a wasting disease, several bass we caught were nothing more than skeletons with skin wrapped around them. I could of put it down to poor genetic vigour in stocked fish, but we also observed it in a large catfish that was all head and no flesh in the same reach as the poorly conditioned bass. Couldn't have been lack of food as the river was full of prey species and productivity.
Also observed good numbers of Mary River Turtles and Lungfish including one that attacked the canoe after I gave it a prod with the paddle - bit of excitment for my young assistant Tyron who is now committed to replicating the Mary River species assemblage in a large fish tank (don't fancy his chances)!!