PBs all the go at Moogerah

[Ozie_3]

went to lake moogerah for a family camp over the week end (35 ppl at best count)
got there wednesday arvo late, towed the boat and had the yak on the racks (the kids claimed that and i just used the boat)
i had 9 sessions fishing but only learning fresh water...anyhow i got PBs in ...mary river cod, tandanus (jew), ozie bass, silver and golden perch... all but the jew and yellowbelly were maiden catches too and were under sized to boot.... but still a pb

1st cod was a mere 10cm...lol bettered that thenext day by doubling the size to 20cm

bass was 25 cm, silver perch about 20cm.........best golden was 45cm and jew to 40cm

about 60 fish landed over the 5 days (6 were kept and were delicious) all fish were caught on shrimp (live) except a couple on worms.... plastics hardly got a touch all were caught in the shallow (4 to 6 meters) bay just inside the gorge

the water was about 40 cm from the line onthe rocks and probably 2 meters from the spillway, if it was 6 inches higher i probably wouldn't have hit the submerged fence post with the outboard leg.

there was a bit of rain and on Sunday my grand daughter and a friend decided the mud would be fun to play in...

anyhow thats about it....cant wait till next time....

fish pics in order...bass, yellowbelly, jew, small cod, huge cod and silver perch....i hope

[Mike Delisser]

Sounds like a great time had by all. You got the fish right except for the cod, those are spangled perch. Most of the time they don't grow much bigger than 20 - 25cm, there's no size or bag limit and they are one of the best tasting fish in the fresh.

[Barry Ehsman]

Gday Chris, Mate i might be wrong but i think your Mary river Cod are Spangled Perch or as we call them at Copeton Bobbie Cod, They dont grow much bigger than 20cm.. They dont have the rounded tail of a Cod...
But it looks like you had a great time..

Cheers Baz

Looks like Mike got in just before me

[Ozie_3]

thanks guys....
there ya go... never seen mary cod or spangled perch before...that i can remember... was just working on what was released there....

musta caught 30 or so roundthe 20cm.... will know next time and try a few fillets

and im still a cod virgin then....mary or murray....lol

[bdowdy]

good stuff .great to see moogerah coming back...aand yes mate there spangle perch..heaps of them in there..cheers brett

[bondy99]

Good one Chris,

Yeah spangled perch hey, sounds like I might catch a few.

Good effort , sounds like your family had fun also. Nice way to unwind and relax.

Peter

[sarg]

Nice work!!

The Jewies are good food never tried the spangleds I always let them go... maybe not next time.

There is an old creek bed that runs from down in the trees out to the front of the camp ground. If you've got a sounder on the boat a bit of looking around will find it. If you left from the camp ground boat ramp and headed directly across the dam towards the middle of the ski club huts you will cross it probably around the middle of the dam and the creek is maybe 20 mtrs across (i'm hopeless at guessing distance). The mouth of the creek, i guess you'd call it, is very deep and rocky and if you can get some big spinner baits down there or along the creek bed you would have a good chance of a big cod. Also at the end of the gorge out form the waterfall is a deep hole, that would also be a good place to try a get a cod too as i have seen photos of cod from there.

Andy

[Ozie_3]

thanks sarg,
i musta crossed thecreek a few times it was deep 20m+ i didnt really look at the bottom formation but will next trip....like wise with sandy creek waterfall...was shallow near the fall...1.2m but ost e gorge is 15m or more...

will take down rigger next trip also...

likewise ill cook up a couple of spangles and giveem atry...

thanks guys

[gunna]

(6 were kept and were delicious)

You get various opinions on the eating qualities of freshwater fish. I am just wondering which species you ate and how they were prepared ?
Cheers

[sarg]

Ozie will chime in, but out of moogerah I only eat the jewies, though around strikers point i have caught many spangleds so next time i am there i might give them a go.

Rub some butter on the alfoil and add whatever else you like and then wrap it up and put it in the coals. When you peel the alfoil off the skin usually comes up too. Tried bass but dont find it a snice as the jewies.

I tried a jewie once out of NPD and it was horribly muddy tasting. I have eated bucket loads out of moogerah and have never had one taste bad. I dont know why the NPD fish was so poor tasting and never went back to try another

[sarg]

This is a very rough map but.....

The two circles should be close to the two biggest rocky areas that i can remember. The small line on the left is a small creek and the big arch thingy on the right is the spit when the damn level drops it come right out of the water.

The big circle near there should be roughly where the mouth of the creek is and a really big cluster of big rocks and a really deep section. we were fishing from the rocks and there was two guys in a boat fishing, nearly catching a bass a cast which were measured,weighed and released, and they said it was still 20ft deep. What was left of the damn at the time was 1m at best apart from the creek.

[Ozie_3]

cool sarg, thanks

gunna, we ate the yellow belly and 1 jew.... another jew and yellow were taken by the out laws for a feed at home..

i didnt try the jew... always a bit off putting after trying salt water ones way back.....maybe next tims eh

[gunna]

Don't know jew?? Do you mean the eel-tail catties?? The oldies used to cook them when I was a kid but I don't remember the taste.

[Ozie_3]

Don't know jew?? Do you mean the eel-tail catties??

yep thats them...also called tandans or tandanus......sci name Tandanus tandanus

[Luc]

Have eaten plenty of spanglies from NPD. For their size they give chunky fillets and taste nice.

Shame they don't average a kilo or so.

Luc