Lure fishing]]> Physical characteristics (Animals)]]> Dimensions]]> Fishes--Diseases]]> Family histories]]>
Images were provided to the Talking Fish research team by Barry Porter. They include the testing of a variety of fishing lures at Katarapko Creek, evidence of fish disease (fin rot), and a selection of historical photos from his personal family archive.]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Plants--Identification]]> Salinity]]> Environmental flows]]> Water levels]]> Aboriginal culture]]> Aboriginal fish traps]]> Fishing industry]]> Floods]]> Family histories]]>
The group talk about: a wall structure built in 1959 which stopped flows and reduced water levels in Ral Ral Creek; the story behind the naming of Squabbily Creek; Aboriginal rock corrals and cooking places; professional fishing methods; family records of plant species (lucerne, hawthorn, rhubarb, nardoo) created by Bert Stoneham; disappearance of lobster in the 1960s; 1956 and 1970 floods; salt interception scheme.]]> CC-BY]]> Floods]]> Fisheries]]> Salinity]]> River engineering]]> Bait fishing]]> Fishing industry]]> Soldier settlement]]>
Born in 1935, Malcom is a professional fisherman. First taught to fish by his grandfather, he bought a professional licence in 1957.

Malcom talks about: soldier settlements around the time of the 1956 flood; government allocation of river sections for commercial fishing; professional fishing equipment and techniques; baiting methods; process of preparing and transporting fish for market, and market prices; diseased fish (‘Redfin were good carriers’); electrofishing techniques; deterioration of trees as a result of unnatural flooding and salinity in floodplains caused by the locks; impact on deteriorated floodplains on native fish (whereas carp thrive); yabbying after flood events; the social impact of insufficient income from commercial fishing; floods 1956, 1970s.
]]> CC-BY]]> Floods]]> CC-BY]]> Traditional ecological knowledge]]> Introduced fishes]]> Floods]]> Fishing--Australia]]> Water quality]]> Traditional fishing]]> Weirs]]> Snags (Forestry)]]> Connection to Country]]> Fishing nets]]> Riverflow]]> Aboriginal culture]]> Cotton]]> Tobacco industry]]>
Wally talks about traditional fishing, fishing women, tickling fish, fishing with spears, hand lines, baiting, canoe fishing and diving for Crayfish. He also mentions cross lining and the use of drum nets in floodwaters. He marvels at the dexterity and play habits of water rats, and reflects on their scarcity. He discusses their history of being hunted, skinned, exported, and in some cases, eaten; He says it is customary that only male elders eat water rats and use their skins (men's-business).

Of the river, Wally and Pat discuss sustainable fishing practices, and talk at length about the Basin's wider management. They consider local agriculture, irrigation, habitat management, water allocation, floods, droughts, pests, weeds, silviculture, as well as the rivers' recreational and fish industries.

Wally and Pat refer to a chemical era, when DDT and Dieldrin were used as a pesticide on vinyards and Tobacco crops along the River. They talk about the chemicals, their effects on native fish, the contamination of farmland, and the ecological footprint of Tobacco growing itself.

Mention of Moira Forest, King River, Ovens River, Glenrowan, Yielima Station, Barmah Forest, Yarrawonga, Echuca, Nathalia, Barmah Lake, Wodonga, Oxley, Docker, Wangaratta, Fifteen Mile Creek, Mokoan, Hume Weir, Mulwala Weir, Namoi River, Lake Cargelligo, Broken River, Rose River, Lake Buffalo, Goulbourn River, Upper Murrumbidgee River, Warby Ranges, Swan Hill, Moira Station, LaTrobe Valley, Charlton.

Mentioned: silver bream, mountain galaxias, cormorant, worms, Bardi Grubs, platypus, water rat, white mussel, black mussel, swan, mice, tiger snakes, frog, foxes, cats, pigs, rabbits.

Plant life mentioned: Red gum, willows, bottlebrush. blackboys, tobacco, cotton, St. John's Wort, blackberries, grey box, kabungi, water hyacinths, blue gum.

Also mentioned: Flemington; Barmah Muster; River Improvement Trust; Department of Sustainability and Environment; Rex Hunt; Erni Briggs; Charlie Carp; the huge influx of silver perch in either 1954 or 1957; the changing structure of the river influenced by the removal of snags and willows.]]> CC-BY]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Communities]]> Environmental flows]]> Floods]]> Fish stocking]]> Licenses]]> Lure fishing]]> Fish habitat improvement]]> Water temperature]]> Boats]]> Water sports]]> Erosion]]> Fieldwork]]>
Graham, Ken and Peter are members of the Corowa Angling Club, and have lived in the Corowa area since the 1970s. Graham has worked as a water bailiff, a law enforcement officer responsible for the policing of bodies of water. They are concerned about restricted access to the river as time goes on.

The group talk about: Corugan Pumps (Hans’ Creek), an anabranch of the Murray River; changes in the Murray’s course as a result of floods, early 1980s; fishing at Jerilderie and Deniliquin; increases in Yellowbelly species since restocking; decline in Redfin species since 1980s; club travels; fishing licences; lure fishing; changes in fishing equipment; snags and fish habitat; types of bait; river health; collecting data for Arthur Rylah Institute; restocking activities, since 1988; changes in fishing culture, ‘catch and release’; changes in vegetation from boating activities; use of pylons and stones to stop river bank erosion; changes in width and depth of the river; mammals, birds, reptiles, snakes; blue-green algae and pollution; temperature differences.]]> CC-BY]]> Lure fishing]]> Tournament fishing]]> Wetlands]]> Fishes--Breeding]]> Fisheries]]> Communities]]> Fieldwork]]> Environmental flows]]> Water temperature]]>
Born in 1960, John grew up in Melbourne, visiting with extended family around the Mildura area. He worked at Snobs Creek as a technician, becoming an expert in breeding Murray Cod. When the research side of Snobs Creek was relocated he took a job with Fisheries Department of Primary Industries to stay in the Alexandra area. He discusses in depth cultural changes in fishing and recreational activities from his perspective as a field naturalist.

John talks about: memories growing up fishing; fishing techniques; changes in fish species around Myall and Mildura; fishing techniques; types of bait; changes in the Murray’s flows and depths; changes in Murray Cod numbers; his work with Fisheries; environmental flows; de-snagging at Hume; anabranches between Hume and Mulwala; changes in water temperature; bush tucker. Mention of Bardi grub, turtle, platypus.
]]> CC-BY]]> Fishes--Identification]]> Family life]]> Local history]]> Pesticides]]> Acid sulfate soils]]> Lagoons]]> Tobacco industry]]> Dams]]> Weirs]]> Floods]]> Introduced fishes]]> Eucalyptus camaldulensis]]> Water quality]]> Aboriginal culture]]>
The Green family grew up at 'Chinaman's Lagoon', in one of the original homesteads in the district. The lagoon and acreage became their backyard, and is were they spent all their holidays and afternoons after school.

The Green family talk about: local history; stories of people that lived in the Red Gum forests; Chinese market gardens; ecological changes in Chinaman’s Lagoon (now known as Dairy Lagoon); the impact of European Carp on vegetation, 1970s; changes in water clarity and levels in the lagoon as a result of canal construction; flood events; Dartmouth Dam; an Aboriginal canoe tree; use of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) on tobacco plantations in the area, 1950s; fish with spinal deformities; acid sulphate; fishing techniques.
]]> CC-BY]]> Lagoons]]> CC-BY]]>