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Severn River Camping Trip

Cowfish13

By Cowfish13
in Saltwater

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Cowfish13 Newbie

Cowfish13

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This’ll probably be a long report

Dad had a week off and we had heard that the Murray Cod had been going off in the Severn River (near Ashford, Northern NSW) so we went there for four days. It was a pretty awesome trip with a few good fish landed.

Day 1: Once we had got to the Lemon Tree Flat camp ground and set everything up, we started walking the banks casting lures where ever we could. About one hour later, Jack managed to hook his first ever Murray Cod and after a short fight, it was landed. He went 49cm and was released as soon as the photos were taken. A bit later, Fraser (a friend who had come camping with us) had a hit which failed to hook up. I put a cast in the same spot and hooked on for a few seconds, but it got off:(. After a while, we started to head back to the camp ground and we put a few casts in along the way. Jack then got a 38.5cm Yellowbelly (released after pics:)) on the same lure as he got the Cod on.

Day 2: This was a fairly physically tough day.

We decided to walk down the river while casting lures into every good looking hole we found. Around 8:30am, Fraser managed to catch his first ever Cod of any species. It was a Murray Cod that was 45cm long. Again, it was released promptly after pictures. After a fairly long walk while flicking lures and swimming in the nicely tempered water, we ended up in a big pool upon which Jack said, “If we work this area with a lot of casts, we should get a fishâ€Â. He was right:). On about my 30th cast, I decided to really slash my Rapala x-rap to try and get the fish into a feeding mood during the hot day (it was about 12:00 at that time). About half way into the retrieve, my lure got smashed. After a very good fight, a big fat 47cm Yellowbelly surfaced. It was the hardest hitting fish I’ve ever landed. It hit like a freight train :ohmy:. After a very, very long trek, we decided to get out of the gorge (easier said than done:lol:). We walked back to the camp for some food and soft-drink. Jack, Fraser and I then proceeded upstream for the first time and after a while of flicking lures, we ended up a deepish hole and I put a spinnerbait on. I had found this spinnerbait earlier in the day and it was in really good condition. While it was helicoptering down, it started to speed up and wriggle around. I engaged my reel and I found I had a fish on:woohoo:. It then took me under a rock but I managed to get it out. It was a 36cm Murray Cod and was my first ever:woohoo:.

Day 3: This was a hard day. The fish had completely shut down and we didn’t land a single one. Around 4:00pm (yes, from 8:00am to then, nothing at all:(), Fraser had a hook-up and then Jack had a big strike a bit later, but both were lost. Then Dad thought he had some weed on, but it was actually a small Murray Cod that fell off just as he was lifting it out of the water:(

Day 4: We left this day (today:silly:), but we managed to fit in about 2.5 hrs but we didn’t get anything.

So all up, fish were:

Jack: 1 Murray Cod (49cm), 1 Yellowbelly (38.5cm)

Fraser: 1 Murray Cod (45cm)

Me: 1 Yellowbelly (47cm), 1 Murray Cod (36cm)

Dad: one dropped fish:(

We are complete novices at fishing in fresh water, so I reckon if we could do that, other more experienced people would have a lot of success.

If you do go, remember to bring good sunscreen because it is really hot out there and we all got badly sunburnt

Pics to follow:)

Thanks for reading

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Cowfish13 Newbie

Cowfish13

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We were slightly shocked with every fish while releasing because they sat motionless in our hands and just as we were getting worried about their survival, they shot off and soaked who ever was releasing them in the process:lol:

No fish was out of the water for more than 30 seconds:) or touched rocks while landing

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Cowfish13 Newbie

Cowfish13

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A few more additional points:

-If you do choose to go, make sure you get a permit if you're are over 18yrs. We saw a couple of guys get fined this morning

-There are some huge holes. Some up to 10m (10 secs with a heavy spinnerbait).

-The river changes from a snaggy creek, to a huge gorge with huge boulders to cast at. A lot of waterfalls/cliffs as well

-And I know I've already said it, but bring sunscreen:lol:. My back hurts like hell:(. The sun burnt us through our shirts:angry:

We had completly clear weather out there. Not a drop of rain.

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  • 2 weeks later...
ellicat Grand Master

ellicat

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Great report Cowfish13. Congrats to you and the guys. I wish I'd headed out a week earlier than I did. I got rained in, then flooded out:S

The Severn is an awesome looking place. Haven't been for about five years. We normally head in through the north end of Sundown NP (4WD access only). Were there many campers at Lemon Tree ? What are the facilities like there ? Is it a popular or quiet spot ?

Were you in the Kwiambil (spelling?) NP ?

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Cowfish13 Newbie

Cowfish13

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ellicat wrote:

Great report Cowfish13. Congrats to you and the guys. I wish I'd headed out a week earlier than I did. I got rained in, then flooded out:S

The Severn is an awesome looking place. Haven't been for about five years. We normally head in through the north end of Sundown NP (4WD access only). Were there many campers at Lemon Tree ? What are the facilities like there ? Is it a popular or quiet spot ?

Were you in the Kwiambil (spelling?) NP ?

There were quite a few people there. We had a bit of trouble finding a spot, but after New Years Eve, they pretty much all left. So at a less popular time, there'd be next to no one there.

There are 2 toilets there (one at each end), but that's it for facilities. They're of the pit variety;).

As far as popularity on the river, adjacent to the camp ground, there are a few people swimming and some times a few fishing, but if you walk 5 mins in either direction, you'll never see a soul.

I'm pretty sure that it is part of the Kwiambil National Park.

We were lucky that we did miss the floods. That is our reckoning as to why the fish were active at first, then shut down as it got closer to the rain. We've read that the natives can sense when a flood is about to happen, then they seek out a deep hole to stay safe.

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