Catching More Freshwater Fish – The “Social Fishing” podcast
With the whole world seemingly in lock down, there are a stack of fishos getting very antsy about wetting a line. It definitely doesn’t help that the weather is cooling down. The frosty mornings are so commonly associated with chasing BIG cod in impoundments, and all we can do is hang out and wait for restrictions to be lifted.
There are, however, ways and means of getting that fishing fix and the good news is that there are heaps of blokes making some great online content for us to hook in to. Some of the stuff available these days is next level in its quality – it has to be the next best thing to landing a metery yourself!
In these blog posts I want to share with you some of the podcasts and Youtube channels I follow. I rate them all very highly, and get into the new content from them all as soon as it comes out! With most of what I will share, it’s not just blokes telling yarns about fish they have caught. While this does make up part of the content, there are also a lot of tips, techniques and recommendations to help make your fishing more productive.
Social Fishing
I will kick it off with the boys from Social Fishing. These blokes have so much great content on their site, and they are adding to it all the time. Rhys Creed is the driving force, and the team states their vision for the website as being all about “education and sharing knowledge with anglers.” They have video tutorials, blog posts, a regular podcast, as well as a members section which includes fishing focused maps for major impoundments.
For this article I am focusing on their podcast. What I love about podcasts is their portability – it’s not hard to set up and listen to these on the go through streaming on your phone. Whenever I jump in the car I turn the Bluetooth on and more often than not find myself listening to another great fishing yarn.
The Social Fishing boys have pumped out 34 great episodes to date, each with a topic related specifically to freshwater fishing in Australian rivers and dams. Sometimes it’s just the Social Fishing team discussing tips and techniques for fishing specific conditions, or a particular target species. Other episodes have special guests who offer up some extremely valuable insights that can only be learned through time on the water.
My Top 5
It is very hard to narrow them down, but I have put together a list of my 5 favourite episodes from the Social Fishing podcast.
#5 – Ep 24 – “How to Fish Standing Trees for Yellas and Cod with Rhys & Tallis”
It is the go-to area for some blokes when fishing impoundments. In this episode the boys share some great tips and techniques for fishing the standing timber.
#4 - Ep 7 – “Fishing in Tough Conditions with Rhys & Chris”
One thing you can’t control on any fishing trip is the conditions. In this episode the boys go through some of the most commonly encountered conditions that make the fishing tough, and what you can do to improve your chances of landing fish.
#3 - Ep30 – “Colby Lesko: Chasing Big Murray Cod and Tips for the Murray River and Copeton Dam”
Colby’s is a name that a lot of you may be familiar with, and in this episode he shares some of the strategies he employs when fishing for Murray Cod.
#2 - Ep 29 – “Surface Fishing for Murray Cod with Rhys & Chris”
One of the most exciting ways to fish for Murray Cod is on the surface, and the boys share their thoughts on how to get the most out of targeting cod of the roof. When should you be using a paddler like Snakehips or Skunk? And when is it best to tie on a wakebait like Bungo?
#1 - Ep 34 – “Clint Hansel: Murray Cod Behaviour & Chasing that Trophy Fish”
It’s hard to go past the most recent episode as my number 1 choice. Clint has so much experience and thinks about things from a different perspective to most. Clint gives so much in this episode, it is a lot to digest and I’m sure that Rhys barely scratched the surface!
It was so hard to cull the list down to just 5, and I have to give an honourable mention to Episode 28 with Thomas Pinter, Episode 25 with Lubin Pfeiffer, and Episode 31 with Jakko Davis.
If you haven’t listened to a podcast before, give these ones a go. I’m sure you will get something out of them, and once you start listening you are going to want to go through and listen to them all. And then start over again!
All the best,
Dan