Real Country

For me, the truly great thing about playing professional sport is the close friendships you make along the way. Boys from the city and the bush stand side by side without discrimination. Except, of course, the odd wisecrack from the city slickers about how boring and slow country music is. Players from the NSW country towns of Albury in the south to Glenn Innes in the north would mumble sweet nothings under their breath, knowing full well that their music represented life in real Australia.

Their songs told the story of daily life on the land, its beauty and its hardships, of common goals and friendships, spirit and above all of a love and passion for the space and grace of rural life.

This love could not have been more evident than at my first trip to the Tamworth Music Festival. Thousands of visitors turn out for a week-long entertainment extravaganza. Hawkers of all ages compete to show their wares, while the local hotels are full to overflowing with people listening to the latest country artists and bands. The whole town is abuzz with the build-up to the big awards night.

With a beer in one hand and a hotdog in the other, I sat down to take in the sights and sounds and have a chat with a few of the local farmhands. Their passion for the land flowed through the conversation, and when the talk came to fishing, I filled them in on my experience at Lake Keepit, one of Tamworth's local impoundments.

LAKE KEEPIT
At the dam I was joined by local tackleshop owner Dean McFarlane, who had made available his Yamaha-powered Quintrex and his knowledge of the local hotspots. Dean is a terrific bloke who is keen to give advice. He fishes the local rivers and impoundments regularly and therefore has his finger on the pulse when it comes to tackle, tactics and rigs.

As we launched the boat, I couldn't help but notice huge boils adjacent to the ramp. Dean said that these were made by the huge European carp that have multiplied in large numbers since their introduction a few years earlier. In Europe, carp are classed as terrific sportsfish, but here in Australia it is illegal to return captured carp to the water, as they are regarded as a noxious pest. The problem is that they compete with the native fish. They overpopulate most of the impoundments and river systems they enter at an alarming rate, damaging those areas further by stirring up mud and sediment as they feed on just about anything.

UNDER PRESSURE
Dean said we could try to eradicate some of the resident carp, but first a troll by some Murray cod haunts would be worth a try. The barometer had been dropping over the preceding days and this meant that the cod would be harder to catch.

Dean trolled a spread of two Orgee lures around the edge of a steep bank, with the Yamaha four-stroke quietly doing its job. Half an hour went by before Dean's rod got the first knock. It wasn't a huge fish, but it was what we were after. A healthy Murray cod put up a sluggish fight as it cruised to the surface like a fish half-asleep. The barometric pressure certainly plays a major role in how fish - especially freshwater fish - behave.

When the barometer is on the rise, a hot bite could be just around the corner, but when it's falling, you can just about be assured things will be quiet. At around 1.5kg it was a handsome fish with yellow speckled markings and a well-conditioned body.

These fish have been known to exceed 100lb. While such grandfather cod are nearly unheard of these days, Murray cod are making a comeback, due mainly to hard-working recreational stocking groups in the western rivers and dams.

These magnificent native fish are now receiving the much needed respect and admiration they deserve, and fishermen now enjoy the sport of catch and release over catch and kill.

We went on to troll for another hour without even a bump and figured that, while the barometric pressure might be sending the cod too deep, the European carp would be feeding no matter what the conditions. We met up with Justin Diggin from Sydney Flyfishing Charters. He was up in Tamworth for a bit of work and pleasure, being the drummer in one of the touring bands. This meant he could play all night and fish all day, and as he guides on Sydney Harbour with a big flyfishing clientele, he was going to be in perfect hands to have a crack at a carp on fly.

NO CARPING MATTER
We decided to head to the shallow bays where the mud banks would provide the carp their ideal habitat. A seven weight rod was selected, and as we approached the flats, the carp could be seen rising and chasing shrimp in the shallows.

A 3kg golden-hued carp was seen cruising several metres ahead, unaware our boat was close by as it focused solely on the fleeing shrimp. Matching the shrimp, my fly landed a metre from the hungry fish and it had the fly in its mouth in seconds. Repeated bursts tore the line from the reel and after a solid tussle my first carp was landed. Justin decided to do the proper thing and put it out of its misery before dumping it up on shore for the sea birds to clean up.

For the next two hours we had a ball enticing large carp to eat our flys.

The sight fishing was fantastic and to see these huge colourful fish slurp our woolly bugger and shrimp pattern flys before tearing off line down to the backing was awesome fun. The fact that we were eradicating some of these noxious fish was another thing that had me thinking that I might be back again to give it another crack. It was lots of fun, and I encourage every angler to do their bit to remove as many carp as possible from our rivers and impoundments.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip to Tamworth. This city boy can see why country music stirs the heart and soul of Aussie folk who love the bush.