The Social Fishing Podcast

THE 100TH PODCAST EPISODE! We made it to the 100th episode and this this one we wanted to do something special. Rhys looks back at where everything all began and chats with the crew who started Social Fishing. Stumpy, Tallis, Chris and Jack helped in the early days and Rhys sits down to have a chat with all four of these guys. Talking about the past, but also about where they are now. What are they up to 10 years down the track. Many have moved away, built careers and families. Enjoy this chat with the original SF crew! In this episode: 0:31 - Introduction 7:50 – Chat with Stumpy 44:00 – Chat with Tallis 1:52:17 – Chat with Chris 2:28:32 – Chat with Jack

You’ve probably heard the saying, “1020 the fish are plenty”? This is in reference to the Barometric Pressure and when it’s over 1020hPa… the fishing is good. But how does the barometric pressure affect the fish? The most common theory that been around for many years is the direct impact on the swim bladder on the fish… but this theory had its flaws. So I decided to do a deep dive into barometric pressure and explored other avenues as to how it directly impacts fish, especially freshwater fish. In this episode I look at swim bladders, and how they work. As well as exploring dissolved oxygen to see if this has a direct correlation to pressure changes. What I find in this episode is fascinating… and well worth a listen for any angler – fresh or salt. Enjoy! In this episode: 1:00 – Introduction into Barometric Pressure and Old Theories 10:00 – Does Dissolved Oxygen Change During Barometric Pressure Shifts? 19:00 – Fluctuations of Dissolved Oxygen in Freshwater Impoundments 25:00 – How Do Fish Swim Bladders Work 45:00 – How Does Barometric Pressure Effect Fish?

Welcome to this episode where we chat about our 2025 team trip to Copeton Dam! Every year the SF Team heads off to cod waterway in the winter, to chase big cod. This year Copeton was the choice, and wow was it one insane trip! A trip we will never forget, and a trip where we learnt some incredible new lessons – which will change the way we target cod in the next few years. This is an episode you don’t want to miss! Enjoy. In this episode: 3:00 – Intro to the Trip 4:30 – Figuring out the Bite at Copeton: Tricky to Work Out 11:00 – Fish Behaviour and Last Light Bite 13:00 – Stories of Fish from the Trip

Welcome back to another episode on location from the Murrumbidgee River! Another float with good mates, telling stories and sharing lessons. This is a phenomenal river to fish during Autumn, and we had great success floating in out Takacat Inflatables. We filmed a VLOG session for our membership which will be available soon, but we also sat down for a podcast on the last night. Enjoy the banter in this latest episode. In this episode: 3:30 – Introduction to the Team and Trip 14:00 – The Bite on this Trip 24:00 – The Flamingo Story 38:00 – Fish of the Trip 43:00 – Insane Day Time Surface Bite 48:00 – First cast into the key zone 53:00 – More Stories and Chats

Alex Ross loves his freshwater fishing, especially land-based fishing for Murray Cod on creek and river systems. Based in the Wagga region and growing up on the Murray River, he has been surrounded by premier cod rivers. In this episode Alex shares a wealth of knowledge on his experience bank walking, and what he has learnt along the way, including how to avoid snags, gear to pack and the approach for fishing land based in rivers. He has also kitted out a Stand-Up Paddle Board for fishing along these rivers, and has had some good success. He shares his journey of purchasing the board, and what he has learnt along the way. You won’t meet a nicer guy, who is happy to help and do anything for anyone! Enjoy this episode with Alex Ross! In this episode: 03:30 – Previous podcasts with Alex from our river drifts 13:20 – Alex’s fishing story and where it all started 26:20 – Gear for Fishing Landbased for Murray Cod 36:30 – Technique & Approach from the Bank 52:00 – Fishing from a Stand-Up Paddle Board (SUP) in the Freshwater 1:18:00 – Using the Correct Rod for the Situation – Understanding Rod Action 1:26:30 – Fishing in Your Comfort Zone V Pushing to Try Something New 1:39:10 – Final Lesson from Alex 1:45:30 – Alex’s Top Fishing Moment

Back at the microphone with the legend that is… Lubin Pfeiffer! A lot has happened since the last time we spoke four years ago, including Lubin’s lifestyle, job and some of his fishing techniques – we touch on these before diving into key topics around chasing Murray Cod on rivers. Lubin shares stories from travelling over the past few years, we discuss his travelling setup and what he does for power, internet, water etc (handy tips to help you setup a system for travelling). We discuss key conditions for river Murray Cod including flows and clarity. What’s the best surface fishing retrieve? And so much more! Towards the end we chat about the Lower Murray River and how the water flows through this section, what are ideal flows and some background and history around the river. This is a fascinating chat that you don’t want to miss! In this episode: 4:00 – Catchup with Lubin on what’s been happening, his YouTube channel and the past four years 9:30 – How long should my trip be chasing a big river cod? 15:30 – Filming and running a YouTube channel 27:00 – What has changed since we last spoke: surface retrieves for cod fluorocarbon mainline using sounders 44:00 – How does Lubin approach a new system/location for the first time? 50:30 – Setup for travelling (power, internet, sleeping, water, charging etc) 58:30 – Process for a surface retrieve for cod 1:06:00 – What’s most important for rivers? Flow, clarity, water temperature, weather, moon, barometer? 1:10:00 – Understanding flows in the lower Murray River system 1:29:00 – Lubins learning on cod behaviour over the past few years 1:41:00 – Lubins rods, reels, lures and gear 1:46:30 – Top Must Visit Spots in each State 1:50:30 – What’s the future look like for Lubin?

New to chasing cod? This is the episode for you! Rhys & Dan share a few tips for getting started in the world of lure fishing for Murray Cod – for both lakes and rivers. There is an endless amount to learn when it comes to Murray Cod, but this episode summaries the basics to help you get started. In this episode: 3:00 – Early memories of catching cod on a lure 10:00 – Tips for Learning to Lure fish in a Lake/Impoundment 16:20 – Tips for Learning in a River or Creek 36:00 – Techniques and Learning more 39:20 – Location and spots are important 45:50 – Looking after Murray Cod Learn more about lure fishing in the Freshwater Mini Series > https://socialfishing.com.au/free-freshwater-mini-series/

A new season is upon us… and it’s going to be EPIC! Dan and I wanted to sit down and have a chat about what’s ahead and we cover our thoughts on how to approach this summer. Our focus for this chat is on rivers, now that we are heading into a drier period (this means lower flows and clearer water). We talk about what it’s been like the past three years, the current conditions, water clarity and how it affects cod, some key lures worth using over summer and our thoughts on weedless plastics. Before finishing up we also touch on the impoundments and share a few tips. Enjoy this episode and if you have any requests for topics, please send them through. For more information visit: www.socialfishing.com.au In this episode: 5:00 - Rivers for cod and conditions over the past 5 years 9:40 – Current conditions and the year ahead (fishing will be epic) 14:30 – Water clarity and how it affects feeding behaviour of cod 26:00 – Tips for the summer ahead and our predictions on good spots to fish 31:20 – Key lures for chasing summer cod 40:00 – Best rod for weedless plastics 50:30 – Tips for chasing cod in lakes & dams over summer

Matt Martin loves his Golden Perch, and it was great to get him on for a chat to hear his story, chasing yellas and also fishing Burrendong Dam. The start of the chat kicks off learning a little bit about Matt, his background in fishing and his travels to end up where he is today. He has chased Barra on the ABT circuit and loves fishing a range of competitions for Murray Cod and Yellowbelly. His local is Burrendong and we get into discussions about the key bite periods, the behaviour of the yellas throughout spring and the best way to chase them. Matt is a great fella, and this was a super casual chat. Enjoy our first episode on spring yellas for the season. For more info on access, key fishing spots and up to date reports on Burrendong Dam. Join the Social Fishing Membership: https://socialfishing.com.au/sf-membership/ In this episode: 00:00 – Intro to Matt Martin 07:35 – Where and how did it all begin? 14:30 – How did the fishing the ABT Tournaments come about? 21:42 –Recent fishing comp at Burrinjuck? 24:20 – Spring Yella’s in Lake Burrendong 46:00 – What’s your go-to Yella Technique? 56:01 – Favourite colour pallet? 59:30 – Matt’s experience at the AFTA tradeshow 1:06:24 – Matt’s most memorable moment 1:10:10 – Piece of advice going forward?

Jakko is BACK! Perfect timing to get Jakko Davis back on for another podcast chat and we broke the record for the longest chat yet… but it’s epic. This is one you’ll want to make sure you listen to the entire way through (and possibly again). We chat about three key topics: Chasing Murray Cod in Rivers The Effect of Live Technology on Cod Moon Phases and how they Affect Cod These are three hot topics in the cod fishing world at the moment. As always, we get into good discussion on a range of ideas and experiences. Enjoy this chat! In this episode: 4:30 – Intro and catchup, recent sessions and life 6:00 – Fishing the Macquarie River this season 15:30 – Camping out of a backpack in summer 21:00 – General life and fishing the river 25:30 – Fishing from the inflatable boat 36:00 – Fishing from bank V boat 44:30 – Live Technology Chat: Where is it going? 1:06:00 – How fish behave to splash and boat pressure from the use of Live Tech 1:14:00 – Murray Cod intelligence and understanding their behaviour on live sonar 1:38:30 – Moon Phases and Murray Cod: Bite Periods and Bite Windows 2:13:30 – What do we watch on YouTube 2:16:30 – Membership update, Social Fishing and life updates

We are back from another epic SF Team Trip with our amazing crew! We went back to Wyangala once again (after amazing success last year) and we managed to produce another amazing session. In testing conditions, the fish pushed us, but we learnt a lot and caught some amazing fish. Dan and I jumped on an episode for a chat about the trip. We discuss the key lessons, stories and what we learnt (along with the funnies). Enjoy this chat and if you’re keen on more details about our Wyangala session checkout the latest trip report inside the SF Membership: Join the Membership Here In this episode: 1:00 – Intro of the trip 3:30 – Accelerated Learning Fishing in a Group or at Competitions 8:00 – Key bite windows 11:00 – Dan talks of dropped fish 20:30 – Our moments of the trip 34:20 – Funny Moments from the Trip 39:00 – Why the Cod Fury 220mm Works so well in Winter 52:40 – Our Top Tips for Wyangala this Winter 57:40 - Content and Filming from Trip 59:00 – Our top Catches from Trip

This adventure was too special not to record a podcast on location. On night two of our three-day drift, we sat down to record an episode for the podcast, sharing stories, lessons, and everything from this amazing adventure. Six of the SF team, in three boats and lots of fish. What we find is most incredible about fishing as a team is the ability to learn. From mid-day on the first day, we worked out the bite pattern, and then capitalised on it for the rest of the trip. In this podcast you’ll hear plenty of stories and banter, but also, you’ll learn lessons that you’ll be able to apply to your next session on a river system. Enjoy this casual and relaxed, but also very insightful episode of The Social Fishing Podcast! In this episode: 00:30 – Intro of the group and the location. 11:00 – Why we all went looking for shallow running lures. 15:30 – The start of day one, what we caught and what we learnt. 20:30 – Stand out yella lure. 22:00 – Why we went to weedless plastics. 24:00 – Middle of day one & Alex’s 95cm capture. 38:50 – Karen’s topwater fish, morning of day two. 43:00 – Approach and techniques we used on day two. 1:21:20 – Everyone’s moment of the trip.

The story of Jimmy Barwick is next level! This is an epic chat as we learn who Jimmy is and the crazy adventure he has been on over the past two decades. He has travelled a fair portion of the world, lived overseas working and spent a massive part of his life living on the water. Currently working as a fly guide on the Tumut River in NSW, and also working in retail. He has seen and done it all, and in the first half of this episode we get an insight into his amazing life journey. The second half of this episode Jimmy shares his last 12 months of chasing Murray Cod. Having never chased them ever before, to learning about this incredibly intelligent species, to catching his first (and now multiple) metre Murray Cod on the fly. We discuss techniques and approach for using the fly, and lessons Jimmy has learnt along the way. This is a big episode and one you’ll want to listen to. In this episode: 0:00 – The Jimmy Barwick Story – Early life in Tasmania 12:50 – The Story – Super Yachts in Europe 18:00 – The Story – Move to Indonesia 21:00 – The Story – Guiding at Arlie Beach 29:30 – The Story – Charter Boat in the NT 30:45 – The Story – Move to Tumut as a Guide 40:00 – The Story – Working on a Super Yacht Travelling the World 50:00 – Learning to target Murray Cod (having never chased them before) 58:00 – How Jimmy started out with chasing Murray Cod 1:05:00 – First sessions on the water 1:17:30 – Spending more time on the water and catching cod on lures 1:27:00 – Going from lures to first metre cod on fly 1:35:00 – Tips for chasing cod on fly