Merv Chats: Fishing

"The best cure for seasickness, is to sit under a tree."

Favourite fishing spot?

I reckon anywhere in Darwin. The Daly River. Don't have much success there, but I go up every year and do the Barra Classic. It's a big fishing comp and a lot of fish get caught, but unfortunately not by us, but we have a great time.

What was your most memorable catch?

I think the first barramundi. So fishing in Western Australia, out of Derby or 'Darby', I think they call it in WA, Just on a river there as the tide turned, we're in pretty shallow water. Uh, got a 93 centimetre Barra and I thought, how easy is barramundi fishing? People talk about a metre here, oh I'm gonna get that. Still haven't got one yet after all these years. But yeah, real highlight.

Who's your fishing hero?

Rex Hunt. I think anyone growing up that was interested in fishing, Rex Hunt was a pioneer of fishing. Had the show on the TV, so I think you, you watch that all the time. But outside of Rex, bloke by the name of Doug Jennings, he was on a farm out of Violet Town. As a kid moved around a little bit. I used to fish out there with his nephew and his son. And he just told me, show me the blood knot and said "Son, this is the only knot you'll ever have to learn." That's the only knot I've learnt really. Along the way you have different ones, but the standout would be Rex Hunt.

Favourite species to target?

I think barramundi. Barramundi are a lot of fun. Although over the last couple of years we've had to go at the bass, Australian bass. So Glenbourne Dam, New South Wales, do a fishing comp up there, the Freshwater Masters and to go up there and when you get hold of some bass up there on light gear, really good fun.

Which fish gave you the biggest fight?

I reckon I got a piece of flake from a fishing shop one night and it had a bone in it and like, they're supposed to be fillet aren't they? No, seriously. Probably a sailfish. So I heard so much about sailfish and cast out, got it to the side of the boat and I looked at the skipper and I said, I thought these things were supposed to have a bit of a fight. And I reckon five seconds later it was about 400 metres off the back of the boat. I was just hanging on. So, anything like that, sailfish, marlin. But 'fish' fish - mulloway are always really tough, so you get a big mulloway on, you know about it.

Furthest you've driven to fish?

Yeah, probably up to Glenbourne. So, go into Wagga for this Freshwater Masters and then, drive up to Mudgee, so Lake Windermere and then up to Glenbourne. So yeah, she's a fair hike up there, but worth the drive.

How many knots does it take to keep you on land?

Yeah, not many. So a bit of a spoilt fisherman. If it gets cold, if it gets a little bit blowy, yeah, I'm out. Because of my seasickness, a lot of the stuff I do is freshwater. You can normally find sort of guarded spots in freshwater, but very wary when you go out in the blue water.

What do you prefer: Fresh or saltwater

Well, when you get seasick, freshwater's a really good option. So used to love the saltwater, blue water. So you go off New South Wales, go off Victorian and you've just got that swell. And as a young bloke I used to be able to handle it. And now that's why I head up north to Darwin. There's no swell, and no swell's good for me. It's got into freshwater too. So, chasing cod, yellow belly, bass, things like that. So they're, they're mainly freshwater and you gravitate to freshwater when, when you get seasick. And I found out the best cure for seasickness too is to sit under a tree.

What do you prefer: Live bait or lures

Probably lures, 'cause live bait takes a bit of catching, doesn't it? So it depends what you're fishing for. So blue water, after certain species, you need that live bait. But probably freshwater, if I go freshwater now, I very rarely use bait. So it's all lure. So whether they're hardbody spinner baits, soft plastics, whatever it is, probably prefer to use lures.

What do you prefer: Sanpper or Barra

Snapper or Barra? Well, when I'm in Melbourne, it's a long cast to get a barra. So snapper if I'm in Melbourne. But listen, snapper's a great fish to catch and to eat. and barramundi, most of the barramundi fishing I do is catch and release, although you go fishing for a reason. Nothing wrong with snapper down south. And if you had a combination or you had a choice really in the same area of what to target, I'd probably go barramundi 'cause you can go up the river and get away from the waves, and seasickness is a real problem.

Got any fishing tips?

It's like TattsLotto. If you haven't got a line in the water, you're not gonna catch anything. A lot of people talk to me about, they have no luck. Well, when's the last time you went fishing? About five years ago? Well, you're gonna struggle, aren't you? So the more you do, the more confident you get, the more knowledge you get and the better outcome you have. So, the tip for people that are on the edge is spend more time fishing.

Well, thanks for talking fishing. I hope you've enjoyed it. And one thing to say, drive long knackers.

Thanks for the chat Merv!