Murry River

[alicat]

Hey guys im planing a trip over the ditch to do one of the murry river house boat cruzes. Was just wodreing if it was worth packing the bow and some arrows to do some hunting along the way. Are there any hunting spots thet you can acess off the river and also is it even leagal. One other question wots the fishing like on the river and is it legal to bow fish on the river. I would be greatfull for any feed back .
Cheers Alastair

[Mick Smith]

Alistair

As far as I know, you can hunt on the Victorian side of the Murray River where there's state forest. I don't know about the New South Wales side of the river. There's a few pigs to be found, especially from Swan Hill downstream, but they're hunted hard by all and sundry. There's a few rabbits and foxes also.

I don't think its legal to bowfish on any inland waterways in Victoria or New South Wales, even for rubbish fish like carp. Some native fish are vunerable to these type of fishing methods at certain times of the year, hence all fishing of this nature is banned. It would certainly be worthwhile to pack a rod and reel though. The main fish you would be targeting would be Murray Cod and Yellowbelly. They can be taken on bait or locally designed lures.

I doubt whether you will encounter any good hunting while on your houseboat holiday, but you never know. I'd certainly take my bow, just in case.

Good luck!!

Mick

[alicat]

Chers for the reply Mick good to Know bout the bow fishing situation. And im sure the fishing rods going to get a bit of use and i think il take the bow just in case you just never know what could happen.

[Hood]

Alicat, pending on how far your taking your trip down stream.

If you hit South Australian waters of the Murray
EXCEPT for the MAIN STREAM, bow fishing for CARP ONLY is permitted in all back waters of the Murray river.
Provided that the activity is undertaken a minimum distance of 50m from any person not involved in the bow fishing activity.
You will how ever need to obtain a basic hunting permit from the Department of Environment and Heritage which cost about $15 for one year (from memory this can be done online)

As to bow hunting along the rivers edge in South Australia. I have no idea but will try to get a straight answer from the Dept E&H tomorrow for you.
If it is permitted, the basic hunting permit will also cover you for any animale the Dept E&H. define as being feral which is a quite a few. The main ones you will find along the river in SA are pig, goat, rabbit, hare, fox, feral cats.
I'm sure that if you spoke to some of the land holders along the way they'ed be able to either help/point you in the right direction thats of course if you see or meet them to start with.

Hope that helps you a bit.

[alicat]

Chers for the efort mick look forward to seeing what you find out .The trip starts at Manim and goes up stream Im curntly trying to get hold of the boat operator and see if they can help me out also. But its always good to get as much local feed back as possible. cheers again Alastair

[Hood]

Well I sent an email and am awaiting a responce. So will keep you updated.
Seeing as your starting at Mannum you might want to bring your absailing (sp?) equipment as around Mannum is lots of nice high cliffs which are beautiful on sunset and sunrise. lots of native birds in the tree tops and cliff faces to.
Lots of rabbits and feral cats along the banks to with foxs stalking both the rabbits and cats.

I assume you are flying into Adelaide. You'll be able to stop into the Archery shops and stock up if need be before heading to Mannum both of which are only 10 minutes from my place .
How are you getting to Mannum..hire car??
If you need any help with getting your hunting permit or anything else just let me know and I'll see what I can do for ya.

If you have time and want to we could catch up for a chat.
My wife is a refugee from your parts over the pond

cheers

[alicat]

Hi mick cheers for all the help mate we are actualy flying into Melbourn and doing a bit of a road trip along the coast to Adilade and spend a cople of days there before the boat trip .Would be keen as to catch up for for a chat. The trips in feb so ill let you know exactly wot day we will be in Adilade. Funny you should mention abseiling because I used to be an abseiling guide in the caves at Waitomo and was looking at bringing my gear.(the wifes wondering when im gona get time to relax).

P.s hope every thing all good with bubs my youngest daughter is ten months so i know how you can get when things are not going right.

[Hood]

Hi mick cheers for all the help mate we are actualy flying into Melbourn and doing a bit of a road trip along the coast to Adilade and spend a cople of days there before the boat trip .Would be keen as to catch up for for a chat. The trips in feb so ill let you know exactly wot day we will be in Adilade. Funny you should mention abseiling because I used to be an abseiling guide in the caves at Waitomo and was looking at bringing my gear.(the wifes wondering when im gona get time to relax).

P.s hope every thing all good with bubs my youngest daughter is ten months so i know how you can get when things are not going right.

No probs mate.
Keep us updated.

[Hood]

Ok so it took over a week for them to get back to me but none the less they got back to me with some info for you regarding hunting along the Murray
Quoted from my email recieved today

Michael
Thank you for your letter requesting information re. the legalities of hunting with a bow from a house boat on the River Murray.

I always appreciate those that take the trouble to ask first, rather than finding out the hard way that they have acted illegally.

.
The situation regarding bow hunting in South Australia is as follows :-

Under the National Parks & Wildlife Act South Australia ( N.P.W. Act S.A. ) a bow of any type or configuration is classed as a firearm, and accordingly if used to hunt or attempt to hunt any animal requires a hunting permit and written permission of the land holder. ( animal includes any reptile, bird, fish or mammal ).

Although some sections of Crown Land in S.A. have permitted hunting by the general public in the past it has always been seen as a contentious issue due to policing difficulties and potential liability.

The Crown Lands Act is currently under review. The revised Act which at this stage will be due for dedication in / 2008 will not include provisions for access to hunt.

Most sections of the river bank along the River Murray in S.A. have a strip of Crown Land to allow public access to the water. This strip which is normally 20 metres in width is measured from the water's edge when the river is at Pool Level. Although some back waters are designated Crown Land, they may be leased for various land use practices and therefore require permission of the lessee to hunt. In the event that permission of the lessee is obtained, care must be taken not to stray onto adjoining land as often the boundary is beneath the water and not defined by a physical boundary.

The section of river from Blanchetown to the border in S.A. has a number of National Parks that are linear to the River Murray, conserving important riparian habitat and allowing for recreational activities such as camping and fishing by the general public. Obviously for protection of wildlife and public safety hunting is not permitted. The use or carriage of firearms in a National Park is also prohibited.

Given the difficulties of defining legally accessible land on which to hunt and the risk to public safety, I would not recommend the concept of attempting to hunt from a houseboat along the River Murray in S.A.

An alternative may be to approach a property owner for permission to hunt on farming / station land for introduced pest species such as rabbits cats and foxes.

To cleanly dispatch a wily fox with a bow when it has come to the fox whistle would certainly be a challenge. - That New Zealand does not have foxes may make it even more of a challenge for your guest.

Thank you again for making the effort to hunt legally and ethically - much appreciated.

Tim Fraser.








Tim Fraser
Resource Protection Officer
Regional Conservation
Department for Environment & Heritage
fraser.tim@saugov.sa.gov.au
pH: +61 8 8595 2120
Fax: +61 8 8595 2110

So there you go.
I'm going to do some more research on the areas of Crown land that are able to be hunted on at the moment and hopefully check them out before they change the rules.
I'll also be asking for more info as to why they are intending to remove all hunting form Crown land.

[puk]

By the way, if you are intending to fish in the Murray River while in NSW/VIC waters, they actually belong to NSW, so you will need a NSW fishing license, even if you were fishing from the Victorian bank. The only time you do not need a NSW license is if you are fishing in backwaters behind the Victorian riverbank side.

Puk

[Hood]

It may have changed now but I remember once when you needed a boat licence in SA but not a fishing licence cross the boarder into Vic and it was the opposite. I think now you need a license for a boat in Vic these days but nothing has changed in SA regarding the licencing to drive a boat/fish. typical Gov. BS

[alicat]

Thanks for the feed back guys still doing my home work through the tour operator but its looking like it mite end up being a fishing trip this time . But next time ill look at at the possibilityof hunting some privite blocks.