Wild River Tours

11/04/2026

The lads had a great few days on a very low but crystal-clear river. Fishing was a bit slow, maybe the daytime moon was playing a part, who knows.

One of the boys managed an absolute cracker, a 50cm bass on a prop bait. Even better, it was his first bass ever. He hadn’t fished since he was a kid, always the way.

The fish buried him straight into the snags, and when we finally got it out, the snag was wrapped in old leader. Makes you wonder if that wasn’t the first time that fish had pulled that trick.

That’s a wrap on paid gigs for the season. My right shoulder is pretty well cooked, so it’s time to sort that out and get ready for spring.

03/04/2026

😈

29/03/2026

Trip Report

Things have been flat out in the solar game, and with the guiding starting to wind down I figured I’d sneak away for a solo trip.

River heights looked alright, maybe a touch low but still good. Weather check was mint… warm, no wind. Perfect.

Rolled into the launch the night before, set up the rooftop and got some sleep. Then at about 1:30am the wind started… and it wasn’t just a breeze, it was howling. Proper “WTF is going on here” stuff. Woke up to it still cranking in the morning. Unreal.

Lucky it was mostly behind me for the paddle, but it made the fishing pretty average. I was finding a few fish though. Bass were up in the shallows but most of them were just tail-slapping the fizzer, not really committing.

Got into camp and by about 7pm the wind finally dropped out. Straight into the canoe for an evening session. Picked up a few nice cod and a couple of mid-sized bass. Kept fishing into the dark and ended up at the top of a rapid.

Went to paddle back… rod slipped over the side.

Jumped straight in after it but had no chance, watched it disappear down the rapid. Nothing you can do at that point. Paddled back, made a cuppa, tried not to think about it.

Up early the next morning with the spare rod, just picking off a few fish here and there. As soon as it got light I went back to look for the lost rod. Best way to do it is stand up in the canoe to cut the glare… hit a rock… and in I went.

Didn’t even know what happened.

And yep… spare rod straight off down the same rapid.

Unbelievable.

Got lucky this time, though and managed to find the spare pretty quickly. No luck on the first rod though, she went to the bottom :(

About an hour later, I cast the fizzer into a little eddy and BOOM… this big black cod just inhaled it. No real fight, just sort of cruised in like “yeah mate, let’s get this over with.” Quick photo and straight back in. Awesome seeing fish like that over the metre mark. Would love to weigh one properly, but fair enough, they’re protected and it's best to get them back quickly.

The next couple of days delivered the goods. Bass going airborne, cod smashing surface lures in a foot of water, proper heart-stopping hits.

Prop baits, fizzers… whatever you want to call them… hands down my favourite way to fish. I’d take 5 fish on topwater over 20 on a diver any day.

Unreal weather in the end and good to just slow things down and get out there on my own.

Shame about the Samurai Refraction and Metanium Reel, though… that one hurt.

16/03/2026

Few days up in the mountains on a mixed trip. Rain on day one, big wind on day two, then the river came up to 1.5m on the last day.

Day one was wet, but the fishing was still OK. We only had one real shot at a bass, with the rest of the fish being cod. Josh jumped in at the last minute after a time-waster let me down on a booking. It’s always great seeing someone who hasn’t had the chance to paddle a big river before, take on rapids, and watch fish smash lures in proper country.

The standout moment was watching Josh hook a 50cm cod, only for an absolute cracker to come up, smash the smaller cod off the lure, and take it for itself. Josh’s face was priceless.

Day two was hard work with the wind. We picked up a few fish here and there, but it was a grind. We went back out in the arvo, and as we paddled in for dinner, it became obvious the river was rising, and rising fast. I spent the night on river watch, alarm going off every two hours, until I was confident things had stabilised.

By the last day, the river was still pumping, but safe enough to get out. Josh took a decent stack in the canoe and lost his rod on day two. Shame the water had dirtied up a bit, because I reckon we would’ve got it back otherwise.

The bass are very slow up in the high country at the moment. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time they were this boring.

05/03/2026

Unfortunately I’ve been mucked about again. Pretty annoying as a small business when you only have so many weekends a year to offer. Anyway… what’s done is done.

The weekend of the 14th is now free.

We’ve got some rain coming this week and the lower river should be just right. We might even do something a little special 😮

If you’re interested, send me a DM and let’s chat.

02/03/2026

When I first started this game, we used to take a PLB with us, the same one you would use offshore in a boat. Then came the EPIRBs with the added location text it could send out. Then there were the text-to-text versions, such as the Garmin. Then a sat phone that paired to my phone with text and EPIRB built-in. All have had their uses, but it’s time for an upgrade. The Starlink Mini not only allows me all the above, but it will let my customers have access. It will allow me to work away from home if needed, and more importantly, check the weather and river heights. It has an adapter for an 18V power battery and also a roof mount T for the car. Cool huh 👌

01/02/2026

Took Abbey on her first ever overnight canoe trip and she absolutely loved it. Fished, paddled, chased turtles, collected stones and had an absolute ball.

Fishing was pretty good considering the big moon, low water, wind and that lovely green floating slime. Plenty of bass about, with the biggest just nudging fifty… if I stretched it on its tippy toes 😄 Lost a few good fish too, and Neil missed a giant cod in the dark, im pretty sure ive seen that fish before in that stretch of water.

Neil and Abbey shared the dual AMOK, which actually looks like a cracking setup for dads and kids. Not convinced I’d want to share it with another adult, though.

Just a good, fun weekend on the water ❤️

26/01/2026

A few days on the river...... The crew had to work hard on day one, then everything went a bit mad once the southerly pi**ed off.

The bass were shy, but a few absolute crackers landed on day two. Cod always show up and help keep the faith alive. We also had a couple of proper river monsters just cruise past us, which is a good reminder they’re still there.

Most of the guys have paddled with me before, which always makes things easy. It’s a real privilege to be out there with people who genuinely share the same passion for the river. The system could really use a flush, so fingers crossed we see some decent rain soon.

Huge thanks to Graham for helping make it happen, for the use of his place, and for capturing some absolutely cracking shots. Lost count of the fish and, as always, plenty of stories about the ones that got away.

Amazing river.

31/12/2025

Wild River Tours .....10 Years On

As we roll into the end of the year, I just want to say a massive thank you.

To our customers, mates, family, and everyone who’s been part of the journey, Wild River Tours has clocked up 10 years, and we’re incredibly grateful. Ten years of safe trips, plenty of laughs, sore arms, campfire stories, and a mix of new and old friends along the way. We couldn’t have asked for more.

Looking ahead to 2026, things will evolve a bit. We’ll be moving to a new model, fewer trips, but more focused, with some higher-end, more bespoke events added into the mix. Our traditional tours will still be there, just more limited, and complemented by some new ideas and additional revenue streams we’ve been quietly working on.

A special thanks to our friends at Frogleys Offshore for their continued support; it genuinely means a lot.

Big thanks as well to our Wild River Bass sponsors, with a special mention to:

Bassman Spinnerbaits (Official)

Kneller Lures

PIECA lures

and the legends at Hot Tackle

And a massive shout-out to the WRB admin team — these guys get paid F’all, give up their time, and keep the page running smoothly. It doesn’t go unnoticed.

Thank you to my mates at Nymboida Camping & Canoeing, special shout-out to Dave, you're a legend.

Most importantly, thanks to Joanne, not entirely sure how she puts up with it all, but I’m grateful she does.

I could go on and on, but to those close to me and Jo.... thank you. You know who you are.

Have a great New Year’s Eve, stay safe… and don’t do anything I wouldn’t 😄🍻|

DC

24/12/2025

🎣

22/12/2025