TALKING FISH: Broken River: Geoff Brennan

GB: Yeah, well I was fortunate to grow up on the Broken River on the family farm and my father was a keen fisherman. So, on the... where Lake Nillahcootie has been constructed on the Broken River is where our family farm was and actually part of our farm was requisitioned when they built the lake, and I can remember when they constructed the lake and I quite often tell the story about riding my horses at eight or nine year-old across the flat now which is under water and people and people sort of look at me and are sort of saying ‘you’re that old are ya’? And I say the lake hasn’t been there that long.

INT: [Laughing] It’s not that long ago, yeah. 1/ 01:57 GB: It’s not that long ago. So great memories growing up, um ... It’s not that long ago. So great memories growing up, um ...

INT: So were your family farmers? 1/ 02:03 GB: Yeah, they were. My grandfather was on the farm and then my father, and so yeah I GB: Yeah, they were. My grandfather was on the farm and then my father, and so yeah I grew up there. With the river sort of running through the property we did a lot of fishing. And, I used to go away with my father, when I was old enough, fishing as well. It was one of my favourite pastimes. We used to fish where the lake is now and, we used to catch Macquarie perch, and catfish I can remember Murray cod through there, and trout, there was a lot of trout in the river as well. Probably after the lake was built redfin sort of become very prominent in the river, so we used to catch a lot of redfin. Nillahcootie was probably the best redfin fishing areas probably in the state for many years. And in more recent years those numbers have declined. So yeah, I have a lot of memories and sort of ah, floods and, ah, you know...

INT: [laughs] we’ll we’re going to tease some of those out: So you obviously went fishing with your dad, was your dad the person who taught you to fish?

1/03:15 GB: Yeah he did, yeah, he was ah, my father suffered from arthritis really badly. Yeah he did, yeah, he was ah, my father suffered from arthritis really badly.

INT: Oh, did he? 1/ 03:19 GB: yeah, and ah, become very crippled you know in his hands and that was one of the GB: yeah, and ah, become very crippled you know in his hands and that was one of the reasons was the farm was eventually sold up and … he really struggled just to put a worm on the hook in the finish because of his disability, so. I remember me and my younger sister we used to get the job of doing that and my sister wasn’t too keen on the idea of putting a worm on a hook mind you. But yeah, as I said, we .. he taught us the art of sort of, you know you learn to read the water, and where to fish, and the right time of the year and the different types of baits you can use. He was a great advocate sort of using live bait – he wasn’t into you know using, we’ll back in those days there was no soft baits ...

INT: No, and lure didn’t really exist then. 1/04:06 GB: And lures didn’t really come in. So he, we, fished a lot with sort of scrub worms, mud GB: And lures didn’t really come in. So he, we, fished a lot with sort of scrub worms, mud eyes, black crickets, grasshoppers, that sort of stuff. And I can remember him catching trout, you know, around two, three, four kilos.

## INT: Yeah, big trout. 1/04:22

Checked by Jodi Frawley 12-1-2011

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