IT STARTED WITH A DREAM
Dr. Cecelia O’Brien starts off our PEOPLE OF INVERELL webpage as one role model for all young people that have a dream.
Please listen to our podcast, in the Hometown Inverell series, portraying the people that are the faces and the fabric of Inverell. This is just another wonderful story about a young girls dream, battling all odds to achieve her goal and make her dream come true of being a doctor. It started all here in Inverell and we are talking to Dr. Cecelia O'Brien.
She has made it her goal to deliver high quality and equitable pregnancy care to women living in rural and remote North Queensland.
She has a background in perinatal research with ongoing interests in stillbirth, diabetes in pregnancy and improving access to timely antenatal care and outcomes for Aboriginal women and their babies.
She is a Senior lecturer at James Cook University. Dr. O'Brien shows a strong interest in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.
Dr. O'Brien has a strong leadership background with excellent communication and organisation skills.
It was a privilege for me to interview Dr. O'Brien who I met on one of my kayak tours at Lake Inverell.
Jackson Haussler on catching Murray Cod
Jackson Haussler is another example of the talent cradle that heralds from Hometown INVERELL and help to make INVERELL & DISTRICT known all around Australia and Overseas. These individuals are the fabric of Hometown Inverell
NSW Murray Cod Fishing Expert. You can contact Jackson by email: jacksonhaussler@hotmail.com
Jackson started fishing seriously for Murray Cod when he returned from 8 years in Germany where he completed his HSC, played professional football and worked as a football coach. Returning to INVERELL, NSW, he quickly developed a reputation for being skilled at finding and tempting big cod and has since amassed plenty of metre-plus captures and a reputation as an excellent angler. Jackson Haussler has earned himself a reputation as an expert on the Murray Cod and is well known for his enviromental care and attitude to help protecting our rivers and dams.
Jackson’s Top Murray Cod Fishing Tips
Unlike most Murray Cod lure fishing addicts, Jackson prefers to fish sub-surface, finding the surprise, unseen hit of a cod exhilarating.
There are multiple public access points on the upper Gwydir River above Copeton Dam, drive in and start walking! Google Earth is a great tool for exploring the area and identifying the large, deep holes where big fish reside.
Although he targets the big holes, Jackson finds that most of his big cod come from the head and tail of the pool in water of 1-3m deep, or from weed beds in similar depths.
Stealth is important, approach the water quietly and avoid spooking fish. Even splashy lure landings can be enough to alert the fish and deter the bite.
March, April and May seem to be the months when more large cod are willing to take lures than other months of the year.
Keep a close eye on the weather – periods from 2-3 days before significant rainfall as well as during and 2-3 days after rainfall events often bring a hot bite.
Fishing around a full moon and timing to coincide with moon rise or moon set has accounted for around 75% of Jackson’s quality Murray cod, the other 25% coming from periods around a rainfall event.
A good strategy is to arrive a couple of hours before dawn and fish the pre-light periods, that’s when a lot of fish come up. As the sun rises they can often go down deeper.
Look for feeding fish, don’t waste lots of time making tons of casts at a single spot. Fish in tight to structure in the shallows and on weed beds are likely to be feeding and if they don’t take your lure in 4-5 casts they’re either aware of you or aren’t interested. Move on quickly to the next pool and start casting again.
It’s important to have sufficient tension on the drag to set the hooks, but not so much that the fish will smash the line off.
Jackson’s Gwydir Cod Fishing Tackle
A medium action 7’5” Murasame rod, Daiwa Ryoga 1520 reel, 40lb braid and 40lb leader is perfect for rivers, creeks and impoundments.
Jackson’s Murray Cod Fishing Lures
The Megabass Vatalion 190mm is a deadly lure that comes in floating and slow sinking models. They can also be fitted with chin weights when it’s necessary to fish deeper to cod. Jackson prefers the slow sinking model because it gets to the fish faster and can be worked a little quicker. It’s typically worked through shallow water on a slow roll with occasional pauses – important as a lot of fish hit the lure while it’s stationary. This lure is like the Jackall Giganterel, but is less familiar to the fish, which helps it to get more bites.
Megabass Big M 2.0 is a great lure when the cod are feeding near the surface. They’re long casting and can be allowed to sit on the water for a few seconds before slow rolling them back.
Megabass Magdraft 8” can be allowed to sink to whatever depth you need, slow rolled back with plenty of pauses, you’ll feel the lure working through the rod. Jackson upgrades the trebles on these lures but doesn’t bother with a stinger on the 8” lure, but would use a stinger on the 10” version.
Ian Small Author
The Kurrajongs were a group of 114 men from the northern New South Wales town of Inverell who left in January 1916 to fight in the Great War. In the year 2000, one of the men is still alive and tells his story to his grandchildren.
Michael O’Sullivan.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.