To fish or to work - unfortunately very few people get to do both, so when the chance to wet a line comes along we had best take it.

Now I've heard a lot about the Bream fishing in West Lakes, which is a man made lake in the western suburbs of Adelaide down Port Adelaide way, but I've never fished there until just recently.  The chance came along to grab a day off so armed with my 4 kilogram spinning outfit, some Bream lures, a few flies, and some green prawns for bait I set off to see what I could find ... I have soon-to-be in-laws living near by so I headed down Military Road toward Football Park (or what ever it's called these days ... not a big fan of football) to see where I could wet a line.

The lake itself is easy to get to and as there is no boating on the lake apart from several rowing clubs, you don't have to worry about getting mown down by a boat or jet ski.

Near the rowing club boat house on Military Road is a car park which is right along the lake edge.  This is good for me as I'm becoming somewhat of a lazy angler.  Heading around the lake it's not hard to find a spot that looks fishy and a nice rocky outcrop of boulders looked like the very spot.

Small Bream lures with a good swimming action seem to work well.  Casting and retrieving along side the rocks quickly saw a few hits followed up by some nice little Bream on the bank.  These days I practice catch and release so back they went.

“If you had to pick up a bucket of concrete, which hand would you use?“

As we mentally performed the request and our brain cogs slipped into place, Charlie put to rest a debate that had started early. It was 8am and we were on the Liverpool River in Arnhem Land, trolling for barramundi over a submerged rock bar that crossed the 70-odd metre wide river from side to side. My boyfriend Josh, his father Vince and I were arguing over rod-casting techniques – they were adamant I used the wrong hand to effectively work the fishing rod. In those 15 words Charlie, our guide, settled the matter in their favour, much to my chagrin. Round one to the boys.

The Liverpool is one of six river systems the Arnhemland Barramundi Nature Lodge has exclusive fishing rights to, along with roughly 200 kilometres of Northern Territory coastline. It’s the proverbial big pond full of big fish; probably the reason hundreds of anglers fly to this remote location from Darwin each year. We flew in shortly after category five Cyclone Monica flattened the area and the ground below resembled a greeny/brown rug on which someone had clumsily upended packets and packets of toothpicks.

Although late June isn’t the peak time for barra fishing in the Top End, the combination of pristine waters and experienced fishing guides generally yields enough quality barra to keep clients more than satisfied. However, the water was about 22 degrees; unusually chilly for this tropical fish that gets increasingly active as water temperatures rise. A local couple, who relocated to Maningrida from the Sunshine Coast for a change of pace, joined us for dinner at the Lodge one night and described the barra fishing situation in November. “As soon as your lure hits the water, before it’s even swimming, it’s absolutely annihilated,” he said, complete with accompanying pantomimes of landing a big one. “You could throw a spoon out there and they’d inhale it,” he reckoned, and went on to tell us they get hundreds of barra in a day session. It was about then the boys started drooling.

If you're heading to the Riverland then you shouldn't miss the opportunity to catch a Callop in the mighty Murray River.  Callop are also known as Golden Perch and are usually between 33cm and 40cm in length.

October through to April are ideal times to try for a Callop.  Early on your best chances are in water that is about 2-3 metres deep, although as it warms up you can go deeper and still have good success.  The best places are along side snags or in the Willow Trees.

The Mouth as it is known amongst those of us that go down there regularly is also known as the Murray Mouth, the spot where the mighty Murray empties out into the southern ocean.

To fish the mouth is a challenge to say the least, but provides some great Mulloway fishing.  The easiest way to get to the Murray Mouth and the fish that are there, is to drive along the beach from Goolwa.  You will need a 4 wheel drive as it's not a place for conventional cars.

The road down onto the beach passes through sand dunes at the end of the car park at Goolwa Beach.  There is a sign that says 4 wheel drives only, take heed of this sign.  Once on the beach it's about 13 or so kilometres to the mouth itself, which for the first part is reasonably hard and easy to drive on.  As you get closer to the mouth the sand gets a bit deeper and softer but is still passable most of the time.  A word of warning here, keep a close eye on the tides, many a car has found itself drowned on the beach with the tide coming in.  Once you are at the mouth there is room to park away from the water, but if you don't keep an eye on the tide you can expect to spend the night on the beach.

If you have a small to medium dinghy, electric trolling motor, Victorian fishing licence, and a selection of Stump Jumpers then you're in for a good time.

Mullaroo Creek is roughly a 40 minute drive from Renmark in South Australia.  To get there you head from Renmark to Paringa on the Sturt Highway, continue past Paringa and then take a left up Lindsay Point Road.  Continue along Lindsay Point Road where it will eventually turn into a dirt road and then you have entered the Murray Sunset National Park.  You need to eventually take a left turn over Lindsay Bridge and then from The Caravan (a sign posted campsite) onward you will be alongside Mullaroo Creek.