Joshua Bland

Name: 

Joshua Bland

Location (City/State): 

Adelaide, SA

Profession/Job: 

Evolutionary biologist 

Favourite angling location?  

Murray River, VIC

Favourite species to chase: 

At one stage, it was black bream because of the challenge and range of techniques, but nowadays it's Murray cod. They are just incredible animals. 

Favourite style of angling? 

Truly difficult to pick one. My top three would be casting cicadas in streams/estuaries for bream/bass, popper fishing for tuna, or skirted jig fishing for bass/redfin/Murray cod. 

When did the love of fishing grab you and was there someone that got you into it?

I was first introduced to fishing by my father when I was very young. My earliest fishing memory was catching a mulloway pup off a rickety old pier in the Coorong at around 3 years of age. Though fishing continued to be a big part of my life, it wasn’t until university that I got introduced to the bream tournament scene. Tournament fishing then redefined the way I engaged with the sport and supercharged my lure fishing abilities.  

What was the style of fishing that you did when your first started fishing?

Bait fishing for bream and carp constituted most of the trips with my father early on. We would visit our local estuary, the Onkaparinga River, or the pond near my childhood house. The pond was a particularly exciting place with stories of rare catches like 30lb carp, elusive trout, and giant goldfish. As a child, these stories certainly captured my imagination. In my adolescent years, my passion for fishing grew. 

On weekends, I would walk 8 km to my closest jetty armed with shrimp and my Jarvis Walker telescopic rod, just for the chance at some saltwater fish. After a few unproductive jetty expeditions, my focus returned to that mysterious pond. This was where I learned the art of fishing. The resident carp were subject to constant catch and release by the local poms, and as a result, they had become intelligent and hard to catch. This forced me to go lighter, fish smarter, and develop my own baits. Though now carp fishing interests me far less, I still hold respect for this invasive sport fish that formed me into the angler I am today. Oh, by the way, I did end up catching that giant goldfish.  

What (e.g. escapism, competition, connection with people/nature) does angling give you:

As the modern world slips further and further away from nature; pastimes that have their roots in the ancient world become even more precious. Fishing for me is all about connecting with nature. Each time I’m on the water I observe all the different parts of the ecosystem interacting as one. Whether it’s the crabs at low tide evading hungry bream in the depths or the afternoon sun creating a warm edge on a rocky bank, a thousand different things are happening at any one moment. 

It’s our task as anglers to observe and interpret that information into something that will improve our odds. It’s a skill we never perfect and I think the unobtainable pursuit is a major motivator. Fish are some of the most elusive animals on the planet. Living in dark, often dirty water, fishing is sometimes the only way you will ever know they are there. Each time I hook a fish, I never truly know what I have until it reaches the surface. That anticipation, that discovery, is what keeps me coming back. But above all, nothing can match the feeling of holding the animal you worked so hard to find and catch in your arms. This is followed by the joy of watching them swim away healthy, making it the best sport on earth. 

Who or what inspires your angling:

My passion for wildlife and the natural world was heavily influenced by figures like Steve Irwin, Bear Grylls, and Jeremy Wade. I would spend countless hours watching them on the Discovery Channel, going to remote places and experiencing unique animals. Though it may have always been part of my character, these people inspired and continue to motivate my focus on the care and conservation of wildlife. 

Fishing is just one outlet. I love interacting with wildlife, whether it’s a snake I’ve pulled from the cliffs of the Murray River, schools of fish I’m snorkelling with on a temperate reef, or a meter-plus Murray cod I’ve wrangled into a bear hug.  In all cases, I want to feel that coexistence. Fish, however, have that edge of mystery that other animals lack. Living beneath the water makes each cast for one a lucky dip, as you never quite know what is down there or what could be on the end of your line.  

What has been your favourite moment/memory in fishing?

Hooking my first meter plus Murray cod on the cast in the Murray River will forever stick in my memory. It was the culmination after multiple fishless trips and thousands of casts. We decided to do a short one-day attempt in a part of the river I fished as a kid.

In those days, Murray cod were the mythical beast I believed were impossible to catch. We launched early, fishing cliffs to start before moving to fallen timber. Each cast at this point felt routine, with low expectations hanging on each one. As we worked the run of timber, we approached the largest fallen red gum we had seen all morning. It would have been 1.5m wide and hundreds of years old. There was a good feeling about this one; it was prime habitat for a giant. I was at the back of the boat, and fellow Daiwa angler Joshua Davey made the first few casts with a spinnerbait. Delicately, he worked the blades through the branches as thick as my waist to no avail. The boat drifted downriver and placed me in the perfect line, smack bang in the middle of the central fork. I send my crankbait into the guts and crank it down. The lure walked itself down the trunk, knocking the wood on its way down until it stepped off the central fork. 

For a moment, I felt no feedback from the lure as it suspended in the deeper water, then I felt a tick, like the kind you expect from a bream. I knew in that moment that to do that to a 90mm crankbait, you would need to be big. I lifted the rod into the heaviest fish I’ve ever hooked. The fight was heart-racing but short-lived. The animal played nice and conceded to the middle of the river. The fish went 112cm. The size of the head on a cod this size just blew me away and the feeling of my hands wrapped around its massive jaws is something I’ll never forget. It was an indescribable feeling to be holding the fish I believed to be unobtainable in the exact place I fished as a kid over ten years earlier. This experience solidified my love for the species. I watched in awe as this animal of myths and legends returned to the mysterious depths from whence it came. 

What’re your angling goals for the future:

Of course, there are size goals like a 120 cm+ Murray cod, a 50 cm redfin perch or bream, or a 100kg tuna. But nowadays, those goals are becoming less important to me than chasing new fish in new places.  My sights are set on chasing iconic species across the globe. Species like the taimen, golden mahseer, and wels catfish are all on the bucket list, not to mention giant barramundi in our own backyard.  

It’s hard to believe I haven’t fished for them yet; a trip to central Queensland is long overdue. In the tournament scene, on the other hand, I would like to branch out to the ABT and try my hand at bass and bream in some spectacular eastern locations. All the while learning from some of the best in the sport. The tournament scene demands constant improvement and being a part of it ensures I continue to grow as an angler and keep my skills sharp. 

What advice would you give to new anglers entering the sport:

I have three main pieces of advice plus one bonus tip.

1. Join a club or tournament group – this will connect you with like-minded people who are better anglers than you. You’ll make friends and improve exponentially. 

2. Learn to target specific species and not just ‘fish’ – doing so will allow you to apply the fundamentals with focus as not all techniques work on every species. It will also teach you methods of figuring out a specific species that can be applied to the next one.

3. Save until you can afford good gear; bad gear will sour your experience – this might be controversial as some people will say just get stuck into the sport and I see the argument. However, in my experience, I spent lots of time and money getting frustrated and losing fish using poor-quality and cheap gear. With fishing gear being so much more affordable nowadays, I recommend starting with a decent combo around the $150-170 mark. The RX or Crossfire XT combo is a great introduction to lure fishing or go cheaper with an RX/Beefstick combo for a great bait set-up; both will last and perform well. 

Bonus tip: Utilise the Daiwa resource tab, such as our blogs section or YouTube channel. The blogs page is a treasure trove of information you would ordinarily only see in paid magazines, absolutely free. 

What can we do as anglers to make our sport and the industry better in the future:

Respect and protect the environments in which we fish. If you fish for food, only take what you need. If you fish for sport, practice the best handling techniques. If you see rubbish out on the water, pick it up. It’s through setting high standards and good behaviours that we become powerful environmental stewards and role models for young people.  

What does the Daiwa brand mean to you:

Daiwa to me embodies its slogan “Feel Alive”. Daiwa is about pushing our boundaries, tackling challenging environments, and striving against unlikely odds. The closer we get to nature and its adversities, the more we feel truly alive, and each time I’m on that edge, I know this brand, this family, has my back.