Go Fat or Go Home

Well, what can I say! It’s been nothing short of a crazy spring. My prediction of Eppalock flowing over, well it came true and then some. The fabulous fishing below was short lived however, as the rains came and came, creating flooding chaos right through the systems. Suddenly the fishing was the least of our concerns, with many people downstream of Eppalock suffering genuine hardship with the ensuing floods. Here at chez darky we had a huge peppercorn topple down the front, smashing our fencing. I also had a very nice “water feature” within the shed as the floodwater sheeted down the hill straight through the shed. That sheeted me I tell you. The damage was minimal, with everything at ground level perched on milk crates. It was bloody annoying, but miniscule compared to the difficulties still being endured by others. I sincerely hope things look up for those affected, soon.

Blah!

With huge amounts of water in the Murray system, comes huge amounts of blackwater. We are only beginning to see the results of this, but there are pockets in areas of the system that see the fish decimated, particularly the larger cod. Some of the photos and videos doing the rounds are gut wrenching. But there’s not too many about, because many areas of the system are closed to boat traffic….. Hmmm…..

That’s ok though, luckily the water management authorities are all over this fish disaster, the noise coming from these people is…….. NON EXISTENT! Yep, not a murmur. Clearly the native fisheries and recreational fishing industry is meaningless to them. They don’t give a phat rats clacka about it, maybe because there’s not a dollar in it for them. So it’s all hush hush. I tell you what, if the platypus, koala or even the kangaroo populations were being decimated at the same rate as our native fish currently are, there’d be a national outcry! Out of sight, out of mind it seems. Anyway, cod opening is looming, let’s move onto something more positive.

The large inflows have given us some very atypical conditions to kick off the season. Lakes are overflowing and full, rivers are running hard and dirty. The season will settle down nicely in 2023 I’m sure and with full brimming lakes and rivers the season will be a good one (blackwater affected areas notwithstanding), but for the diehards out there who must and will fish “the opening”, how best to make the most of sub optimal conditions? Read on.

Baito…

Can I just say from the outset, darky is not a bait fisher. All power to you if you are however, as this will be a cod opening tailor made for you! With the high water levels, flooded margins and dirty water, bait fishos will have it made. Can I suggest even now, starting to put together your bait supplies for the first part of the season at least. Many anglers rely on shops and bait supplies to provide them with the premium baits such as bardi grubs, yabbies and scrub worms. Grab them while they have them. Of course if we have a shortage of the new age baits such as cubed cheese and chicken nuggets, then we’re all in a spot of bother and supermarket biffo is almost guaranteed competing for the softest bum swipers! But that’s another story. What about the lure fishos? Well I have a theory, read on……

But lures?

Go to lures for me for cod fishing, invariably revolve around #2 Stumpjumpers, with a few other “brands of the season” mixed in. Last year I really enjoyed fishing the JD shallower range, the year before it was lures in the “plow” style, with the good old Oargee being at the top of the list. This year the water conditions have prompted a little rethink from me, and I am in the process of putting together some early season options, which I’m hoping will see me at the top of the capture table when the season opens. Right or wrong who knows, but hear me out then we’ll all see come December 1st.

Sub optimal is a great couple of words. It is particularly accurate when we look at water conditions, for this year’s cod opening. Water clarity as such, could easily be the biggest misnomer of the season. There simply won’t be (any), clarity that is. With this in mind I’ve applied just a little bit of science to my lure choices this year, and in the initial stages of the season all the knowledgeable lure fishos will be chanting “fat boys rule”. Well maybe anyway. Hang in there, I promise I have a point to make, soon.

You put on weight?

Ok, here we go. In the times of super low water clarity (unable to see your prop) I reckon a lure with a fatter profile, will draw more attention from a hungry or aggressive cod, than those with a slimmer profile. Picture perch from side on, rather than the slimmer trout. Until someone learns to “speak cod”, we’ll never really know for sure, but I’m convinced a bigger profile will get a fish’s attention if conditions are not ideal. Think back to darky in the disco back in the day. A fat gutted darky tearing up the dance floor is going to attract more attention from the fillies if the fog machine is pegged out, more than little mate who has to run around under the shower to get wet! It’s all about the profile…..

What the hell is that noise?

What else could attract a cod’s attention in cloudy conditions? Yep, a bit of rattle. Rattles in lures are somewhat subjective, some anglers swear by them, others swear at them! However, we do know cod are often a reactive striking predator. Hungry or not, if this apex predator “hears” a smaller intruder rattling through his territory, a bit of biffo will ensue, hopefully resulting in a quality fish on your line. I reckon there’s a case for quieter lures in pristine, crystal clear type conditions. But for now at least while the water is closer to chocolate milk than gin, rattles are king.

Lynx or Brut?

And finally, a little something the soft plastic fishos have known about for years, but we hard body freaks always overlook, a bit of scent. Ok, picture rotund darky on the dance floor again if you will. Who’s going to gain the attention this time, natural darky, or forward thinking darky who smothered himself in lashings of Brut33 (the Lynx Africa of the day, for you younger folk)??? Without doubt, it’s Bruted up darky getting the attention (if only cos the fillies are collapsing due to the fumes). If the clarity is not there, see if you can pique the fish’s attention using their sense of smell. There are a mountain of different scents out there these days, I reckon they’re good for more than just the soft plastics in our tackle boxes.

hich ones?

So with this in mind, I’ve been scouting the tackle shop walls for some stouter cod lures, you know, ones that have spent the off season in a “good paddock”. Here's a few I’ve come up with which I reckon are going to be absolute winners. Firstly one that’s been around for a few years now, but one I’ve largely overlooked, the Giant Ruby from Zerek. Polite circles refer to this one as Rotund Rubilicious, but once again that’s a story for another day. Ruby has a great profile, and a solid deep rattle. She’ll get some attention.

The Nomad D Traks are a fabulous new range of lures, available in a couple of different sizes, with the bigger version to my eye, having Murray cod writen all over it! They’re available in a fabulous range of colors, and just like Ruby, have a deep, attention gaining rattle. They’ll cast or troll, choose your color and hang on!

Every tackle shop will have a range. Others worth looking at are the Rapala DT’s, a curious mix of a wooden lure, with a rattle cavity. Now there’s some commitment from the original luremakers! Also well worth checking out are the Barambah Baby Perch. Both of these style come in with some grand patterns and shades. How you could stop at buying just one is beyond me!

Finally

So there it is, darky’s recommendations for a “fat cod opening”. In short, go fat, noisy and smelly. That’s me on a good day actually, but for the 2022 cod opening it might just do the trick for you too…. Your lures anyway….

As usual, drop in and see the friendly and knowledgeable crew at McCreddens Fishing and Outdoors, they’ll see you right for all your cod opening needs.

darky out…

Footnote. All lures noted and pictured in this piece were paid for with my hard earned, either that or placed on Mrs darky’s credit card for discovery at a later date……