​Murray Cod Season: Busted Hits n Near Myths.....

I don’t know about you, but the anticipation I feel at this time of every year, it’s almost palpable. I'm an unashamed Murray cod tragic and this passion seems to be getting worse! Last season I spent the entire summer autumn and winter fishing for cod, not once even heading over to my beloved Lake Eppalock for a reddie fish! Surely there’s a “helpline” somewhere for addicts like me.

There’s a lot written and presented on Murray cod fishing, I know, I’ve devoured it all over the years. Once again, I’ll put it out there, darky is by no means an expert on this style of fishing. That said, I have done a fair bit of late and would like to explore a few theories, practices and thought processes, re this fine activity. Is it based on fact, is it based on bovine excrement, or is it somewhere in the middle? In a heartfelt nod to the mighty Mythbusters television series, let’s have a look at a few common Murray cod theories, dismantle them a little and see what we can come up with. Read on, if you dare.....

Theory 1: You have to be up before dawn, for the best Murray cod fishing!

Ok, I’m not as young as I used to be. Without a doubt ole darky spends far more time fishing “gentleman's hours” than the dawn to dusks of a few decades ago. There is a certainly a solid argument for low light surface fishing without a doubt, but last year I was never once on the water before sunrise and had my best season ever, with scores of fish. Could I have caught more cod if I was up before the sparrow broke wind? Maybe. Did it hurt my numbers really? Probably not much.... Hey fish for them 24 hours of the day if you can and wish, but is the “best” cod fishing pre dawn? I don’t think so.....

Conclusion: MYTH BUSTED!

Theory 2: In the middle of the day the Murray cod go completely off the bite, and you may as well head to the pub!

My “gentleman’s hours” include the period in the middle of the day. Let’s face it, when you’ve only got on the water at 10am, there’s little point getting off again in 2 hrs for a spell. Myself and frequent fishing partner Jas’ always fish through the middle of the day. Do we catch Murray cod? Darn tootin’ we do! We actually catch a lot of cod in the middle of the day. Our theory is that if the bite window is open then (for whatever reason), they’ll bite. And they do! It’s a different story if you are like another of my fishing mates Neil, he actually must have a midday siesta after the morning sesh, before heading out for the afternoon rise. Good for him, but I’m solid on this one. Lunchtime cod? Hell yea!

Conclusion: MYTH BUSTED!

Theory 3: You’ll need big lures to catch big fish!

This is an interesting one. This theory is based on the thought process that a Murray cod is a greedy fish, and one which will more than likely pass up a smaller meal for a bigger one. But are they? I’m not so sure. My Murray cod trolling tends to occur between the depths of 8 and 14 feet and to be honest there’s not a lot of XOS Murray cod lures which will troll that shallow. Sure you can plough a monster lure into the bottom, but as eluded to in a previous blog piece, you have to have the lures just above the fish as much as possible so they have an opportunity to see it.

Consequently I find myself trolling mid sized lures only (#2 Stumpy size and depth). Do I miss fish, particularly “the big one”? I don’t think so, Murray cod are opportunistic strikers, if they see it and are in the mood they’ll eat it. That said, a larger lure trolled at optimum depth may have a greater chance of being seen and eaten too, so I can’t write this one off. If you have a thumping great lure that can get to the appropriate depth knock yourself (and the cod) out. But if you’re working the water with mid sized lures, well don’t write off the behemoth size cod either.

Conclusion: Myth PARTIALLY BUSTED!

Theory 4: You have to troll/retrieve at walking pace or less to get a Murray cod bite!

I reckon we all were “sold a pup” years ago with this one. When lure sportfishing for Murray cod was commencing (post the setline and drum net era) experts Australia wide were professing the benefits of trolling and retrieving lures at an absolute snail’s pace. Once again, they were working on the presumption that the old Murray cod was a lazy, slow, fat animal (unlike the author of this piece) who was not going to exert too much of any sort of energy chasing down a feed or intruder. Once again, I’m not convinced this is fact (the cod, not the author). Firstly, you need a certain speed to at least get your lures down to depth. There’s no point a 12 foot lure mooching along in 5 foot cos you’re dragging your feet on the troll. They firstly have to get a look at it!

Then we’ve had numerous episodes where one angler has hooked up on the troll, the other blasts in his lure to grab the landing net and a cod jumps on that one too. With boat speed plus fast retrieve, those lures were motoring! Yet they still were eaten. On other days we’ve turned a potential donut day into something much better, simply by edging the throttle up a little. On the last trip of last season we did the upstream troll of a fast flowing bit of water with zero result, only to spin the boat around sending all and sundry downstream with the current. “Nek minit”, bang, cod, bang, cod and bang, cod. These fish were certainly not shy and very willing to put in a bit of a sprint to grab a feed or to shirtfront a potential intruder. Once again, I put it out there that the Murray cod is perhaps not as fat, lazy and docile as we were originally led to believe.

Conclusion: Myth BUSTED!

Theory 5: Bright colored lures for clearer water, dark colors for poorer clarity.

This is an interesting one. Over the years I’ve actually seen the preferred color styles for the water visibility interchanged so no wonder everybody is confused! What I do know is that lure makers keep offering up some incredibly colorful offerings, and we anglers are all over them like a darky on cupcakes!

Have I identified a genuine pattern? I’d have to say no. I’ve had this conversation with many anglers before, but picture this. If you have confidence in say a “fruit salad” color #2 Stumpy (good choice by the way), that is the lure you’ll tie on and troll or cast. Now if that’s the lure that’s presented to Mr Cod and he’s on the chew, that’s the one he’ll bite. It stands to reason doesn’t it? If that’s the only lure down there well that’s it, it’s the only one to bite. We reel in Murray cod number 14 for the morning and comment to our partner, “yep, ole fruit salad does it again”. But what if it was a Tiger, or a Tutti Fruiti? We’ll never know, because it was a fruit salad and it got the fish. Without a doubt, fishing can be a confidence game, and if you have confidence in a particular lure in a particular color, well that’s the one you’ll be towing or casting. And if that’s the one out there in cod land, well you know the rest......

As for the theory, well I just don’t know about those lure shades for clarity of water. Better to stick with your confidence lure in my book. At least when you get your fish you can do a darky and say “good old fruit salad, never misses............”

Conclusion: MYTH PARTIALLY BUSTED!

I reiterate, darky is by no means any form of Murray cod expert or oracle. There is nothing scientific or mathematically tested in any of the theories or conclusions above, they are however some thought provoking scenarios based on my own anecdotal evidence, and lately there’s been a fair swag of that! That said (and I’ve said it before), until and unless someone learns to “speak cod” we’ll never really know for sure. Agree? Disagree? Have your own theories and conclusions? Please, put them out there. The more we know the more learn, the more we know.

We’re looking down the barrel of another cracking Murray cod season in the south east of the country. On behalf of darky and the McCreddens Team, we wish you well in your quest for the mighty green fish. Don’t forget to call into McCreddens for all your Murray cod fishing requirements. The Team will see you right with all the right advice and gear.

And don’t forget a #2 Stumpy in fruit salad for those low clarity waters. Oh hang on, was it the clear waters? Downstream, upstream, bloody hell .........

darky out...