In coming months Lake Mulwala should continue to clear up and fish well. Find the growing weed beds and you are well on the way to finding the fish.

The holiday period brought the usual influx of visitors, with many looking for a fish or two.

This isn’t the most productive time of year and boat traffic is massive but with the numbers out fishing, there are always good reports.

Lochie Long, a keen young local who spends plenty of time on the water, caught a beautiful 85cm cod on a grub.

A crew from Shepparton East, including five-year-old Mason Reeves, caught some great fish.

Mason led the pack with a great 71cm cod he landed on a cheese bait until his dad, Steve, managed a 78cm model.

Then Mason wrestled back the crown with a magnificent 85cm beast that his whole family was proud to see him catch.

Better still, this fish was released and hopefully Mason will release many more cod in his journey as a young fisherman.

Colin Purvis and Tiffany Munn from Castlemaine had great fun on the water. Tiffany cast up a 63cm cod while Colin landed numerous golden perch to 54cm.

Over the holiday period the most productive tactics were casting and trolling spinnerbaits and hard-bodied lures in the more heavily timbered areas of the lake, away from the skiing and PWC traffic.

Below the weir there have been undersize cod, trout cod and silver perch.

These fish provide fun for those looking to pass some time but it does become an expensive habit when regularly losing bait, especially grubs, to small pickers. Use a bait sock.

Some local competitions in coming months include the Lowrance Da$h 4 Cash, on Feb 19 and 20 and the His & Hers Partners Classic on March 5. Towards the end of April there will be the inaugural five-day Cod Nationals. For events information or reports call 03 5744 3133.

Mason Reeves, 5, and his 85cm cod prior to release.