The fishing in Lake Mulwala has continued to be nothing short of brilliant. Anglers who put in the effort have been rewarded with cricket scores of fish, with some crews reporting up to 70 cod caught and released in a weekend.

Queens Birthday weekend greeted us at the start of June and it seemed the only ones not having a holiday were the fish. I fished for four days with the family, solely chasing the ever-increasing population of redfin. We were lucky enough to land 55, along with 16 legal cod as by-catch! The pick of the reddies weighed a little over 1kg, while the cod reached 68cm. A highlight was witnessing my young bloke Cooper catch a 61cm cod while ‘test casting’ a soft plastic.

Winton Brown from Echuca has made numerous trips to Mulwala to land many quality fish, with an 83cm version being the pick of the crop on his most recent venture. David Scott from Maryborough was another who has spent a lot of time here and was also rewarded with great numbers of fish.

Gordon Bennett and Kevin Brooks made a few trips out in mid-June, with 15 cod being their best effort for an afternoon. Another report came in from Graham Callahan of Mooroopna, who had a great day out landing 15 reddies and 12 cod.

The majority of the more successful anglers are getting the best results by trolling 40-60mm lures that run around the 3m depth. In June an average day consisted of half a dozen fish, with 15-20 being considered a great day. Cod have been mainly around 45-60cm, with the majority of anglers choosing to release most of their legal-sized fish.

Land based fishos have also been getting amongst the fish by casting soft plastics from the bank. Local, Trevor Beach, reported capturing many reddies along with some nice cod while fishing in and around town.

Sadly there have been a couple of concerning reports of anglers keeping excessive bags of cod. Please remember, if you see somebody doing the wrong thing, it only takes a call to the local Fisheries with either a boat or car registration number to see some action taken.

To round out the month I spent a couple of day’s field-testing some new Sure Catch Slick Back lures with the boys from L.Wilson & Co. These lures proved that they have great fish catching abilities and accounted for 16 cod and redfin.

Crayfish reports are starting to come in, with only fair numbers being recorded.

Lake levels continue to remain low with no official word yet as when the lake will be refilled. Those planning a trip here for cod opening need not worry though, as the lake has to be at least 76% full to supply irrigation water for summer.

Seeing the lake in a semi-drained state is an interesting sight and is well worth a look. It may help you find a few hidden creeks that are only visible with the low water, or show you how to better fish that specific snag you always target.

Damian Upjohn with a 52cm cod taken in Lake Mulwala on a new Slick Back lure from Sure Catch.