There are many native fish on offer around Mildura during July.

Winter starts to take its toll and begins to slow everything down, including some fish species. But monster Murray cod will be lurking and definitely are worth casting the snags for.

There are not too many things better than being around a warm fire on a cold, frosty morning on the banks of the Murray River. Crawling your way out of the swag and boiling the billy while thinking about the day’s fishing ahead is one of life’s great relaxations.

Cod fishing over the past month has been a bit hit and miss, with barometric pressures either steady or on the low side of good. A fair few 75cm-80cm cod were being caught some weeks back. Quite a few of them have been hooked in every place but the mouth, signifying that these fish are not feeding properly yet.

The odd metre-long cod has been caught on large trolled hardbodies; the bigger the lure the better, it seems. Colours haven’t too much of a concern because cod have been caught on a large variety of colours lately.

There have still been some nice yellowbelly caught on large lures despite the colder weather, with quite a few going around 50cm, a very good size for the main river.

Bait has been producing some great results around root balls and weed beds, with shrimp being the go-to bait. With little flow in the river at the moment, light bait rigs are a must.

Water clarity has been excellent over the past month, which can bring lure colour into play especially when fishing shallow. When the water is this clear, it pays to aim for long casts into snags as getting too close may spook the bigger fish. Spinnerbaits will also take on a world of their own in this clearer water with nickel and black blades working best. Natural colours are worth trying also. A lot of anglers have been having a lot of success lately on dark coloured lures in the clear water.

Toward the end of May, water levels dropped significantly to compensate for the maintenance of the weir structure at Lock 11. Weir maintenance is always a fascinating time as people flock from everywhere to view the river bed and maybe even find that long lost lure!

The next month is due to be a hot time for Murray cod fishing. The first couple of frosts are always good to kick things off and to slow everything down even more.

Once the cod start feeding properly and aggressively, scoffing most things that come their way, we should see some great-sized fish being caught.

Winter is a very special time of the year around Mildura for Murray cod. Even though yellas and other species are harder to catch during these months, it is the onset of the giant green fish that make those freezing days tolerable.

Get out there and get into it!

Darcy Collins, 3, and Evan Hudson from Mildura proudly hold their 50cm yellowbelly caught recently around Mildura