With the water temp sneaking down to 10C, fishing reports have been minimal.

There seems to be a fair bit of work needed between fish to produce consistent returns. In saying this though, there have been a few keen anglers sneaking out and producing cod. This is the time of year, if your lure is in the right place at the right time, to encounter some of those Mulwala monsters. Larger hardbodied lures trolled in depths deeper than 5m or larger sized spinnerbaits/chatterbaits cast in the slightly shallower areas will be your best option.

Four super keen young fellas from Charlieville, Qld made the long trip down to Lake Mulwala in search of a green fish or two. Fishing hard on a daily basis the boys found things fairly tough going until Zach Wright's slowly trolled Bassman Mumbler was belted by a solid Mulwala bruiser. A fair battle ensued but ultimately Zach had bragging rights over his mates with a quality cod of 90cm being his prize. After a couple of happy snaps it was released to fight another day.

Fishing guru and all round nice guy Roger Dark spent some time here with mate Jason Betson. The boys landed numerous cod measuring up to the 60cm mark. There most successful method was trolling bright luminous green and pink Codger lures.

Steve Hogan was another to venture out with father in-law and fist time cod fisho Graham Sharples. After an interesting start with a meeting with fisheries, Graham proceeded to land two fish of 68cm and 60cm, both on trolled Balista lures. Steve assures me we now have a new convert to Murray cod fishing who will never go back to the trout. Mick Massier was another to get out and have a great weekend landing five legal cod measuring up to 76cm which is a great reward for a very keen fisho.

Fishing below the weir has seen some nice cod produced. With the crops in we are sure to hear a fair bit more from Kev Brooks who is known to haunt the river on a regular basis. A 91cm caught on a cast 2m holographic Koolabung was his latest reward.

Cray Season has been fairly productive for those that have braved the cod. Cobram character Mac "Murray Cod Macca" Palante and his crazy crew spent some time camped below the weir and were rewarded with their bag limit on a daily basis thanks to continually working their pots. The new laws that reduced bag limits and increased size limits put a halt to many making their annual pilgrimage to the Murray. Hopefully in time we see a resurgence of these spiky critters in our waterways and with good management may be able to enjoy a fair feed in years to come.

An exciting compliment was payed to Lake Mulwala recently when it was the first ever location inducted into the Australian Lures Hall of Fame as an Iconic Australian Lure Fishing Location. Looking back over time, it would be amazing to know just how many lures have been swam in the lake and the staggering amount of cod it has produced.

Many stick painters owe allot to Lake Mulwala for helping put food on their tables by creating lure sales.

Competition season is drawing closer by the day. If you are keen to get your name added to either the Cod Classic or Golden Dollars mailing list, shoot ne an e-mail at --e-mail address hidden-- .

Zach Wright with his 90cm cod.