Lake Mulwala, the ‘Murray cod Mecca’, is the only place to be if you want to give yourself a better than average chance of catching a cod at this time of year. January to May generally considered to be the best time of year to fish this region but February to April tends to produce the best numbers of cod.

There are options aplenty at the moment, with beautiful warm days, dead calm nights and postcard perfect mornings giving anglers plenty of choice throughout a day's fishing. If I had a choice (and the energy!) at the moment, I’d split my day up as follows:

5am-7am: Surface fishing the edges of the lake based around the Kyffin's area casting Koolabung surface paddlers, Bassman Buzzbaits and Moose's poppers.

7am-10am: Once the sun gets up a bit I’d head out to the water in the 3-5m depth range and cast spinnerbaits, 5/8-1oz, double Colorado with stinger hook and bulked up with a soft plastic added. The other critical weapon to have in my arsenal would be a selection of 5/8oz and 1oz chatterbaits (known locally as Mumblers).

10am-afternoon: Time to pull the pin and head home to re-arm. Brunch with a quick midday siesta would see me back on the lake around 2pm rigged up with some bigger hardbody lures (90mm+). Trolling the edges of the many lagoons that litter the lake in search of a big fella in 5m+ of water would be the go.

Late: As the afternoon wears on I’d switch back to the spinnerbaits and then get myself set for a night of surface fishing. During the afternoon I recommend familiarising yourself with some ground you want to fish once dusk arrives. Keep an eye on the weather forecast for wind speed and direction. A northerly should see you fishing the north side of the lake and vice versa for southerly winds. You will always find some pockets of still water even if there is a bit of breeze up.

Looking back, the past month has been very productive with many fish reported on the Australia Day long weekend. Spida and Painter Rogers took to the canoes for a great afternoon’s fishing, landing seven cod with the best measuring 77cm. Mulwala locals Brad Pepper and Jamie Stewart were a couple of other anglers who also managed some great returns, with cod measuring well into the 80cm bracket. The lovely wife Vanessa had a great time fishing the surface, landing an 83cm prize. These are just a few of the cod that have been taken off the surface in recent weeks.

Fishing below the weir continues to be impressive, especially for those casting smaller lures (such as Jackalls) and spinnerbaits in search of golden perch. I spent a few hours in the company of a few fishing tragics casting the aforementioned lures for an impressive return of seven yellas and three cod. The best fish was a yella bagged by Thommo that stretched the tape out to 52cm.

The competition season is upon us and there are a couple more coming up in the next two months. The next is the His & Hers Partners Classic on 1 March, and it’s a great day for couples to share time together in the boat.

Rounding out the comp season is the Cod Nationals from 27 April to 2 May. It’s five days of serious tournament fishing for the dedicated greenfish angler. It’s guaranteed that once you have fished a Cod Nationals you will never miss it again.

If you are visiting town I urge you to call into Lake Mulwala Fish Camp & Ski (opposite the Post Office) in Mulwala and say g’day. We are your largest cod-specific shop in Yarrawonga/Mulwala and specialise in all things “green”! For any information on the upcoming events or fishing reports give us a hoy on 03 5744 3133.

If you are visiting town I urge you to call into Lake Mulwala Fish Camp & Ski (Opposite the Post Office) in Mulwala and say G’Day. We are your largest Murray cod specific shop in Yarrawonga/Mulwala and specialise in all things ‘Green’! For any information on the upcoming events or fishing reports give us a hoy on 03 5744 3133.