Frosty fingers, a chilly snout and a great lump of a green fish could be your reward if you are prepared to put in the effort over the next month or two on the mighty Lake Mulwala.

Catch rates are starting to thin a little but what is being reported is of quality. Without wanting to sound like a broken record, trolling larger lures will be your best option. Depending on where in the lake you're fishing, there are endless choices of 100mm+ sized lures that can be worked at any depth from 2-12m. A slow, wide, enticing action is what to look for in a hardbodied lure with brands like AC, Custom Craft, StumpJumpers, Humptys, Codgers, Secret Creek, Kuttafurra, Gidgee and Koolabung being the standouts.

Looking back, May proved to be a great month as the magnificent autumn weather continued longer than expected. Where fishos lost a week or two early in the season during January due to extreme heat, it was made up for in May and was well worth waiting for. Trolling and casting both accounted for numerous cod and the editorial Booth and some of his mates managed to scare up a few cod to the 79cm mark on cast lures in early May. They also managed quite a few good goldens to 54cm with lures like the StumpJumper No.2, Custom Crafted Extractor and Fish Stik and spinnerbaits from Bassman doing most of the damage.

But my fish of the month goes to a super 95cm cod taken on a surface lure by local youngster Joel Thomas. It's great excitement to get a cod off the surface, but one of this size is surely memorable.

George Jovanovic was up to his old tricks again when he boated a healthy metre-plus while trolling the top end of the lake. Known as a big fish specialist, it's good to see George finding some form after taking out the smallest cod award (27cm) at the recent Cod Nationals!

Fishing below the weir has been difficult due to low water levels but those who are switched on are returning some great cod. Once the crops were in, Kevin ‘K Mac’ Brooks had an outstanding run boating a genuine monster that stretched the tape out to a whopping 124cm. This great effort was closely followed up with another beast that measured a neat 100cm. Both were caught casting large hard body lures.

Cray season is upon us, but unfortunately pen went to paper for this report only days before the season opened. How the crays will go this year is anybody's guess but please follow the strict size and bag limits that have been put in place. If rules and regulations get abused, it will be very easy for authorities to close cray season all together and that would likely be something we may not see back in a long while.

Enjoy the traditional weekend away with a good crew of mates, stay safe especially if boating in the Murray at night and limit your catch, not catch your limit.

• If visiting Yarrawonga/Mulwala I urge you to call into Lake Mulwala Fish Camp & Ski, the shop with the big green cod out the front (Opposite the Post Office) in Mulwala and say g’day. We are your largest Murray cod specific shop in the region and specialize in all things green! For any info on upcoming events or fishing reports give us a call on 03 5744 3133.