Where is all the water? With Wyangala and Burrendong dams below 5%, putting a boat in anywhere might become a thing of the past.

On a recent trip to Wyangala it really hit me how bad this drought is. Where I once caught a fish is now about 200m from the current water level – hard to believe. If we don’t get substantial rain this Winter we are in serious trouble.

Over the past few years there has been a lot written about catching massive cod in Winter. If you’re sceptical about this, give it a go – you just never know what the next cast might bring.

Even with the water level dropping lately in the Macquarie, the fishing has been quite consistent. Some reasonable cod to 12kg have been caught around the Dubbo area.

Baby Feral Catt crankbaits and Bassman spinnerbaits have been the best lures to cast around the logs to extract the cod from their homes. Surface lures have also been working, especially early in the morning.

Bait fishing has been a little slow but still managing a few good fish if you put in the time. This month the fishing should still be reasonable with the chance to mess with larger specimens of cod.

A few cod are being caught around the Bourke area with the odd yellowbelly as well on prawns, shrimp, yabbies and worms.

Water in the Louth-Tilpa area is becoming very low. Launching a small tinny or canoe and spinning around the exposed logs can produce some big fish at this time of year.

The Lachlan is very low and recent reports indicate that the fish are still biting but they are likely to slowdown this month. Finding deeper sections will be the key to good fishing over the next few months.

Bait will still bring results but waiting for a fish or a bite may be a long process. Spinning the logs will produce fish in Winter, with noisy lures an advantage to awaken sleepy Winter cod.

The Hillston Hook, Line and Sinker competition will be held on August 23 to 26 so get in early for a great competition.

If you’re heading to Wyangala, just remember boat launching is by 4WD only at the moment. Some nice cod up to 80cm have been caught and more should come in this month.

Trolling will be the most popular method. You might not get a heap of fish but their size should make up for it.

Burrendong continues to fish well with golden perch caught regularly by casting or trolling lipless crankbaits. Bait fishing will slow down this month but with persistence you should catch a few silvers, catfish and the odd golden and cod.