Since the boards were placed back into Mildura Weir after a period of being out for maintenance, river levels have finally gone back to normal. After what has been a productive winter for Murray cod, things are looking even better for September.

The maintenance of the Mildura weir and removal of the weir structure in July/August meant that river levels above Mildura were extremely low making it difficult to launch the boat. The weir maintenance has now ceased and river levels are re-gaining some normality.

Some nice Murray cod have been caught recently around Mildura over the past couple of months, but were a bit hit and miss toward the later part. Water clarity has been good since the start of the year making lure visibility very good, but the Murray River has since started flowing faster, making fishing with lures difficult.

A flush of water has been affecting the way in which the fish, in particular Murray cod, have been behaving. It has resulted in some slow fishing for most anglers leading up to the season close. The few fish that have been caught recently have been very healthy looking, obviously feeding up on copious amounts of baitfish with a few of these fish reaching well over a metre.

In order to catch that monster Murray cod, time on the water is the key. Cast spinnerbaits of all sizes and colours have been working well where water clarity has improved. Whites and silver heads with nickel oversize blades have been working best in this clear water.

Trolling large lures in the deeper parts has been slow of late, as can often be the case during winter, but has still been producing results.

Bait fishos have been enjoying some good fishing with yellowbelly up to 50cm caught on shrimp and worm around Mildura and below. Of course, there have also been plenty of carp being caught everywhere.

Quite a few reports of smaller cod around the 50-60cm range are still being caught on lures and bait in several locations around Mildura and up the Darling River. These smaller cod have been enjoying the flows that this river can bring being active, especially around eddy currents and the downstream side of snag piles.

Spring is up on us and it can be a special time of year for yellowbelly fishers around Mildura. Spring can be a very busy time of year for recreational anglers as they flock around the weir structures in great numbers for an easy catch on bait or lures.

This is the time is when golden perch start to swim upstream and school in readiness for spawning. Luring with lipless crankbaits around the lock structures during these times can be fun and quite productive and a good alternative with cod season closed for another year. Good yellowbelly set-ups for the river are typically 10-20lb braid on 1-4kg rods.

Smaller spinnerbaits like the Bassman 1/4oz and 1/8oz models and smaller hardbodies are ideal for casting in and around snags, lock structures and rock bars.