It’s cod season! And that means cod fever down this way. Hand in hand with cod opening goes the iconic Cod Classic fishing tournament, and it’s shaping up to be the biggest ever with the lure of a potential one million dollars on offer for whoever catches ‘Phil’, the specially tagged Murray cod – you would be crazy to miss it.

Pack the boat, grab your gear and get yourself to the home of the Murray cod, Lake Mulwala as soon as possible so you don’t miss out.

Early season fishing should see all anglers in with a great chance of tangling with a legendary cod or two. Either fishing by boat or from the bank, using bait or lures, the common denominator is patience equals return. You put in the time and the fish will come. Traditionally the river sees a lot of smaller cod being caught while the lake will produce lesser numbers but of a better quality, especially for the lure fishers.

Trying to excite you with what’s gone on with the yellowbelly fishing over the past month is nigh on impossible but it’s worth a mention. October remained steady with the expected run of yellas turning up earlier than in the past few years due to some unseasonal hot weather.

Fishing the traditional local ‘hot spots’ became more a game of lucky dip than skill, as anglers stood shoulder to shoulder taking turns at casting into the small honey hole. Even the ‘average Joes’ landed close to 30 yellas in a session with just as many being missed. Deano Langford landed a stonker reportedly measuring close to the 60cm mark. Out and about further in the lake, Adam Thommo, Johnny Fry and George J were others who had productive outings.

I’m not into promoting the targeting of Murray cod out of season, but if they are a genuine by catch, I’ll give them a mention. The amount of smaller cod reported has been encouraging and points to a great season ahead. The biggest and most unusual capture came from big Alan Jovanovic. Fishing around Bundalong, Alan was slapping his lure on the water to remove some weed and in the process; a mighty cod of 90cm came from nowhere and took it directly beside the boat! I was witness to another unwanted but welcomed cod by-catch when Simon Weir got a fair surprise from a 78cm model that grabbed hold of his TN60 Jackall.

A fun weekend’s fishing came in the form of the Golden Do$$ars fishing competition. Specifically targeting golden perch with a strict set of rules to minimise Murray cod encounters. A whopping 62 anglers took to the waters in search of perch. After two five hour fishing sessions, a total of 33 yellas had been returned to scale for measuring and release.

Team Whopper Stopper’s George and Alan Jovanovic got off to a great start landing four yellas in the first session to take the early prizes on offer. Team STORM’s Mark McDonald and myself had a good morning boating 3 quality fish for second place, while David and Zeke Adams of Team Grizzly finished close behind in third for their 3 fish.

The arvo session was tough, as the fish had shut down. One fish could make or break you. Criss Crabb and Kyle Dalrymple of Team Dizzy Scent - Outcast had a super afternoon boating three to take out the afternoon session. Vanessa Bennett and Painter Rogers of Team Venom 2 boated two to secure second while Thomas Pinter and Dale O’Mara of Team Black Widow snuck into third.

Ultimately Chris and Kyle boated four yellas for the day finishing a grand total of 16mm in front of George and Alan Jovanovic. On the back of Mark McDonalds biggest fish for the event measuring 539mm, Team STORM snuck into third place.

The rumour has been around for a while now that Lake Mulwala Fish Camp and Ski is opening a new store in Yarrawonga and its true! Our store is now open at Shop 1A 59-63 Belmore St located between Rivers and One Zac in the main street. Come in, say g’day and have a look at all the goodies we have to tempt you.

• If visiting the Yarrawonga/Mulwala area, I urge you to call into one of Lake Mulwala Fish Camp & Ski’s two locations, the shop with the big green cod out the front (Opposite the Post Office) in Mulwala and located between Rivers and One Zac in Yarrawonga. We are the region’s Murray cod specialists and specialize in all things green! Along with that, we are the official Cod Classic store. For any info on anything fishing that relates to the Yarrawonga Mulwala region give us a call on 0357 443133 or 0439 441 667.