While there are good flows in the Murray River the water clarity is not that great. In saying that, a few cod are being landed on lures and most of these fish have been quite large.

In the Murray downstream of the Euston weir a group of visiting fishos landed a 105cm cod on a fluoro orange StumpJumper lure. It was their first visit to the Murray and they were not perturbed by the poor water clarity stating they just needed to get the lure a little closer to insight a strike. They were correct, and hooked up not 50m into the first troll run of the morning. It’s fair to say they loved the Murray and will be back for sure.

I have always found that bright fluoro colours have worked best for me under dirty water conditions. This goes against the general consensus that adhere to the adage ‘dirty water, dark lures’.

Above the weir at Robinvale local accountant Phill Tyrell tells of hooking a ripper cod on the troll around the back of the Nine Mile, only to have it spit the lure beside the boat.

“A foot across its head at least,” he said, as he handed me his fee for doing my tax. I’m not sure on the size of the cod but his bill was indeed a thumper and one I wish I could throw back.

Several reports of good cod in this area has me thinking it might be time to slug it out for a few days on the Murray River at Robinvale once the water settles and clears up a little. This area is always good for perch and amongst them some very good-sized models for the Murray River. Bobbing shrimp or small yabbies around the snags is a sure fire way of bagging a few goldens as the weather continues to warm.

Bait anglers chasing cod are reporting a few fish upstream of Robinvale through Tol Tol and onto Belsar Island. There are good numbers of perch biting in these areas also, so it’s a win-win fishery at the moment. The best baits for cod have been large grubs, either wood or bardi, closely followed by cheese. Scrub worms, too, will tempt a bite and a few cod have been landed on large dead yabbies that have had the carapace crushed, releasing a small berley trail that draws the cod to the bait. Shrimp are now abundant in the warming water, and both cod and perch will scoff this natural bait if it’s fished in the right spot.

Swan Hill Tackle proprietor Jim Credlin says that good numbers of cod are biting in the Murray River locally on a variety of baits and lures.

In the Kerang Lakes, good-sized redfin are taking white bait and shrimp at Lake Charm. It’s a similar story at Kangaroo Lake with a few golden perch in the mix.

The Wakool River at Kyalite has good numbers of Murray cod to 90cm on bait. The perch are also biting well in this area.

With the Murray threatening to steady and clear, the cod bite will only get better as we head into what looks to be another ripper cod season up this way. Good luck to all over the coming month!