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Cod angling heaven
  |  First Published: February 2017



The fishing so far in 2017 has followed suit from last year and has been well above expectation. The local rivers are flowing after a fair share of wild summer storms, and the local dams are still looking in very good shape.

RIvers

Beardy Waters is up high and discoloured after lots of rain in the area, but that hasn’t affected the fishing along the river. Redfin become more active in the heat, so there have been plenty of good size fish taken in the middle of the day fishing the bottom with blades and soft plastics. Darker colours have been the colours to go to lately with the stained water, as they put out a nicer silhouette. With other species like carp, yellowbelly and Murray cod in the same system, you never know what you might end up catching, but as mentioned in previous reports, most land along the Beardy River is privately owned, so make sure to ask permission first if fishing these waters.

The Severn River has been fishing better than I’ve seen in many months. I recently caught up with another very keen and adventurous angler from the Coffs Coast named Ryan Thompson, and set out for a kayak fish in search of our beloved Murray cod. We definitely found what we were looking for and after one and a half days of solid fishing we managed over 100 cod on a variety of lures and techniques between us. The standout lures for the trip were 1/4oz and 1/2oz chatterbaits, 2oz spinnerbaits and swimbaits from 120-220mm long, proving that it doesn’t hurt to go big even when fishing the smaller waterways.

Local Dams

Pindari Dam has been pretty quiet for fishing lately, with not many reports coming back at all. We’ve seen only the odd yellowbelly or two here and there, but that’s not saying there’s not fish being caught. It usually fishes well at this time of year, so it’s probably only a matter of being there at the right time.

After previous rains, the dam is slowing making its way up to the 100% mark again. Blades and lipless crankbaits are Pindari favourites, and if you’re having trouble finding fish, then flicking points and trees, or trolling the red buoys along the wall can sometimes produce some good fish.

Copeton Dam was the place to be over the festive season and through the New Year, as big fish were being caught left, right and centre on a variety of techniques. I’m not sure if the water being let out for irrigation plays any part at all, but it has been dropping at a rate of at least 1% every few days.


I was fishing with a mate from the Gold Coast are early morning late last year, and between us we witnessed something many anglers only ever dream of. We were at a very likely looking bay for an hour or so, where there were plenty of baitfish jumping. Thomas was feeling very confident and mentioned how good the area was looking, when a 128cm behemoth Murray cod became airborne to eat his surface lure. The commotion it made was something special, and those several tense minutes of the fight before landing it from a kayak were insane. I also managed a healthy 93cm cod later that morning flicking the 56g Westin Monster Vibe spinnerbait to top off an epic session.


Surface lures and large spinnerbaits have been the standout lures for Copeton lately, although plenty of good fish have been taken on big swimbaits and soft plastics as well.

If you’re interested in how I catch my fish, then stay tuned, as I’ll be adding to my Youtube channel this year, so make sure you jump on there, subscribe and check it out at Adam Townsend Fishing.

If the fishing stays anything like it has been in previous months, then we’re in for another really good year chasing the Aussie natives! So keep fishing hard and I might see you on the water soon!

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