It is hard to believe we are already halfway through the Murray cod season but as they say, time flies when you’re having fun.

The last couple of weeks of February were a cracker for fishing around the Northern Tablelands area, with air and water temperatures slowly making their way down after a few rainy days and colder nights.

Copeton Dam has been fishing really well in recent weeks although some anglers have been finding it hard to locate fish, let alone get fish to bite. With water temperatures still sitting up around the high 20s, searching for deeper, cooler water plays a big part when finding active fish in this waterway. Slowly dropping water levels can also make it difficult at times, but the irrigators have finished taking water for their farms for the season so the dam should start to stabilise, making the fish more comfortable to feed.

Fishing low light hours for cod has still been most effective lately, with multiple metre plus fish being caught in consecutive sessions, with jointed snakes and rat imitations being the stand out lures, particularly early in the morning. Chatterbaits or large soft plastics slow rolled close to the bottom are the go-to lures once the sun has started to rise. If fishing for yellowbelly, casting rocky points or trolling with ZX blades, Mazzy vibes or Jackall TNs will give you the best chance at catching these fish.

Copeton Dam is currently sitting steady around 44%.

Pindari Dam is currently sitting below the 80% mark but surprisingly there have been plenty of fish caught fairly consistently by both lure and bait fishers.

Catfish have been caught off the banks in big numbers, mainly using worms, small yabbies or shrimp as bait. Lure fishers have been having most the luck with the natives.

A social event with the local fishing club was held out at Pindari recently, and there were close to 100 fish caught on a variety of lures and techniques in just a few short sessions. The main lures that found fish ranged from small ZX and BV blades right up to the newly released Mazzy Vib Forte’.

There have been few reports from the Severn River below Pindari Dam but I would imagine that with all the water being let out of the dam that the river would be dirty with a fair bit of flow. This is not the case above the dam. Although there is still some water running into the dam from recent rainy days, the river is dropping to fairly low levels and starting to show the weed beds again. In most cases this would be the perfect place to cast for a cod but as the beds are so thick, pulling slime off the hooks is a continuous process that doesn’t make for ideal fishing. Any type of weedless frog or soft plastic would be the best bet to tempt a fish if casting these waters. Personally for me, I like to avoid these types of areas and opt to throw a swimbait around the structure instead, as this is where I have most of my success fishing for cod. I always make sure I am carrying some type of weedless lure in my arsenal, just in case I am after a change of fun.

The Beardy River is looking to be in good shape after recent rains but still has a slight stain of colour. There have been no fishing reports of late for this area.

Tight lines to all venturing out on the water this month. The fishing should only continue to improve as we make our way to the best time of the year to be fishing for our iconic Aussie friends.