Break out the lures and hit the water! A recent spate of cooler than average mornings is the first of many signs that mean the bigger fish will start to move.

While cod season opens in December, most diehard fanatics will tell you the real fishing begins now.

Over the coming months those trolling lures will account for many large cod. It’s these big fish and their willingness to crunch a lure that make our local waters the prime destination for anglers wanting to catch that fish of a lifetime.

A recent trip to the Murray near Mildura is testament in itself of the quality of the fishing we are privileged to have on our doorsteps. A few crisp mornings was all the prompting I needed to load the boat and hopefully get some action.

We started the afternoon slowly trolling deep-diving lures among the timber. The first strike came within minutes. The fight, however, was short-lived because the fish managed to spit the lure.

Then, close to dark, we opted to cast the shallows. Second snag in and 12kg of cod slammed the large lure within a metre of the boat – not a bad fish to finish the short session.

Next morning the bite continued with three consecutive cod falling to trolled lures. Weighing in at 14.9kg, 18kg and an impressive 25kg, you couldn’t be happier if you had two zippers. This was fishing at its finest.

It’s sessions like this that cement the green-fish bug well under the skin. All fish were returned to the river, providing future angling opportunity and hopefully generations of cod to come.

The Murray River at Robinvale has fished a little slowly with just the occasional big cod being taken on lures. Those fishing bait around the snags are catching golden perch up to 2kg but again not in any great numbers. But this section of river has proven itself in the past and will do so again.

The good water clarity in all local rivers should provide excellent lure fishing over the months to come.

The Wakool, Edward and Murrumbidgee are destinations well worth a look. All these rivers are fishing well for cod and golden perch and will only improve as the weather continues to cool. Bait fishing is also proving successful, with plenty of small to average cod being landed.

The redfin in Lake Charm have also come on the chew, with fish to 1.3kg reported on bait and bladed lures. Most productive baits have been river shrimp or small yabbies. The addition of a few bardies in the bait bucket could also come in handy for the stocked cod that are now making the required legal size limit.

Overall, the fishing in most areas has been excellent and, with the best yet to come, there will be plenty of big fish and tall tales to tell of next month.