The cod around Yarrawonga and Mulwala have finally started to play the game with some nice fish popping up around the place. The fishing should only get better over the next few months.

The best cod I’ve heard of came from the Drain Lane area and measured 92cm. It was taken on a Custom Crafted lure. A close second was a beautiful 91cm specimen taken by Blair Lollicato from Barham. He was fishing under the guidance of ‘Pilgrim Pete’ Lance Patten when his ultra deep Predatek was gobbled down. After a couple of quick pictures both of these 90cm+ fish were returned to the murky depths of Lake Mulwala.

The Lowrance Lake Mulwala Da$h 4 Ca$h Super Series was held recently with some big prize money up for grabs. This was a catch and release event and attracted anglers from far and wide. In attendance was special guest, cricketing legend Merv Hughes who caught a personal best cod under the guidance of Wayne Lennon from Oar-Gee lures. Unfortunately, Merv’s fish measured 49.5cm and was ineligible.

Paul Worsteling and Lee Rayner from the television show IFISH also participated. The boys caught some good fish and got some great footage for an upcoming show. Stay tuned.

In total, there were 49 legal cod measured and released during the event, the longest of which measured 72cm. The event was decided on a points system instead of the biggest fish. The winners were Graeme Clark and Damian Webb (Saturday morning) who collected $1500, Matt Sullivan and Jamie Mitchell (Saturday afternoon) who collected $2,000, and Darren Ryan and Russ Wright (Sunday morning) who collected $2,500. Along with the cash, the winning team from each event received a Lowrance X135 sounder.

The most productive lures were Oar-Gee, Custom Crafted, Swagman, Bassman and Legends. The majority of teams got amongst the fish although Team Legend Lures managed to land 24 cod and 4 yellowbelly in 9 hours of fishing. The most popular location was around the willows on the south side of the lake or trolling the open water near the red buoy.

During mid February, a group of dedicated surface mad anglers made their annual pilgrimage to Kiffins. Over the weekend the lads had the daylights scared out of them with some great surface strikes. Steady, Brownie, Reidy, Slug and big Craig managed to land numerous cod ranging from 30 to 55cm.

Roger Miles of Cod Hunter Fishing Tours had clients out in early March and managed to put them onto 21 fish. Casting hard-bodied lures, spinnerbaits and surface poppers was effective, with a 72cm specimen the pick of the bunch. Roger recommends lures that have green, orange and yellow in their pattern.

Fishing below the weir has started to fire up with some great reports coming in. Yarrawonga locals Joe Linehan, Dougie Thomas and Rosie have been giving the river and its backwaters a flogging and have been encountering a few fish for their efforts. Numerous cod to 55cm and yellowbelly to 7lb have been about. Darker Custom Crafted lures and Bassman spinnerbaits have been the weapons of choice.

I recently heard about a monster cod that had been hit by a speedboat around the Blue Hole. This fish turned out to one of the biggest fish I’ve ever heard of from this region. It weighed an amazing 134lb and measured around 140cm.

As my little mate Rod McKenzie said, “Why don’t you ever see good photos of spaceships or huge cod?” Well, I’m afraid nothing has changed.

The first set of pictures I saw were on a mobile phone and the second were printed off a computer and were slightly water damaged. Looking at the images still gives me hope that one day I may have the pleasure of tangling with a monster like this.

More cod should come out of the town end of Lake Mulwala towards Easter. All styles of lure fishing should be productive.

The Murray River below the lake should have a more constant flow in April. Cod and goldens should be available to those casting lures in and around the snags.