Trying to come up with a fishing report of any substance at this time of the year is about as hard as trying to tip eight winners in the AFL. At last, some good winter weather has arrived and with this, the northeast has experienced good frosts and dumpings of snow. This all translates into cold water that sees good old Murray cod going into shut down mode.

At present Mulwala’s water temperature is at 9C and doesn’t look like getting any warmer for a few months yet. The only decent capture I’ve heard about recently was a beautiful cod of 16kg, about 34lb in the old scale. This was caught by 16-year-old Brad Busuttil while trolling a purple Oar-Gee lure around the red buoy in open water. To Brad’s credit, after a couple of pictures, the fish was released. Someone else now has the chance of tangling with this beauty in the future.

A couple of other sketchy reports suggest that the channels around Major’s Creek are still producing the odd cod on trolled lures.

I was convinced to give Mulwala a miss for the next few months after spending 7 hours trolling for one strike last weekend. Who knows? That strike may well have been an aggressive snag. One positive to come out of the day was that I trolled up a new Murray cray pot that had the float missing from it.

While on the subject of crays, there have been numerous groups who’ve put countless hours into searching for a feed of these tasty morsels only to be disappointed with the results. Whether it be the Ovens River, Bundalong, Major’s Creek, the lake itself or below the weir, the best report was of 9 keepers for a day’s work.

Below the weir, the river remains very low and I have not heard of anyone fishing this section of the river. You may have to wait until December before you see any action down there.

A quick reminder that between September 1 and November 30 the taking of Murray cod is illegal and the section of river between the Yarrawonga Weir and the Tocumwal traffic bridge is closed to all forms of fishing.

The organisation of the 2005 Cod Classic on December 3 and 4 is well underway with an amazing $100,000 worth of prizes up for grabs, including 5 boat, motor and trailer packages. I can guarantee you a great weekend if you get to Yarrawonga/Mulwala for this event. I reckon you’ll come back again next year. Ring (03) 5744 1667 for more information.

This will be my last report until November as the region is in shut down mode. Until then, stay safe and happy fishing.