The fishing in Lake Mulwala has continued to be nothing short of brilliant. Anglers who put in the effort have been rewarded with cricket scores of fish, with some crews reporting up to 70 cod caught and released in a weekend.

On the Queen’s Birthday weekend it seemed the only ones not having a holiday were the fish. I fished for four days with the family, solely chasing the ever-increasing population of redfin. We landed 55, along with 16 legal cod as by-catch.

The pick of the reddies was a little over 1kg, while the cod reached 68cm. A highlight was witnessing my young bloke Cooper catch a 61cm cod while ‘test casting’ a soft plastic.

Winton Brown from Echuca has made numerous trips to Mulwala to land many quality fish, with an 83cm cod the pick of the crop on his most recent venture. David Scott from Maryborough was another who has spent a lot of time here and was also rewarded with great numbers of fish.

Gordon Bennett and Kevin Brooks made a few trips in mid-June, with 15 cod their best effort for an afternoon. Graham Callahan of Mooroopna had a great day, landing 15 reddies and 12 cod.

Most of the more successful anglers are getting best results by trolling 40mm to 60mm lures that run around 3m deep. In June an average day consisted of half a dozen fish, with 15 to 20 considered a great day.

The cod have been mainly around 45cm to 60cm, with the majority of anglers choosing to release most of their legal-sized fish.

Land-based fishos have also been getting fish by casting soft plastics . Local Trevor Beach reported capturing many reddies along with some nice cod while fishing around town.

Sadly, there have been a couple of concerning reports of anglers keeping excessive bags of cod. Please remember, if you see somebody doing the wrong thing it only takes a call to the local Fisheries with either a boat or car registration number to see some action taken.

To round out the month I spent a couple of days field-testing some new Sure Catch Slick Back lures with the boys from L Wilson & Co. These lures have great fish catching abilities and accounted for 16 cod and redfin.

Crayfish reports are starting to come in, with only fair numbers being recorded.

Lake levels continue to remain low with no official word as to when the lake will be refilled. Those planning a trip here for cod opening need not worry, though, as the lake has to be at least 76% full to supply irrigation water for Summer.

Seeing the lake in a semi-drained state is an interesting sight and well worth a look. It may help you find a few hidden creeks that are visible only with the low water, or show you how to better fish that specific snag you always target.

Damian Upjohn with a 52cm cod taken in Lake Mulwala on a new Slick Back lure from Sure Catch.