"

Lake to hold up
  |  First Published: May 2010



This Winter Lake Mulwala will not be drained, as it has in the past couple of years, but it will be lowered slightly.

Fishing will still be possible, with most ramps still operational.

As the water cools, the cod traditionally become harder to find. Trolling bigger lures in the deeper water should produce best results.

The redfin have yet to fire but if that’s going to happen, it will be in the next two months.

Find the weed beds and you should be able to get a feed of these tasty critters.

Perfect Autumn days have made Lake Mulwala the place to be but anglers had to work for their fish and those who did were rewarded with good numbers.

The most consistent angler lately has been Dean Goodsell, who combined skill with the latest technology to produce cod time and again. His ‘secret’ was his new side-imaging sounder to locate the edges of newly formed weed beds, which he worked by trolling and casting hardbodies lures and spinnerbaits.

Dean caught cod into the high 70cm mark in water 2m to 4m deep.

I accompanied Anthony Pavlou, lure designer for L Wilson & Co to test a new hardbody that’s nearly ready for production.

Last time we undertook a field trip under the guise of research, he landed a super 97cm cod on a Slickback lure. Lo and behold, fifth cast and he was on again!

This time it was not quite as big but again proved that his lures have what it takes.

Another interesting afternoon on the lake was with two mates from Wagga, Sparra and Bags.

We set out with great plans but in the end, the fish won apart from one 55cm cod and a couple of hits. The lake can be hit and miss but time on the water with great mates can’t be beat.

Surprisingly, fishing below the weir took a turn for the better with two cod measuring over a metre and some other good-sized legals, all taken on grubs, cheese or worms.

Most anglers who fished below the weir mentioned the numbers of small silver bream that continually picked at their baits.

There have been numerous reports of suspicious angling activity after dark below the weir. If you do see something that looks wrong, don’t get involved but do make sure you get whatever details possible and contact I&I Fisheries ASAP.

Cray season is upon us and, as usual, early reports have been patchy. Make sure that if you are chasing crays you are well aware of all rules and regulations. If necessary, call in to Lake Mulwala Fish Camp & Ski and I’ll kit you out with a measuring device and all the info to make sure you are totally compliant.

Finally, one thing I learnt during April was that all cod turn into Easter bunnies –the unprotected type everyone is looking to put into their baskets. Many anglers are looking for a ‘keeper’ (not to be mistaken with a ‘legal size’) to prove their fishing worth and put something on the plate.

I think the real Easter bunny has a lot to answer for when it comes to the protection of our iconic species.

This 55cm cod did its best to keep Terry ‘Sparra’ McMahon, left, and Terry ‘Bags’ Bagley amused for the day.

Reads: 6000

Matched Content ... powered by Google




Latest Articles




Fishing Monthly Magazines On Instagram

Digital Editions

Read Digital Editions

Current Magazine - Editorial Content

Western Australia Fishing Monthly
Victoria Fishing Monthly
Queensland Fishing Monthly