Bendigo

Finally, cod season is here!

YARRAWONGA Tony Bennett

codclassic@bigpond.com Footy grand finals, Bathurst, the Melbourne Cup and any other event held over the past few months have been nothing more than a ‘stocking filler’ for cod fisho’s who’ve had to down tools and wait for the new cod season to open.

The anticipation any genuine cod fisho feels at this time of year is on par with a kid at Christmastime. Sure, there have been other waterways open where you can target stocked cod, but nothing beats being at the home of the Murray cod – Lake Mulwala – come opening weekend. When November rolls around each year, we all know it’s time to arm ourselves and get ready for the cod season opening on 1 December.

For those fishing the lake early in the season, it may be most productive to seek out slightly quieter waters that don’t get excessive boat traffic. Sneaking out into the timber via the use of an electric motor should put you amongst the fish.

Lure choice is always interesting, if you have confidence in something that has worked before, stick to it. All things surface and sub-surface have been the rage in recent years, and I’m sure this trend will continue. In saying this, don’t discount any of your traditional methods of casting or trolling either hardbodied lures or spinnerbaits, as these will be as productive as ever. For the ‘scopers’, it will be the everpopular Gantarel, Gigantarel and big plastics that will do the majority of damage.

For those anglers who prefer the use of bait, options are endless. Bardi grubs, scrub worms, yabbies, shrimp and cheese are safe bets. Alternative, baits like chicken, chicken chips and dim sims are favourite for some anglers.

Looking back, the lead up to cod season has been a bit of a wash-out. Unusually high water levels, along with limited warm weather, has seen the yellas being pretty hard to find. A few have been picked up in their usual haunts, mainly around the Train bridge and the Mulwala Canal, but not in the normal numbers seen throughout spring.

One interesting and unusual report I received recounted a couple of boys working in town who decided to drown a few worms one evening in search of a yella or two. Nothing outstanding was happening until Isaac Waite noticed his line had gone fairly tight for no apparent reason. Upon winding it in to see what was going on, Isaac was amazed to find a dead brown snake wrapped around the bottom of his line. Upon closer inspection he could see that it had been hit by a boat propellor. Something that you don’t catch every day. Well done Isaac!

Organisation is well underway for the iconic 2022 Yamaha Cod Classic at Lake Mulwala. December 3 and 4 will see an expected 2000+ anglers descend on ‘the Home of the Murray Cod’ to celebrate the opening to the new 22-23 cod season, with likeminded fishos. The Cod Classic promises to celebrate a great return from COVID, with something to offer for everybody. Prizes include five boating packages plus plenty more, over $100K in prizes! Enter online at www. codclassic.com.au. For more information call in and see us at Lake Mulwala Fish Camp & Ski, the official Cod Classic shop (opposite the post office) in Mulwala or find us at our Yarrawonga store located between Rivers and One Zach. For up-to-date fishing reports or for further information call 03 5744 1667. Isaac Waite with his unusual catch of a dead brown snake.

Fishing after the floods

BENDIGO Roger Miles

codhuntertours@bigpond.com

Unfortunately, the Bendigo region has had large volumes of rain since my last fishing report. The volume of rainfall was record setting, and is significantly higher than the previous record for the month. It was a recipe for disaster, with our water catchments already at capacity, and water catchments saturated, and these large volumes inevitably created some major flooding in the region.

This major flooding has done a significant amount of damage for farmers who own property near our river systems. Towns such as Rochester, Echuca and Bridgewater and many other townships have experienced varying degrees of damage, with many houses being inundated with volumes of floodwater running throughout their homes. With most of our catchments at or above capacity and our catchments still saturated, there is still a high chance the region will experience some more flooding events in the next month or two. We can only hope that if we receive any flooding it is only minor to moderate levels to limit the damage that is done to property.

LAKE EPPALOCK

The water levels are currently at 106% of capacity at Lake Eppalock, and the spillway is still running and is releasing large volumes of water into the Campaspe River.

During the peak of the floods the water levels in Lake Eppalock had risen to over 130% of capacity. There was a huge volume of water running through the main spillway, and the secondary spillway also had a large volume of water running over it. All this water has done significant amounts of damage to the road which runs over the dam wall, and this is currently closed to traffic.

The floods have not been a good thing for the fishing in the short term as the water clarity is very dirty around the whole of Lake Eppalock at the moment. The volumes of water running through the lake, combined with the rising water levels, will be producing a huge bonanza in the way of food sources for the fish in Lake Eppalock. Bait fishing around the edges of the lake has been the most productive method. The best baits have been small yabbies and worms, and catches have consisted of carp, golden perch and small redfin.

Unfortunately, the way the current conditions are looking it might take several weeks for the water clarity to settle. When this does occur, we should see some productive golden perch fishing, and in the next couple of months the redfin fishing should be very good.

CAMPASPE RIVER

For a couple of weeks before the rain there was some good fishing in the Campaspe River at the spillway below Lake Eppalock. Some good golden perch and small redfin were being caught in this location. Unfortunately, due to road closures from the flooding, access to this area is now very difficult. During the peak of the floods there was an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 ML/D running down the system. This was a huge volume of water, and in some sections of the river where there were flat flood plains, the river was over a kilometre wide.

The flood levels have now reduced significantly and there is currently 5,900 ML/D running down the system. This is a significant reduction compared to the peak of the floods, however compared to the normal flows running down the system, this is still significantly higher than normal.

Again, with the current conditions of high water levels in our impoundments combined with saturated catchments, there is still a good chance we may see more flooding down the Campaspe River over the next few weeks. If you are planning a trip to fish the Campaspe River over the next couple of months, always check the conditions before going and keep a close eye on the weather forecast.

Also, if you are planning to boat the river in the sections at Elmore and Rochester, do so carefully. With the flood water that has come down the system, large volumes of structure will have moved around a lot, and boat owners should proceed with caution.

While the productivity in the fishing will be slower in the short term, when the water clarity does settle the productivity in the fishing should be good. We will see an increase in the numbers of redfin being caught in the Campaspe River this season. There will have been a good recruitment of golden perch and redfin which have come over the spillway at Lake Eppalock, and are now residents of the Campaspe River.

CAIRN CURRAN

Water levels are currently 94.5% of capacity at Cairn Curran. This location has had large volumes of flood water running through it in recent weeks. The water flows have now reduced, however the water clarity is still very poor in the lake. The most productive fishing has been by those anglers fishing around the shorelines with bait. Small yabbies, shrimp and worms have been productive bait options. Catch rates have mainly consisted of carp, small to medium sized golden perch and small redfin. The water catchments are still saturated so the chances are high that we still may see more flooding events in this area over coming weeks. Again, like other areas once the flooding events finish and water clarity settles, there should be some very good fishing at this location later in the season.

LODDON RIVER

The Loddon River has also experienced major flooding over recent weeks. At the peak of the flow there was 1400,000 ML/D running down the Loddon River at Laanecoorie Weir. The water clarity is still very poor in the Loddon River and current flows are still significantly higher than normal.

The majority of the fishing has been slow due to the poor water clarity. The exception to the rule is in those areas directly below a weir. Anglers fishing from the bank have been landing good numbers of golden perch and redfin. Lipless crankbaits and suspending hardbody lures and small profile spinnerbaits have been working the best.

These areas below Cairn

Local Bendigo angler Gary Scanlon displays a beautiful Murray cod.

Curran and Laanecoorie are popular at the present time, and it is not uncommon to see large numbers of anglers there at the one time. As is often the case, those anglers who get there early and get the prime spots are being rewarded with the best fishing results. If you are planning a trip to these areas it pays to be patient and, as always with a large number of anglers, there will be some novices in the bunch. Tangled fishing lines can be common, so give the angler next to you some space and hopefully everyone can have a good day trying to catch a few fish.

Now we are moving into the month of December, the Murray cod season is open again. Many anglers will upsize their lures in the hope of landing a fish of a lifetime. When the water clarity settles there should be some excellent fishing opportunities to be had by those anglers willing to put the time in.