Wangaratta

Murray cod season begins

WANGARATTA Robbie Alexander

It’s hard to believe that December is already here and it has already been 12 months since we all prayed that 2021 would run more smoothly than 2020.

December is a very exciting month on the fishing calendar in the Wangaratta region as it is the first month of the Murray cod season.

The first day of December is Murray cod opening and many people are super excited and keen to chase the icon green river dwelling log hogs.

But there’s more to fishing in December than just Murray cod in the Wangaratta area… TROUT

December can still produce some fantastic trout fishing in the Ovens River catchment, however location choice can be critical. As a general rule of thumb, the larger, faster flowing rivers and really overgrown little trickles cooler faster flowing water. Pretty much all of the regular techniques will work in December, however if there are a few grasshoppers is too warm and slow for the trout. They can be worth trying.

These rural flowing streams often run through handful of the endangered Macquarie Perch while targeting yellowbelly, which is always an excellent sign.

Sunset at Lake Buffalo. The redfin fishing seems to vary from year to year in Lake Buffalo in December. Some years it produces a few redfin and other years it doesn’t.

I’ve shared this photo before, several times. But it fits the report well as this trout was caught on Christmas day about 10 years ago in the Kiewa River. Larger rivers with a strong flow tend to fish better for trout in the summer months than the smaller streams where the water can be a bit warm.

around, which there usually is in December, they will make dynamite bait. Fly fisherman will have a blast casting grasshopper farmland and permission needs to be obtained if you have to walk across private property. This is a very hit and miss way of fishing

An 80cm Murray cod caught in Wangaratta a few years back. There are some bigger Murray cod in the area, but they’re not as common as other areas.

tend to fish better in December than the slow flowing, more rural trout streams that are usually starting to warm up quite a bit.

The Ovens River upstream of Bright is usually a bit of a trout hot spot in December, so too are the upper Buckland River, Upper Buffalo River and Upper King River, upstream of Lake William Hovell.

Note the use of the word “upper”. That is because by December the water is warming, and as the water warms the trout tend to push further upstream in search of imitation flies. REDFIN

December isn’t the best month of the year to target redfin in the Wangaratta area. The two main lakes, Lake William Hovell and Lake Buffalo sometimes start to produce a few small redfin in December, however it is not usually until the end of summer that both lakes start to fish great for redfin.

Both will be worth trying, but the results could go either way.

Some of the trout streams in the region have a few redfin in the bottom stretches where the water as some streams have no redfin and some have some monsters.

YELLOWBELLY

Recent yellowbelly stocking into the Ovens River is starting to have an impact with yellowbelly turning up more and more frequently.

I would not consider the Ovens River to be a great yellowbelly fishery at this stage, but there are a few to be caught.

I do a lot of bait fishing on the Ovens River in Wangaratta and last year I caught 9 or 10 yellowbelly for the entire summer, with just one being legal size. I also managed to land a that the Ovens River is a great Murray cod fishery if you are just wanting to catch a Murray cod or two. There are plenty there, however it is not a great river if you are hoping to catch that 100+cm fish of a

With lure fishing experiencing a surge in popularity, many people still enjoy bait fishing for Murray cod. Small yabbies, bardi grubs and even worms will all catch cod.

MURRAY COD

Murray cod are the words on every angler’s lips in the Wangaratta area during December, as many life time.

The big metre+ monsters are there in the Ovens River, but the rate in which they are caught Fisheries Authority and their fish survey data mirrors my observations. The ovens is more about Quantity than Quality.

In saying that if you see a big tree laying in the river that you just know might hold a monster Murray cod, don’t be afraid to tie on a large lure and cast to it because there are some monsters down there, just not as many as other waterways.

Before heading out Murray cod fishing this December first ask yourself what your goal is? Is it to get a score on the board? Or to catch a trophy fish of a life time?

Ovens River at Wangaratta: Quantity. Lots of small Murray cod.

Ovens River at Bundalong: Quality. More big cod get caught here than any other section of the Ovens River.

If you are after big cod, my best advice would be to head to the Murray River downstream of

Many people will be out on 1 December targeting Murray cod with lures in the Wangaratta area.

anglers will travel to town from all around in search of these highly regarded sportfish.

I have said on numerous occasions over the years is far less than that of other areas. The Ovens River is more about quantity than quality.

I have seen the graphs produced by the Victorian Lake Mulwala, or fish in Lake Mulwala. Even the Goulburn River around Shepparton see’s some very large Murray cod get caught each summer.