Robinvale

Top water tucker time

ROBINVALE Rod Mackenzie

codmac@bigpond.net.au

The fishing in our local waters in the run up to the cooler weather has been very good. Numerous 1m+ cod have been caught from the Murray River around Swan Hill on both bait and lures. Surface fishing has proved quite popular and very effective, with runners working best.

The perch bite has begun to drop away slowly as the water temperature drops, but there are still a few about if you put in the time. Bait seems to be most effective option, with the shrimp-worm cocktail being the pick.

Bait fishing has also produced some good-sized cod from the Murray River in the Swan Hill area, especially between Pental Island and Brooks Lane. good numbers of Murray cod caught on both bait and lures. Once again, the surface bite has been very good, with several topside boofers stretching out past 90cm on the brag mat.

A good hatch of bardi moths saw the top water bite escalate for a week or two, with literally thousands of these giant bugs finding their way into the river. These giant moths would have to be the worst pilots ever; it seems God gave

Carp numbers have exploded in some areas, and while most are small there are always a few big ones like this thumper landed by Kelsie Gull.

good numbers of cod falling to the top water option. Other fish have been caught mainly on trolled lures, with a selection of shallow Yabbies, grubs, cheese and chicken have all proved effective.

The Wakool River at Kyalite has also fished very well of late, with them wings and neglected to provide a radar system.

A few good-sized perch up to 50cm have also been biting in the Wakool on bait, with shrimp, worms Mildura Tackle proprietor Kym Sykes with a nice-sized cod he caught on the troll from the Murray River downstream of Mildura.

and small yabbies working best.

A few larger cod have also been landed on bait, with chicken, cheese and bardi moths at the top of the menu.

The Murray River at Robinvale continues to be a hard ask. This oncegreat cod fishery and a favourite haunt of mine is still yet to recover from the past blackwater events. Catches of smaller cod on bait are common enough, but the big fish of old are few and far between. fish schooling and cruising the surface layer like they own the river. I guess with little threat of predatory assaults from below, they pretty much do own it. Back in the glory days of plentiful big cod numbers in these waters, there were few small carp to speak of. They were quickly scoffed by the true kings of the river.

The Murray River at Wemen has yielded good numbers of small cod on bait, but few bigger fish have been reported. The perch bite has also

The biggest reported was a thumping 124cm model. Several other fish pushing this mark have been caught, mostly by anglers trolling deep divers, but a few have also been caught by anglers casting spinnerbaits.

The perch bite too has slowed up a little, but a few overzealous goldens have been caught on lures trolled for cod. It’s win-win on the troll, and a very effective method for targeting big cod.

With the draining of Lake Mulwala lifting river

Greg Gull with a standard sized golden perch from the Murray River at Wemen.

Perch have been biting well on bait, but this too has slowed in recent weeks as the water temperature continues to fall away.

If there is one fish of abundance in the river, it’s carp. Their numbers have exploded this season, with literally millions of small slowed in this area, but with a bit of work there are always a few that will take well-placed baits of shrimp and worm.

The Murray River in the Mildura area has fished very well lately, with some ripper-sized Murray cod landed on lures. heights substantially, it will be interesting to see the effects on the great fishing we have had this past month.

Hopefully it will continue to fish well, but I guess we will have to wait and see. Until then, it has been pretty good in most areas this season.