Champangne Cod Fishing

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In S.A. we enjoy pretty good cod fishing so I thought I would share a session I had 2 weeks ago with you guy's from the eastern states. #We do not have the numbers of small fish you guys have which is of concern to me as the smallest Murray Cod I've caught is 60cm with most being 85cm upwards. #Maybe this is because we haven't had a decent flood down our end of the river since 93.


I frequent the fishing site fishsa.com and it was there I met a fellow member Martin who also enjoys trolling for cod.

Martin and I decided to have a fish for cod together for the first time a couple of weeks ago. #Having both caught Cod before there was a bit of discussion over locations but in the end the decision was mutual. # #

We met up at our chosen location at just after 7am and were trolling by 7:30. #
Within 10 minutes I had the first hook-up and after a lengthy fight a 94cm Cod was landed. #After a few pics we released it unharmed.

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Martin was next to hook-up with a fish that took him into a snag straight up, he managed to get the fish out and fought it into clear water he landed an 85cm Cod.

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Martin then caught a 35cm Callop, yellowbelly to you guys.

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Martin had a hook-up next but the hooks pulled on what was obviously a good fish.
Soon after I spotted a lure floating in the grass. It was in new condition so I knew it must have been lost by my mate the day before. We both agreed that it was lucky to find the lure so the decision was made to put it on my rod.
Soon after we were trolling along when I had the most savage strike I’ve ever had from any fish. It almost ripped my rod out of my hands! After a short but spirited fight I landed a 90cm Cod.
I rang my mate to tell him I found the lure and caught a fish on it. He was spewing as he didn’t get any fish the day before and he knew it was his lure by the colours and the fact that it still had half of his swivel attached.

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A short while later I received a small tap on my lure, ½ a Second later the lure was stopped dead and a very strong fish powered away until the hooks pulled.
By now we were talking about stopping for lunch when I had a big hook-up. I fought it out into the open and was taking it very gently because I could feel the line rubbing on something. I couldn’t work out what was going on because we were in clear water. But when the fish surfaced the lure had completely disappeared into its mouth with the braid rubbing across it's teeth. Martin carefully netted my best Cod yet at 99cm and around 50lb.
We then stopped for Lunch and trolled the rest of the afternoon with out a touch.

What a day! Great company! 6 hook-ups and 4 Cod landed and released!

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Releasing my best Cod yet.

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Martin has caught bigger cod and I've had others in the boat with me catch cod to 126cm and around 80lb but for numbers of fish this was the best day both of us has had.
One last pic.

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[scott_b]

Gday drawn
Looks like you have an excellent days fishing ,bet your back was getting crook from lifting those big fellas in the boat.
wamjam

[MikeC]

Bloody hell! They're great fish!!

[Fitzy]

Great report & beautiful fish Drawn.

I aint caught a cod of those sizes for yonks, gets the heart pumping just thinking about it.

Cheers,

fitzy..

[Julie_J]

Congrats to both of you. What an unbelievable day. What sort of lures do you guys use down your way?

Good to see you sent them home to breed again when the season is right. There's nothing like seeing one of them big green fish giving a flick of the tail on its way home.

Julie

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We mainly use JJ's stumpjumpers and oar gee plough's. #Mainly in the darker colours as the water is very dirty down this end of the river. #That last trip the visiblity was 8 to 10 inches. #
I have heard stories of lake Mulwala, how good is the fishing there compared to us, as I wouldn't mind trying there one day. #Over all we would average 1 or 2 Murray Cod a day in the better months per day but they are usually all decent size. Plus a few yellow belly.

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[Julie_J]

Drawn,
the best lures we have found for big cod in our area (western NSW) are hammerheads, stumpjumpers & river-rats, but there isn't much water lately so mostly fishing in 2m of water & need to use shallower lures like nilsmasters & knolls etc. We have found that they bite on any reasonable lure which you can get in their face. ie. lure placement makes the difference.

Last time on the river (several months ago) it was getting pretty quiet due to the water cooling down with the onset of winter. Hubby threw a 50mm green poltergeist at a very messy looking snag & as soon as it hit the water it got belted by a 60 to 80cm sized cod which came half out of the water. Must have upset his siesta!! He kept annoying that cod for 20 minutes & got belted on nearly every cast which was placed well enough to annoy him, but no hook-ups. Would have been great on video.

Mulwala sounds great but will have to wait for another year. So many fishing spots & so little time!

Julie J

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It's different for us down here, Winter is best. #We fish water anywhere from 12 to 40ft. #Most cliffs down here have water to around 40ft below them with one area in particular 60ft. #The best time for Cod in S.A. is from late May until the end of August. #We have a closed season from the start of September until the end of December. #Surprisingly few poeple in S.A. realise how good the cod fishing is down here so those that chase them head up past Mildura. #Which is suits me as we rarely see others trolling for them.
That would have been great to watch that cod hit the lure repeatedly.
I don't fish the river that often though, only a few times a year. #I live the same distance from the sea and the river, a bit over an hour so I fish the sea much more than the Murray. #After all we do have the biggest snapper in the country so I always make sure I target them a few times a year, plus KG whiting.
I'd like to try Mulwala one summer but I'm the same as you so many fishing spots and limited time plus I've already got my summer trip all booked for this year.

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[Maccullochella]

They are very nice fish. Congratulations, and good on you for releasing them.


Maybe this is because we haven't had a decent flood down our end of the river since 93.

This is exactly correct. The last decent year class of Murray Cod in the SA reaches of the Murray come from this year. That is how much we have strangled the Murray.

Not surprisingly, this is a dangerous state for the fishery to be in. SA Fisheries, now that they don't have their vision clouded by trying to keep a commercial fishery going, have serious concerns about the state and structure of the Cod population in the SA Murray.


The best time for Cod in S.A. is from late May until the end of August.

As good as the fishing may be, please think very seriously about not targetting Cod in winter. As per my recent post on Eastern Cod, all the Cod species (Murray, Eastern & Trout) will resorb their roe and not spawn if caught in winter. This is pretty serious.

When we finally have a flood come down to the SA reaches of the Murray, we need as many Cod breeding successfully in it as possible. We DON'T need many prime fish out of action and not spawning in it because they were caught in winter.

Finally, check your PM. If you give me an email I will send you something about by early explorer Edward John Eyre on the Murray River in SA in 1840, how full of Cod it was and how crystal clear the water was. Be in no doubt that any talk of inland rivers like the Murray naturally being turbid is crap; they were naturally crystal clear in summer and autumn. European Carp (whose impacts have been vastly underestimated), agriculture and river regulation, but particulary the Carp, are to blame for the sad coffee-with-milk colour many of rivers are permanently these days.

Regards


Simon

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I have been told that the cod in S.A. don't start to spawn until September. That is why we have a closed season from September until the end of December. I have been told though that if conditions are just right they will spawn as early as August. I am aware of the fact that the females can absorb their roe back into their body if stressed by capture and as the males tend the nest of eggs they may not return to it if stressed by capture and that is why I have never targeted them during the closed season. If they do indeed spawn earlier than September in S.A. then the ban should be altered to suit as that would be the common sense thing to do.

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[goodoo2]

G'day mate

RE Cod breeding in the SA.... Based on the times that they breed in the lower Murrumbidgee and other places, Murray Cod in the SA Murray probably breed in the month of October. The closed season protects Cod actively engaged in breeding or breeding behaviours (e.g. searching for spawning sites). It doesn't protect over the winter months of June, July and August when they're developing their roe, and which capture will cause the resorption thereof.

Native Fish Australia's web page - www.nativefish.asn.au/cod.html - gives a good summary of Murray Cod and their breeding.

Cheers


Simon

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Thanks for that link Goodoo2.
I hope I have been catching mainly males, how can you tell the difference?

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[goodoo2]

G'day Drawn

I just realised that my home PC is logging me on as Goodoo2. I must point out that Goodoo2 and Maccullochella are the same person - me! I gave up on Goodoo2 because I couldn't remember my password.... Now it's logging me in as Goodoo2 automatically. Complicated....

(Note to moderator/s - nothing bodgey was intended).

You generally cannot tell between male and female Cod.

For a start, there does not appear to be a size difference between male and female Murray Cod like there is with Golden Perch.

However, in winter and spring you should be able tell to if you look carefully. In winter females may already have a slightly distended belly from the (now non-developing :-[) roe and (if you feel carefully) a slight spongy feel in the belly from the roe sacs.

In spring females will have an obviously distended belly, with a distinct spongy feeling from the roe sacs, and a purple, swollen vent.

It should be noted that female Murray Cod simply do not turn up on spawning day with two big sacs full of roe magically appearing from nowhere. No, the roe/eggs take around 4 months and a LOT of nutrition/bodily resources to develop.

This is why the roe develops over winter, and why capture in winter aborts the development of that roe.

It is also why big Cod, but particularly big female Cod, feed up heavily in late Autumn - eating the food they need to get in the resources and nutrition they need to start developing those eggs.

It is also why big female Cod are more likely to hunt and be on the look-out for food throughout winter than big male Cod.

So unfortunately, it's just really not a good idea to fish for Murray Cod in winter. Unfortunately, most of the fish you catch are likely to be females, who will then unfortunately resorb their roe and not spawn.

(Ditto with the other Cod species, Eastern Cod and Trout Cod).

I must point out though that you can fish for Murray Cod (and the other Cod) through all of summer and autumn without harming their reproductive cycle. I do myself!!! (I love Cod fishing too ;)) It's just about fishing at the right times.

Cheers


Simon

[Julie_J]

Goodoo2,
Do you know what age or size cod start to breed?

Julie

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Julie,
4 to 5 years or 540 to 640mm.

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[Maccullochella]

G'day guys

Size at first breeding is a MAJOR issue for Murray Cod.

Research has found that a lot of Murray Cod populations reach sexual maturity older and larger than previously thought.

I.e. they have found many, many wild river Cod in the Murray below Mulwala are not reaching sexual maturity until their 5th or 6th year and sizes close to or over 60cm.

While they have found Lake Mulwala Cod, which are all wild Cod resulting from natural spawnings, do not reach sexual maturity until over 60cm.

Plus we must remember that during a female Cod's first spawning or two she is going to produce hardly any eggs compared to a larger fish as she is only barely, barely mature.

All of this goes to show that 50cm size limit is VASTLY inadequate and should be raised to at least 60 cm, if not 70 cm.

It also goes to show that our regulations for wild river Cod are vastly inadequate - setlines STILL allowed in NSW, size limit far too small, and bag and possession limits FAR too generous.

NSW and VIC Fisheries both have statistics and graphs based on fish surveys to show that strong year classes of Murray Cod basically cease to exist at the 50cm size limit in Mulwala and the Murray River downstream due to extreme angler take/mortality.

When, oh when are we going to start looking after the wild populations of this magnificent native fish properly?? # :-[

Cheers


Simon