Fishing the Murray & Gunbower Creek @ Cohuna, Vic

[Stimpy46]

G'day to all you fishos.

For all you that chase the almighty Murray Cod I think this thread may be of interest to you.
I live and operate fishing trips here in Cohuna. For all of you that are saying "where the?", Cohuna is located between Echuca & Swanhill on the Murray River. I have lived here almost my whole life, with the exception of spending 10 years in Melbourne.
I have 25 years of fishing up here which has given me a lot experience & knowledge of the Murray & Gunbower Creek.
I plan to keep you guys up to date with what is happening in this neck of the woods.
So what has been happening up here? In short, lots!!
The Gunbower Creek is going off!! The water commision has let a major flow down the Creek as part of the environmental flow plan. The water is part of the Gunbower Forest watering, this is where they flood bush. This is great for us fishos in 3 different ways.

1. The Gunbower Creek is running at full compacity. This means from Gunbower to Koodrook the Cod are on the go. For me Cohuna is going off!!
2. The Gunbower Forest is filling with water. This means that the Yarren (the main irrigation channel running through the bush) & the surrounding swamps are full of water. Awsome Yabbies and fishing in the summer.
3. The excess water from the bush has to go somewhere. That somewhere is back into the Murray River. When this happens the fishing at the Yarren Regulator will be full on.As for the Murray River it's a case of hit & miss as it is still on the drop.

So that's all the news I have for you this time so cheers & tight lines. Hey don't forget to check out my fishing trip page on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brads-...ps/10855075767 (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brads-Fishing-Trips/10855075767)

Brad

[Stimpy46]

Hey guys

Went & tried out some new lures that I got during the week. The lures were tried at the Cohuna Weir & were passed by my quality assurer, my 1 year old son Cody.
The lures were 2 5/8 Oz spinnerbait (Red & Blue), a Mumbler fish & a Strke Pro Hunchback.
I was only there for about 40 mins before I had to take the young bloke home, but the lures have got some great potential.

Cheers

Brad

[coelacanth]

Well done stimpy , I assume you meant Koondrook in you first post, great to here that things near to home are firing. Wish I could get down and catch some legendary cod again. What gear are you using.?IAN

[Stimpy46]

Thanks Ian, yep that's what I meant lol!
So Ian where abouts do you come from to be close to home?

[Stimpy46]

Ian I use a variety of gear, my main Rod is 6' 6" shimano with a shimano spinstar reel. I use 75lb snakehead braid on this rod as my main lure rod.

Cheers

Brad

[Stimpy46]

Hey guys

Now to update what's been happening over the last few days.
The Gunbower Creek is still at high levels, but as I've been informed it is due to drop later this week as the water that has been allocated to the bush is almost complete. Still fish are being caught on spinnerbaits & hard bodies. Baits are slow due to cooler water temps.
The Murray River is still accounting for the odd Cod here and there. It's the same story as in the creek, spinnerbaits & hard bodies are catching the majority. In the next few weeks we will see the water in the bush run back into the river, where the water makes it's way back in will see some awsome fishing action. I'm still waiting for the Crays to make a decent run, the odd Cray is being caught.
I got reports today that Redfin up to 2 -3 lb have been caught at Box Bridge @ Leitchville (15 mins from Cohuna) in the main channel.
I will be heading back up to the Wakool River this weekend so I will let you know how I do.

Cheers

Brad

[coelacanth]

HI stimpy sorry mate ,been away working for the gov, originally from Bendigo but now live in NEWCASTLE, Cut my teeth on the Campaspe below Eppalock cairn curran, laanecoorie etc and obv the murray/little .Can't mention names on the site but I'm sure we have some mutual acq's. drop me a line or pm me and i'll give you my contact details ,love to come for a fish when at home.(folks still live in marong).Ian

[Stimpy46]

Hi everyone.

The last week has been slow fishing up here, but there are still some quality fish being caught. The water levels in the Gunbower Creek behind Cohuna has slowed & dropped, the fishing is still ok but with the levels dropping this will slow down. I'm still getting reports that some big fish are still being caught in Murray around Gunbower. Some big fish are around the 1 mtre mark!! Some interesting news from that area is that they are putting in a new weir in the Gunbower Creek at Gunbower. Hopefully the water levels drop to the normal winter levels, should be good for the Reddies.
The Murray River is still dropping and fishing is very hit & miss. I fished the Murray yesterday & only managed a couple of small Bream. The Crays are starting to move and reports are that the big ones are on the go. Only a few females are being caught (& released).
The Pyramid Creek is accounting for a few nice Yellas, but with the water temps dropping fishing is again hit & miss.

Happy fishing guys

Brad
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[Bricey74]

Im from the albury way, and same as reported, things here pretty hit and miss. Couple of nice catches up to 80cm, but not quite at the metre mark yet.

[Stimpy46]

Hi everyone.
Another awesome sunny weekend up here at Cohuna this weekend, and it was pretty good for all of us that spent it on the water. I will start with how we went. Myself and my family spent yesterday out on the Murray Crayfishing. We had some good results and managed to take home 5 very nice sized Crays between 11 & 13 cm. All our keepers were caught early in the morning between 7 & 10 in the morning. Yep we started fairly early and it was cold!!! we tried a variety of baits. Cod frames, Yellow belly frames & Carp. Almost all the Crays were caught in the drop pots with Cod. The Crays dropped off after 10:00 and only managed a few more little ones after that. I have been getting reports of Crays running at night & my brother's camp was proof of that. They got Crays as big as 18cm!
A couple of local guys were camped out around the bend from us and dropped in for chat. They had caught some nice Cod during the night. One 12 lb & the other 20 lb, they hadn't been as productive on the Crays though. Both Cod were caught on Yabbies.
Cod are still being caught in the upper parts of the Gunbower Creek. Hard body lures that are being trawled in the middle of the creek are getting the best results. The Gunbower Creek is starting to drop now and should reach it's winter levels in the few weeks. The Gunbower Creek below the Cohuna weir has dropped significantly in the last week, a drop of at least 1 metre. Once the creek settles the fish should start up again.
The Wakool River is fishing well with both baits & lures. Yabbies, Shrimp & Grubs are baits to use. Hard bodies & spinnerbaits are the choice of lures for the Wakool. A fair amount of Cod & Yellas are on the move in the Wakool with the guys reporting some good fun over the weekend. http://www.sweetwaterfishing.com.au/Forum/Smileys/default/Thumb.gif

I have also had some good news that after the long weekend water will be released out of the Torumbarry Weir. Also the weir at Mildura will be closed. Great for us as the water will be held back resulting in a nice rise and then it will steady up. The fish and Crays will be red hot!!
Work has begun on the new Gunbower Weir in the Gunbower Creek, I would say that the water levels below the weir will drop as they progress on the weir. I have also Had reports from Fisheries Vic that work is to begin on the in flow to Kow Swamp which will affect the flows of the Gunbower Creek. Not sure what to make of that one yet, good or bad?

Well that's all from me for now. Happy fishing...

Brad

[Stimpy46]

Murray River – The Murray River is still dropping below & above the Torrumbarry Weir. Below the weir is seeing a significant drop in water levels, whereas above the weir has had a slight drop in levels. Cod are still being caught above & below the weir; however nothing of major size has been reported. All Cod that have been reported are either only just above legal size or just below.

Gunbower Creek – Gunbower: The creek at Gunbower has dropped to winter levels and work continues on the new weir. No fish have been reported from Gunbower this week.
Gunbower Creek – Cohuna: The Creek at Cohuna has continued to drop slightly above the Cohuna weir. Water levels below the weir have steadied now and will stay at winter levels. No fish have been reported from Cohuna this week.
Gunbower Creek – Koondrook: The creek at Koondrook has dropped slightly. Water clarity just near the twin bridges is at a minimum and of a coffee colour. The water clears up at the Canoe Trail and is nearly crystal clear. We fished this area on Saturday testing lures for Reidy’s Lures & Tackle Tactics. We tested out a range of hard body lures from Reidy’s with no luck. We also tested out a range of Spinner Baits from Tackle Tactics with the Purple Mauve Scale ½ oz Tornado winning out by hooking up a healthy 62 cm Cod.

Wakool River – The Wakool has now returned to pool form. Reports are that if you can locate the deeper pools you will get the results. Some of the guys that fished the Wakool have reported that they caught some nice Cod with the largest in the range of 1 metre. Best results were casting spinner baits and hard bodies amongst the snags.

[Lovdayellas]

75lb braid!! Could be the first ever 1m+ cod skull draged in!!

[2manylures]

I only fish 8kg on em & have found most get skull dragged once the head comes up. Big slugs the old buggers.

[Robbo3]

Hey guys

Went & tried out some new lures that I got during the week. The lures were tried at the Cohuna Weir & were passed by my quality assurer, my 1 year old son Cody.
The lures were 2 5/8 Oz spinnerbait (Red & Blue), a Mumbler fish & a Strke Pro Hunchback.
I was only there for about 40 mins before I had to take the young bloke home, but the lures have got some great potential.

Cheers

Brad
We were at the Murabbit Market last week and saw most of those lures for sale. I would be keen to hear if and when you catch anything on them. Regards Robbo3

[Lovdayellas]

I only fish 8kg on em & have found most get skull dragged once the head comes up. Big slugs the old buggers.

That's a pity, the 3 big cod i have hooked where steam trains, but that was catching on the cast.

[Stimpy46]

It's been a while since I have been on here. Been a bit busy with the fishing tours and testing gear for my sponsors. Yes Robbo you can get most of the gear that was previously mentioned at the market. The cool thing is now that I have some very nice sponsers that generously give me gear, most of that stuff is unavailble in Victoria, some hasn't even been released yet.
I don't advise on skull dragging your fish, or the termonology. Try to allow the fish to swim naturally to you.
I will try to post some pics of the lures that are supplied for my fishing tours soon.