About Mary River Cod - NPD

[Cammy]

hey ausfishers

i have a question about the mary river cod .

has anybody caught a mary river cod from NPD or heard of any been caught there?, they seem very rare in the lake, and also everywhere else in aussie land.

also the toga's in there, i have heard of an ausfisher caught 2 there before, but anyone els?

thnx in advance

cam

[dinodadog]

I got a toga 7 weeks ago, it was 66cm long and caught on a light purple s/bait in 1 mt of water. As for cod 2 about 45cm were caught the 1st or 2nd year we were allowed in boats and the rangers have found a couple of dead ones washed up over the years. There may be others but a catch of either of these is a lucky dip.
Dinodadog

[black_sheep]

Mary River Cod have been stocked in NPD for over 10 yrs however, how many have survived is anyone's guess. Like Dinoadog said, a few have washed up over the years and I did hear of a 40lb fish being electrofished about 5 yrs ago. A 40lb fish would have to be there before they 'officially' stocked it so who knows if it's true.

Definitely more chances of catching a Toga. Last year, there was a month (forget which month) that fired more so with the Togas and quite a few got caught at the dam wall - about 8. One guy got 2 in a session. I have only had one hit and jump before hooks pulled.

[Cammy]

thats very interesting guys, they are a very rare fish indeed, and the togas would have been awsome to catch. its so good to have a lake with togas in it so close to home,only if i could catch one...
thnx for the info

anyone els have heard or caught em.

cam

[Hardb8]

Hi Cammy,
I've seen Toga's while I've been walkin to my Bass haunts.Most of the time they shoot out of real skinny water from long shallow inlets.Never really targeted em though,But I can guarantee they are there.Like you I've heard all about the captures,And some nice fish amongst em.

Cod :- These are a little different for me.I've never caught one,Seen one caught,Or even seen pics of a N.P Cod.But I've heard of captures.

The closest I've seen to being proof is when the permit scheme was running,I was right up the top of the northern arm,And I'd pulled up for a spell.I was drifting with the wind in shallow water eatin a sanga and sippin me water bottle when I noticed a bright white colour on the lake bed.Curious I wound my lure to the rod tip,Hooked the object,And bought it aboard.It was the spine and skull section of a Cod,Around 50cm in lenght.I could tell Cod by the teeth that were still present and protuding from the upper jaw.

On closer inspection of the area,Several frames,And various bones were seen on the nearby shore.I found the lower jaws of four other Cod in total,All of which looked to be from around the same size fish,About the 50-60cm.

I cannot say how they got there.Weather they were local fish,Or fish from other waters that were cleaned there.Your guess is as good as mine.

Some of the Cod that are in N.P.D. now could be very large specimens,As they are quite a fast growing species through their younger years.

I reckon I've had a few susspect Cod hookups in my time there,As these fish seemed to be unstoppable.I've caught some pretty big Bass,And enough of em to know their fighting characteristics.

I believe they (The Cod) are Lurking...Watching...Waiting.

Cheers. B8.

[Cammy]

poor cods but i guess thats life.
im keen to try and get a toga over the holidays now, it's gonna be hard!! and i still have to get my first npd bass
i'll probably never get a toga, but hey .

very interesting story there B8.

anyone els?

cam

[Little grey men]

Looks like I might have to start tossin some mumblers and chatterbaits around in there. I'm with Hardb8 on this one, I've got some good size bass out of that dam and have encountered the occasional hit which leaves your heart pumping and your knees shaking. I got one hit which turned quickly and swam right back down to the bottom, and I felt the pump, pump, pump of the tail, more cod like to me. I've caught Murray cod out home and this was pretty similar. I couldn't stop it on fairly heavy gear, 4-7kg baitcaster with 10lb braid peeling off like nobodies business. I couldn't even set the hook, just stood there yelling, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA trying to hold my rod, it was over in seconds. When your expecting bass or yellabelly and that happens it really get's your blood pumping.
I know what I'll be dreaming about tonight

[Mike Delisser]

A few of us used landing nets to catch fish from pools below the wall after NPD last overflowed in 99 or 2000. We put as many as we could in buckets then humped them up the hill to be released back in the dam, 2 days of bloody hard work in the middle of summer.
I recon between us we put back about 200 bass, 200 silvers, 50 yellows, 50 lungfish and 1 Mary River Cod.
Mike

[loophole]

ill have to ask my grandads mate he used to be a ranger there lived at the house and all. anyone know of him goes by the name "bello"?

[dinodadog]

I found a dead 25lb carp at the dam about 2 months ago. I called the rangers and they came and collected it. One of the rangers used to see them years ago when the wall was being built, but thought they had all died.
Dinodadog

[Cammy]

yer i have known about the carp in there for a while, its suprising they havent multiplied into massive numbers yet.

cam