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Murray Cod Maiden Voyage
By Tomas McIntosh
With the strange year we have just experienced in 2020, I set myself a lot of mini goals to complete before the year was complete. The main one was to go out and try and catch my first Murray cod. In lockdown I found that my guilty pleasure was watching YouTube videos of people catching these iconic Australian fish. Personally, I grew up in East Gippsland and had no exposure to Murray cod. I had heard of these fish that grew to over one metre long, reached weights in excess of 50 kilograms and were capable of eating ducks and snakes... but I had never even remotely experienced it.
I purchased my first heavy baitcast combo and spooled it up with 30lb braid. With a stop at a local tackle store, I bought some TT Lures Tornado 1/2oz spinnerbaits, ZMan 7" DieZel MinnowZ, 1/2oz #10/0 weedless hooks and I set off to Mulwala, not knowing what to expect.
A three hour drive up the Hume Highway from Melbourne, Mulwala is situated on the VIC/NSW border at Yarrawonga. On the drive I spent a large portion of my time visualising how I expected the first fish to engulf a big surface walker, with an explosion of white water and an attempt to rip the rod out of my hands.
Upon arrival at the lake you are met with a vast expanse of milky water, jam packed with vertical timber and dense birdlife. The further you drive around it, you begin to realise the plethora of options to bounce your lure over. Daunting. Stepping out of the car I was hit with the heat and humidity of the other side of the Great Dividing Range. With warm water temperatures and bait swimming around the anticipation began to build.
After rolling out the swag and setting up the awning I was ready to go. I unstrapped my kayak from the roof, tied on a big surface lure and walked my Hobie down to the water's edge. Launching the kayak, the water felt warm around my ankles. At just before 7pm the sun had just touched the tops of the tree line and shadows were starting to lengthen across the lake.
I started fishing shallow edges with laydown timber and moved in and out of deeper snags trying to locate fish. I was eagerly anticipating the iconic 'BOOF'... but it never came. One big boil on my lure was all that I was able to manage, without a return. I stayed on the water well after 10:30pm. The headlamp was essential but the faintest colour was still in the sky from the diminishing sunset. When it was getting hard to see the lure on the end of my rod, I decided to call it a night and head back to camp. Although I didn't get a bite, I was determined that tomorrow would bring better results.
The next morning, I slept through my alarm. Damn! I rushed to scoff down some breakfast and a molten cup of coffee as I didn't want to miss the opportunity of a topwater bite. Again, I started with a big 20cm+ surface lure and after two hours I had downsized to a smaller surface presentation that was a little easier on the shoulder. Their movement and sound on the water is almost hypnotic. Blooping and rolling, leaving a distinct bubble trail behind them, however when it reached 10:00am and no love off the top, it was time to try subsurface.
I lowered my Power-Pole and dived into my tackle box. Spinnerbaits were up for a whirl, having never used one before I was interested to see how it would feel through the rod. I tied on a Red Black Scale coloured 1/2oz Tornado spinnerbait with a big Colorado blade. Instantly, it was easier to cast. Streamline and accurate.
The big Colorado blade sent a thumping vibration through to the rod tip while sinking on a tight line. On the second cast it went straight into the hollowed belly of a fallen tree stump. I let it sink to the bottom and started a slow retrieve, bumping it over the top half of the tree that had fallen into the water. I used the rod to pop it off three branches, before 'WHACK', my rod loaded up and without a moment's notice I was buckled over with my first ever Murray cod on the other end. I was pumped! Although the fight was nothing too substantial, the initial bite was brutal. Stoked!
For the rest of the day I was confident that if I kept my spinnerbait tight to cover I would get bit eventually. Murray cod are renowned for being a fish of a thousand casts and with this in mind it allows you to mentally prepare for a hard grind between bites.
I played around with a couple a few different baits, including a ZMan 7" DieZel MinnowZ in Houdini colour, rigged on a 1/2oz #10/0 TT Lures ChinlockZ SWS and rigged with a treble stinger. I fished this through some deep, solid timber, where it got demolished by something big! The bite almost ripped the rod clean out of my hands and before I had the chance to set the hooks home the line was slack and I was left with a plastic that had been turned into a pretzel. Lesson learnt, expect the unexpected and swing hard.
For the rest I was in awe of how iconic Murray cod are and how special the experience was, ending the weekend with a number of fish to around 60cm, landed and released, while fishing in the kayak. I think being adaptive as anglers is something that will allow you to always be successful in fishing. Branching out of your comfort zone and chasing a few fish that you normally wouldn't, will make you a much better angler in the long run. It will open your eyes to different experiences and allow you to visit some truly special locations.
Murray Cod Tips:
1: Where you can, get your lure as far into structure as possible. If you can get your lure into places that other anglers don't, you are more likely to get the bites. Then you have to be good enough to land them. (I wasn't this trip!)
2: Running stinger hooks on your spinnerbaits. This will help to convert short strikes into fish in the boat.
3: Enjoy the experience. Murray cod fishing takes you to some truly beautiful places! Don't be scared to sit down and soak in the experience. You will be surprised how good it is for your mental health.
Gearing Up:
TT Lures Tornado Spinnerbait - 1/2oz Double Colorado
ZMan 7" DieZel MinnowZ
TT Lures ChinlockZ SWS Jighead - 1/2oz 10/0