Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Sweetwater-Impoundments-Brackish » When a Plan Comes Together
When a Plan Comes Together
By Luke Smith
I don't know if there is anything in fishing that gives you the same sense of accomplishment as setting a goal for an upcoming fishing trip and achieving it as planned.
I was recently lucky enough to experience that feeling after a well-planned trip to Lake Eildon. My good friend Troy Butler had been at me to make time for a trip to target big Murray cod with him. It took two years but I finally pulled the trigger and made myself available for a weekend. I knocked off at lunch and made the six hour trek to Lake Eildon, where the plan was to meet Troy at Jerusalem Creek and he would pick me up by boat. Upon arrival I was blown away with the scenery... it truly is a beautiful part of the world.
We loaded my gear into the boat and were off to find a camping spot for the night. Lake Eildon is largely surrounded by a national park and you are allowed to pull up and camp on most banks. We opted to set up camp above the high water line so we would get some shade to help sleep during the day. Our plan was to fish hard and target the low light periods when the cod bite best. Troy had already prepared me for the hard slog in front of us as the wind was up, rain was forecast and the barometer was down. The only silver lining was that the barometer was slowly on the rise and that Sunday was forecast to be rain free and calm in the morning.
Once camp was set up we cruised up a river arm that Troy had fished before. It was pitch black and head torches were our friend. Luckily Troy was prepared and had trolling routes saved into the Minn Kota. This was a blessing as on the flats there is timber everywhere. We were trolling in around eight foot of water with big swimbaits. After a while we begun casting those same swimbaits onto the shallower flats in around two foot of water and worked them off the first edge and back to the boat.
These two methods are super productive and account for a lot of Troy's regular cod captures. After several hours fishing and a long working week we decided to call stumps and get some sleep for the next morning's mission. When the alarm sounded early we both heard the trees moving in the wind and knew we were in for a tough day.
We began by trolling, again on the electric, whilst also firing up the Jetboil to prepare the morning's coffee fix. It was awesome to see the area from the previous night's trip in daylight and see just how much timber there was. We spent the morning trolling and flicking timber on the flats, hoping to find some active fish, however this was not to be the case.
When chasing big cod you have to be willing to put in days or even weeks without a single bite. The hardest thing is staying switched on, cast after cast, because you never know when they will inhale your lure. We had chosen to fish that area as the cod move through on their way to breed. We were simply trying to intercept these moving fish and hoping they were hungry.
After several hours fishing shallows, we made the shift to the deeper water in the river course and started trolling deep divers. By now the wind had picked up more and this added another challenge. We contemplated getting sleep and saving our efforts for the afternoon and night session, however decided to slog it out all day as you can't catch fish without a lure in the water. Around midday the rain began to test us, however we just kept plugging away, trying to get a bite on the troll. We did have to hide behind a cliff a few times, when the rain got ridiculous, otherwise we were suited up in waterproofs and tried to weather the storm. The only highlight during the adverse weather was the warm cocktail Frankfurts and tomato sauce.
The weather broke mid arvo and we made a shift to some flats, covered with vertical timber, to have a cast and mix it up. This was a great change and we really felt confident, however still unfortunately had no joy. A few hours later we noticed some threatening clouds roll in that weren't forecast and we made a quick shift again hiding behind the cliffs. It was lucky that we did as the front came through with winds gusting over 70kph. Certainly not fun out in the open in a 4.2m tinny.
Once the front passed, we debated whether to cook tea whilst tied to a tree or to start trolling in the dark and get lures in the water. We decided to get the lures in the water and to keep persisting. For this persistence we were rewarded. I flicked out the swimbait on my Okuma Cerros baitcast combo and chucked it in the rod holder. I then cast out another lure on my Okuma Cerros rod and Azores spin reel combo and before I could put the rod in the holder I heard a rattling/knocking noise. I turned on my head torch and noticed my baitcast outfit buckled over in the back corner. FISH ON!
I dropped the rod that I had just cast and began to fight what would be a fish of a lifetime. The first thing that I noticed was the weight of this fish. I had a fair amount of drag on the Cerros reel and I could feel every bit of the cod's size through the Platypus Super braid. After a few early runs and lunges the fish relaxed and I was able to gently lead it to the boat that Troy had just organized after the mayhem of the hook up. The fish played the game and I was able to steer him straight into the waiting net. High fives and cheers followed as we had accomplished what we set out to achieve and it certainly wasn't easy with the weather conditions.
I had called the fish for high nineties, however Troy has seen a lot of big fish to know his sizes and he declared I had caught my first metre cod. I got excited but still had my doubts... it was just too good to be true. After letting the fish sit in the net and get some energy back, before removing it from the water we splashed some water onto the lie detector and then lay the fish on top. We instantly cheered again... 101cm of Lake Eildon Murray Cod!
Whilst the emotions were running high, we still had a job to do and that was to get photos and return the fish to water as soon as possible. We gave the fish another quick swim as we prepared the camera and lighting. A series of happy snaps followed, then we placed this beautiful fish back in the water and let it cruise away when it was ready.
We cooked tea and reminisced about the fish that we had come here for. We then decided to get some sleep and concentrate on the next morning's efforts. We were greeted with glass out conditions and sunshine. We plugged away casting, whilst watching trout rise. I had a hit and came tight, however I quickly realized that it wasn't a cod, instead I landed a small yellowbelly. For me though, it was another species ticked off the list and a cool fish to catch. Not long after that we decided to pull the pin as we still had to pack up camp and I still had a long drive home.
Lake Eildon truly is a special place and I can see why so many people spend hundreds of hours here every year. I will be back next year and hopefully we can get that bite again.
Luke Smith
Gear List:
Okuma Cerros Baitcast Rods
Okuma Cerros Baitcast Reels
Okuma Cerros Spin Rods
Okuma Azores Blue Spin Reels
Platypus Super Braid