Cod Season Opens Tomorrow
I am very excited to say that the fishing season for Murray Cod opens tomorrow! It has been a long slow closed season for me. I managed a few trips to Glenlyon Dam but landed no fish at all. For myself as with many Cod fishos, it can be a long drive to our favourite dam, so to come back empty handed can be a bitter pill to swallow. But when the rivers open to fishing on December 1st our options more than double. If a day out on the dam produces zero results, then a visit to the rivers around the impoundment might just save the trip and make the long drive worth while.
Also locating Cod in a river can be a far less daunting task than locating Cod in a dam because the fish tend to sit in certain predictable areas. ‘Cracking a pattern’ by finding the right combination of structure, shade and current will help to consistently locate fish in a river. Conversely, in a dam if the fish are ‘not on’ then it seems sometimes no matter what type of structure you fish, you just can’t draw a response.
With all that in mind, over the closed season much preparation has taken place. The fly rod, the float tube and some new flies from Kaos Cod Flies, all lie in anticipation of the open season. Minyon the Cod has personally eye balled and approved all the flies and blessed them with good Cod ‘ju-ju’. Stay tuned for all the action…..
Fitzy
Clarrie Hall is Good for the Soul
I have fished many impoundments on the east coast of Australia but perhaps none as beautiful as Clarrie Hall Dam. I find it necessary to be on the water at sunrise to achieve the best results. At that time of day, as the rising sun slowly dissipates the mist covering the dam, the true beauty of this wetland materializes from the early morning haze. Lush green lily pads, purple and yellow lotus flowers come to light as the lake margins are revealed. The calls of water fowl echo and the popping sounds of Bass feeding are all part of the morning symphony as this ecosystem begins another day. Finally when the fog lifts, Mt Warning watches over the lake.
This particular morning I fished a tan coloured Dahlberg Diver, blooping it across the surface like a frog or insect of some type. Initially upon touch down I let the fly sit there for a while then gave as little action to the fly as possible. If that drew no response I would make short ‘bloops’ back to the boat. I had about 5 hits and boated 2 fish of around 33cm. About average for this dam. Once the sun rose higher I changed tactics, pulled out the spin rod and flicked out a small diving jerk bait. I immediately got smashed but the fished shot into the snags and spit the lure.
All in all not a bad 3 hours of fishing. If I had managed to convert a few more hits into fish landed then I could have had 5 Bass in the live well. Clarrie Hall is my local impoundment and I have fished it numerous times. The Bass are of modest size and I rarely come home with cricket score card numbers of fish, but the place is just so incredibly scenic. I will be back!
Fitzy
