THE fishing in our local waters has been nothing short of sensational the past few weeks.
Anglers trolling hard-bodied lures are catching both Murray cod and golden perch of good size and number.
With the water clarity providing excellent visibility it seems most fish are keen to strike and chase down any lure that ventures a little too close.
Larger lures are proving effective on the cod with sizes of 120mm or better tempting the most strikes.
Colour choice has been a mixed bag with preference shown more so to the lure presented at the right depth than that of colour.
While a few golden have been landed on the larger cod lures you would do better to scale down in size and present something more in line with a natural prey size these fish eat.
Any lure of 90mm or less is sure to tempt golden perch not to mention any overzealous cod that swims a little too close.
Visiting angler Vanessa Bennett made the long trip down from Lake Mulwala to Mildura to chance her hand at landing a giant cod.
While her home waters are full of smaller fish she had in mind to break the magical metre mark and she felt sure that this was the right location to do just that.
The first strike on the lure was a nice cod of 79cm and while in great condition it was not the fish of which Vanessa had dreamed.
Several hours on, the lure was smashed hard and the rod loaded under the weight of the cod that might just make the mark.
A solid fight that see-sawed from top to bottom for several anxious minutes finally had the giant fish topside next to the boat.
Into the net and onto the deck the giant cod was measured in at 115cm.
A few quick snaps in the river with the camera and the giant fish was released back into the depths to fight another day.
There are few finer moments in angling than to achieve one’s goals and the customary grin that lasts for days is a trophy in itself let alone the catch.
Vanessa was rapt with her giant cod and says she will return again to perhaps catch an even bigger one.
With the Mildura weir pool set to drop up to three metres over the next few weeks it will be interesting to see the effect this has on the fishing.
Other areas fishing well have been the Wakool River at Stony Crossing where cod to 80cm have been caught casting and trolling dark lures.
Golden perch up to 53cm have also been taken on lures, with spinnerbaits working well.
Anglers fishing bait are also catching fish in this area, yabbies and scrub worms working best.
The Kerang lakes have slowed a little with Lake Charm still the best bet with some solid golden perch caught on small lures and local white bait.
All up the fishing has been very good for this time of the year and with any luck it will continue into winter.
