A PHOTO of a massive 149cm cod caught by Lee Townsend was recently posted on the Fresh Water Fishing Fanatics Facebook page.
Lee caught this magnificent fish on a homemade spinnerbait while fishing an undisclosed area in the Canberra region.
This massive fish was released in a fit and healthy condition after a quick picture with Lee.
Lee with his monster cod caught in the Canberra region.
It seems the standing Australian record of a 1.8 m and 113kg may in time be at risk of being broken as captures of big Murray cod have increased in recent times.
The 113kg monster was caught in the Barwon River near Walgett during the drought of 1902, so the record has been standing for quite a few years.
The Murray cod metre plus club’s membership base is growinG as potential new members apply on a very regular basis!
As we move into the first month of winter and temps are starting to plunge below freezing there are some monster Murray cod being caught. While areas higher up around the ranges have seen sub zero temps the western waters are still holding back from the full onslaught of winter and big fish are moving about.
Many hours spent on the water can give some good results, while these may be fish of a thousand plus casts or kilometres of trolling. The results are well worth the effort.
Big Murray cod are hunting not only for a feed but also a nesting site for the upcoming breeding season. The big mommas and papas can get very aggressive during this time and anglers have reported their lures getting smashed and their boats/kayaks have also taken big hits from aggro cod.
People fishing the clear waters of Copeton during winter have reported their boats being belted by an aggro fish which was trying to move the intruders along.
While this might seem a stretch of the imagination I know that during last year well known angler and presenter Rob Paxevanos thought he had struck a submerged snag in his Hobie until the huge pressure boil revealed what had indeed happened. Maybe the Hobie’s flippers looked like two large duck feet and the cod tried to eat it or it was a warning to move on!
Rob followed this up with several beautiful Murray cod of 1m plus, details and locations are on robpax.com.
Lures to target these monsters are the ones that really have a throbbing action; it’s this pulsating action that makes these lures so successful.
Ken Smith with a ripper winter cod taken on a spinnerbait and released.
In the early days the old cod fishermen used Flatfish, Kwik Fish, Flopys and aeroplane spinners all with great success. These days with so many lures on the market your choice is endless. For a start you could not go too far wrong with the tried and proven Stump Jumper, OarGee Plough and a good spinnerbait; I have been having great success using a large single bladed spinnerbait which has a beautiful throbbing, unbalanced action which I have dubbed “The Cod Caller”. This SB is being turned out by Edge Crusher Lures, just one of many local manufacturers of these deadly lures. Using these three lures as a starter you are definitely in with a chance!
Applications for membership to the metre plus club are now open, I hope you are inducted!
