Reel life | The fish that’s making a splash

It is still there to be seen, and it’s not far from Shepparton.

Just head south from Shepparton to Arcadia, and lo and behold, there it is — sitting in the middle of a paddock — a Murray cod that is enormous.

Of course, it is not a real fish; it is a model being used to mark the site of a cod breeding establishment.

Thousands of cod fingerlings have already been bred there and released into Victorian waterways to ensure the species will survive in our rivers for many years to come.

The Murray cod is the largest freshwater fish in Australia.

The positive outcomes from these breeding programs can be seen in the number of juvenile cod being caught by anglers fishing our rivers and streams.

Additionally, the numbers and sizes of maturing cod are also improving, promising a bright future.

This demonstrates that the careful management of this fishery is having a significant positive effect.

If we anglers continue to follow the rules on size and bag limits, Murray cod will thrive for generations to come.

This will be quite an achievement, considering how this fishery was once heavily pillaged.

If you want to see the big cod, it is about a kilometre north of the Arcadia township.

Fishing in our region has been above average, with anglers reporting good hauls.

Mainly using bait such as scrub worms, yabbies, shrimp, grubs, chicken, and even cheese, anglers have been catching giant cod.

One of the best spots is Lake Eildon.

The river arms are the most active areas for cod, especially at dusk, with surface lures proving highly effective.

For some reason, Lake Eildon is not considered a breeding ground for cod, which means you can fish there for cod all year round.

There is no closed season; however, all size and bag limits remain in force.

Next on the list is Lake Mulwala, located in NSW.

Keep in mind that you will need a fishing licence for that state.

Cod fishing in the Goulburn River isn’t too bad either.

However, in our region, most of the fish caught are small, with only a few keepers being reported.

I must say that while there are big cod, I am yet to see a big trout.

There are a large number of trout in our country’s streams, but no-one has come up with a big statue of one.

Trout fishing at Dartmouth has slowed, mainly to early mornings, but fishing in the rivers and streams is still worth the effort.

Bait casting, or using spinners and lures, is getting good results.

Just a word of advice: watch out for snakes and bushfires.

Now, moving on to saltwater fishing. Down south at Queenscliff, Rod Lawn from Adamas Fishing Charters is bagging snapper along the inshore reefs off Barwon Heads, Ocean Grove and Point Lonsdale.

When it’s too rough to go outside, he’s bagging whiting from Swan Bay to St Leonards, as well as on the Portsea side of the heads.

Rod said that along the coast at Portland, boat anglers were catching big snapper, and off the coast, tuna and albacore were being caught out wide.

North of the NSW border at Eden, John Liddell reported that most of the fishing action was along the inshore reefs.

Snapper, morwong, flathead and gummy shark are being caught, while further offshore, kingfish are providing the action.

At Narooma, Graham Cowley mentioned that it was much the same around Montague Island.

Down south at Flinders Island, James Luddington said flathead and gummy sharks were biting around the islands, especially near Lady Barron.

As the holidays draw to a close, take care, stay safe and enjoy good fishing!