Mildura fishing has definitely not cooled down like the weather! There have been many reports coming in of good-sized Murray cod and golden perch caught on bait and lures.

Anglers have been active in this lovely weather and have enjoyed the magnificent Murray at this lovely time of year. The weather is pleasing and a lot better for the fish upon release, avoiding heat damage.

Radiation and heat direct from the sun hurts the fish just like it hurts the angler. When a 1m+ Murray cod gets been pulled up from 8m of cool, pitch black water, then is handled by the angler trying to get a good picture will damage that fish. As much as you try to look after the fish, you will hurt it the longer it is out of the water in the sun. With the large specimens, especially that may not have been caught before, you’re better to stick to the South Australian rules and keep them in the water while de-hooking them and get a happy snap. Hopefully this weather is moving on and it will not be a problem for those catch and releasing the mighty Murray cod.

Small Murray cod have been consistent on bait upstream of Mildura around Nangiloc area, which hasn’t changed much at all from last month. Solid numbers of Murray cod have been caught, generally between the sizes of 30-60cm, but the larger trophy fish are a different story.

Catching that fish of a lifetime isn’t easy – it takes time, it costs money, and did I mention time? Time on the water plays a massive role in catching that 1m+ Murray cod. I used to think each and every hour I spend out here is an hour closer to that stream train hit from a 1m+ fish. The fish that peels 50lb braid off your reel, bends trebles and bends your rod in half, is worth the endless amounts of money and time. Persistence and patience are key when chasing that trophy fish.

There have been several of these fish caught trolling lures upstream of Lock 9 within the deep bends. Cast large profiled hardbodies and large spinerbaits and expect to be smashed by cod. Upstream of Lock 9 consists of amazing cod territory. The bends and snags are unreal cod habitat.

Luke Jensen from GO Outdoors Mildura reports that golden perch have been smashing large lures at the moment. They have been smashing lures up to the size of 140mm, but they don’t seem scared to have a crack at the large lures at this time of the year.