Cornacarpio & Co.'s Callop & Cod Catching Caper

Murray Cod, Australian Bass, Golden Perch and more.
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Cornacarpio
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Cornacarpio & Co.'s Callop & Cod Catching Caper

Post by Cornacarpio » Fri Jan 01, 2016 3:41 pm

Well, I just seem to be catching Yellowbelly with such regular monotony these days that I thought I might just have to devote an entire thread to it.

As most of you know, I am an unashamedly “Carp man” and devote probably 90-95% of my efforts towards catching Carp. I love catching them, it’s good for the environment, they put up a great fight and I don’t have to feel bad about killing them. However, from time to time I find other species on the end of my line. I also realise that other people enjoy catching and eating natives (such as my Dad and a few of my mate’s I go fishing with), and occasionally I get ‘sucked in’ to catching them as well. There’s nothing wrong with that of course, it’s just that I prefer to target introduced species first, natives second. I find it’s much more “sustainable” for lack of a better word – if this thread ends up like my Carp thread, the natives could be in a bit of trouble – but I assure you that won’t happen! :)

Just like my Carp thread, I think it’s good to have a ‘chronicle’ of all the natives I’ve caught, recording baits used, size, location, etc. I will also include various factoids and titbits from various sources. Here the goal is not only to inform, but to educate fellow anglers about the Cod/Yellowbelly and their distinctive habits so not only do we learn something, but we can then apply that knowledge to become better anglers and perhaps move beyond the usual questions of ‘what did you catch it on and where did you catch it?’.

In the interests of full disclosure, some of the fish appearing in this thread have been taken home and eaten. It goes without saying that I adhere to the Victorian recreational fishing guidelines at all times, and any undersized fish have beenpromptly returned to the water to live and fight another day.

Anyway, with that out of the way, here goes…

Following on from the ‘success’ of our previous few trips up to Taylor’s Lake, me and my mate decided to spend the night up there on New Year’s Eve for a bit of a ‘Carp n Cod spectacular’. Unfortunately when we arrived it was blowing a gale in our ‘go-to’ spot and we moved around to a few spots trying to get out of wind. This technique didn’t really work – wherever we went we were hit with hard, northerly winds. The fish weren’t exactly on the bite either. One to two hours in, I had only landed one small Carp in the 40cm range. Eventually, just as nightfall fell, it did calm down and we returned to our ‘go-to’ spot. Slowly but surely, our rods began to bend. And by ‘our’ I mean my mates. The first fish for him was a 40cm Yella, followed by a smallish Murray Cod, both taken on Yabbies. But the real surprise of the night came after midnight when my mate hooked into a beautiful 60cm Murray Cod, again on a Yabby. It was a great looking specimen and his second biggest Cod to date. By this stage, I have gone from one ‘corn rod’ and one ‘Yabby rod’, to two ‘Yabbie rods’ – angling for my second ever Murray Cod, but it was not to be – I only had one inquiry for the whole night and that was it.

It wasn’t until the next morning when we were about to leave (not even the Carp were on the bite) that one of my rods buckled over – on the end of it was nice, very healthy looking 40cm Yellowbelly.

Shortly after that we headed home, my mate having caught two Cod and one Yellowbelly, and me having caught a solitary Yella. It was still an awesome night though, my mate was stoked that he caught such a big Cod. Given the amount of Carp we have caught in the lake, it is a really good effort. A couple of years ago I would have thought it ‘impossible’ to catch a Cod, but that that I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and actually caught a juvenile specimen myself, the ‘mystic’ of Australia’s largest freshwater fish has worn-off and I have seen first hand that they are, in fact, catchable. All it takes is a Yabby, hook, line and sinker…

My Callop Count – 3


Warm water strongholds
Golden perch and other native fish have a remarkable capacity for survival, considering the harsh conditions of the Australian inland. In droughts, when the waters dry up, there are always high mortality rates and increased competition for food. But when the rains come a relatively small number of surviving fish are able to restore former populations. An adult female golden perch can extrude more than half a million eggs in a single spawning.

From Encyclopedia of Australian Fishing (1979), Bay Books, 157-167 Bayswater Road, Rushcutters Bay, NSW, Volume I, part 28, p.1104
Attachments
IMG_5718.jpg
My 38cm Yella, taken on Yabbies, Taylor’s Lake, 1st Jan. 2016
IMG_5724.jpg
IMG_5727.jpg
A nice 60cm Cod taken from Taylor’s on Yabbies
IMG_5721.jpg
IMG_5672.jpg
My first MC!
IMG_5658.jpg
Father & son combo
IMG_5648.jpg
My Yella
IMG_5656.jpg
My Dad’s 'mega' Golden
IMG_4176.jpg
A nice Golden taken from the Wimmera River, 20th Oct 2012 (released)
Last edited by Cornacarpio on Sun Jan 03, 2016 12:58 pm, edited 6 times in total.

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Re: Cornacarpio & Co.'s Callop & Cod Catching Capers

Post by ChrisD » Fri Jan 01, 2016 4:12 pm

Well,well,well...over to the dark side you have come. Mind you, you are doing a much better job of it then me.
excellent report and some nice fish there.

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Re: Cornacarpio & Co.'s Callop & Cod Catching Capers

Post by Gippy » Sat Jan 02, 2016 7:32 am

Very nice fish well done one question what is the size limit for Cod in Taylors lake or Green lake is it the same as rivers or is it less as they are stocked lakes. Again good report and lovely fish.

Gippy :thumbsup:

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Re: Cornacarpio & Co.'s Callop & Cod Catching Capers

Post by drew 2 » Sat Jan 02, 2016 7:43 am

Well done CC,some nice fish there :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Nothing wrong with taking a feed either mate.

Size limit is the same river or lake Gippy.Daily bag limit is different,2 in lakes, 1 from the river.

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Re: Cornacarpio & Co.'s Callop & Cod Catching Capers

Post by Scraglor » Sat Jan 02, 2016 10:43 am

Good luck CC. Looking forward to another entertaining thread. I wish I went fishing as much as you to be able to maintain a thread like this haha

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Re: Cornacarpio & Co.'s Callop & Cod Catching Capers

Post by Broomstick » Sat Jan 02, 2016 7:29 pm

Great thread mate, looking forward to it!

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Re: Cornacarpio & Co.'s Callop & Cod Catching Capers

Post by Cornacarpio » Sun Jan 03, 2016 12:55 pm

Found this one from the archives - 7th March 2015

This little fella of a yella (37cm) was taken from the WImmera River using a bunch of garden worms suspended under a float, just on dusk when I was targeting Carp.

Callop Count - 4

Feeding Habits
Golden perch are essentially carnivorous feeding mainly on crustaceans and smaller forage fish. These feeding habits more or less confine them to the water level between the mid layers and the bottom. As far as angling is concerned golden perch can be regarded as bottom dwellers that rarely come near the surface. However, they will move into shallow water when feeding at night; when movement is stimulated by flooding they will follow the perimeter of the rising water, feeding on other life that is forced from the ground.

From Encyclopedia of Australian Fishing (1979), Bay Books, 157-167 Bayswater Road, Rushcutters Bay, NSW, Volume I, part 28, p.1105
Attachments
IMG_5518.jpg
IMG_5521.jpg
This one measured 37cms

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Re: Cornacarpio & Co.'s Callop & Cod Catching Caper

Post by barra mick » Sun Jan 03, 2016 4:02 pm

Some good fish there
you gotta hav a crack even if yr just pissin in the wind

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Re: Cornacarpio & Co.'s Callop & Cod Catching Caper

Post by Cornacarpio » Tue Jan 05, 2016 5:13 pm

Headed out to Taylor's Lake today with the old man, who forbade me to go fishing for Carp!

The fishing was slow going without any Carp rods - we eventually got bites on my Dad's set up - big surf rod with a massive yabby tail on the end, but could seem to hook it. It seemed to keep coming back, even making the big surf rod bend, but every time I struck there was nothing there...

After about 2 hours my rod with a peeled yabby tail bent over and on the end of it was a nice little Yella in the mid 40cms range. By now even my Dad was complaining about the lack of action saying "usually you've got 3-4 Carp by now". It was then that I miraculously 'found' a tin of corn in the car, but even after about an hour of using corn on one rod, I still didn't even get a bite...

When my Dad ran out of beer, a unilateral decision was made to return home.

Callop Count - 5

Golden perch have long been underrated as sportfish. Only since anglers learned to fish for them with light rods and lures or small live baits has their splendid sporting potential been discovered. Today, even by international standards, they are recognised as worthy quarry for the freshwater angler.

From Encyclopedia of Australian Fishing (1979), p.1104
Attachments
IMG_5738.jpg
44cm Yella taken on peeled yabby tail
IMG_5732.jpg
Panoramic view of Mt. Zero
Last edited by Cornacarpio on Tue Jan 05, 2016 5:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Cornacarpio & Co.'s Callop & Cod Catching Caper

Post by 4liters » Tue Jan 05, 2016 5:20 pm

How come the colour of the yellowbelly varies so much from fish to fish? Is it to do with the water clarity?
2015/16 Fisting Victoria Species comp total: 289cm
Brown Trout: 37cm
Flathead: 51cm; Squid: 36cm; Australian Salmon: 51cm; Snapper 46cm; Silver Trevally 23cm; KGW: 45cm
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