trolling for murray cod and yellas

[fish99]

hi all,trying some new fishing techniques to up my catch success on cod and yellas.bought some oargee ploughs and stumpjumpers and spinner baits.i only do catch and release on the native fish species.have always only baitfished for them with moderate success,but up for something new.i mainly fish yarrawonga/murray river and lake mulwala,any tips on how far back i should have my lures back from the boat from those in the know would be much appreiated thanks.

[Wolly Bugger]

hi all,trying some new fishing techniques to up my catch success on cod and yellas.bought some oargee ploughs and stumpjumpers and spinner baits.i only do catch and release on the native fish species.have always only baitfished for them with moderate success,but up for something new.i mainly fish yarrawonga/murray river and lake mulwala,any tips on how far back i should have my lures back from the boat from those in the know would be much appreiated thanks.

guess what, nobody really measures how far they put lures out, mostly it is guess work.

I have a few aeroplane spinners and I will let one out until it starts to hit the bottom and then bring it up a little bit, another I might estimate that it will be about halfway between the surface and the bottom.

With deep diver lures the limiting factor will be, when it starts to hit the bottom which can happen with as little as 15 metres of line, but remember the closer to the bottom the more snags you are going to catch.

A tackle back is a must have, or some form of lure retriever.

I should add, alot depends on the depth of water you are fishing, and each lure has its own depth. I was snagging Bennett mcgraths on lead core line at 40 feet. A little expensive.

[drew 2]

G'day fisho99, As a general rule of thumb i dont count the first 5 metres i let out,and then work on the lure going down a metre for every 3 metres of line i let out after that,so a 4 metre depth lure i would be running back between 15-20 metres behind.This can vary a bit between lure makes but it gives me a rough starting spot to either shorten or lengthen the line from there tilll i am down within a metre of the bottom,you have got to be down rattling the snags particularly during the colder months. A sounder is very helpful to allow you to pick a lure of roughly the right depth to start with.Boat speed can also come into play a bit,but you will soon get the feel of when a lure is "working" properly,you will feel it back through the rod,i like to use a braid line for this reason,gives a much better feel than mono and if you are holding onto the rod allows you to walk them over snags,when you feel it hit one dropping the rod back allows the lure to float up and over (most of the time) then pull the rod forward to take up the slack and get it working again.
Lake mulwala is a great spot to start out learning,it has deep channels in the old river course as well as lots of snaggier shallow areas for you to try different techniques/lures and get the feel for it all.My favourite lure for up there is the good old stumpjumper,you can change the bibs to suit the depth of water you are fishing in and they are a proven cod catcher.I would spend a few $$ on a decent lure retriever(i like the chain type ones)as you can get a lot of lures back,might damage a treble but a lot cheaper than losing the lure,mine has payed for itself many times over.Like any type of fishing some days are fishless but a good day out will be remembered for years.It can be a bit frustrating at first but stick with it and you will soon discover a very enjoyable way to fish. Good Luck

[fish99]

thanks for the reply guys,im heading up to bundalong in a couple of weeks for some crays,i will have a crack at your advise and let you know how i went.

[cheaterparts]

thanks for the reply guys,im heading up to bundalong in a couple of weeks for some crays,i will have a crack at your advise and let you know how i went.

hopefully there are some fish wonting to play this W/E a few of us are heading to Mulwala with the kayaks
to try and loose some lures - and of cause to try for a fish