5 basic tips for Murray Cod fishing in impoundments – Bryn Mathews

1. Learn weather patterns and moon phases
Impoundments are a forever changing ecosystems that are heavily influenced by weather. Studying water temperatures, winds, times of day, barometric pressures and moon phases will lead you on a huge road of discovery with plenty of trial and error. Ultimately patterns develop and you can learn just as much from a fishless day as a good one.
2. Stick to the bottom
If your’e not close to the bottom, you’re missing fish. Having your lure the slightest bit out of depth can mean being completely out of the strike zone. The easiest method trolling is letting you lure find the bottom then winding it in a turn or two until it swims freely. Maintain that depth on your sounder and troll away. When casting spinnerbaits or plastics, you should be able to cast, let it sink and then feel your lure stop working or the touch of it hitting the bottom. You will notice your line slacken also. Wind it a few turns and let it sink again repeating this process. You can target structure or search for fish while moving with various casting angles.
3. Try night fishing
Fishing at night in impoundments for Murray cod has been well practiced for years however many locations are rarely fished compared to others. A full moon doesn’t necessarily mean better fishing but it helps with navigation. Don’t fish too deep as cod love to hunt in the shallows under the cover of darkness. Once you hook a big fish at night they often come to the top of the water quite tame but once they get close to the boat and see your nervous little face they go ballistic! Be ready!
4. Upgrade your tackle
Murray cod are very unforgiving fish. If you have the slightest weakness in your’e fishing gear, a big green fish will find it quickly. The first way to turn those bone crunching strikes into fish being landed is upgrading your hooks. Chemically sharpened hooks are deadly and for the price of a couple of dollars a lure, its well worth the money. A good tip is to use hook covers to prevent your lures becoming tangled and not to mention a few less hooks in fingers.
5. Learn how to use your sounder
Study your sounder, the days of simply turning your sounder on and start fishing are in the past. The amount of technology packed into units these days is remarkable. Play with sensitivity settings, colours and any features to fine tune your unit for the water you are fishing. For Murray Cod, finding structure means finding fish. They can sit underneath giant logs and boulders or hang tight to the smallest of sticks. Sounding fish isn’t vital but when you find them it certainly makes you sit up.

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