My cod fishing journey

[NAGG]

Hey all

Been a little occupied of late as I continue my cod fishing journey.
I took on this quest last winter when I took my Barcrusher out west to lake Windemere (near Mudgee) - nice spot with bankside camping.

Now to say that I was clueless was an understatement ..... no idea but I spoke to lots of people & picked their brains on lures / techniques etc

I was enjoying the trips as much for the camping as the fishing but knew that the Barcrusher wasn't the boat for it & so I went looking for another boat better suited for lurecasting . November saw the purchase of the 480 hornet .

4 trips to Windemere - not a fish & at best 1 hit . now I know that Windemere is not known for it's cod fishing but it's probably the most highly regarded Yellowbelly fishery , so I knew we had to look elsewhere .....

I also did a reccy trip (no boat) to Wyangala Dam & to Blowering Dam to check out boat launching & camping .

Last Christmas on my way home from my Barra Trip I stopped off at Pindari for a couple of nights ...... another doughnut but did miss a fish on surface . This was the first cod trip with the Hornet which was fitted with the Lowrance Active Target ...... I certainly see how this tech was going to be very useful moving forward.

Winter 2023 saw another trip to Windemere (no fish) & then a reccy trip to Burrinjuck. My reccy to Burrinjuck (near Yass) saw me stay overnight at Good Hope Resort in really windy / cold conditions but the place looked great ..... & I was back 2 weeks later with my old deckie "Whitey" who was even more clueless than me when it came to cod fishing .
Before I go on ...... let me tell you about Good Hope Resort . Talk about taking the piss $30 / person per night for an unpowered site , $40 boat launching fee & if you bring the dog - $15/night . The place itself is a little run down - Though the amenities are nice . The location & the site make it worthwhile - Being well up the Murrumbidgee arm you have some great options . Our campsite is a cracker ... grassy & elevated with the boat in the water & protected from the prevailing winds ....... no issues having a roaring fire (unlike other campgrounds on the dam which are highly restricted) - easy to gather plenty of driftwood.
OK with 7 or so cod trips under the belt .... for nothing. This Burrinjuck trip was going to define my cod fishing & thankfully it didn't disappoint . After setting up camp on the Friday evening we had a quick fish directly opposite our camp site & old mate landed the first cod ..... probably the smallest cod to take a lure but a cod none the same. The Saturday saw us head down the river towards the main basin .... freezing cold but what an amazing looking waterwayYass river Burrinjuck 290723.jpg incl some little waterfalls which made an awesome stop for a bankside fire / coffee / sausage on a roll . Burrinjuck 290623 coffee.jpg . ....... best of all we landed several cod with the largest going a modest 57cm . 57cm Burrinjuck Cod 290723.jpg...... none the less we were catching fish & I landed my first.My first cod Burrinjuck 290623.jpg
Last weekend we saw our second trip to Burrinjuck ...... The Saturday was a wet start but we fished - working a steep bank & I landed the first real cod of my cod fishing career - 87cm of fatness & it was yahoos all round . 87cm Burrinjuck cod 2 050823.jpg We were now getting bites but failing to connect or dropping fish ..... so it's progression . Another 3 fish landed up to 60cm 60cm Burrinjuck Cod 050823.jpg - with the highlight finding some fish - spotlocking & targetting them with the Active target ...... watching a cod follow a spinnerbait - then hitting the lure live was very cool . 55cm Burrinjck cod 060823.jpg
So in two trips to Burrinjuck we've landed 10 cod & learnt a heap ...... small fish yeh but we are pretty confident bigger fish will come.
The lures that have worked for us was a white 5/8th Bassman spinnerbait (5 fish) & a Ballista Dyno 90 (cod & redfin colours) . I've thrown some big swim baits & topwater to no avail ..... but they will come.
I'm pretty certain we'll be back to Burrinjuck before the end of the month & before the close of the season ....... @ just over 3 hrs from home it's pretty convenient .

The next thing will be looking at Cod in the rivers - just need to do some research on say the Murrumbidgee below Gundagai for the new season.

So that's what I've been up to.

Chris

[chris69]

Good to see you were rewarded for you effort it looks cold though .

[NAGG]

Good to see you were rewarded for you effort it looks cold though .

Yeh , it does get pretty cold out west - we've had a minus 1

Most days start at a +3-4 deg & dont get much above 10.

Boating at 50km/hr is the killer ......

Chris

[chris69]

Yeh , it does get pretty cold out west - we've had a minus 1

Most days start at a +3-4 deg & dont get much above 10.

Boating at 50km/hr is the killer ......

Chris

Yer the chill facter is for every 10 miles a hour is -1deg.

[Barry Ehsman]

[QUOTE=NAGG;1704240]Yeh , it does get pretty cold out west - we've had a minus 1

Most days start at a +3-4 deg & dont get much above 10.

Boating at 50km/hr is the killer ......

Yea that's why i don't chase the big Cod at Copeton anymore, morning temps of minus 3 & 4 plus a bit of age helps, i even sold all my big Cod lures last week. But the keen one's are getting a few nice fish...

[tunaticer]

i have been researching the Murrumbidgee lower section through the national park for a run.

[NAGG]

i have been researching the Murrumbidgee lower section through the national park for a run.

Do you mean upper ? towards the Snowies

Chris

[NAGG]

[QUOTE=Barry Ehsman;1704285]

Yeh , it does get pretty cold out west - we've had a minus 1

Most days start at a +3-4 deg & dont get much above 10.

Boating at 50km/hr is the killer ......

Yea that's why i don't chase the big Cod at Copeton anymore, morning temps of minus 3 & 4 plus a bit of age helps, i even sold all my big Cod lures last week. But the keen one's are getting a few nice fish...

Yep - that's a young mans game ...... I certainly dont need to be flogging myself pre dawn or fishing well after dark for the hope of landing a big cod ...... not when a warm fire & a hot meal beckons or you're nice and toasty in your sleeping bag .

Chris

[tunaticer]

Do you mean upper ? towards the Snowies

Chris

No Chris,
The lower section Balranald Weir to the Murray Junction.

[stevej]

and even if you go for a day just to use the ramp they dont let you use the toilets lol.

[tunaticer]

and even if you go for a day just to use the ramp they dont let you use the toilets lol.

Where is this at Steve?

[NAGG]

No Chris,
The lower section Balranald Weir to the Murray Junction.

I pcked up a book - An AFN release . called Fishing Atlas for Murrumbifgee River (Gundagai to Balranald)

It's got maps , boat ramps , camping spots etc (with a rating - GPS coordinates ) ..... pictures

Well worth getting.

Chris

[Corry]

Good Hope Resort, haven't heard or seen of that place since the early 90's. We did a lot of skiing then, and a mate had one of the onsite van/cabins there. Always remember the shower was coin operated, would only take 20c pieces, and would only last a few minutes. When you heard a loud bang, it was the solenoid shutting the hot water off, you jumped out, or the icey cold water would hit you like a brick.
From what I remember, was an awesome place.

[NAGG]

Good Hope Resort, haven't heard or seen of that place since the early 90's. We did a lot of skiing then, and a mate had one of the onsite van/cabins there. Always remember the shower was coin operated, would only take 20c pieces, and would only last a few minutes. When you heard a loud bang, it was the solenoid shutting the hot water off, you jumped out, or the icey cold water would hit you like a brick.
From what I remember, was an awesome place.

I'm surprised that someone knew about Good Hope . I reckon the place would have been pretty popular back in the day (specially for skiers) . I dont think I'd spend much time there in Summer but it's a little gem for Winter cod fishing .
You'd be happy to know that the coin operated shower has been replaced with a modern push button one . ( I was wondering where the taps were)

Plan to go back in a couple of weeks

Chris

[stevej]

Where is this at Steve?

sorry havnt been on for a bit, woolgarlo "leisure resort" up the arm that heads towards yass.
Hillbilly to the max

i may have misread naggs post sorry

its gravel road in as well so unless you have rock deflectors slow right down or your paint will get beaten around.
it does save the narrow windy road down to the main ramp at reflections.