With Murray Cod season coming to a close at the end of this Month, we wanted to share our top tips for targeting big winter Murray Cod in rivers.

There’s no denying the days can be tough with lots of trips yielding little reward, but there are two weekends left to get out and experience that big BOOF for it all to become worthwhile.

Here are our top 4 tips.

YOU GOTTA FIND THE BIG FISH

You can make an educated guess as to where the big Murray Cod are hiding, here’s what we’d look for in the waterways you are targeting.

• Deep water – The deep water obviously depends on the waterway you’re fishing. If you’re fishing skinny water with a max depth of 2 meters, this is your spot. If you’re fishing a river with deep holes, the holes are the spot.
• Big structure – This is absolute key. Find the biggest red gum logs in the river and work them over and as thoroughly as you can. Winter is when we can afford to fish hard on the big snags. Don’t waste time on the small structure – this is where the small fish hide and they shut down in winter.
• Still water – Big cod are lazy, they don’t want to fight the current. Our rivers do tend to have little flow during the winter months which allows lures to get down to where the fish are hiding. You want to find areas in slow swirling back waters or just off the edge of the current. This is the prefect ambush location for big cod, they just sit back out of the current waiting to strike.

If you can find deep water, big structure and still water, you’ll find the hideout for the monster Murray Cod.

GO BIG OR GO HOME

When we talk about going big, do you think we’re talking about the fish or the lure? We’re talking about both. Think big with your lure and the cod will follow suit.

• You want to go for the bigger profile spinnerbaits but not heavier, as you don’t want your lure to plummet to the bottom. Try a Mud Guts Big Guts and upgrade the blade to a big Colorado. This will produce a nice thump through the water and aid the lure to sink slower, putting it in front of the fish for longer.
• When it comes to casting hard bodies, especially throwing them deep in against the bank, make sure you use a big deep bib. Try a 150mm AC invader.
• For trolling hard bodies, pick big lures. We’re talking nothing under 120mm – the bigger the better.
• Soft plastics up around the 200mm to 220mm mark. Try the IGNITE Cod Fury range, for how lifelike they are.

FISH HARDER IN LESS LOCATIONS

When it’s cold you have to put in the hard yards and chuck our a huge number of casts in less locations.

• Forget about the small snags and concentrate on the big ones
• More casts, slower retrieves, let your lure sink and cover the entire piece of structure
• We’re talking 15 minutes on one set of big logs or between 50 to 100 casts…or until someone snags and ruins the spot 
• If that hasn’t worked, change up your lure and start all over again.

DO THE SIMPLE THINGS RIGHT

• Swimbait Rods – With all those big and heavy lures we discussed in part 2, you’ll need the correct gear to cast them. Swimbait rods will be spot on
• Stealth Mode – use your electric motor, but more importantly, be quiet even before your start casting
• Low light periods – Fishing at sunrise, sunset and during the night is BY FAR the most productive period