Only a few days until cod opening and the excitement is just too hard to contain! Many anglers like myself are getting ready and prepping for opening day. What I want to touch on in this edition is my tips for the day:

START EARLY

First, make sure you hit the water early! As a rule of thumb, the morning fish the best in summer as it is, but even more so on Murray Cod opening when there will be lots of people around. You want to beat the crowds and the sun and get on the water early!

Fishing during the night is another great option throughout December on the warmer nights, the cod will be active and even surface fishing is a great option.

TIPS FOR RIVERS AND CREEKS

Flowing water will be on the top of anglers lists for December 1^st. The fish wouldn’t have seen a lure for over 3 months, they will be hungry and it’s the perfect time to fish these areas.

As the middle of summer hits these smaller waterways can become very slow so early December is the prime time before this heat hits.

The go to lure all depends on the type of water you are fishing but I love using surface lures in low light periods. I have a local creek not far from me which I fish during the night and then the next morning using surface lures and its great fun in December. If you’re fishing a small creek using 60-100mm paddlers, nothing too big is the best option. They are easy to cast, work well and the small fish love them.

In a lot of the local rivers casting spinnerbaits and hardbodies at the bank side structure is a proven method that you cannot go wrong with for cod opening, and if you’re fishing boulder water then soft plastic and swimbaits are a good option.

You may find the fish might slow down come the middle of the day but that’s normal for cod. Just try to focus on the darkest shadows you can find. Even pull up for a bait fish under a shady tree.

TIPS FOR LAKES AND DAMS

Our large bodies of water are another great option to look at for your cod opening trip. The middle of the day will be very tough in deep impoundments like Eildon, Blowering, Copeton etc so fishing the morning and afternoon are key in these places.

The you have the shallow lake systems like our one and only, Nagambie and Mulwala. These places will fish well all day with the bankside cover and standing timber and it’s a great time to fish both lake systems.

Fishing shallow edges in the morning with surface lures can bring some incredible fishing action and also during the night. Surface sessions at Mulwala in December during the night can be incredible, especially on a full moon, so definitely give that a crack. During the day casting spinnerbaits in against the willows along the edges works well and running diving hardbodies past the shaded side of the standing trees works well.

USE YOUR CONFIDENCE LURE

When you first hit the water, I recommend using your confidence lure and your go-to technique. Why? It’s always good to get off the mark early for the season ahead and its amazing what confidence can do to your session.

If you get your confidence up you’ll land your casts better, be in the zone and have a better opening day. My go-to is casting Mud Guts spinnerbaits to bank side structure if I’m fishing in a river or creek. If its nighttime, I’ll probably use an 80mm Gobsmacked paddler.

If I head to Blowering, I’d cast an IGNITE Cod Fury at the bank right on first light or during the night. Or if I visit Nagambie I’ll cast Mud Guts Spinnerbaits at the willows along the bank or use a Balista Dyno to cast at the standing stumps along the edge of the river.

Whatever you confidence lure is, use it on December 1^st.

Good luck with your session this weekend and I hope you land that personal best cod!