Hodgey

:1happybday: Raiders! A special cheerio to Jnr Jnr Poddy. I hope you get some new fishing gear for your birthday, mate Cheers Hodgey

Congrats on a fine achievement, mate Cheers Hodgey

I keep my son's size 1 thong in my back pocket for the same reason Leo! Congrats on a greta fish mate. I reckon Ray's estimate is pretty close too. Kudos for releasing her mate Cheers Hodgey

mate. I hope you have a terrific day! Cheers Hodgey

mate. Hope you have a terrific day! Cheers Hodgey

What an exceptional day on the water, Peter! What a fantastic feed of quality flathead. You were definitely at the top of your game today Fantastic conditions, success on home-made lures, some XOS flatties and a PB Bonnie ... no wonder you're happy! Cheers Skip

Looks like you had an absolute ball, mate! Good tucker, great times and interesting new 'companions' (appears to be a baby Black Duck). Another memorable trip to recall in years to come. Cheers Hodgey

:074: Love it! Commiserations on the lost gear, mate. Look at it this way.. now you have room for another Abu! Cheers Skip

Congrats on a fine jewie mate. A suitable reward for a lot of effort Cheers Hodgey

Beautiful brownie, Kael ... and great to see you back on the forums! Cheers Hodgey

Deno. I hope something suitably rewarding falls foul of your lure today so you can christen the new scales! Cheers Skip

G'Day all I was sitting at the computer this morning when Mark phoned and said "Could you bring your camera down to the boat ramp please?" Jumped in the car and found Mark grinning like a Cheshire Cat, standing over a sizable lump buried under a soaked towel. Laid out the Measure of Success, prepped the camera and took some happy snaps for him: Mark had hit the water this morning armed with the same outfit he had been using for the cod apparently (including 20lb leader). The fish was caught on soft plastic. Once the photo session concluded, she was whisked around to the boatshed to be weighed and came in at a staggering 7.25kg! The fish was released at the boat shed for someone else to enjoy. Congrats on a superb fish mate Cheers Skip

Raiders. Enjoy your day! Cheers Hodgey

Awesome session old fella! What a terrific day on the water. That's a flash lookin' boat! A top feed and released a couple of beauties. I hope the influx of tourists doesn't detract from your fishing down there. Keep 'em coming mate! Great photos as always. Cheers Hodgey

G’Day all A late report regarding my recent sojourn to Lake Mulwala. The trip had been 8 months in the planning and went through more alterations than Elizabeth Taylors’s wedding dress. We were originally going to fish the Wakool River near Koondrook and stay in the hut that we’d utilised in Jan, but a ‘fish kill’ in that river, and torrential rains, put that plan to rest, so Lake Mulwala became the next venue of choice. The Mulwala Cod Classic is run on the first weekend in December. We opted to fish the lake without participating in the event, but conducted our own ‘tournament’, complete with trophy. This year I was accompanied by my nephew Mark. Mark had never used Spinnerbaits, never fished Lake Mulwala and never seen or caught a Murray Cod. The fishing reports coming out of the lake were not encouraging, and indeed the weather looked like it was going to force us to re-think the whole weekend. On Thursday at 6pm the decision was made to gamble on the weather and see what happened. We set off at 6am, with constant weather updates from my brothers. “Dad can’t make it now because the highway is cut between him and Mulwala”. “Wagga Wagga experiencing major flooding”. “Bundalong side of Mulwala has been closed to camping due to flooding”. Not exactly encouraging messages for two blokes travelling 7.5 hours to wet a line! Half way between Bungendore and Murrumbateman we encounter flood water 2m high, and needed to backtrack through Canberra to continue on our way. The first four hours of the trip we’re bombarded with rain and seriously questioning the wisdom of our decision. Lo and behold, the rain clears (ironically as we pass Lake Burrinjuck) and things are looking terrific! Two hours pass uneventfully, when suddenly, dozens of little missiles start striking the windscreen … locusts! At this point I am seriously wondering if someone upstairs is trying to send me a message! We finally arrive at our campsite on the bank of the lake and exchange pleasantries with the rest of our happy band. Both my brothers and their sons and a pair of life-long mates had established a comfortable campsite and had the boats launched awaiting our arrival. After a cold ale and the usual family banter it was decided to hit the water for a session before dinner. Rods and tackle were loaded into the boats and off we went … just in time to get hammered by a 30 minute torrential downpour! Shortly after the rain ceased, we heard a whistle across the water. On his second cast in search of Murray Cod, my nephew had achieved success. All of a sudden, travel weariness, sodden clothing and weeks of amended plans were justified. Handshakes and photos ensued; everyone celebrated in Mark’s achievement. At 56cm it was a good fish; well conditioned with deep colors and bright markings. A couple more cod were caught over the next few hours and another prolonged deluge once we returned to camp could do nothing to dampen the mood of the campsite. Erratic winds and heavy boat traffic for a majority of the weekend meant trolling options were minimal. Locals were reporting poor numbers of both cod and yellas, with nothing coming out of deep water. Water clarity was very poor due to an influx of floodwater so Spinnerbaits with dark skirt colors (black/red or purple/black) were the order of the day. The first two cod caught on Saturday morning struck very high in the water column, with one fish taking the spinnerbait inches from the surface. Willow leaf blades were swapped for colorados, to ensure a slower sink rate and therefore prolonging the time spent in ‘the zone’. This configuration accounted for all but one of the cod captured for the weekend, with the one exception being caught on scrub worms by the youngest member of our family group (well done, Ayden). 90% of the fishing was done in shallow water, casting at standing or submerged timber. Water ‘boils’, surface strikes, bustoffs and near misses were the order of the day. Another 8 cod were boated and released, which was a terrific effort given the feedback from other fishos. Sunday’s weather was a repeat of Saturday. Spinnerbaits ‘slow rolled’ amongst the timber were knocked in territorial warning or engulfed in brutal attacks. Hooks were bent out of shape, wire was twisted and rods and reels were tested. More bustoffs and near misses occurred but in noticeably fewer numbers. Fewer fish were landed, and the total capture only tallied 19 for the weekend. Once again the sizes were mediocre, with our fish ranging from 40cm to 61cm. That said, an undersize fish of 57cm is around 7lb of muscle and attitude, which provided great entertainment and frustration in the snags. Mark had a dream introduction to cod fishing, catching numerous fish and tying with my younger brother for the trophy. The weather was very hot and humid for the majority of the weekend, but the drinks were cold and the company was bloody fantastic. I would like to thank Dave66 for his generous donation of some of his terrific home-made Spinnerbaits. Next time you’re down my way I will return the favour Dave! Buddha - joint trophy winner Buddha's son Kyle Mark - joint trophy winner Hodgie and his son Ayden The 'real' Hodgey Ayden

Fantastic report mate! Congrats on some very memorable fish. I hope your 'holy Grail' is just around the corner! Cheers Hodgey

Nice one mate. It's exciting, visual ... and addictive. The first of many surface lure reports to come I reckon Cheers Skip

G'Day Chris I have been running single hooks on metal slices for salmon on the beach this year and I found the improvement in hook up rate was very noticeable. Also a lot easier to release them from a single hook to send them back into the surf. I opted for octopus hooks (as recommended by a local). I have seen the in-line hooks used to great success as well Cheers Hodgey

Good news. Leo is out of surgery and expected to make a full recovery. Good on ya Leo Cheers Hodgey

+ 1. PM sent Cheers Hodgey

I approached my local tackle store and one of the reps gave me some lessons in the local park (which is conveniently located beside the pub ) Good luck mate Cheers Hodgey

Our thoughts and prayers are with Leo. We hope you have a speedy recovery mate Regards, Skip and family

What a magnificent fish. Impoundment fish generally exhibit faster growth rates that their wild river relatives, so hopefully the stocked cod will be bountiful for you blokes in years to come. Any idea on how it was captured mate? Cheers Hodgey

You've got Jack fever, Slink Hope you're having a great time Browney. Sounds like you both had an enjoyable session, especially considering how brief it was. Cheers Hodgey