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Chasing cod in February!


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February followed the trend off the previous few months for me with some good days and a few tough days. 

I seem to have lost my cod mojo at Split Rock and put together 5 cod donuts in a row before I finally picked up a small cod. I was pumped to just get a fish there but had too laugh when I bumped into a guy at the ramp that I knew and he boated a 108 and 93 on his last couple of casts that morning - I'm sure you need a touch of the masochist to fish for cod  (actually, probably any fishing of the truth is known.)

Donuts and tough periods aren't unusual when fishing impoundments but previously the river is like a cod fishing therapy session however thats not the case at the moment ..... fortunately, the scenery has been spectacularly consistent. 

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Its not all about the scenery and there have been enough fish to keep things interesting, although I reckon the fish to cast ratio must be very low.

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My fishing mate, Dan, who is an absolute whizz with timber has been dabbling with making lures, he has made a few different prototypes and for cod, he has a nice 80mm diver and a couple of top water lures. They are absolutely beautiful looking lures and it was great to see him christen a diver last week on a nice cod. 

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Thats a wrap for February in the fresh up here, roll on March which will include a few days hopefully annoying some big flatties over the coast next week.

cheers

Hilly

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A good wrap up of your fishing adventures Hilly. I have hardly been out as it is too hot after about 9am, not 100% at present either. Went to check out a boat ramp last week and spent a few hours under the shade of 1 big gum tree. 1 Cod which would have been a keeper but couldn't be bothered so put it back in. The ramp is a disaster with about 7m of hardened mud between the end of the concrete and the water. Can't wait till the weather cools down a bit here, been very oppressively hot.

Excellent photos too.

Good luck for your March assault on the Cod.  bn

Edited by big Neil
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28 minutes ago, Rockspinking said:

I’m out here at Tamworth at the moment for work. The river around town is looking very low.Was hoping to throw a line in the afternoons after work but it’s not looking to good.

Hey @Rockspinking water level is low but there are a few deeper sections near town that hold cod but do get a bit of pressure. I'll drop you a PM with some spots.

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14 hours ago, Hill373737 said:

image000001Large.thumb.jpeg.b08be869ccc54254191d27db1bc3c8ff.jpeg

I love these!

What beautiful works of art, and I love that they've been left unpainted and 'true to their materials' as architects would say.

That they catch fish is a huge bonus.

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On 3/5/2024 at 6:52 PM, big Neil said:

A good wrap up of your fishing adventures Hilly. I have hardly been out as it is too hot after about 9am, not 100% at present either. Went to check out a boat ramp last week and spent a few hours under the shade of 1 big gum tree. 1 Cod which would have been a keeper but couldn't be bothered so put it back in. The ramp is a disaster with about 7m of hardened mud between the end of the concrete and the water. Can't wait till the weather cools down a bit here, been very oppressively hot.

Excellent photos too.

Good luck for your March assault on the Cod.  bn

Great that you've got out mate, its the same up here, damn hot by 9am.

Slow start for the month, a few cod and yellas but lost a good cod lyesterday evening after dragging the kayak most of 2kms up river to get to a stretch of river I hadn't fished before, it got deep into a snag and during a bit of tug-of-war, I pulled the hooks, this was then followed by dragging the kayak a couple of kms back to the river as a lot of the river was too shallow to paddle.

Hope you're on the mend!

cheers 

Hilly

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On 3/6/2024 at 7:24 AM, Little_Flatty said:

I love these!

What beautiful works of art, and I love that they've been left unpainted and 'true to their materials' as architects would say.

That they catch fish is a huge bonus.

@R E G I C Y C L E @Little_Flatty Thanks for the comments on the lures, they are beautiful and make a great change to painted lures. Here's a few more photos of different prototypes Dan has so far.

Here's a few topwater lures for cod.

image0000005.thumb.jpg.c545d6574d40c2d98ae569b0e3e2cacc.jpgimage0000006.thumb.jpg.f71847483617659476c500b23ebb78f7.jpg

 

And a few Bass Bugs

image0000004.thumb.jpg.7c8070cb556ab31997ed6803f8e434bf.jpgimage000001.thumb.jpg.665c73934fa072eb5ac6740d200d72c9.jpg

And a couple of spinnerbaits, there are weights inside the timber but early experience is its tough to get the balance right to make them swim well.

image0000008.thumb.jpg.6a01971809eb551824d78e870e7ddeda.jpgimage0000007.thumb.jpg.43bdc370b651cb221dc55da13102e430.jpg

 

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11 hours ago, Hill373737 said:

@R E G I C Y C L E @Little_Flatty Thanks for the comments on the lures, they are beautiful and make a great change to painted lures. Here's a few more photos of different prototypes Dan has so far.

Here's a few topwater lures for cod.

image0000005.thumb.jpg.c545d6574d40c2d98ae569b0e3e2cacc.jpgimage0000006.thumb.jpg.f71847483617659476c500b23ebb78f7.jpg

 

And a few Bass Bugs

image0000004.thumb.jpg.7c8070cb556ab31997ed6803f8e434bf.jpgimage000001.thumb.jpg.665c73934fa072eb5ac6740d200d72c9.jpg

And a couple of spinnerbaits, there are weights inside the timber but early experience is its tough to get the balance right to make them swim well.

image0000008.thumb.jpg.6a01971809eb551824d78e870e7ddeda.jpgimage0000007.thumb.jpg.43bdc370b651cb221dc55da13102e430.jpg

 

Wow they are incredible... if there is ever a chance to purchase some let me know!

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9 hours ago, R E G I C Y C L E said:

Wow they are incredible... if there is ever a chance to purchase some let me know!

Will do, at the moment he's making a few prototypes to fine-tune them, once he's happy and he (we) have a few fish on them, I think he'll probably make a few for sale.

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Love those lures Steve - it’s great to catch fish on handmade lures and gear, especially if it is your own or a mates (Dan did a great job, looks like camphor laurel timber). A great report and magic pics.

Edited by Pickles
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On 3/8/2024 at 8:15 PM, Pickles said:

Love those lures Steve - it’s great to catch fish on handmade lures and gear, especially if it is your own or a mates (Dan did a great job, looks like camphor laurel timber). A great report and magic pics.

Yeah mate, they're camphor laurel, I think its one of his favourite timbers to work with.

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