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Hello All, Starting a new thread as I would like to share some of my good fishing spots in Molonglo River, Canberra. The spots shown in the attached image below are not easy to reach but that's exactly what makes them such good fishing spots. I have been fishing in this area a while now and will post some of my fishing reports from this area over the next few days. Stay tuned!

Several years ago @big Neil from the Riverina area of NSW reached out to me for help with several saltwater species. Over time we got him his first king (not legal), squid, luderick on fly. Each goal took some effort but I enjoyed every trip with him. He also kindly offered to return the favour as the iconic Murray Cod could be caught in the Murrumbidgee river near where he lived. Fast forward to 2021 and the time was right to take him up on his generous offer. I dragged a long term friend (Floris) along as he’d met Neil during earlier fishing trips and they got on well. Floris and his family have been friends of mine for decades. He loves his fishing but life got in the way and it was only in the last few years that he contacted me for fishing help and to see what had changed since his younger years. Floris is a Senior Lecturer at Sydney University in the Environmental Sciences and has an interest in Local Ecological Knowledge. This trip would give him the chance to catch another species or two on his check list, have some down time and pick Neil’s brain on the local ecosystems and the behaviour of the fish. The trip was about 7 hours, slow and uneventful. After a quick chat and break we headed out to check the shrimp nets Neil had set earlier and then the local ramp for an afternoon fish. In the past when I’ve caught up with Neil the weather has made itself annoying and this time was no exception with storm clouds hanging over our heads. The river was way up with the recent rains and the water temperature was down to 21°C so Neil was worried the fish had shut down but nothing ventured nothing gained. Neil has his launch method down to a fine art and had us on the water with minimal effort. With the river running so strongly and deep using lures was a bit of a struggle. Eventually after trying some spinner baits and deep divers they got put in the too hard basket. We picked locations where we could tie off the bank just upstream from a back eddy. Using paternoster rigs and running rigs kept our baits (a mixture of worms, shrimp and cheese on each rod to see what they were taking) near the bottom. We tried several likely locations with Neil getting more and more concerned we’d break his 100% success rate of putting visitors onto the iconic Murray cod. At one of the locations my rod buckled over and it looked like the cheese on the end of my line was going to be the bait of choice. The hit was solid but the fight was soon over with my first Murray Cod coming to the surface. Neil’s record remained unblemished and after a few quick photos the fish went back into the water. A visual estimate called it at slightly over a legal 55cm. A quick recharge of energy with a snack. Shortly after the rod Floris was using bent over. The fight was just as quick and resulted in a lovely Murray cod, legal (or a touch under). A quick photo session and release then high fives all around as the primary goal was achieved and every fish from now on was a bonus. Once again cheese and been the bait of choice. A couple more hits here and there but no hook ups. It had been a long day so we got off the water just before the storms hit and headed back for a home cooked dinner. One of Neil’s hobbies is pottery and one of mine is photography. He had been struggling to get photos to do his works justice so I gave it a go. Here are some of the results. The next morning involved a leisurely start and a drive to the next town to give a different section of the river a shot. One of my secondary goals was to catch a trout cod and this stretch of river was the best chance I had. This time the weather was gorgeous and sunny to the point we kept picking shady spots along the river to try. Again we mixed up the baits to see what was working. As the pressure was now off we had a line each in the water. Floris picked up two smaller Murray cod followed by Neil. I was getting ribbed about letting the team down. Although a little later I made up with it by hooking the largest cod of the day. Neil picked up another cod and then my rod buckled sufficiently to indicate a fish on. The fight wasn’t impressive and saw the fish skipping across the surface but when it came into the boat I took a look at the lower lip and realised it was a trout cod – second goal achieved. A few photos and back in the water. In these smaller sizes to the inexperienced eye (me in this case) the Murray Cod and Trout Cod look to be the same fish. There are several indicators, such as the bottom lip of the Murray cod is as long or longer than the top lip whereas the trout cod has an under-bite. Neil picked it instantly as he knew the other indicators to look for. We had a few more bites in the area which appeared to be trout cod from the way they hit but both were lost in the structure we were having to fish. Neil picked up another small Murray Cod and then a yellow belly/golden perch on the shrimp. We called it a day in the late afternoon as the fish seemed to have shut down and the main goals had been achieved. 10 fish in two days fishing in difficult conditions was a great result for us. Back to Neil’s for dinner and then bed. The next morning saw us driving back to Sydney. Looking back at what was written it doesn’t cover the friendly banter and discussions about fish behaviour. I couldn’t really do the few days fishing with Neil justice in a simple post but I have come back with memories which will last me a lifetime. I saw an area of NSW I’d never seen in person before. These few days were a break that both Floris and I needed and I think Neil appreciated the company after what he has been through in the last few years. Thank you for reading this far. Thank you Neil for being such a wonderful host and inviting us along to such a beautiful part of NSW. Thank you Floris for the company and doing the majority of the driving. Regards, Derek

Hi guys, I’ve been reading along for a while though this is my first post. I enjoy simming through the articles and photos for all your handy tips and info. I’ve just moved to Eugowra near Forbes and I’m busting to get onto a cod to see what all the excitement is about. Been out scouting spots along the Lachlan and slowly learning how to get set up to entice one on the line. I’m trying both cheese on the hook and lures but would love to get onto them by lure in particular. I’m starting to hit more snag areas with lures in the hope that I’ll get lucky soon. I’ve been out a bunch of times to a few spots but still no luck! I’ve tried 8 mile reserve off the Escort Way and Pilgrim Hill off Lachlan Valley Way. Pilgrim Hill seems like it’s flogged out by loads of people because of the boat access and Eight Mile seems pretty dead too, though I think it ‘looks’ like a good cod spot with plenty of snags. Just wondering if there’s anyone on here that fishes the Lachlan in the Forbes - Eugowra - Gooloogong - Cowra area and if they’re getting anything at the moment? I suspect my timing isn’t the best through the day and late arvo too? I’ve just been to the local tackle shop and bought my first swim bait and have a shopping list for some black/purple and black/red spinnerbaits, a rat and a frog too. All the guys on YouTube and on here seem to be having plenty of luck on those. Any thoughts? Thanks for all the info on here guys, everything helps and I could use all the help I can get at this point! Cheers, Fenno

Hey Raiders, Heading up to Broken Hill Next week and driving back down past Mildura. Was thinking I could have a bit of a flick along the way. Just wondering what kind of lures and sized rods and reels would be best for these areas. Trying to target Murray cod. Thanks

Hey raiders I'm heading down to Copeton Dam in about a month and I am looking to get a new baitcaster setup for the cod and I was wondering what size rod I should get and how much drag the reel needs

Hey fellow raiders, I will be heading up to copeton soon and i was wondering if anyone has any spots in the dam they recommend to fish for cod and what lures I should use. Cheers Hamo?

Hi All, Flew down to Melbourne from Sydney on Friday to meet up with my mate, fellow Raider CaptLukey, and we headed up to Yarrawonga with his boat in tow. The plan was to take a guided charter (just the two of us) on the Saturday and then try to replicate the experience ourselves on the Sunday before heading home. We were picked up before first light on Saturday by the guide and headed out to the river to throw some surface lures around. Using his Minn Kota we were able to pepper the snags along the bank. It was my first time fishing like this and, in the dark, it was tricky to get the casting right. However, we persevered and slowly got better at landing those massive surface lures in the right places. After only about an hour I cast out and got a hit. Didn't feel big but the rod started to load up. As I began the retrieve the rod really loaded up and I knew I was on to a good fish. After a fairly short fight a massive beast came to the surface. It was in the net then the boat pretty quickly. We put it on the brag mat and it measured 106cm! I was stoked and we were beside ourselves. A fantastic start to the day and hard to top! We continued to fish but only landed one more fish on spinners of around 55cm. A great day out and a fish of a lifetime for me!