Katoe Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Gday Legends, Got out to Wyangala Dam for the Australia Day long weekend with the intention of trying to catch a feed of yellowbelly. Due to wife and kids etc only managed a few hours out on my Kayak on the Sat Morning. Woke at 5am snuck out of camp drove down to the receded waterline prepped kayak and launched about 5:45. Trolled a hard bibbed lure across to the other quieter bank with the intentions of working up to some submerged timber I could see up near the dam wall sounding out for underwater structure as I went. Being the first time here as I approached the where the timber was I see that it’s past the no boat zone BUGGER!!! Having passed some nice boulder Ed structure in about 5m of water off a steep bank on the way there I decided that had to be plan B. Spun the kayak around and added a spinnerbait our the back first pass back over the structure and bang the rod with the spinnerbait loads up after a fun fight in a yak a 65cmish fish at the boat and lip gripped. Decided as haven’t had a feed of Cod in a while this fish would feed everyone at camp no waste so into the live tank she went. sorted my lures out again passing over the same structure in the same direction and bang same lure hit again and after a nice fight a 56cmish cod comes into the boat and is released. Set the lures out again adding a second spinnerbait instead of the bibbed lure out heading back the other way pass over structure with no bumps nice wide turn paddling back over structure and bang another hit on the lure that the other two were caught on short fight and a 45cmish cod at the boat and released. Call comes over the 2way kids are awake can I come back in. Trolling my way back over a featureless flat and bang same lure is on again with a 40cmish cod, fish is boated and released. Paddle back and recover the yak about 8:30 leaving the fish biting. Kept fish cleaned and filleted with quite a lot of fat in her. Fish and chips served for lunch. Spewing I only got the one session in and definitely planning a dedicated fishing trip back . thanks for reading Katoe 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Hi Katoe. You certainly gotta be happy with getting a result of any kind, let alone such a good one, when first visiting a dam. Terrific! Pity that you only managed to get out the once but no doubt you'll head back when you get the chance. I notice that you refer to the fish as "she". Is it your opinion that "larger Murray Cod" are female? My understanding is that the size of Murray Cod is irrelevant to their gender. Anyway great result, great photos and great report. Cheers, bn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katoe Posted January 30, 2020 Author Share Posted January 30, 2020 Hey mate She still had some eggs left inside when I cleaned her is the only reason I called it a she. I’m with you in the opinion that can be male female at any size although I have heard 2 different things about large cod one bigger large females produce more eggs so better for breeding stock and a conflicting opinion that once cod get to a certain size they don’t breed anyway. What are your thoughts on it? Have only just got the bug back for fishing after having a bit of a break so will definitely be getting out more. Cheers Katoe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizardboy Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 (edited) Nice report Katoe, Good results and nice to see responsible harvesting of a modest size fish for a feed! You did better than my first trip to Wyangala. cheers, Gus Edited January 30, 2020 by Lizardboy Typo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katoe Posted January 30, 2020 Author Share Posted January 30, 2020 14 minutes ago, Lizardboy said: Nice report Katoe, Good results and nice to see responsible harvesting of a modest size fish for a feed! You did better than my first trip to Wyangala. cheers, Gus Cheers Gus definitely caught the fishing bug again now haha. cheers Katoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Great report and photos. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 18 hours ago, Katoe said: Hey mate She still had some eggs left inside when I cleaned her is the only reason I called it a she. I’m with you in the opinion that can be male female at any size although I have heard 2 different things about large cod one bigger large females produce more eggs so better for breeding stock and a conflicting opinion that once cod get to a certain size they don’t breed anyway. What are your thoughts on it? Have only just got the bug back for fishing after having a bit of a break so will definitely be getting out more. Cheers Katoe. Thanks for replying Katoe. I don't keep many Cod to eat as it's often hard to get them in the right condition (often too fatty). I fish (mainly) in rivers where the fish do work slightly harder for their food but Cod are notoriously lazy so "slot fish" between 55 and 75 are often too fat for my liking. I would like to see the slot change to 45 to 50cms with a limit of one per day per angler. My reasoning is that they are in GOOD condition at these sizes having to compete hard for food and avoid being eaten by larger Cod. Also they don't start breeding until 5 y/o and about 55cms. Apparently they get better at breeding as they get older so taking 2 between 55 and 75 seems ludicrous to me (current regs). Regarding your question. I believe that they do reach an age and size where they are "past it" but they have quite a long breeding lifespan. Certainly 1 mtr Cod are very fertile and produce plenty of progeny. Great to see you getting back to fishing, it's a great pastime and I spend many hours on the Murrumbidgee which is 15 mins from home. Look forward to your next report. bn 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Great report Katoe and congrats on your capture. I would have accidentally turned the two way off! 🤣🤣 cheers scratchie!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Hey Katoe, a great result. I have never eaten Murray Cod. What do they taste like? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katoe Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share Posted January 31, 2020 4 minutes ago, bessell1955 said: Hey Katoe, a great result. I have never eaten Murray Cod. What do they taste like? Hey mate they are a nice freshwater eating fish. As Big Neil mentioned they can be a fatty fish as they get bigger. My favorite freshwater fish to eat is yellowbelly but I don’t mind eating the old freshwater Jew(eel tail catfish) either and a lot of people don’t like them haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
61 crusher Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 That’s a top session for your first time on wyangala & in a couple of hours to. Great report & photos 👍 Back in 70’s I caught & ate those catties out of wyangala & they tasted great, tried the salt water version once & no comparison 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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