Solo cod mission

[dirvin21]

It's been almost a year since I last went cod fishing been trying hard to get out there the last few weeks finally this week everything aligned bar a fishing buddy in the end I decided to head solo, it's a remote location so I always take a PLB and plenty of first aid gear.

After the long drive the national park entry was a welcome sight, 

never seen it so green 

the river was a bit lower and dirtier than usual 

upstream was not fishable from the kayak

headed downstream to the bigger section of river long story short I casted for over  hours for 1 hit, alternated between a weedless plastic and a spinnerbait, it's funny with cod fishing you start full of confidence and they have a way of teaching humility. My mood was going downhill fast I actually started thinking of alternate places to fish or just packing up and driving home

All hope gone tried flicking a rediculous cast into some sticks it went nowhere near it's intended target............ the hit scared me that much I knocked the reel out of gear in a sickening display of fishing skill managed to get some hurt on the fish and finally in the net

relief being the understatement of 2020,

 

a nice 60cm cod, a good quality fish for the section of river, with the doughnut avoided deicided to focus my efforts with soft plactics, after 3 1/2 hours for 1 fish, 4 casts later 

 

another nice fish from some nasty timber, the hits started to come regulary and got another low 50's that jumped out of the yak before I could get a photo

With the light fading and some distance back to camp with some nasty portage started making my way back not before I tied on a surface lure

cruising along put a cast about 2m short of it's intended target slowing down to try again, surface lure gets smashed scared the life out of me, the fish missed it, so put another cast in scared me as much the second time but this time came up tight 

not a big one but my first cod on surface, won't be forgetting that one in a hurry

had another fish in the morning walking upriver had a couple of follows but no fish, still went home happy with my cod fix 

cheers for reading 

Dave

 

 

[61 crusher]

Great report & photos, didn’t know the “solo mans” name is Dave haha, good on you for persisting even with doubts running through your head, sounds like you need to throw the odd wayward cast into the mix every now & then, hopefully those scary hits only created adrenaline moments & not a dirty kayak seat 😂

Great read @dirvin21  well done on the cod 👍

[Blackfish]

Great read Dave and great photos to.

Persistence paid off.

[kingie chaser]

A just reward, nice effort Dave 

[big Neil]

Thanks for sharing your inspiring story Dave. Like lots of fishing species Cod can be VERY FRUSTRATING and try the patience of any angler. It's euphoric how these green monsters can take us from absolutely frustrating to extreme elation with just a single cast, even one that falls short of target. Now that you have experienced the ecstasy of Cod on the surface I bet it won't be too long before you have to return for another fix. They really are amazingly camouflaged until they break the surface and smash your lure, always frightening the crap out of you in the process. No matter how many you catch on the surface that moment of absolute surprise never wanes. Great photos, great read and a very memorable experience to keep you going Dave. Top stuff mate, bn

ps. all of those fish look to be in excellent condition Dave

[masterfisho7]

Great report love fishing for cod also looks like to country for them top photos well done 

[Rebel]

Super report and Super photos.

[Bolts1]

Great report and top photos Dave,

Do you think it was the confidence of landing one fish that led to the others or a change in conditions?

[dirvin21]

9 hours ago, Bolts1 said:

Great report and top photos Dave,

Do you think it was the confidence of landing one fish that led to the others or a change in conditions?

It may have been condition change, the wind suddenly stopped right around the time I got the first fish, I often find with cod fishing you can put in hours for nothing and all of a sudden start catching fish that seem to disappear as quickly as they came on

[big Neil]

6 hours ago, dirvin21 said:

It may have been condition change, the wind suddenly stopped right around the time I got the first fish, I often find with cod fishing you can put in hours for nothing and all of a sudden start catching fish that seem to disappear as quickly as they came on

Commonly called "the bite window". Murray Cod are notoriously renowned for feeding for short "windows of time" and then switching off as quickly as they switched on. Can be very frustrating but great for the anticipation of "that next cast".

bn

[mrsswordfisherman]

Great report thanks Dave