2001 Yamaha Cod Opening Classic

Your intrepid scribe made the pilgrimage from Brisbane to Melbourne to pick up our brand new Ford Explorer V-eight project vehicle and our 5m Trailcraft Profish project boat, which is the basis of our current subscription offer.

Hooked up and cruising north along the Hume Highway, we drew more than a few stares along the way. The three-hour jaunt was the most comfortable towing job I've ever had. The new V-eight Explorer towed the Trailcraft as if it wasn't even there.

Booked into the comfortable Capricorn Motor Inn, we managed to fit in a day's fishing pre-competition on the Friday after rounding up a supply of yabbies that happily lived for three days in the Trailcraft's livewell.

A broccoli box oozing with big scrub worms and a bundle of frozen bardi grubs made up the rest of the ammunition for the competition along with the usual hundred or so lures of all persuasions.

Cool water ensured that fishing the lake was difficult, and for three days effort with all manner of bait and swags of tempting lures, we couldn't turn a reel. Another downer was the rapidly falling water level, a sure sign to Murray cod that there might not be a lot of water to laze around in, so lay low. This they did, for us anyway.

Although our skills at enticing freshwater species leaves a lot to be desired, there were still a good number of fish caught. In keeping with the Club's preference for catch and release, the fish were given points on length rather than weight.

There were a total of 211 caught, of which 161 were released and 50 weighedThe longest cod was a 935mm specimen estimated at around 37lb caught by John Phillips.

A total of 201 golden perch were caught, of which 83 were released. The longest golden perch was a 545mm ripper caught by Norm Carey.

Although redfin aren't that common in the lake, there were still 18 caught, with Martin Storey's 387mm fish the longest.

Hardly worth mentioning, but, yes, there were also 310 carp caught, and of course none were released. Craig Harvey caught the longest at 688mm. The 1000-odd kg of dead carp was sent to Charlie Carp factory at Deniliquin to be turned into fertiliser, which we think is a fitting end for the pest.

It is interesting to note which baits worked best on the 710 fish that were caught over the weekend. A total of 313 fish were caught on worms, 168 on bardi grubs, 157 on lures, 82 on yabbies and 20 on shrimps.

According to Tony Bennett, there was more than $60,000 in prizes given away, which is the most prize money of any freshwater comp in Australia. This included three Quintrex/Yamaha boat packages. The major raffle winner was Jenny Walshe. Anglers who caught and released a cod were put into a raffle draw to win another boat. The lucky angler was Peter Lindberg. Another boat was also given away as a lucky door prize. Michael Rushford was the lucky man on this occasion.

The Mulwala Lake and river system is big enough to absorb the 1432 anglers who attended the opening without them getting in each other's way. With plenty of room to troll a lure and millions of big snags to drown a bait on, the lake and the logistics around it make it a great trailerboat destination within a day's drive from Sydney or a half-a-day from Melbourne.

Judging by the number of anglers at the presentation crawling over, in and out of our new project rig, we will be back to this well-organised weekend come next cod opening, if not before.