The search for Australia’s Greatest Fish: Murray cod

The new task has them travelling Australia on the hunt for the species of fish that provides the best rewards in bulk.

Yep, we’re not just talking just how they taste from the pan. We’ll also be measuring the fish against a number of criteria including how easy they are to find, how much fight they have when you reel them in, and even how they look come time to snap the brag photo that will end up on social media.

Each fish will be scored across the four criteria, with a maximum of five points in each category. The fish will then be given a final score out of 40, and a place on the Australia’s Greatest Fish scoreboard.

If cod was human it would be the true-blue Aussie with corks swinging from its hat, swagging it in under the stars while listening to Slim Dusty and sucking on a beer…

I don’t even know why we like cod so much.

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They can be ridiculously hard to catch. We once spent four full days filming for not one bite!

If you do manage to hook one, it doesn’t even fight! Add to that they’re fat and soft, and sometimes covered with warts.

But there’s something about them that gives us the fizz and keeps us going back for more, time and time again.

Maybe one of the reasons we love catching cod so much is the setting in which they live. There’s something special about inland Australia and the smell of the bush.

Obviously, given their name, the Murray River is a good place to think about catching a cod but they’re also found from southern Queensland right down into South Australia.

As well as the many rivers they inhabit, there’s now quite a few impoundments stocked with cod that have grown to a scary baby-eating size.

For some, the fact cod grow so big means fishing for them is like a religion. People become obsessed, happy to get up well before the sun rises and happy to spend more than $100 on a single cod lure.

These people are addicted to the chance of being able to tangle with that magical monster, the Murray cod.

We’re rating each species of fish on how accessible it is and how difficult it is to catch. The easier and more accessible, the higher the score.

Murray cod is a difficult one to score.

You can catch them walking the banks, although you run the risk of a bite from a king brown, so a boat is helpful.

But your boat doesn’t need to be flash; a 12-foot flat-bottomed punt is perfect.

So cod are pretty accessible. But are they easy to catch?

The most basic way to catch a cod is on a bit of bait.

This is where things get a bit odd. Murray cod love cheese. Just throw out a bit cheddar from the bank towards a snag and you’re a chance.

But the most popular way to catch a cod is on a lure. And cod lures come in all different shapes and sizes.

If you catch more than one cod in a single day, generally that’s a good day. They are not easy to get on the hook.

Our tips for catching cod are:
• Fish the snags, because that’s where they live. Big logs and snags.
• Keep a diary to try and crack the code of when they bite.
• Fish in low light, because this is the time the big cod are out feeding.
• Use gear designed for the big lures used to target the bigger fish, such as Venom rods and a heavier leader

Score: 3/10

Scrapability is a measure of how much of a fight the fish puts up once it’s on the hook.

Cod don’t fight. However, they do hit the lure extremely hard, and will almost rip the rod out of your hands.

They will even come up to the surface to eat a large surface lure, which is cool.

Score: 4/10

Cod can be big. Really big. They also have what we reckon is a pretty pattern on their back.

A photo of you and a big cod is one worth showing off.

Score: 7/10

Can you eat Murray cod? You bet! Even though we’d like to see you let the big ones go, a just-size cod tastes pretty good.

Murray cod tend to have a layer of rather off-putting fat on their meat, but we just cut around that. Once that’s done, they taste pretty sweet.

Score: 6/10

How does Murray cod rate overall? It’s a bit of a mixed bag.

The hunt and the bite can be exhilarating, and the Instagram post of you and your catch – especially if it is a big one – will have the Kardashians and other cod-obsessed enthusiasts pouting your way in envy.

They eat pretty well, too, once you’ve cleaned the fillets up a bit.

The overall score for Murray cod in Hook, Line and Sinker’s challenge to find Australia’s Greatest Fish is 20 out of 40.

Next time on Australia’s Greatest Fish: Kingfish

The latest season of Hook, Line and Sinker airs each Sunday on 7Mate