Sweetwater Cod

Between the Snowy Mountains foothills to the west and Albury/Wodonga to the east lies the area known as the Upper Murray. This region has its own special grandeur, where legends have been made and stories and poems written, not least The Man from Snowy River.

The Upper Murray catchment covers some 1500 square kilometres. Its streams begin high in the ranges, make their way through the forested hillsides, then carve through the open farming valleys where they eventually meet the mighty Murray River and Lake Hume. To most fly fishers this picturesque area is recognised for its trout fishing. But for those seeking Murray cod, the lowland sections of these rivers and creeks have good numbers of our country’s finest inland sportfish, accessible on foot.

FIRST-TIMER

Ryan Brockman and Craig Barber, a couple of local gun anglers, first introduced me to these waters. They talked of beautiful little rivers with healthy numbers of cod, all catchable from the bank. It sounded just too inviting: I had to see for myself.

What immediately got my attention on the first trip was the size of the waterway we would be fishing: it was tiny, something you would expect to see trout in. It was an exciting prospect to know that cod could be caught in such skinny water. Nor did it disappoint.

From the moment my fly hit the water till the end of that first session, I had fun battles with good-sized native cod. Working the river was a breeze: easy walking with lots of room for back-casting. With plenty of cod landed and many more missed bites, what a trip it was! Walking a lovely stream amidst a truly Australian country backdrop, casting in clean, clear water for the iconic Murray cod. I immediately became hooked on this fishery. Best of all, there were many more rivers like this one, just waiting to be fished.

SPRING-FED RIVERS

These spring-fed creeks and rivers — shallow, clean and slow moving — only fluctuate as a result of snow melt or rain, making them perfect for fly fishing. They are not regulated like the Murray or Mitta Mitta, which can make it tough for the fly fisher.

The best cod rivers in the upper reaches start around the small town of Tintaldra — the Tooma, for example, which flows into the Murray on the NSW side. Working your way west there are numerous other rivers, such as Tallangatta Creek near Lake Hume, which all have good numbers of cod. Some have been stocked with cod over the years, and in others they are natural residents.

I have by no means fished all of the rivers in this region, although any good-sized spring-fed waterway flowing into the Murray or Lake Hume is bound to have cod. Google maps help in finding new cod waters and the best access points. Almost all of the waters in the region flow through farmland, so unless you can gain access through private property the best starting places are road bridges, or where road and river run together. The farmers here are friendly and most that I’ve encountered are intrigued that anyone would be chasing cod on fly.

COD SEASONS

In this part of the world the weather can be extremely variable. In winter the snow-capped mountains turn the rivers and creeks icy cold. In the height of summer temperatures can soar.

Streams in this region fish best soon after the opening of the cod season (1 December). At this time the waters are starting to warm, the cod become active and are on the move. Having just finished spawning they are angry and hungry. With ideal water temperatures cod will happily feed all day long at this time of year, and can be targeted with surface flies.

Later in summer, as the days lengthen and the rivers become very warm, fishing is best done at dawn and dusk, though you can still find cod during the day using big wet flies — you just have to work a bit harder, to get them in the mood to bite.

During late autumn and winter, as water temperatures drop, it is probably best to hang up the fly rod until the next Murray cod season opens. (The cod season is closed for September, October and November).

FROG WATER

The beauty of targeting cod in these small streams is that it’s very easy to narrow down where they are likely to be. Most good-looking spots are bound to hold them.

Cod are lazy fish, laying up out of the main water flow, where they can get an easy feed without exerting too much energy. Craig and Ryan told me that the best way to find cod in these streams was to look for something they call ‘frog water’. This is slow-moving water, almost mesmerising to look at, where the current slowly swirls around. You’ll most commonly see it towards the tail end of a pool, and below the main inflow where it spills into a pool, always on the deeper bank. Add to this some heavy vegetation, or a pile of timber, and it really is cod heaven. I have learnt to concentrate most of my fishing on these prime spots.

KNOCKING ON DOORS

Starting with a surface fly is a good option in the low light of early morning, trying to entice the ever-exciting ‘top water’ strike. The Dahlberg Diver and Gurgler are good picks, fished with a couple of small pops and a pause.

As the sun hits the water, a wet fly is preferred. The most productive for me has been a bulky Whistler in darker colours — black/orange or black/purple combinations — tied on a fine-gauge wide-gape hook. I prefer quite heavy eyes and a weed guard. Fished in flowing water, a heavy fly will get straight in the fish’s face — they barely have time to react, and just eat the fly.

Don’t be afraid to make several casts into likely spots, covering the water inch by inch, as it sometimes takes a while to entice a bite. Targeting cod in their holes is simply like knocking on someone’s front door, constantly annoying them until they come to see what the fuss is about.

The other great thing about heavy flies is that when fished around timber, the vibrations sent through the water when you hit wood stirs the curiosity of the fish to come out and investigate.

Fishing the wet fly with a basic but assertive strip/strip/pause works fine — cod will always hit the fly on the pause. Cod will hold down tight on the fly, so make sure you do several hard strip strikes to ensure a good hook set.

Most of the time cod will hit close to structure, so the fight is short and intense. If you manage to stop the fish getting back to the cover, you will normally come up trumps.

As the sun starts to set, switch back to a top-water fly.

An 8-weight fly rod with floating line will do the job. Casts don’t have to be long, just short and accurate. Airflo’s Ridge Bass Taper is a good line for this, and can also roll over bulky, heavy flies. Leaders only need to be 8-foot straight through of 20 lb tippet.

BIG FISH, LITTLE RIVERS

Mostly the cod in the Upper Murray streams are around legal size, but every so often you’ll get a proper dusting from a really big fish that leaves you scratching your head.

Craig and Ryan have told me stories about epic fights from metre-plus cod in these tiny streams. These have been caught on conventional tackle, though if you can catch them on a lure there’s no doubt they will eat a fly.

Catching these big cod equates simply to putting in the time on the water, and fishing all the likely spots discussed, especially concentrating on the deeper holes. For me it has become quite a pursuit. One day I will land a monster sweetwater cod on fly.