queensland Somerset the sequel (or here cod cod cod)

[Schultzy]

Well we just had to go back to the scene of the crime where Tony lost that cod last weekend. :S Tony and I were first through the gate and had the lake to ourselves for the run up from the Spit to the start of the timber. We knew why too, it was freezing. :ohmy: There was a 10 knot southerly blowing when we launched and just enough chop on the lake to get a few drops of ice water in the face now and then. By about 6.30 though the breeze dropped off and it was dead calm for a few hours.

This time instead of Tony using a spinner we both used 80mm Boomerangs (He read my post about hookup differences). We worked the area for a little over an hour without a touch so started moving along the shoreline looking for other spots. We trolled our lures past plenty of trees then at 7.58am, wham. :cheer: Tony was hooked up.

The strike was enough to let him know this was a fairly large fish. It went round one snag but when we backed the boat over the top, out it came. The fish just plugged away down deep as we lead it away from the sticks with the boat. Once Tony started gaining line it didn’t take long before a very nice looking fish hit the surface. A couple of big lunges threw water around before it was slipped into the knotless landing net.

Was it a big golden?

A monster bass?

No it was this…..:woohoo:

[img size=500]http://www.australianfishing.com.au/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/Sset_cod_2008_04_05_001.jpg

[Dan23]

Wow:cheer:

[Zim man]

awesome! thats a great fish in excellent condition by the look of it.

[Feral]

Lovely. You reckon they are breeding in there Schulzy? Ferg caught one right up in the Stanley last year, behind the Prison. Perfect breeding country with all that sunken Timber and deep holes..

[Shrimpo]

Nice! What length and weight?

[Bommie]

excellent:cheer:

[Schultzy]

Andrew,

They are 99.99% certainly spawning in the lake. What we are not sure of is whether the large lakes provide the right zooplankton at the right time in sufficient quantities for the cod larvae to survive.

It is highly likely that a small percentage of the cod that hatch each year will survive in the lake. we just need enough breeding adults in there to keep the population going, top up stocking to continue and anglers to do the right thing and release all the Mary River cod they catch. Good fish handling techniques need to be preached to the casual angler too.

[Schultzy]

There were releases done directly into the upper Stanley several years ago to replace the population of cod that disappeared from there during the fifties.

[Lozzel]

Awesome fish there Tony

Do you think it was the same one as last week??

PS Neil, I like the avatar :cheer:

Kriso will be pleased.

[Aaron H]

Awesome fish:woohoo:

[Schultzy]

Data for the technophiles.

Fish: Mary River cod.

Length: 92cm.

Weight: unknown (We didn't want to keep her out of the water too long).

Time of Capture: 8am.

Lure: Yellow Tiger coloured 80MM Boomerang (medium bib).

Rod: Pflueger President CA631XH 6'3" 5-12kg.

Reel: Plfueger President Wide Spool.

Line: Platypus Super Braid 30lb.

Leader: Lethal Leader 30lb Fluorocarbon wind-on.

[Beefa]

You have to love a happy ending, job well done Tony nice looking fish very healthy indeed.

Heath

[Schultzy]

No Loz, This one was far enough away from where Tony lost the other one to make that unlikely.

[Beefa]

And Schultzy the blue bikini does wonders for your figure too lol

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[Plastic Man]

awesome another cod from somerset you two have got that sussed good stuff neil and tony

[Angus]

Wow. I dont know what else to say.

Awesome looking fish.

I love how our MRC's up here seem to keep that awesome colour as they get bigger. I notice in some of the freshwater fishing mags that the Murray's often go that milky colour. No where near as cool as our local cod in my opinion.

Angus

[Feral]

Ta Schultzy.

[STU]

Thats a great catch Tony

[bretto]

Awesome fish guys. I haven't fished somerset yet but with the fish you two produce it looks like it is well worth it.

[James W]

:woohoo: unreal fish....that is a beauty!......fish of dreams...good work tony!

[pcsolutionman]

once again u guys dont fail to impress well done lads

Lee

[Dazzamcgee]

Wow Nice fish!!

[Schultzy]

Angus,

I think the colouration has a lot to do with habitat. The Murray cod we get in clear water in the high country streams are nicely mottled. Fish of the same size from the muddy western rivers tend to be pale, & less well patterned. Those real big mommas from the lower Murray often look speckled instead of mottled & you're right not as appealing to the eye.

Have you noticed that the Somerset fish tend to have far fewer markings on the top of the head than fish from the western rivers?

[James W]

i would like to catch one from somerset first to tell neil:P

[MichaelJ]

great cod there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

do u rekon it would be bigger or smaller than the 1 last weekend?

[Mozza]

Wow :woohoo: that is a monster Murry Cod!! My best is 45cm not quite as big as yours

[Brian D]

Schultzy wrote:

[img size=500]http://www.australianfishing.com.au/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/Sset_cod_2008_04_05_001.jpg

arr but what em arraha blub holy smackos - I am speachless other then to say I am looking at property in the Esk area. Great catch you guys.

[Terry H]

Holy shiznits.

Wow.

Stunning.

Breathtaking

I got 8 fish today.... but I'd give them all away for that one (and that one would probably eat all 8 of my fish for a snack anyway)

Nice work.. That's one awesome catch

[will]

very nice cod well done. its good to see that some fish do breed in the dams ,coby dam near toowoomba has cod breeding in it .they no fo a fact because of the juvinal cod being caught,no cod had been feleased in there for a number of years and people were catching small cod.

[Schultzy]

Will, Is the FAD still in place in Cooby or has it disappeared?

[STU]

I will have to get some in medium bib only got a couple of 80mm in ultra deep yellow tiger and hot tiger

[will]

hi schultzy i dont no what u mean by fad ,sorry :blush: but they r fishing in the local pond

[Schultzy]

Spit it out Brian :laugh:

I used to live in Esk Shire but since the Local Govt amalgamations I now live in Somerset. How good is that?

[will]

coby is "a good dam for big cod "if any of u boys like to chase them, plenty of old time locals still talk about the cod in coby.

[Schultzy]

will wrote:

hi schultzy i dont no what u mean by fad ,sorry :blush: but they r fishing in the local pond

The Local fish stocking group placed FAD (Fish Aggregation Device) in Cooby about 15 years ago to see if it would create some fishable structure.

Apparently there were some reasonable catches of goldens made around it. I've not been up there for a few years to check it out. I think it might have been removed when the water level dropped far enough to leave it high and dry.

[will]

there was but it was yrs ago like u said ,last time i went if it was were im thinking no its gone

[Schultzy]

STU wrote:

I will have to get some in medium bib only got a couple of 80mm in ultra deep yellow tiger and hot tiger

Stu, we use the B80M Boomerangs quite a bit for freshwater cod. They run at a convenient depth for the style of fishing I do when chasing green fish.

The Mediums are the ones with the small bib tapered towards the front. Not to be confused with the Jindivik which has a sharply pointed bib.

This is a B80M. (and yes they are available in PURPLE)

[img size=500]http://www.australianfishing.com.au/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/B80M_Boomerang.jpg

[Brian D]

The best thing about having you and LTT on site is that you inspire us poor hopfulls to improve our game. I mean you guys fish with purpose but most of us fish with hope.

I am going to get better, understand that.

[Terry H]

Yep I got that lure in the UD, and maybe in the deep... I know I have a couple of ultra deeps, but would like some that run 3-4 metres in both 65s and 80s.

that's one of the colours I love in boomerangs, the other is the all purple one

[Schultzy]

TerryH wrote:

that's one of the colours I love in boomerangs, the other is the all purple one

Here are some of my favourite Boomerang colours for cod and goldens (along with Yellow Tiger).

From top down;

Deep Purple.

Hot Tiger.

Kakadu Tiger.

[img size=360]http://www.australianfishing.com.au/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/3_boomerangs.jpg

Strangely enough, although I love purple for bass and goldens I don't regularly use it on cod, in spite of the good track record I've had with black lures on them, just a personal quirk.