As you start the 2017/18 cod season, searching for a freshwater fridge with fins, it pays to have a plan.
Revved up and refreshed from three-months on the sidelines, we all want to start with a big bang, so a plan of attack is paramount – but what makes a good plan?
Now, what experience has taught me, is the worst strategy you can have when targeting Murray cod is a rigid one that you can’t deviate from.
Of course, based on your location and what worked in the past, you should have a fair indication of what lure types and technique work best.
But, that should ONLY be a reference and starting point.
If I have learnt only one thing over the last 20-years chasing this fickle foe it’s they are much smarter than what we give them credit for.
A cracker technique that worked in the past could seem as certain as Winx, but on the very next trip fail to raise even a bump. It’s this complexity and thrill of the chase that keeps us anglers coming back for more.
I remember last May I did two trips in two weeks to a smallish river in Western NSW. The first trip we absolutely brained them on surface lures – and I mean brained them, with over 25 fish boated for the weekend.
On the very next weekend, beating his chest, my mate left his spinnerbait box at home and hit the highway with just a fistful of floating surface lures. As luck would have it the bite was a subsurface one and all his bravado went out the window as he was left to sheepishly ask for one of my blinged-up Bassman spinnerbaits.
So, while you should always use past experience as a guide, never let it blind you to what other methods might be better suited for your cod opening crusade.
