While spinnerbaits have been used for Murray cod in Australia for decades they were, initially, considered more of a novelty than a cod magnet.
This fact was rammed home to me by a well-known angling identity who was using spinnerbaits with lethal success in the late 80’s when he penned an article exposing his luring exploits.
However, his pioneering spinnerbait article that was also chock full of XOS cod shots was greeted with a firm whack of cynicism from the editor.
‘Those are better suited on a Christmas tree, than in a cod’s gob. Sorry mate, we can’t run that.’
What the editor meant, in a roundabout sort of a way, was he didn’t think the angler had caught the cod in the pictures on spinnerbaits. Rather than protest, the budding journalist went about his spinnerbait fishing in silence.
It wasn’t until Rod MacKenzie and Glen Casey from Bassman Spinnerbaits beefed up Glen’s baits with ‘cod strong’ components that they swam into the mainstream in Australia.
If you were a hard-core cod fisho when the Cod Almighty DVD trilogy came out and you didn’t buy a few of these shiny cod treats you had more will power than a Chinese Monk.
Rolling from the Deep
While I’ll admit swimbaits are a very popular choice with anglers who chase big cod, I don’t think they are great for fishing every depth.
When the cod really hug tight in the shallows stalking their prey, it’s hard to beat a slow worker swimbait or surface slinking wakebait.
But, if for some reason the cod aren’t reading the same ‘how to’ manual as you, you might need to try some deeper water. It’s this instance that sees the spinnerbait and it’s close cousin, the chatterbait, come roaring into cod contention.
Standard and Deliver
When flicking spinnerbaits in dams there are two main ways we fish them. The first being the standard approach where you position the boat a cast length away from the bank and bomb casts back to the bank or parallel.
This approach massages the shallow water, initially, before plumbing the deeper water as it makes it’s way back to the boat.
When observing on the water this is the technique that the majority of anglers seem to employ when fishing dams.
Bank Fishing from a Boat
Another technique that I’ve been using more often lately is one I picked up from bass fishos in the US. Instead of sitting 30m off a bank and casting back in, you position the boat as tight as you can to the bank.
Really, it’s like bank fishing from a boat, but you can get your snags off with the boat!
From there you send you casts back into the middle of the dam and wait for the bait to hit the bottom. When using this technique we’ll always use spinnerbaits or chatterbaits over 1oz in head weight.
This helps get the bait to the bottom and in the strike zone quicker. Once it’s reached the bottom simply slow roll back to the boat. Make sure you break the retrieve up with a series of pauses that let the bait flutter back to the dam floor.
Unlike other bait types that don’t work on the drop, spinnerbaits are a hive of activity with blades flapping and skirts pulsing as it wafts back down. Always keep tension on the line when you pause, as this is usually the time you get crunched hard by an opportunistic goodoo.
Also, make sure you work your bait right to the rod tip as the technique will see cod follow your bait right to the boat as they herd their prey into the shallows.
The US Largemouth bass use this ‘herding’ method to round up their victims and use the bank like a fence to trap their next meal.
I’m confident Murray cod are no different and a few heart-stopping hits and near misses, with half a length of leader already in my guides, will attest to that.
So, give it a try, it’s a simple change in angle that can make all the difference when you’re fishing a dam and have a spinnerbait knotted to your leader.
