Pump N Whynding Copeton
Category : FIELD TESTING
MARSHALL ELLIOT & DANEKA ROBINSON
The anticipation leading up to any fishing trip is like nothing else. From upgrading tackle to organising and gearing up the boat theres always things to do to enhance your chances of landing that metre + Murray Cod.
We arrived at Copeton Dam the Eve of the JJ’s Plague Invitational Top Water Comp, and had noticed the dam was sitting pretty low – 11% there around.
The general consensus around the camp was the fish were quiet – however they managed a few top water bites in the pre-fish! -8 degree mornings (the things we do for cod!!!), followed by missed hits and next to no action what so ever off the top the comp concluded with only 2 fish caught for the weekend. The atmosphere around the campfires was incredible and listening to everyone’s stories; from wild fishing experiences to 4WD trips was definately an eye opener. It was awesome to meet everyone and cant wait to head back next year.
Moving over to Reflections Holiday Park we had some time in the cabin to re-group and consider changing tactics. As we knew chatterbaits proved to work here, we cast and we trolled, landing 2 in both shallow and deep water, then getting snapped off by the King of the Dam.
We found a steep bank holding quite a bit of bait with a few solid fish passing through. Matching the hatch was key to getting the fish to show interest, as the bait they were coughing up were only small. Jackall Doozers, TN80’s and Transam’s proved to be the preferred lure of choice. Who would have thought of using an 80mm lure at Copeton!!!
In all we caught 16 fish off this bank, the biggest measuring 117cm caught by the TN80. That same day we managed 6 fish smallest coming it at 80cm.
Towards dark the bites were few and far between so we moved to another bank that we hadn’t hit yet. Trolling the Jackall Gigantarel in 3 nights we managed to bring up 4 fish, 3 over 90cm and also missed a handful of others. This is where upgrading gear is super important, having stronger hooks and 60lb leader as they hit hard!
Bite times: Fishing the usual Murray Cod ‘prime times’ – 4am to an hour after sun up and 4pm to well after dark, we found these weren’t the common times we encountered. 7am-8am and 3pm-8pm were the only times we found worked for us.
All in all, 21 fish in the boat in 16days, the bent hooks, lost lures, lack of sleep and freezing conditions are all worth it! Until next time Copeton!
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