When chasing Murray cod on the top, when should I use a wakebait and when should I use a paddler?
As a very general rule of thumb, I use a paddler when I am surface scoping the slower, meandering pools. These big, leisurely moving parcels of water allow me to massage every inch of fishable water in the slowest, most tantalising manner possible.
A paddler lets me hang the lure above the fishes head and linger it in hot spots, like undercut banks, mid-water boulders and over sunken timber, for longer periods. I like to prop and pause my paddler, for up to 20-seconds in some scenarios, as I really test the temptation of any curious cod.
I can also do this with a wakebait, but they tend to require a few extra cranks of the handle to get them rocking a seductive wiggle. This subtle disparity can make all the difference, as a snaking wakebait in these large slow pools, might only hit its straps as it exits the strike zone.
Conversely, when I am fishing the fast flow at the top or bottom of a pool I opt for a trusty wakebait like a Jackall Mikey or Shimano Triple Impact. A wakebait, with its small flat bib that juts from the chin of the lure, can be worked at greater speeds without compromising its action.
Unlike a walker style lure like a Kingfisher Mantis or Koolabung codwalker, with their cumbersome bibs, a wakebait cuts through the water and still offers a natural presentation in the faster flows.
