Excitement rushed through every vein and shard of sinu in my system. The world momentarily stopped. Seconds felt like minutes. A thumping great big arc flattered my graphite stick. Lengths of braid were being methodically ripped from a full locked drag on my low-profile baitcaster, in a series of short, rhythmic bursts.
My adrenaline then kicked into overdrive as I got my first glimpse of the monstrous Murray cod. A slow, purposeful body roll broke the surface as the great green fish was showered in summer sun. The Bassman 4X4 spinnerbait that was precariously perched in the side of its lip did nothing to calm my anxiety.
My mind nervously raced back to the crisp early morning air and my hastiness to get on the water. Had the combination of low light and overnight dew compromised my eagerly tied leader knot? Would my fatigued braid stand up to one last dyneema stretching effort?
These questions were all gleefully answered as my fishing partner carefully nursed the gigantic fish into the net. We quickly grabbed a few pictures and carefully released the Australian icon back into its underwater lair.
It is Murray Cod encounters like this that seem identical to the uneducated, but give us true fishermen a new and unique buzz each an every time. Like a fiend, you spend all day chasing this high, with rod in hand anxiously waiting for that next hit.
If not today you’ll do it again tomorrow, you need that rush to fill the void – it’s the drug that satisfy’s our fishing addiction.
Any encounter with Australia’s premier native fish is unforgettable. However, for the sheer adrenaline rush, nothing compares to an irate Murray Cod that has been hooked on the cast.
It’s an uncontrollable passion that can see you spend a despondent day on the water, only to backup the next day, energized and ready to do it all again. It is a contagious form of native fishing that is infecting new codaholics, with every cast.