How to Swimbait For Murray Cod

By Robert Thornton

Murray cod have a unique reverence among Aussie anglers. Being Australia’s largest freshwater fish – one that readily eats lures – this is hardly surprising. Additionally, it won’t come as a shock that specific tackle and techniques for these iconic fish have sprung up in the past few decades. Of these developments, swimbaits and swimbaiting tackle have been front and centre most recently.

In this blog we’re going to take you through how to catch cod on swimbaits. We’ll look at what swimbaits are, what swimbaiting is, as well as when and where to do it. After that we’ll go into the set-up and the mechanics of this specialised technique.

Let’s get straight into it!

A long swim to get here

Swimbaits, in one form or another, have been around for donkeys’ years. A swimbait is simply any lure that swims or glides through the water in a natural manner when retrieved. Swimbaits are usually bibbless, have a realistic design, and are often employed specifically for big fish. They can be hard or soft, floating or sinking, jointed or single-piece, big or small.

Like many things, swimbaiting techniques were initially imported from the US. While they’re still a relatively new phenomenon in Australia, the yanks have been refining it for close to a century. The term is so ubiquitous that most American anglers will even refer to a small paddle-tail soft plastic like a Bait Junkie 2.5” Minnow as a swimbait. To Aussies though, ‘swimbaiting’ has very explicit connotations, more often referring to the jumbo-sized lures that require heavy-duty, purpose-built tackle to use.

Swimbaiting ideas made their way to our country via barramundi and Murray cod, specifically impoundment barramundi and Murray cod, though some anglers use swimbaits for wild fish as well. Lakes stocked with barramundi and/or Murray cod tend to produce fisheries with a high proportion of big, educated fish. These XOS animals want big prey, however being older and wiser than their smaller siblings, anglers need to offer them something realistic. Compounding this is the fact that the water in most lakes stays clear all year round, meaning fish can get a good look at what you’re offering.

Sure, spinnerbaits and bibbed harbodies are effective on cod, particularly in comparatively turbid rivers where the average cod is smaller. In the dams, however, getting a big bite requires a big statement, and swimbaits are the best way to make that statement.

When and where

Swimbaits are not something cod anglers throw all the time. Granted, there are anglers that use them often, but they do have their limitations.

Swimbaits work best when they are able to swim freely without bumping into structure, as this gives them a chance to show-off their action to potential customers. Hard swimbaits also tend to have trebles, meaning hang-ups can become a nuisance around sunken logs and spindly branches – though some anglers use them around heavy structure.Furthermore, given that many swimbaits are designed to sink slowly or suspend, more open environments allow predators to study them from afar while they hang there, eventually enticing them over for a closer look.

These lures will get results on Murray cod in lakes and rivers year-round, but it’s in the cooler months that swimbaits really shine, especially in the clear water impoundments. Such lakes include, but are not limited to, Copeton, Burrendong, Wyangala, Googong, Glenlyon, Leslie, Eildon and Blowering. You can check out our impoundment Murray cod guide here!

During winter, smaller cod tend to slow down their feeding activities, instead choosing to conserve energy and wait until things warm up again. For big Murray cod, it’s a different story. These dinosaurs simply must keep feeding to retain condition over the winter, plus with their spawning usually occurring in spring, they want to make sure they’re in tip-top shape for mating once the mercury starts to climb again!

Winter often sees hordes of bony bream, spangled perch, redfin, trout, yellowbelly and other common food items for big cod moving into shallow water. They do this in an attempt to absorb as much warmth from the sun as possible, using whatever energy this affords them to then forage around in the shallows to scratch a living during these lean times.

Hungry cod take advantage of this, moving up into these zones to pick off the hapless forgers. It’s quite astonishing just how shallow big cod will go to score a feed at times, and it’s not unusual at all to find barrel size cod in a metre of water during winter. Even banks that are seemingly featureless (aside from the schooling baitfish) can be happy hunting grounds for these mottled beasts.

From this, it’s easier to see why swimbaiting are such an effective method in these environments, and why few approaches (if any!) have been found to work better.

The right kit

Swimbaits for cod are heavier than most standard cod lures, sometimes up to (and even over) 200g. What this means is normal baitcasting tackle isn’t going to deliver these lures, or at least not very comfortably.

Swimbait spec rods tend to be fast-actioned blanks between 7-8ft, with long butt sections to help with two-handed casting. A long butt tucks nicely under the non-winding arm during the retrieve, a posture that also gives the angler extra leverage to set the hook when the swimbait gets eaten.

For the budget-conscious angler, the 23 Tatula range of swimbait rods are an excellent weapon of choice. The 762XHFB-SB and 792XXHFB-SB models are 7’6’ and 7’9” and have a maximum casting weight of 220 and 250g respectively.

Similarly with reels, they will need to upsized from the standard kit. Most lure casting for cod can be done with a 150 or 200-size baitcaster. Reels of this calibre can handle repetitive casting and retrieving with cod-sized spinnerbaits and hardbodies but aren’t going to perform nearly as well with a lure twice, thrice, or even quadruple the weight! The gears and bearings in smaller reels aren’t designed for heavy lures and can quite literally ‘cook’ under the load!

Heavy-duty baitcasters in the 300-400 size range are much better suited to this harsh treatment, which can sometimes see an angler sending out cast after cast for hours on end before getting a bite. The Tatula 300and 400 baitcaster reels both balance nicely on the above rods, with the 300 offering two retrieve speeds (6.3:1 and 7.1:1) and the 400 just one at 6.3:1. For the ultimate heavy-duty baitcasting reel, the 21 Lexa TW(available in 300 and 400 sizes) comes with a Swept Power Handle for muscling in big fish – it also doubles as a offshore jigging reel for those that way inclined!

Heavy braided line and leaders are a must when swimbaiting for cod, with 40, 50 or 60lb braid and 60-80lb leaders recommended. While heavy line is important when chasing big fish, it also minimises the chance of ‘casting off’ your expensive swimbaits. Thin but strong leader knots are equally important, further minimising any unguided ariel journeys for your lure. The FG knot is the go-to leader connection for most anglers these days and is particularly good for heavy lines.

Tricks of the trade

As you may have figured out by now, swimbaiting isn’t like other cast-and-retrieve cod techniques.

Casting a swimbait on a purpose-built rod is more of a lob or launch than a cast. With one hand on the reel holding the spool, the other hand should be clasped around the very bottom end of the rod butt. With 1-2ft of line hanging from the rod tip, the angler can then use the pendulum motion of the swinging lure to lob it from the side or launch it overhead.

Another thing to keep in mind is that swimbaits are big lures that make a big splash. This means that in skinny water you’ll need to be mindful of where your lure is landing, as even though cod are aggressive, they might not respond well to a brick-sized object crashing directly on their head. If possible, try to land your swimbait past where you think a fish might be. This is good to keep in mind when chasing impoundment barramundi as well.

Finally, make sure you go slow. Swimbaits are designed to draw big fish to them in clear water, so you want to make sure they’re able to get a good look at it. It’s important to show off their enticing swimming action, but it’s always a good idea pause or let it sink occasionally, even imparting a few injured looking twitches if you believe that might seal the deal. If you’re not sure what they want, it’s best to mix it up until you find something that works. Always remember though, go slow!

Swim into the sunset

Catching big Murray cod is challenging at the best of times, but employing big swimbaits has become a proven method for selectively targeting these bucket-mouthed monsters. If a metre-plus Murray cod is on your bucket list, you’d be mad not to explore the world of swimbaiting. These techniques are also surprisingly effective on other species, particularly barramundi and jewfish.

Big fish eat big baits, so why not see what all the fuss is about?

Swimbaits for Murray Cod

By Jacko Davis

Every couple of years there is a new craze technique to target a certain species, no matter what the species. Murray Cod are a great example of this, from old flatfish, floopy’s and oversize inline spinners to the big wooden hardbodies and spinnerbaits to the more recent surface lures. Although some Aussie swimbaits date back to the 1960’s a recent rise in quality and success has them at the end of many passionate Cod anglers rods. It’s been well published over the last year and rightly so, that swimbaits are proving the biggest lure advancement for targeting Murray Cod since the spinnerbait. Americans have been using them on Largemouth Bass for years and now we Aussies have caught on. 

The swimbait category encompasses both soft plastic and hard body designs, and both are very effective. These can be jointed, surface or subsurface, slow sink and fast sink – covering a range of depth options to suit. Their realistic action and appeal is the difference between them and all the old proven lures out there. Lure fishing for Murray Cod has grown in leaps and bounds over the last few years, and in high pressured waters, having a more realistic lure can prove the difference. A lot of these swimbaits are quite large, and using them is made easier with technique specific outfits. 

At first I found it hard to tie on a swimbait with any confidence over proven lures like spinnerbaits and surface paddlers, but once I caught my first Murray on one, I haven’t looked back. I’ll be the first to admit that I thought I’d be fine casting differing swimbaits, sizes and weights on my old trusty Generation Black ‘Cranky” baitcast setups. I’d read a lot about how important having a swimbait setup (rod & reel) to match the baits you are throwing were, but I continued to lob casts out with my Cranky. Not until Daiwa released their new Tatula swimbait rods did I realise how wrong I was. These rods allow you to cast any bait with confidence, work the lure how it’s designed to be done and handle large fish with ease. The major factor I’ve found is the casting. You can cast a 5 ounce bait like you would a ½ ounce spinnerbait on the ‘Cranky’. It lets you fish significantly more water, in most cases I could cast twice as far, and this is a recipe for successful fishing in any circumstance. One thing I’ve noticed since becoming hooked on this swimbait craze is the average size of fish has increased considerably. I’ve been able to land some monumental fish in my short time swimbaiting, and a large reason for that is using quality gear that is technique specific – horses for courses. The reel I have matched with the Tatula rod (TAT76H-SB), is a Daiwa Lexa CC 300H and it also plays an important role. Having a larger reel balances the rod out, holds more line and has more drag (10kg), all important factors. 

It’s pretty evident swimbaiting for Murray Cod is changing the way many people approach the species, and the success is widespread. Since I caught on, I find myself using a swimbait 9 times out of 10, my spinnerbaits are collecting dust! I’ve been super impressed with the swimbait setup I’ve been using, its allowed me to cast and retrieve large baits how they should be and helped me land some large Murray Cod. The quality of Daiwa products goes without saying and the price point of this setup I’ve found to be significantly lower than other products in the same category. For anyone who wants to give swimbaiting a crack, it is addictive! Be sure to buy quality baits and setups that are specific to the fishing you are doing. Always remember that Murray Cod are a fish of 1000 casts, success will come.