It is the kind of self-imposed mission that makes for a long season: catch a metre-plus Murray cod on every colour in a lure range. Set that challenge across the ten colours of the new Spinright Fluff Ball Elite, the angler behind the Let's Go Fishing channel set about it on a drizzly winter morning — and the cod obliged in style.
The big plastic, a 220mm lure with double the skirt material of the original, did exactly what a big bait is supposed to: it drew big fish. Over a single session he boated multiple metre-class cod, including one he estimated at around 130cm. "That thing has got to be pushing 130," he said as he hauled a fish he called "an absolute blimp" boat-side. Several others, in the 120cm range and a fat 80cm fish, came on different colours, ticking four of the ten off the challenge list before he had to head back to work. A couple of true giants pulled hooks mid-fight — "that's the way it goes sometimes" — but the morning still produced a remarkable run of fish.
The most useful takeaway was about timing. Cold, grey, drizzly days, he argued, flatten out the usual importance of dawn and dusk. "It's like overcast, drizzly, rainy day. I really don't think prime time matters that much on days like today," he said. "If you can find the fish, they will just eat on days like this, especially during winter." By contrast, he noted, hot, sunny conditions can make big cod far harder to tempt. The practical tip: when it is grey and wet, you can realistically fish all day rather than chasing a narrow window.
He also walked through the one modification he makes to the lure. Straight from the box, the front treble can tangle in the skirt in windy conditions. His fix is to add a swivel, a ring and a short decoy wire leader to drop the rear hook back behind the skirt and pin it into the back of the plastic. The swivel, he explained, turns as a thrashing fish rolls, taking stress off the hook hold, and the set-up rides a little more snag-proof through timber.
The gear backing it all up was a Samaki C12 rod rated 12 to 25lb paired with a Samaki Zing 300 baitcaster, 50lb braid and a 40lb leader, with a Garmin LiveScope unit he rated as hard to beat for spotting and tracking big fish before the cast. Four colours down, six to go — and on the strength of one wet winter morning, the rest of the range looks likely to get ticked off.
