By Darren Reid

The view from below the surface must look surreal even for a Murray cod, one of Australia's most deadly piscatorial predators. Large wobbling minnow lures dredge small channels through the mud occasionally impacting with sunken logs.

Spinner baits whirr in barely a metre of water, ducking and weaving around the twisted carnage of fallen trees and branches. All this amongst a cacophony of propellers from both the horse powered and wet cell varieties. Welcome to a freshwater impoundment fishing competition.

The Mulwala Classic is a total catch and release competition. 100 invited anglers spend an extraordinary amount of time and money attempting to lure the mighty Murray cod, only to release them to fight again another day. The competition is held at Lake Mulwala, a man made impoundment on the NSW and Victorian border along the Murray River.

A mate of mine, Browny, had long wanted to fish the competition and finally received the invite and thus the 2003 Classic was on. This was not only my first Classic but my first fishing competition as I admit that I never have been a fan of fishing competitions mainly because of the catch and kill everything mentality. The Mulwala Classic and now thankfully many other comps around Australia are different.

Organised by Graham Clark of Wagga Fishing World, this invite only competition is highly regarded amongst freshwater fishing aficionados as it is well run and more importantly fun to be involved in. For a reasonable cost anglers are provided with cabin or tent accommodation for 3 nights, all meals, entrance in the comp, a brilliant boat launch and retrieval service and plenty of prizes and show bags on offer. The Classic has been going for around 12 years and features some of Australia's best cod anglers.

Catching Murray cod on lures is a passion or even an obsession for some anglers. Along with barramundi, marlin and now perhaps bream, there is a plethora of lures on the market aimed a particular species and following.

Perhaps more so with Murray cod though, a cottage industry of lure makers has spurned with countless brands vying for the cod angling dollar. Cod anglers have huge tackle boxes, not only to cater for the large cod lures but also the variety in the arsenal.

It's not good enough to just have a few brands in the box, but also every major colour.

Some cod lure makers go to extremes, I've seen cod lures a foot long (30cm)! They wobble like penguins and need heavy rods and a steady heart as any cod big enough to eat it these designs must surely be a monster!

Many lure makers attend the Classic as competitors and have almost since its inception. I shared a cabin with Graeme Saunders the maker of Codger Lures. Graeme's lures are well crafted and finished plus they catch fish. Graeme lead the comp on day one and finished third overall using his own lures.

The Classic is run over two full days with only Murray cod 50cm or over able to be scored. Other species such as golden perch are recorded and attract a single prize but the data is mainly used for NSW Fisheries research purposes.

The rules allow your fellow angler in the boat to verify the length of the fish you've caught, it works on the honour system. Although if a large cod is captured you are encouraged to alert another competing boat. The main prizes to be won are randomly drawn in a Super draw on the last night, people can cheat but who would bother.

The Classic is a serious fishing competition that doesn't take itself too seriously, except when it comes to conserving Murray cod stocks via its total catch and release philosophy.

High drama hit the Classic this year. Casey Hilton from Wagga Wagga was trolling behind a large reed island when a monster cod of 1.21 metres, weighing perhaps 75 pound (33kg), grabbed his Oar-Gee lure. This thumping mass managed to snag itself during the hour long fight and was only released from the snag when Casey free spooled the reel. When the cod came to the boat it was apparent that the snag had taken its toll and 'stressed' this magnificent fish and it would need to be 'swum' to get it going again.

Wayne 'chuck' Connors came to assist and soon up to 10 boats were swarming around gawking and talking in total amazement at the size of this legend of freshwater fishing in Australia. We heard of the capture when a fellow competitor zoomed past us and yelled " Give up! Some bloke has caught a 1 metre plus cod!" When Browny and I arrived at the scene, Casey and Wayne had already spent an hour taking turns swimming the fish.

The cod was able to maintain an upright position but refused to swim under the surface, a sure sign that it was in trouble. Phone calls were made asking for advice, which ranged from rubbing its belly to inserting a syringe to deflate the swim bladder.

For close on 40 minutes we hovered and snapped photos all the while hoping the fish would swim away. The rules of the competition state that if a fish does not swim away it is ineligible to be scored. Everyone including Casey was far more concerned about the health of the fish than it's eligibility; such is the devotion to this icon.

We left the boys with some hope that the cod would recover, unfortunately it didn't. After 4 hours of trying to revive the cod the decision was made to knock it on the head and bring it back to the camp. A shame for sure, but you had to be there to see the effort put in to help this fish recover.

Over the two days of the comp plus the Dash for Cash on the final morning, the fishing was slow. The best fish apart from Casey's was caught by Phil Keetelar with a 99cm cod, Phil was the eventual winner of the 2003 Classic.

Browny and I did Ok for a couple of newbies, with five Murray cod and one golden perch caught over the period. We caught cod trolling and casting both minnows and spinnerbaits and really enjoyed the experience both on and off the water.

We will definitely be back next year. I reckon Casey might be too!