Rob from Team Predatek spent 5 days in Inverell from 21-25 May 2018. The aim of the trip was to fish the new Jabberwok in Lake Copeton in what has been a good time of year for surface action. Each day he commenced fishing between 04:00 and 05:00 hrs and fished until 07:30. On one day, he fished until 12:30 with local David Martel from David's boat, covering a lot of good water that has been productive over the years.
We fished Jabberwoks, of course, but also Predatek Vipers. David also fished chatterbaits and spinnerbaits. We cast and we trolled. And cast and trolled. And cast and cast and cast!
From all reports we got, no-one was doing much good. There were plenty of anglers on the water and we heard no reports of surface strikes. There seemed to be a lot of disappointed anglers about. But when Murray cod decide to shut down, they can really shut down and we are left to fathom 'why?'.
The caretaker at Northern Shores told us that no-one was reporting catches. A couple of weeks before, Water Resources had released some water and dropped the lake level by one metre. Some anglers theorised that this had put the fish off. That may well have been the case. Whatever the reason, the Murray cod were not 'on the chew', despite David's Lowrance sonar showing us plenty of substantial fish arches.
Friday 25 May was Rob's last day before heading home. It was tempting to forego another early morning session in the cold, and stay in a warm bed in Inverell. But that would be a wasted opportunity—plenty of time for sleep-ins when you're back at home.
So back to Copeton he went for a final session fishing from the shore. Result? One missed strike!
it wasn't much to show for five days of perseverance but, hey, that's fishing!