They’re all being tossed through the air, slowly retrieved, twitched or just soaking next to likely looking snags as we speak, because it’s cod opening weekend.

There’ll be thousands of hopeful anglers out there, giving it their best shot at this very moment, and good luck to them all.

Yesterday was the actual opening date, but there’s plenty of fishos wetting a line for the first time today, I’m sure. The season started well for Leigh Mount, who nailed a 58cm model in the first 15 minutes, as did Rod Hamilton. But the best I’ve heard about at the time of writing was a 1.160m job caught off the surface on a cod Coolabung Cod Cracker by Jack Drage in “a river somewhere”.

I managed three little blokes on our Chickens Hit bait for the morning in the river before work, with one being a little trout cod, all being released.

One of the big issues amongst cod fishos  – well, I suppose this relates to all fishos really – is making sure that when you do release your fish, you’re giving it the best chance of survival.

Don’t get the fish out of the water if possible – try and remove the hook while the fish is still in the water.

If you do need to bring the fish up the bank or into the boat, try to handle it as little as possible and for the shortest time. If you’re going to place it on a brag mat, make sure you wet it first. And if you’re going to take photos, do it as fast as possible.

Cod, like all fish, have a slimy coating which helps protect them from infection, so it’s important to handle them with care and keep handling to a minimum. If you’re going to the effort of releasing any fish, why not make sure you’re giving it its best chance to live.

Burrinjuck – has slowed a bit in the past couple of weeks, but with heaps of fishos up there this weekend, I’m sure we’ll get a few reports. We’ll definitely find out whether it’s worth a visit the following week.

Blowering – should fish well, as the rain shouldn’t affect it too much. Recent stories would indicate that bank fishing is as good as any, with quite a few yellas and the odd cod coming in on yabbies, in particular.

Hume – could be another destination for cod fishos, as well as anyone chasing a feed of reddies, as it too shouldn’t be affected too much by recent rain. The occasional decent reddies are still being caught on both bait and lure, but it doesn’t look like they’re schooling up much though. There’s plenty of little blokes about and still the odd decent yella, as Mick Zanardo found out when he and I went out on Saturday arvo. Mick landed a nice 56cm model on the troll, while I had to be content with a bunch of little reddies.

The Upper Murray – could be pretty tough now after the rain. Though, I suppose there’s still be a few brave souls hanging about under tarps soaking a bait and getting just as wet inside as they are on the outside. That’s the spirit, boys and girls.

The Murray River – downstream of the wall as far as the influence of the Kiewa River junction might also be worth a look, as it should be still reasonably stable and clear-ish.

Further downstream will be tough, and bait might be the go.

Mulwala – will be packed with participants of the Cod Classic.

Smaller cod waters such as the Kiewa, Ovens, King and Mitta – will more than likely be pretty high and coloured, but if you soak a bait or two you could still go OK.

Streams – had been fishing really well, and I’m sure a scrubbie on the bottom or drifting down naturally would still nail a fish.

Lake Binamboola – just below Dartmouth would be well worth a visit and has been fishing well for bait, fly and lure fishos!

Catch you again next week with all the good oil from cod opening.