We're nearly there.

Only a couple more days to wait now until cod season 2020 fires up at midnight Monday and with no forecasts of rain prior, you can't imagine a bad spot to be.

The only spot I can think of that might not be 100 per cent might be the Upper Murray, and the only reason I say that is because of the water clarity issues it's been having of late.

In saying that though, it will only make it tough for the lure fishos. I'm sure bait fishos that fish around Jingellic, Walwa and above will still have no problems boating a few and as we all know, they're magnificently coloured, fat fish right through that beautiful area.

I don't think you'll be able to use water conditions as an excuse anywhere else from Tuesday on.

If this is your first cod opening or you're just getting into it, the biggest tip I can give you, whether you're going to fish bait or lure, is get in as close as you're game to any structure.

Cod love cover and, during the day in particular, will hold in tight to old stumps, tree roots etc.

So make sure you try to get in as close to his home as you can.

There's been plenty happening everywhere this week so let's have a look around the traps.

Dartmouth (61.4 per cent): seems to be a model of consistency of late and there were plenty of good stories coming out of the mountains again this week.

While there's still a lot of trout being trolled on the main lake, particularly by those using lead line to get down, Lake Banamboola is also going pretty well.

This is an ideal location if you're a land-based angler.

Lure, bait and fly all work well there and there's been some very nice trout landed lately, most by spin fishos from what I'm hearing.

Small minnows, Tassies and spoons all work well and don't forget, the "Golden Tagged Fish" program is still running and there's one or two in "the pondage" as Josh Read found out a week or two back.

Josh caught a nice brownie with a tag hanging off him and won $2000 for his efforts!

Streams: will have settled nicely after recent rains and will be well worth a visit.

You would think this year will be a pretty busy one in the hills after most people lost camping opportunities earlier in the year, with fires and COVID wiping out Christmas and Easter for most, the next month is very likely to be the quietest for the season, so it might pay to make the most of that.

My young bloke Ben did really well on the Mitta on Thursday.

He landed a good number of fish on fly, with one being over 2.5 kilograms.

All of them were caught on dry's and most came in during the day, which is much more fun than relying on that frantic half hour rush on dark we often get.

Lake Hume (76.8 per cent): was good again this week, with just about everyone reporting lots of reddies. Even though most are small, most fishos are getting a good feed.

There has been the odd fisho striking a patch of decent fish though and the yellas are still about as well, with grubbing or trolling doing well.

On that note, I'm happy to say my prediction of the yellas shutting down on dropping water hasn't come true.

Murray: below Albury has plenty of water and fishos flicking vibes about have been doing well. Jamo Smith and a couple of mates got a great mixed bag on Thursday evening, landing a good trout, a couple of reasonable reddies and a couple of yellas for a session.

I'm sure the cod will turn it on for us this week!

Mulwala: will be a destination for many on Tuesday and you would think it should fish pretty well. You'd expect flicking or trolling spinnerbaits or hard bodies would do the job but be prepared to leave the shallows and head for the channels if this really hot weather continues.

Cod in the smaller streams: should be sensational this year. We've had good water levels and the most exciting thing is what I've been hearing.

Cicadas have been chirping away in big numbers and if they're about in big numbers, that usually means the percentage that fall into the water is larger too, and that usually means cod will get used to feeding off the top, and that usually means surface lure fishing is a great option, and that usually equals a whole lot of fun. Simple, isn't it.

Eucumbene (38.2 per cent): fished pretty well for my brother Peter and a few mates last weekend. Pete fished fly and found Midge balls did the trick on evenings but also picked up a couple on nymphs during the day.

The rest of the crew trolled a few up but had to work for them.