Murray cod season opens on December 1

Freshwater anglers will be able to fish for Murray cod again from Friday 1st December after the three-month annual closure comes to an end.

Murray cod are a prized catch of freshwater anglers and are found mainly in the Murray Darling river system. Every year a three-month ban on fishing - from September to the end of November - protects this native species during its breeding season.

This year there’s been some concern regarding the impact of the drought on our native fish stocks, but native fish such as Murray cod have evolved to handle dry conditions over millions of years and have an uncanny knack of knowing when to move to remnant pools or larger weir pools. 

In severe conditions they will generally go off their food and become difficult to catch. Provided anglers stick to bag and size limits, fishing does not pose a risk to our native fish stocks even where they have become somewhat concentrated. 

Nevertheless, NSW DPI is closely monitoring the situation, especially in the main arm of the Darling River where conditions are more severe.

It is important for freshwater anglers to know the fishing rules in relation to Murray cod.

There is a daily bag limit of two per person a day and a total possession limit of four from either rivers or dams. The minimum legal length of Murray cod is 50 centimetres, but anglers can keep only one fish more than 100 centimetres in length.

Live finfish including carp, and birds and mammals cannot be used as bait. Remember, a similar species, the endangered trout cod, is fully protected and anglers must release any trout cod they catch.

Murray cod are placed in inland rivers and dams through the Iemma Government’s fish stocking program.

Last year a record number of 674,000 Murray cod fry and fingerlings, bred at NSW DPI Narrandera hatchery, were released under the program, and another 282,000 were stocked through the Dollar-for-Dollar scheme funded by the NSW recreational fishing licence and community groups.

Murray cod is one of Australia’s largest freshwater fish. It grows up to 1.8 metres and can weigh more than 100 kilograms.
      
Detailed information on freshwater fishing rules can be found on the NSW DPI website www.dpi.nsw.gov.au and in the NSW DPI freshwater fishing guide and summary. These are available from NSW DPI Fisheries offices and most places where NSW recreational fishing licenses are sold.