Murray cod are the reason most serious anglers come to Nagambie. Australia's largest freshwater fish lives here in both the lake and the Goulburn River, and the fishery is backed by one of Victoria's bigger stocking programmes. This page covers the species, the rules and how the fish behave in this system specifically.
01The species
Murray cod are ambush predators that grow past a metre, live for decades and hold tight to cover. They do not roam open water looking for food; they sit in or beside structure and eat what comes to them, which shapes everything about how you fish for them.
The Nagambie fishery is sustained by stocking. More than a million Murray cod and golden perch fingerlings have been released into the Nagambie Lakes system since 2009, and a VFA creel survey of the lake found Murray cod made up around a fifth of the catch, second only to golden perch.
02Where cod hold in this system
The VFA radio-tracked Murray cod and golden perch through the Nagambie Lakes in a dedicated movement study, and the results are a cheat sheet for anglers. Tracked cod spent around 70 per cent of their time in pools deeper than five metres associated with large woody debris, and both species strongly favoured the old river channel over the shallow backwaters.
In practice that means the drowned timber along the old Goulburn channel is the water that matters: the eastern timber, the channel edges and the moving water below the weir. Casting at random shoreline is mostly casting at empty water. Start with the hot spots guide and the Goulburn Weir guide.
03Season, size and limits
The Murray cod closed season runs from 1 September to 30 November inclusive, and the season reopens on 1 December. Lake Nagambie and the Goulburn are not among the waters exempt from the closure. Our cod season opening guide covers planning the first week.
The slot limit is 55 to 75 centimetres: fish under or over the slot go back. Bag and possession limits differ between rivers and specified lakes, and cod must be kept whole at the water. Check the VFA Murray cod page for the water you are fishing, and see our licence and rules guide.
The Goulburn also holds protected trout cod. If you are not certain which species you have caught, release it.
04Tactics
Cast to structure, not open water. Spinnerbaits and deep hardbodies worked tight along timber are the staple, swimbaits cover the bigger fish, and surface lures on dark through summer are the most exciting way to catch a cod anywhere. Accuracy beats distance: a lure that lands a metre from the snag often goes untouched while one that bounces off the timber gets eaten.
Bait anglers do well here too. The VFA's lake survey found most anglers fish bait from the shore, and traditional cod baits fished near structure account for plenty of fish.
If you are building a kit, start with must-have lures for cod opening and buying your first cod setup.
05Catch and release
The slot limit means every trophy cod goes back, so releasing fish well is part of the job. Keep the fish in the water where possible, support it horizontally with wet hands, never hang it vertically by the jaw, and keep photos quick. In warm water, give a tired fish time facing the current until it kicks away on its own.
06Common questions
Are there Murray cod in Lake Nagambie itself, or just the river? Both. The lake and the river are one connected system, and tracked fish favoured the old river channel and timber that runs through the lake, rather than the shallow backwaters.
When is the best time to catch a cod at Nagambie? The season runs 1 December to 31 August. Low light is the prime window: dawn, dusk and after dark, with summer nights the classic time for surface fishing.
What is the biggest cod likely here? Fish over the 75 centimetre slot maximum are caught in this system, and every one of them must go back. That is the point of the slot: the big breeders stay in the water.