Giant Murray cod caught by David Bell in the Broken River on February 16.
Photo by
Contributed
“It was a bit of a battle.”
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Those were the words of Shepparton local David Bell after he fulfilled a promise made three years ago to his fishing fans online.
Mr Bell caught a Murray cod measuring a whopping 122cm in the Broken River, 15km from Kialla, on the evening of Monday, February 16.
He was out alone filming surface fishing content for his YouTube and TikTok accounts, named Fishing with DJB, in a location he has been visiting since high school.
Surface fishing involves using baits or lures that float on or just below the surface of the water.
When Mr Bell began creating online content three years ago, he filmed a video of himself standing in the same fishing spot, vowing to catch a Murray cod over a metre in length in the Broken River.
Conservation group The Upper Murrumbidgee Demonstration Reach lists the average size of a Murray cod as being between 450mm and 620mm.
It is unusual to find Murray cod of this size in the Broken River.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Mr Bell said he had never caught anything like this specimen before and larger individuals are uncommon in smaller bodies of water like the Broken River
On Monday, the Murray cod made an appearance early in the evening, circling under and biting at the lure.
“You’re pretty lucky to catch one fish surface fishing,” said Mr. Bell.
“They’ll attack it aggressively because they’re a territorial fish.
“It looks like someone has thrown a stick of dynamite.
“I was freaking out, I already had goosebumps.”
Mr Bell spent 45 minutes casting for the fish before giving up and moving to another spot, where he caught and lost another Murray cod of a more typical size.
As he was about to head home, Mr Bell decided he would have another try and went back to his original location.
Mr Bell said that on the third cast, the fish “came up and exploded on the lure”.
After measuring the fish, Mr Bell released it back into the Broken River.
The achievement has been celebrated by the local fishing community on Facebook, with experienced fishers remarking that it was unusual to see a fish of that size in the Broken River.
Owner of Trelly’s Outdoor and City of Greater Shepparton councillor Steven Threlfall was impressed.
“It’s such a small river, it is uncommon to catch them out there,” he said.
“If he was using a surface lure, it’s an amazing catch.”
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