LAKE MACDONALD UNICORN by Brandon Collins
$1.00 MARY RIVER COD | Lake Macdonald
So my best mate Jacko Locking and myself got into fishing seriously mid way through last year, and have been fishing lake MacDonald nearly everyday during the Christmas break.
We headed out around 10am to go chase a few bass on some light gear. It was a really quiet day and we weren’t catching to many which isn’t normal for lake Mac, but you have those days.
I’d got a new rod an reel combo for Christmas and really wanted to try it out, was a bit heavier then what I normally use - Diawa strikeforce 100sh-4i reel, 20lb braid, 30lb leader an a savage gear 6ft 6-8kg baitcaster rod.
Jacko and I moved to a spot I’ve fished in lake MacDonald where I really thought there could be a Mary River Cod, I had been snapped off multiple times on light gear and once on heavier gear! We were just slowly moving along casting purple an gold 1/2oz spinners at snags an weed beds.. Then I was on! When it hit, it felt like a log, to be honest I thought I was snagged.. It eventually took off and after a 5-6 minute fight i face-timed my dad with what i had caught. He suggested we call the hatchery as he knew the dam level will be lowered in the near future to accommodate the dam wall reconstruction works. They weren't nearby so we got it in the boat to measure, took some quick photos then released him back to exactly where he was caught!
WATCH THIS INCREDIBLE FOOTAGE!
THE FOLLOWING DAY :
I went out the following day solo and got on the lake at 4:15am to chase bass as usual, on my light gear. Found a lot of massive schools and hooked 7 decent bass an a couple of smaller ones on the 1/2oz gold spinner. I was in the same area, just on the opposite side of the lake casting at a big weed beds I seen on the sounder..
Got whacked REALLY hard and was followed by a powerful run before getting tangled in the weeds! I managed to move it out a bit but just couldn’t get it off the bottom. There was so much weight! Ended up pulling a little too hard on what I suspect was another metre plus MRC and straightened the hooks. Had a few casts with the heavier combo but didn’t manage to get any hits. Watch how the back end of the fight unfolded…
PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THESE FISH ARE ENDANGERED AND MUST BE RELEASED ASAP.