The magnificent mighty Murray River is Australia’s longest waterway, stretching some 2508km from the Victorian High Country to the Great Australian Bight in South Australia. It marks the border between New South Wales and Victoria and is a crucial source of irrigation for many farming and agricultural communities along its banks.

As the river slowly flows downstream, scattered along its length, are carefully constructed reservoirs that are utilised to help regulate its flow, forming the backbone to the ecosystem we know today. A river system that not only provides vital sustenance but is also home to an abundance of wildlife and fish.

Among the river’s inhabitants is a native fish species that draws anglers from all over the country. The marvellous Murray cod (see Great Australian Outdoors 4) is known to grow to an impressive size and can be targeted with a variety of fishing methods. The most thrilling opportunity for anglers is to use big surface lures to entice a fish to charge up at the lure, exposing themselves above the surface before diving back to the structure in which they came from. At this moment, if they connect with the hooks, the feeling is nothing less than euphoric.

Over the past decade, the river has seen an increase in cod numbers, which can be attributed to better rainfall keeping the river healthy and significant restocking efforts by fisheries, helping restore the river back to its former glory. The waterway is in the best condition I have seen in years and the opportunity to catch Murray cod has never been better.

Earlier in the year my friend, Colby Lesko, was invited to feature in The Film Invitational. The TFI is a film competition where teams attempt to create, over a 12-week period, an exciting 20-minute film of a fishing adventure of their choosing, which get voted on by the public. I was honoured when Colby invited me to capture and create the film. The moment I agreed, the nerves kicked in, I was fearful that my work would not stack up against the other talented nine teams.

Colby has a passion for Murray cod like no other. He absolutely loves fishing for them and he wanted to capture a film showcasing this passion for catching big top water Murray cod. Choosing this trip for the film was a gamble because top water cod are extremely difficult to get a bite out of and it wouldn’t be as action packed as a reef trip up north. A drift along the Murray is more of a tranquil pursuit. This challenge would not deter us, we were really excited to see what the weeklong drift could produce.

Although there was a slight chance of rain later in the week, we really lucked out on conditions for the drift, the river greeted us clear as there hadn’t been much rain for the month prior to our arrival. There was little to no wind and three surface bites on the first afternoon, one fish connecting with the hooks. Once the sun went down the tinnie was beached on a remote sandbar for the night, swags rolled out, excitement levels amplified… sleep didn’t come easy because of the anticipation for what tomorrow might bring.

They aren’t lying when they say Murray cod are the fish of a thousand casts. This was the first time I had experienced a drift where the main goal was to fish surface lures as much as possible and I was a little naive as to what it takes to get a giant cod to eat off the surface. Colby was relentless with his fishing rod, casting non-stop during daylight hours. While the sun was low in the sky and shadows were on the river he would cast big top water paddlers. When the shade had disappeared and the sun high enough to hit the water, he would change to subsurface, barely stopping to eat. This was repeated every day until the clouds rolled in. When cloudy, Colby would cast surface all day.

The surface action died off quite considerably over the next two days. We were perplexed as to how Colby enticed three surface bites in one afternoon and then none for the next two days. The fish were still feeding because a couple of subsurface fish were caught while the sun was high. The peaceful drift swallowed time, before we knew it the halfway mark was reached.

Colby put a lot of pressure on himself to get a big fish to bite, he was chasing a fish over the magical metre mark. With bad weather on the horizon, the doubt started to set in. Day four was overcast and the top water cod fishing grind had well and truly kicked in, the unpredictable nature of cod fishing was starting to show. With thousands of casts under his belt for this drift, Colby mentioned something that provided a glimpse into the mind of a cod fisher. He said calmly: “You can’t let the fish break your spirit, you need to trust the process and keep casting at timber until you find that hungry fish.” A small fish livened up the mood when it tried to eat a surface lure almost the same size as it, twice, at midday.

It was not only a grind for Colby, it was also difficult to stay focused behind the camera while the current peacefully moved the boat downstream. With clouds in the sky, a surface blow up could happen at any moment and we didn’t want to miss it on the main camera. Batteries were constantly drained and charged back up, memory cards were filled and, in the end, footage that did not progress the story was deleted forever. Although it was hard, we did it with a smile. How could you not be happy slowly drifting down a river, breathing the fresh bush air, listening to the cockatoo’s squawk in the redgums, camping on sandbars and experiencing the great Australian outdoors?

On day five Colby was rewarded for his consistency with a beautiful fish taken on a surface paddler, as unexpected drizzle started soon after the fish was released. We were hopeful that this change in conditions would also change our luck. Colby continued the process, always casting at structure and keeping the lure on the water more than not. The afternoon session soon approached, the drizzle had set in and didn’t look like it was going to ease up.

One cast that afternoon hit the right snag and enticed an unpredictable surface explosion from an absolute giant of a fish. It moved so much water that the lure pushed up and away from the big cod’s mouth. He turned down, swimming to the depths of the river, missing the hooks by mere millimetres. While pre-planning the film, I never considered the scenario of missing a once-in-a-lifetime fish, but I am selfishly glad it happened. It added an element of emotion to the film that couldn’t be replicated if the hooks had been set. Colby threw the surface lure at the same snag in vain, the giant wasn’t going to be fooled twice. The decision to throw a stump jumper at the snag paid off. At the moment the fish hit the diver, we both assumed it was the monster but almost immediately, Colby conceded it wasn’t the giant. A beautiful fish but a small consolation prize after missing the big one.

The drizzle continued on day six, with periods of heavier rain thrown in for good measure. Colby persisted, never once looking like he was going to quit. He was like a dog on a bone, not going to stop until he achieved the goal of catching a big cod for the film. With more kilometres drifted and many more casts under the belt, finally a big Murray cod connected with the paddler and made the effort worthwhile. This fish would have no idea how much joy it brought to two men in a tinnie quietly moving downstream wherever the current would take them. Colby beached the boat and handled the big cod in the shallows of the riverbank to not harm the fish unintentionally. He removed the lure and released the fish back into the waterway that it calls home.

The rain that was predicted finally came. We were caught a little off guard because it didn’t stop for the rest of the afternoon and into the last morning. It was peaceful sleeping in the swag that night with the rain hitting the tarp above, it was a sleep that will be hard to beat.

On the final day we motored back upriver to where we started, inevitably going past the snag where the monster blew up. We decided it was worth one more cast to see if he was still there and willing to chew on the surface paddler. You’ll have to watch the films to find out if we got lucky or not!

The official TFI film ‘DRIFT’ can be viewed at www.thefilminvitational.com and a secondary film ‘DRIFT – Beyond The Film’ can be seen on YouTube by searching: Colby Lesko.

Even if we don’t win the competition, this experience has been extremely rewarding on a personal level. It was great to spend a week in the great outdoors, doing what we love. I consider myself lucky to live in a country where opportunities like this are available to those who seek them out. I feel like my film style really came through on this project and am extremely proud of the final cut. If you do spend 20 minutes watching the official film, I thank you. I hope you too get lost in the DRIFT.

Here’s s sneak peek: