EPISODE 59 – Lake Mac Attack!

The Cod Tales Podcast hit the road and headed down to Lake Macquarie to catch up with our good mate Banksy… and somehow ended up living out a full blown bucket list weekend.

First up chasing marlin offshore.

And guess what… Azz ticks off a DREAM fish with his very first Blue Marlin. Absolute scenes. Chaos. Screaming reels and Dane getting crook for the first time in some ordinary weather out on the big blue. But that fish will live rent free in his head forever.

Then we backed it up with a morning session on the lake where it was just one of those relaxing days that turn into great memories

• Dane knocked over a new PB flatty 🏆

• AND landed his first ever snapper

Somewhere in between we got creative with ChatGPT comparing fish to cars… which turned into one of the more unhinged but weirdly accurate chats we’ve ever had. You’ll never look at a marlin or a Corolla the same again.

We also dive into the upcoming Teams Fishing Australia State of Origin New South Wales vs Victoria — and who we think is taking bragging rights this year 🏆

And to top it all off… Azz cops a heartfelt surprise from galvo live on the pod that genuinely caught him off guard. Proper goosebumps stuff.

Big fish. Big laughs. Big moments.

Episode 59 is one of those ones.

Available now wherever you listen.

Tag the mate you’d chase a marlin with.

🚨 RIVER DRIFTS, BLOWN TRAILERS & FISHING 🚨

Just before Christmas we squeezed in one of those river drifts… you know the ones that make you look over your shoulder thinking “surely this isn’t allowed.”

📊 44 fish in 6½ hours.

Absolute mayhem.

The highlight? Without question the most bizarre eat we’ve ever seen — a mid-70s cod climbing halfway out of the river to eat a lure off the bank. Still not convinced it was real, but it’s burned into our brains forever.

Of course… Codtales rules apply:

⚡ Electric motor decided it had had enough

🛑 Trip ended early

🛞 Lost a wheel AND hub off the axle

🚤 Boat trailer log-slated its way 17km into Binda

We also had:

🎣 A tough river session with Mick Hayden, still boating six fish for the morning when it was proper grindy

🎣 A trip with Daddy Marto, only one fish on a Lighthouse Diver, but it turned into an elite arvo — a few beers, soaking bait and talking absolute nonsense

🎣 A quick fish with Nick & Ivy — 10 cod for the morning, and Ivy landed a cracking cod all by herself (outfishing blokes twice her size as usual)

Now we’re staring down the barrel of State of Origin Teams Fishing Australia in just five weeks 😳

Dam fish… what are you going to do?

Meanwhile at Codtales HQ:

💡 New neon sign pumping

📱 TikTok lives rolling

🎤 Portable mic setup dialled

✈️ Locked in for Lake Monduran, QLD

🎣 Plan to catch up with the one and only Nate Archer

River chaos, big fish, busted gear, good mates and better yarns — this is what Codtales is built on.

🎙️ Episodes coming.

🍻 Beers cold.

🎣 Lines tight.

#Codtales #MurrayCod #RiverDrift #FishingFeltIllegal #BeforeChristmasChaos #CodLife

🎣 COD TALES PODCAST 🎙️

2025 RECAP • CHRISTMAS • RIVERS • PBs • WHAT’S NEXT

This one’s a proper sit-down yarn.

No rush. No egos. Just looking back on a year that gave us everything — the highs, the heartbreaks, the quiet nights, and the moments that make it all worth it.

🔥 2025 wasn’t just about fish numbers

It was about time on the water, time with mates, learning rivers properly, and earning every bite.

💥 Big moments this year

• Metre-plus cod

• Surface eats that still live rent-free in our heads

• Watching mates land PBs they’ve chased for years

🎯 Azz’s year

PB trout. PB barra. Two different fisheries. Two massive achievements. Proof that the grind pays off.

🌊 Cod opening & river reality

Not a smash fest — but honest fishing.

Early surface windows. Weedless surface becoming essential. Slower presentations winning. Timber, edges, and patience holding fish.

Some nights it’s one bite… and that one bite is everything.

🚤 Dane & the new boat

He’s closer than ever — and when it happens, Cod Tales levels up. New water. Bigger trips. More chaos.

🧠 Mental health & the Cod Tales community

What started as mates talking fishing turned into something bigger.

Real conversations. Lure auctions. Fishing as therapy.

If this pod helped one bloke through a rough patch — that’s the win.

🎄 Christmas check-in

This time of year isn’t easy for everyone.

Check in on your mates. Slow down. Get outside. Wet a line. Speak up if you need to.

🔮 Looking to 2026

✔️ Bigger guests

✔️ More river breakdowns

✔️ More technique talk

✔️ More mental health initiatives

✔️ More trips

✔️ More honesty

To everyone who listened, shared, messaged and supported — thank you.

From all of us at Cod Tales: Merry Christmas, stay safe into the New Year…

🎣 One more cast is never just one more cast.

We’ll see you in 2026. Tight lines, legends.

#CodTalesPodcast #MurrayCod #RiverLife #FishingYarns #MentalHealthMatters #SurfaceEats #PBSeason #AussieFishing

What an absolute belter of a cod opening week! The crew clocked up 25+ hours on the water, pushing sunrises, late nights, and everything in between – and it all paid off in style.

We kicked things off with a thumping 107cm cod to officially welcome in the season, and by the end of the week we’d landed over 65 fish. Some on surface, some subsurface… but one thing stood out more than anything else:

👉 Weedless surface is taking over river cod fishing.

The way these lures let you punch deep into the willows, skip across snag piles, slide through the skinny water, and draw those explosive eats… it’s changing the game. And this week proved it in a big way. We break down:

• Why weedless surface lures are becoming the new must-have tool for river systems

• How adapting your presentation around timber, current seams and shadow lines can double your chances

• The mistakes we’ve made, the wins we’ve had, and what we’re doing differently now

• A few wild moments (and near-misses) from the week that you’ll hear about in the episode 😅

We also chat about the big plans coming for Cod Tales in 2026 — new projects, new adventures, and some seriously exciting stuff we’ve been working on behind the scenes.

If you love cod fishing, big surface hits, long hours on the water, and a few laughs in between… this is one episode you won’t want to miss.

Tune in, settle in, and let’s relive one of the best opening weeks we’ve ever had. 🎧🔥

#CodTalesPodcast #CodOpeningWeek #MurrayCod #SurfaceCarnage #WeedlessSurface #RiverCod #FishingLife

🎣 NEW EPISODE DROP – Grant from Colourshift Customs! 🎨🔥

Buckle up lads… this one is packed with proper fish-catching wisdom.

We sat down with Grant from Colourshift Customs, the detail-obsessed mastermind behind some of the cleanest paint jobs and custom jigs getting around.

In this episode we chat about:

🎨 Lure colour selection and why it changes with depth + dirty water

⚡ How UV helps turn follows into eats

🪝 What makes the perfect jighead

🐟 Grant jumping on a couple river runs with Aaron… and somehow landing a TROPHY fish both times 😳

🎣 The gear he’s developed – jigheads, football jigs, chatterbaits, swimbaits – and how he can paint ANY lure exactly how you want it

If you love your cod fishing, custom gear, or just want to learn how to get more bites… this is one you won’t wanna miss.

New Episode!!! Maraboon magic🙌🏼

Strap in legends, because this week we welcome back the great (Wisey) for one of our biggest, loosest, and most action-packed episodes yet.

We jump straight into our trip of a lifetime to Lake Maraboon a mission that threw everything at us: long days, late nights, mental battles, and those heart-stopping moments where time literally slows down. But it paid off in a way we’ll be talking about for years.

Azz managed to crack not one but two absolute unicorns 130cm and 124cm in a dam known for making you work hard for every bite. Wisey wasn’t far behind, sticking a 119.5cm donkey on a fly he tied himself, which honestly might be one of the coolest captures we’ve ever talked about on the podcast.

Add in 180+ redclaw that turned into a mega feed, the local pub getting a visit… then a revisit… then maybe one more for good measure… and you’ve got the recipe for a proper CodTales adventure.

But it doesn’t stop there.

We go deep on the Livescope vs No-Scope conversation, the good, the bad, the advantages, the arguments, and why it’s become such a hot topic in the fishing world right now. Expect honesty, laughs, and plenty of back-and-forth.

We also get into Dane’s little “detour to Orange that turned into shit creek, not Spring Creek” 🤣, talk teams fishing events, and break down everything happening around the upcoming State Teams of Origin, where bragging rights are on the line and the banter will be next-level.

Big fish, big feeds, big lessons, and even bigger laughs,this episode has absolutely everything.

Grab a beer, chuck it on, and enjoy another chaotic chapter of CodTales 🎣🤙

#TeamsFishingAustralia #FishingLife #FishingPodcast #AussieFishing #yellowbelly #freshwaterfishing #CodtalesPodcast #mentalhealthmatters #ThankYouLegends #bantertherapy #TransducerWizards #barra #barras

🎣 Episode 54 is live!

We’re at Teams Fishing Australia this week, chatting with the Black Pearl Fishing boys – Mitch and Lachie! 🐟

Plenty of good yarns in this one as we dive into tournament fishing, chasing redfin, and landing some solid callop.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Cod Tales episode without a few laughs…

Barry gets up to a bit of mischief at the campsite, and somehow we end up hunting for a ladybug 🐞😂

Tune in for a good dose of fishing tales, banter, and campfire chaos.

🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your pods!

#CodTalesPodcast #TeamsFishingAustralia #BlackPearlFishing #FishingLife #AussieFishing #Callop #Redfin #FishingPodcast

New Episode Out Now!!– with Steve “Boothy” Booth!

This week we sit down with one of the true legends of the Aussie fishing scene, and a great mate of ours – Steve Booth. Most people know him as Boothy, and chances are if you’ve ever picked up a fishing mag, watched a show, or been at a comp, you’ve come across his work. He’s been involved with AFN, Fishing Monthly, Wilson Fishing, and OzFish, just to name a few.

We cover a heap in this episode:

• How fishing in Australia has changed and evolved over the years

• The importance of fish habitat and giving back to the waterways

• What really fuels the passion for fishing – beyond just catching fish

• Big topics like Murray cod, barra, and everything in between

• From the competitive world of tournaments to the laid-back joy of rec fishing

What makes this yarn even better is that it’s not just about the technical stuff – it’s about the friendships, the culture, and the stories that keep us all coming back to the water. Boothy’s been around the traps long enough to have seen it all, and he shares it with the same honesty and humour that make him one of the most respected blokes in the industry.

It’s a great chat with an even better mate, and one you don’t want to miss.

Grab a beer, kick back, and have a listen, you’ll be nodding along, laughing, and probably planning your next trip by the end of it. #murraycod #FishingPodcast #CodtalesPodcast #freshwaterfishing #stories #tournamentfishing #FishingAustralia #fishing #mentalhealthawareness #fish #ozfish