Welcome to the Lake Mulwala Fishing Guide. Lake Mulwala is a man-made reservoir acting as an irrigation water supply for local farmlands. The lake is 215 kilometres north of Melbourne, a 3 1/2 hour drive from the townships of Bundalong and Yarrawonga. It acts as the borderline between Victoria and New South Wales. This is a great fishing location and is considered by many to be the crown jewel of Murray Cod fishing. With consistent catches of the elusive giant Murray Cod in this waterway. The Murray River feeds this large lake and is full of timber and structure, making it equally good for catching Golden and Estuary Perch. There is also an abundance of carp and redfin here to keep you busy for hours on end.
Please note that an NSW fishing licence is required to fish at Lake Mulwala and parts of the Murray River. Also note that the Murray cod closed season is from September 1st until December 1st. However, this is a great time to target other species in the lake, such as golden perch.
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Things to do at Lake Mulwala
Lake Mulwala is great for recreational water activities such as canoeing, fishing, skiing, and wakeboarding. However, it’s a vibrant township with festivals, markets, shows and beautiful scenery. Nearby attractions include Tunzafun for the kids, which has mini-golf, mini trains, trampolines and more; There are also water parks, walking trails, the Yarrawonga Mulwala Pioneer Museum, and the Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort, which is one of the country’s best golf courses and resorts. However, one of the best things to do might be a simple trip down the Murray River on a paddle steamer boat.
Watch the Video below as Al from FishingMad catches heaps of Murray Cod land-based fishing Lake Mulwala
Fishing Lake Mulwala
At Lake Mulwala, you can target
- Murray Cod
- Golden Perch ( Yellowbelly )
- Redfin
- Silver Perch
- Trout Cod
- Carp
Lake Mulwala is one of the best Murray Cod fisheries in Victoria, New South Wales and Australia. Catching Giant Murray Cod of a meter here is quite a regular occurrence. We filmed here in February 2025 and landed several huge cod up to 1.2 meters; however, many locals consistently catch them up to 1.4 meters. These giant fish often reside in structures, and at Lake Mulwala, there is so much of it with scattered tree stumps all over this system, making it an incredible ecosystem for these magnificent fish. It is a great fishing location. You will also catch some very sizable yellowbelly, redfin, carp, and silver perch here. The weed can get quite thick in certain areas, making it a challenge when trolling or working lures, so stay nimble and find places with clearings and good water clarity. These days, LiveScope can make finding and catching the elusive meter-plus-size fish a lot easier.
Effective fishing techniques at Lake Mulwala include trolling hard-bodied lures and casting lures such as spinner baits, lipless crank baits, hard-bodied lures, soft plastics and surface lures in open water, along the shallows banks and of course, as close to any structure in which fish will reside. Many of the largest fish are often caught amongst the timber. The trick here is to present a lure or bait and tempt the bigger ones out of the structure they reside in for a reaction strike. Cod love the cover of structures such as trees and submerged logs, and many of the big cod have been caught casting large surface lures in these areas.
This is an all-year-round fishery ( apart from Murray Cod during the closed season ). There are several fishing comps here for cod between February and March as the warmer months can fish very well; however, many would consider May and June prime time to target those elusive big fish with more consistency, especially during prime windows in the early morning, closer to last light, and into the night. Yellowbeyll are often most active in early spring as water temperatures rise.
It’s a large lake, and fish can be caught all around. Keep an eye open for bait balls on your sounder, which is a good signal of productive fishing grounds, such as fishable weed beds and submerged timber. Early in the season, fish are found in shallows at depths of 1-2 meters as the water temperature is warmer here. The fish are more evenly spread in the shallows and deeper waters in warmer months. Murray cod and golden perch are ambush feeders and prefer to wait for the current to bring food to them. The current flows down from the Murray River. The areas around Majors Boat Ramp is where the current is quite strong, and the lake becomes quite deep as you venture closer to the wier. Good places to target would include along the edges around Yarrawonga and Mulwala, Kyffin Reserve, and Woodlands, which are located near the middle of the lake. Majors, the Everglades, and Bundalong have good trolling and casting options.
Lake Mulwala Boat Ramp
There are many good boat ramps scattered around Lake Mulwala, including
- Majors Boat Ramp is located off Wrights Road.
- Multiple boat ramps at Bundalong. Consider using Pyke Street, which has good launching options.
- Woodland’s boat ramp of Buchanans Road. Limited parking and launching can be tricky in shallow conditions.
- Hogan’s Road boat ramp.
- The township of Yarrawonga has several boat ramps, one at the yacht club off River Road and another at Bank Street next to the water slide.
- The township of Mulwala also has a few, including one near the Water Ski Club, another near the water slide near the steam train off Melbourne Street and finally a ramp opposite Lakeside Caravan Park off Corowa Road.
When boating and kayaking on Lake Mulwala, be mindful of the wind. This lake is open and exposed, and the swells/waves can get up to a meter and really catch you by surprise, so always be prepared and check weather forecasts before fishing. On windy days, you could consider fishing on the Murray River below the weir wall or near Bundelong, which are often sheltered from the wind.
Rod & Reel Setup for Lake Mulwala
Multiple target species are at this location, all requiring quite different setups. And even picking a setup for a specific species here can be tricky. For instance, I’ve seen Murray Cod caught in this system as small as 30cm and as large as 1.4 meters. Targeting those giant fish with big lures requires much heavier setups to ensure you can handle the fish’s raw size and power and not break your rod tip when casting heavy lures. Cod lures can weigh anything from 20 grams to 200 grams.
Generally, when targeting cod, ideally, a heavy baitcast combo around 6″6 in length and 8-15kg in class paired with a 150/200 baitcast reel spooled with 50lb braid. You can go a bit heavier here if you’re targeting huge fish with large lures or smaller if you’re casting smaller lures for smaller cod. You can drop this down significantly for yellowbelly and fish with a Light or medium baitcast or even a 2-5kg spin rod paired with a 2500 size reel.
Best fishing lures at Lake Mulwala
If you target yellow belly, some great lure choices include lipless crankbait, such as Jackall TN series, stump jumpers, which can also be cast or trolled, vibes, and spinnerbaits, such as bassman spinners. If you’re targeting a large Murray cod, you’ll rig up with large spinnerbaits, diving hard body lures, large swimbaits, large surface lures, and large soft plastics in natural colours. Some weird and wonderful surface lures and swimbaits are new to the market, so get creative and mix up your retrieval technique. There is also a wide range of soft plastics & lures. Click here to see our best lures and plastics when targeting Redfin.
- Large soft swimbaits
- Large surface lures
- Spinnerbaits
- Wake baits
- stump jumpers
- Bassman DT spinnerbait
- Daiwa Duckfin live shad
- Koolabung code walker
- Bassman Biggen spinnerbait
- Icon Carnage spinnerbaits
- Jackall TN50 and TN60
- Jackall TN50
- Zerek fish trap
- Jackall transams
- Samaki vibelicious
Recommended baits Lake Mulwala
When bait fishing, good options include
- Scrub worms
- cheese
- bardi grubs
- Powerbait
- Yabbies
- Mudeye
- live minnow
- shrimp
- maggots
Targeting Murray Cod at Lake Mulwala
Murray Cod is Australia’s largest freshwater fish that grows to impressive sizes. Cod are ambush predators that love the cover of structure so make sure you concentrate your efforts on any visible structure including logs and submerged trees. They will also seek shelter in deeper holes and rock ledges. Cod are most active in low light conditions such as sunrise and sundown. A medium to heavy bait caster rod is ideal when targeting cod. At this system which has giant cod we recommend a heavy baitcast combo around 6″6 in length and 8-15kg in class paired with a 150/200 baitcast reel spooled with 50lb braid. You can also fish lighter which might be a stiff 6-foot rods in 6-10 kilo class matched with a suitable size bait caster reel spooled with 20lb to 30lb braid and 30lb to 40lb leader. Good lure options for Murray Cod include hard body lures, surface lures, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, shads, lipless crankbaits, paddle tail and curtail soft plastics. These should be worked slowly or tolled from your boat or kayak if access is permitted. There are some amazing surface lures on the market these days, including imitation mice, frogs, ducks, and snakes with realistic action that are fun to target cod with. Bait anglers can target Murray cod with live yabbies and worms.
Targeting Yellowbelly at Lake Mulwala
Yellow belly AKA Golden Perch is a beautiful freshwater fish found in this system. With a rich food source available the yellowbelly here grow too thick and plump sizes. Good lure choices include curl tail soft plastics with the zman 2.5-inch grubz and Gulp 3-inch grub minnow both in black are standout choices. Soft vibes such as the Zerek fish trap, Jackall transams and Samaki vibelicious are great options. lip-less crank-baits such as Jackall TN50 and TN60 continue to be very popular so do blades such as the eco gear ZX40 with stinger hooks. Other favourites are the reliable stump jumpers, spinnerbaits, bassman spinners, large grub style soft plastics in dark colours.
Soft plastics are worked best on a 1/8 or 1/4 jig head slow-rolled along any structure. This works particularly well when tying your boat or kayak up against trees and working the soft plastic slowly up against the tree and adding some noise to the action by tapping the butt of your rod or by hitting the jig head into the timber. This brings out the predatory nature of the yellowbelly. Take advantage of down scan and side scan technologies on your sounder and spend some time moving between the structure to find the fish. Other lures to can be worked amongst the timber but in general work really well in open water being slow-rolled or trolled. When it comes to rod selection we generally use a light spin rod around 7 foot in length in 1-4, 2-4 or 3-5 kilo class paired with a 1000, 2000 or 2500 size reel. Spooled with 8-12 pound braid and an equivalent fluorocarbon leader. Baitcaster rods and reels are a very popular choice when targeting yellowbelly. Good options include a 3-5 or 4-6 bait caster with a 2000 bait caster reel. When bait fishing a 7 foot light rod paired with a 3000 size reel. Good bait rigs would include a paternoster rig with a small sinker at the bottom or a running sinker rig with scrub worms or yabbies.
Targeting Redfin at Lake Mulwala
We recommend targeting redfin with a light spin outfit. This will make the experience more enjoyable and improve your catch rates. A 1-3 or 2-4 kilo fishing rod coupled with a 2000, 2500 or 3000 reel spooled with 4-8-pound braid and equivalent fluorocarbon leader should be perfect. Redfin respond really well to lures and soft plastics so do check our guide on the best lures for catching Redfin When using soft plastics, we highly recommend curl tails, minnow imitations, and paddle tails in both natural and bright colours. Rigged with a jig head that’s 1/8 through to 1/20 in weight. The most effective way to use these is to cast towards visible structure and slow roll the soft plastic with lifts and pauses for the retrieve. Shallow diving hard body lures, blades and vibes are also very effective in this system. So are traditional spinners and Tassie devils in bright colours. Metal spoons also play a role allowing you to cast great distances and targeting the bigger size reddies. Just remember they are quite heavy and very prone to snags in small inland systems like this one.
Targeting Trout at Lake Mulwala
We would highly recommend that you read our detailed guide on how to catch trout which details our favourite lures, baits and techniques. You can follow trout stocking timelines by reading the Victorian trout stocking guide as part of the target 1 million by 2020 and 10 million by 2022 initiatives. When targeting trout with lures we recommend using shallow diving hard body minnows, metal spoons, spinners, Tassie devils and soft plastics which are also very effective on trout. If your bait fishing, then Mudeye, scrub worms, power bait, yabbies and minnows suspended from a float or a running sinker rig are great options when targeting trout at this location. Trout are more active in cold conditions with most catches on first and last light of the day. We recommend targeting trout with a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo fishing rod coupled with a 1000, 2000, or 2500 reel spooled with 4-8-pound braid and equivalent fluorocarbon leader. If there are larger trophy size trout around then you can go heavier moving up the scale to a 3-5 kilo class spin rod spooled with a fine 8-12-pound braid and equivalent fluorocarbon leader.
Targeting Carp at Lake Mulwala
There is a large volume of carp in local lakes; however, they are fun to catch, and you can learn more about catching carp by reading our detailed guide to carp fishing around Victoria. When targeting carp, standard baits such as corn, bread, and maggots work great. Using a simple running sinker rig with a pea-sized sinker works great in this area. So, do suspend baits using a float. We have also fished well using unweighted baits. You can also target carp with hard body lures and soft plastics. This is a difficult technique that generally requires sight casting. This means spotting a nearby carp, casting right in there, and working the lure of plastic slowly, hoping they will strike. It’s tough but very rewarding when you catch a carp using this method. Most, however, will stick to targeting them with bait.
For rod selection, a 3-5 kilo rod coupled with a 4000 size reel is very suitable. You could even fish a little heavier with rods designed for snapper that are generally 4-7 kilo 7 foot in length. For fun, I have caught some monster size carp using a 2-4 kilo rod and 6-pound braid. But I am prepared to lose some good fish in the process. We like to target carp on sundown, particularly in the warmer months. This is often when you see carp swimming along the edges or jumping out of the water around September-November which is their spawning season. European carp must not be returned to the water. Always carry your Victorian fishing license. A simple yet effective fishing rig here is to thread a small running sinker through the mainline shown in blue, which is usually around 8 pounds. Then tie a medium swivel to the end allowing the sinker to run up the mainline freely. Then tie on the other end of the swivel 50cm of 8-pound fluorocarbon leader (the leader is shown in grey ). Finished with a hook. I generally use a size 6 bait keeper hook or size 10 long shank which is perfect for corn kernels or scrub worms, however, you can also use small treble style hooks which is a better setup if you use bread.
If you’re getting snagged, you can also use a float rig. Attach a quill or bubble float to your mainline. Thread the line through and adjust the length using a size 6 bait keeper hook or size 10 long shank to keep your bait suspended at a good depth. Ideally, cast down the breeze, which will stop the float from coming back to you. If you’re not getting bites, adjust the line depth and, if necessary, add a splint shot to add weight.
Always carry your Victorian/NSW fishing license, FishingMad encourage ‘catch & release’ of all native species to help maintain the water quality within the lake however European Carp must not be returned.Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All other images and videos shown on the Lake Mulwala Fishing Guide page are Fishing Mad originals. Thank you for visiting the Lake Mulwala Fishing Guide. If you feel this location guide is missing key information or needs any corrections made, then please let us know by emailing our team at enquiries@fishingmad.com.au with specific details in the email. Please also feel free to share any fishing pictures you have from this location with us. Thank you
